Former Greene Housing Authority director hit with violations
The former executive director of the Greene County Housing Authority will have to pay more than $8,000 in restitution following an order from the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission.
Lane Turturice was appointed to head the authority in 2018, and had previously been its solicitor.
Turturice, of Washington, runs a private law practice located at 70 E. Wheeling St., Washington.
According to an order from the ethics commission, Turturice violated the state’s Ethics Act when he was paid for working for the authority while also performing duties not related to his work at the authority, including activities involving his private law practice. The commission also found he failed to disclose all reportable sources of income on his statement of financial interests for the year 2017.
The full opinion from the ethics commission describes Turturice as being frequently absent, and not completing much work of substance during his time as executive director.
An employee kept track of Turturice’s arrival and departure times at the office. According to the ethics commission report, when Turturice was at work, employees saw him sleeping in his office, and also overheard him conducting business related to his private law practice during work hours.
Turturice did not respond to a phone call made to his practice Tuesday afternoon.
Turturice’s resignation was accepted by the housing authority board on Oct. 18, 2018, and his employment ended at the end of the year.
He will have to pay $8,653.50 in restitution, payable to the housing authority and forwarded to the ethics commission.
The ethics commission also levied a $250 civil penalty against Turturice for not filing an accurate statement of financial interests. He has 30 days to make the required payments.