More than two years after he was fired from his position with the Wareham Police Department for alleged violations of state ethics laws, the Civil Service Commission has determined that Lieutenant Donald Bliss, a 24-year veteran of the force, was wrongfully discharged.

Bliss will return to his post and is due more than $200,000 in back pay and interest.

Bliss said he felt a huge sense of relief after hearing the decision, which was unanimously approved by all five commissioners. “For two and a half years my family has just gone through emotional and financial hell,” he said. “I can’t wait to go back to work and be a positive force once again.”

The Civil Service Commission called the firing an “unmistakable example of the effect of improper personal motives and undue political influence which have no place in a merit-based civil service system.”

Bliss was fired in February, 2009 by then-Interim Town Administrator John Sanguinet for what officials said was an improper use of his town-issued cell phone.

Sanguinet said Bliss improperly used his town-issued cell phone to further his personal business endeavors. In addition, he said Bliss violated conflict of interest laws by allegedly improperly using his police position to sell alarm systems.

Before the incident, Bliss had never been disciplined and had a "distinguished record of public service," according to the decision.

Bliss testified that he always used his town cell phone for both personal and work-related calls. He said it did not occur to him that personal use was prohibited as long as it did not interfere with his job performance and did not cost the town additional money. He was reprimanded for the mistake with "punishment duty," meaning he had to work extra shifts without pay. He worked those shifts during the busy summer months of 2008, six or more months before he was fired.

The Civil Service Commission found that the town did not have procedures governing the use of town-issued cell phones and could not prove just cause for taking disciplinary action against Bliss based on the allegations of improper cell phone use.

The commissioner investigating the case criticized Sanguinet, saying he was "not a true decision-maker who acted on his own careful and independent judgment."

Former Police Chief Tom Joyce, who currently serves as Fire Chief in Marion, testified that Sanguinet told him that his job as Interim Town Administrator was to "carry out the wishes" of the Board of Selectmen, according to the decision.

Joyce told the Civil Service Commission that the former Board of Selectmen - consisting of John Cronan, Jane Donahue, Brenda Eckstrom, James Potter, and Bruce Sauvageau - continually interfered in the daily operations of the town, which is not permitted per the Town Charter. Joyce said the interference caused his relationship with the Board to deteriorate and led to his retirement in 2008.

The commission’s decision twice names Eckstrom for her role in Bliss’ firing. She brought the cell phone issue to the attention of former Town Administrator John McAuliffe in November 2007 after seeing a newspaper advertisement for Bliss’ real estate business in which he used a number which she recognized as a town cell phone. During a June 2008 Board of Selectmen meeting, she made the motion to place McAuliffe on paid administrative leave, essentially firing him, and cited his failure to take action on the Bliss issue as one of the reasons for doing so.

None of those Selectmen are currently in office. Eckstrom did not see re-election to the Board of Selectmen this year, but is currently running unopposed for a seat on the Onset Board of Water Commissioners.

Reached at his home in Plymouth Tuesday, Sanguinet said he had no comment on the decision.

Bliss “will be reviewing the decision in greater detail and will be considering his legal options with respect to the enduring nightmare of the past two years and those personally responsible for this travesty,” Bliss' lawyer, Andrew Gambaccini said in a statement. “Lieutenant Bliss is anxious to return to work and to do the great work that he has been known for in advancing the interests of the Town of Wareham and its Police Department.”

The 41-page document provides more details about the case.

Cell phone use

• Bliss actually introduced the use of cell phones to the department in the late 1990s when he became a detective. He purchased a phone with his own funds and used it for police work, which convinced then-Chief Thomas Joyce to get phones for the department. Bliss did not ask for reimbursement for his personal expenses.
• When eventually issued a town cell phone, Bliss never went over his allotted minutes. He even paid an extra $10 per month to the town to cover any personal use of the phone. Bliss stopped making payments when the town's Systems Manager advised that the town had gotten on a “shared” minutes plan and would only be charged if town employees went over the allotted number of minutes, which never happened.

Alarm business findings

• Bliss began working as a sales representative for Intercity Alarms in 1999 after selling accounts from an alarm business he owned with a partner to that company. The Police Department knew of his part-time employment and Bliss had checked with the state Ethics Commission to see if there was any ethical problem with him selling alarms. The Ethics Commission told him not to represent himself as a police officer, but to tell clients that he was an officer if he was asked.
• Intercity Alarms provided Bliss with business cards which had his phone and cell phone number listed. His cell phone number was his town-issued phone number.

Lieutenant Bliss and Lisa Bindas

• In October 2005, Bliss sold an alarm system to Maple Springs Road resident Lisa Bindas, who had just moved into her home. In their respective testimonies, Bliss and Bindas presented “starkly different versions of the details of this transaction,” according to the Civil Service Commission.
• In a statement prepared by Special Town Councel Steven A. Torres, Bindas indicated that Bliss had “made it seem” that she would get better service from the Police Department if she purchased an alarm from him.
• Bindas could not recall how many times Bliss visited her home, but indicated that he wore his “uniform” on one of the occasions, according to the Civil Service Commission. She said the uniform was “navy blue pants and a shirt,” but did not indicate whether he wore a hat or whether she saw a badge. She did not remember what vehicle he drove nor did she recall selling him a tiki bar during one of the visits, for which he wrote her a check for $250.
• Bliss maintained that he never wore his police uniform when doing business for the alarm company and noted that he'd rarely worn a uniform since he was promoted to Detective Sergeant.
• Calling Bindas' recollection “spotty” and her testimony “inconsistent, ambiguous and uncorroborated,” the Civil Service Commissioner said the town did not prove any “knowing” or “intentional” ethical impropriety.

Motivations

• Joyce testified that he had been told that the source of what he called his "tumultuous" relationship with the Board of Selectmen may have come about partly because he bypassed a candidate for Lieutenant who was a personal friend of former Selectman Jane Donahue in favor of Bliss, according to the decision. The Commissioner said that to "draw any inference to that effect would be largely speculation."
• According to the decision, Bliss suggested that Bindas testified in exchange for the Board of Selectmen issuing a cease and desist order for an alleged nuisance in her neighborhood. Landowner Brock Tucy was removing fill from the area and selling it and Bindas had frequently complained to the Selectmen about the noise from the trucks. The Commissioner was not persuaded that the inference was warranted.

Town Administrator Mark Andrews and Police Chief Richard Stanley declined to comment.

Board of Selectmen Chair Walter Cruz, former Selectmen Donahue and Eckstrom, former Town Administrator McAuliffe, former Police Chief Joyce, and Lisa Bindas did not respond to requests for comment.