Donora official cited for not filing financial statements

Dale Shawley Jr. was fined $750 and given 30 days to turn in the required paperwork.

A member of Donora’s Zoning Hearing Board has been found guilty of failing to comply with the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act.

The Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission announced Tuesday that Dale Shawley Jr., a former councilman, failed to file required financial statements in 2019, 2020 and 2021 as he sat on both the Zoning Hearing Board and the Civil Service Commission.

The commission made its ruling June 14, one day after Shawley was reappointed to the Zoning Hearing Board by Donora Borough Council, but it wasn’t announced until this week.

“We will address it at the work session,” council President Cindy Brice said Tuesday afternoon, adding she was unaware of the investigation or the ruling until the commission issued the press release.

Solicitor Steve Toprani said it may depend on the details of the commission’s ruling as to whether or not Shawley could continue to serve on the board.

The commission levied three maximum civil penalties against Shawley — one for each year’s violation — $25 per day for each day his statements of financial interests remained delinquent up to a maximum of $250 per violation. The commission states the total fine is $750. Shawley now has 30 days from the receipt of the ruling to pay the fine.

Shawley is also required to file the required financial statements from 2019, 2020 and 2021 within 30 days of when he received the ruling.

Failure to either pay the fine or to file the three required statements no later than the 30th day will “result in the initiation of an appropriate enforcement action,” the ruling, written by commission Chairman Michael A. Schwartz, states.

The commission’s ruling document states that Shawley did not file a response after he was notified of the investigation. The commission took that as a waiver of Shawley’s right to a hearing. A motion was granted that assumed Shawley’s admission of the facts as presented by the commission and entered a default judgment against him.

According to the commission, Section 1104 of the Ethics Act requires all public officials and public employees to file statements of financial interest by May 1 each year they hold their position and for one year after they leave the position.

Schwartz wrote that Shawley was notified of his violations in January 2022 and given 20 days to rectify the situation and avoid any penalties. He failed to respond. In February 2023, a final notice was sent to Shawley, the ruling states, giving him another 20-day window to file the statements and avoid the penalties. Shawley, again, failed to respond.

“Respondent has failed and refused to file statements of financial interests … so as to comply with the specific requirements of the Ethics Act,” Schwartz wrote.

The ruling states Shawley was given more time to comply than the required grace period allows but still didn’t respond. It also says Shawley was given an opportunity to explain to the ethics commission why he shouldn’t be penalized, but he chose not to.

“There is nothing of record that would constitute a defense or excuse for Shawley’s failure to comply with the Ethics Act,” Schwartz wrote.