DIF&W chief says call was wrong

AUGUSTA – State Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner R. Dan Martin [Roland “Danny” Martin] said Friday he has reconsidered his position and decided he was wrong after all when he contacted an Aroostook County prosecutor about a pending case involving his brother.

“I have discussed this with my boss, the governor, and I have shared with him that I should not have made that phone call,” Martin said.

Last July, Martin’s brother Richard was arrested for operating under the influence and for exceeding proper speed while on a personal watercraft on Long Lake in Aroostook County, where he lives.

The arrest was made by Game Warden Jeff Spencer of the Bureau of Warden Service, which falls under the administration of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Some time after the arrest, Dan Martin called Assistant Aroostook County District Attorney Catherine Francke to inquire about the status of his brother’s case and about a potential plea bargain in the case.

Richard Martin later pleaded guilty to the OUI and the lesser charge was dropped, a common practice in plea agreements according to Aroostook County District Attorney Neale Adams.

Earlier this week, a review by Gov. John Baldacci’s staff and legal counsel concluded that while Martin did not violate any laws when he called the DA’s office, he did create an appearance of impropriety.

But when Martin was asked in an interview if he would do the same thing again, given the concerns raised by the governor and others, he said he probably would.

He acknowledged in that interview that the phone call could create an appearance of impropriety in the view of some.

“In some eyes, in some ears, it might,” he said then, “but I think it met the straight-face test. I did nothing illegal.”

But on Friday, Martin said he was wrong to say that. He explained that he had called the assistant district attorney after his brother had received a letter including a potential plea bargain offer because his brother was confused about what the letter meant.

“Like I said to you earlier, I was just trying to help my brother,” Martin said Friday. But he added that on “further reflection” he would not make a similar phone call, even to help his brother or other family member. He said he shouldn’t have created the appearance of a conflict.

“I know now I shouldn’t have made the call,” he said.

Gov. Baldacci said Friday that he had discussed Dan Martin’s published comments with him. He said he strongly believes that all of his commissioners must follow the highest standards and avoid any appearance of impropriety, and that he conveyed that to Martin.

“He didn’t do anything illegal or inappropriate, as I have said before,” Baldacci said. “But what he did do created an appearance [of impropriety], and I told him that.”

University of Maine Law School professor Cab Howard, a former assistant attorney general and a professor at the Muskie School for Public Service at the University of Southern Maine, said the whole area of ethics in government is “murky” when it comes to the appearance of improper conduct.

He said there are laws that deal with most areas of improper conduct by a public official, but said what may appear to be clearly “across the line” and create an appearance of impropriety in one person’s mind may not be so apparent to someone else.

“I’m not sure we do a very good job in government of explaining where that line is,” he said. “Maybe we could do more, I am not sure.”

Baldacci said perhaps some training or seminars would be helpful, but he expects his commissioners to know right from wrong.

“I think it should be instinctive,” he said. “I don’t think you should need to be told.”

Baldacci said the incident with Dan Martin and his brother should be a “real world” lesson for all public officials, including his cabinet, about the importance of avoiding the appearance of a conflict or impropriety.