As a Madison Twp. supervisor, Andrew Nazarenko voted to spend township coronavirus relief money on buying windows from a company his daughter worked for, the state Ethics Commission found.
Nazarenko, no longer a supervisor, signed a consent agreement admitting he violated the state Ethics Act by voting to benefit his daughter and failed to file accurate financial interest statements for 2020, 2021 and 2022, according to a copy of the commission’s findings.
The act forbids public officials from using their positions to benefit themselves or their families and requires accurate financial disclosure.
The agreement, decided April 16, required him to pay a $750 fine. He is no longer a supervisor because he lost a re-election bid last year. The commission released its ruling Wednesday.
Efforts to reach Nazarenko were unsuccessful.
What the agreement says
According to the consent agreement:
The township had $279,310 in coronavirus relief money to spend. At a December 2022 work session, the supervisors talked about how to spend it and Nazarenko suggested replacing windows on the township municipal building.
Then, he talked to his daughter, who worked for Pella Windows, and a Pella manager about submitting a proposal.
An email chain confirmed Nazarenko was involved in asking for the proposal. He forwarded an email from the manager to two other supervisors.
At a March 2023 meeting, the supervisors voted to advertise for bids for a window and door replacement project.
“Nazarenko did not contact other window retailers for additional quotes,” the agreement says.
Pella submitted the only bid, $161,919.99.
At a work session just before the supervisors hired Pella, “Nazarenko abruptly got up from this seat, (and) stated, ‘I have to shred this now,’ and then discarded the email that revealed his involvement with (his daughter) and Pella Windows.”
The next month, the supervisors, including Nazarenko, voted 3-0 to accept the bid.
In March 2024, the board voted 3-0 again to approve a change order that eventually raised the price to $174,009.99.
“Nazarenko admitted to commission investigators that he should have abstained from these board actions,” the agreement says. “Nazarenko was familiar with the requirement to abstain because he had abstained from potential conflicts of interest in the past.”
Under the consent order, the commission’s investigative division agreed to recommend the commission take no further action and to make no recommendations to law enforcement agencies. But the order warns Nazarenko the order would be turned over to the state attorney general’s office as a matter of routine.
The office does not comment on investigations.
