The president of Norwalk Community College, David Levinson, has been fined by the Office of State Ethics for signing off on the entrance fees for his wife to attend two balls, a fundraiser and conference with him.
In a consent order Levinson signed yesterday, he said the public college’s philanthropic foundation had provided him with access to sign off on such expenses. But state law restricts him from making financial decisions as college president that would have an impact on his family, the consent order states.
“State funds, even those derived from grants from private donors, may not be used to pay for spouse’s expenses,” said Office of State Ethics Executive Director Carol Carson.
The cost of these events totaled $635, which Levinson has repaid. He has also paid a $3,000 fine for the violation.
Jacqueline was CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter, and an original member of the CT Mirror staff, joining shortly before our January 2010 launch. Her awards include the best-of-show Theodore A. Driscoll Investigative Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists in 2019 for reporting on inadequate inmate health care, first-place for investigative reporting from the New England Newspaper and Press Association in 2020 for reporting on housing segregation, and two first-place awards from the National Education Writers Association in 2012. She was selected for a prestigious, year-long Propublica Local Reporting Network grant in 2019, exploring a range of affordable and low-income housing issues. Before joining CT Mirror, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.
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