Panel reprimands analyst

In its first-ever public hearing, a Palm Beach County ethics panel found a former environmental analyst tried to use his government job to get a discount at an auto repair shop.

Rowan Hughes, who has been fired from the county, was accused of driving a work vehicle to a Riviera Beach repair shop in June 2015 and implying its owners could be subject to environmental inspections if they didn’t discount a $3,622 repair bill for his personal truck.

Ethics complaints are normally settled or dismissed before reaching a formal public hearing, said Mark Bannon, executive director of the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics.

The five-member panel started meeting in 2009 after a wave of arrests of Palm Beach County commissioners in a federal corruption sting.

The ethics board voted Monday to publicly reprimand Hughes, but it decided not to issue a fine of up to $500. The panel dismissed a more serious charge that Hughes acted corruptly with “wrongful intent.”

Hughes’ job responsibilities focused on preparing the county for climate change — not performing environmental inspections, his supervisors testified. Hughes was fired Dec. 21, 2015, after an internal investigation found he misused a county vehicle by using it for a personal errand, according to county records.

In his testimony, Ron Cheston Sr., who owns the auto repair shop, said Hughes falsely identified himself as “head supervisor for Palm Beach County EPA” and told him it would be in his interest to lower the bill.

“You don’t come in my business threatening me, threatening my family, threatening my income,” Cheston said. “This is not going to happen.”

Cheston filed a complaint with the county’s Office of Inspector General, which led to the ethics investigation.

The commission’s rules allow the ethics panel’s decision to be appealed to circuit court. Hughes said he has not discussed an appeal with his attorney.