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Fri Oct 10,10:24 AM ET |
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BOSTON (Reuters) - A high-ranking Massachusetts legal regulator has been fined $10,000 for penning a pair of John Grisham-type thrillers on the taxpayer's dime.
Michael Fredrickson, general counsel to the Massachusetts state agency in charge of prosecuting lawyers for legal wrongdoing, spent "substantial time" at work writing and preparing his novels over the course of several years, the State Ethics Commission said on Thursday.
In addition to writing "A Cinderella Affidavit" and "Witness for the Dead" while at work, Fredrickson asked his administrative assistants to photocopy documents, make phone calls and perform other novel-related tasks, the panel said.
In his defense, Fredrickson argued that the time he spent working on the thrillers at the office was offset by time spent at home doing official job-related work.
The commission noted he kept no records to support his claim.
Fredrickson agreed to pay a $5,000 penalty for violating the state's conflict of interest law, and to pay $5,000 to reimburse the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers for the time he and his subordinates spent on the novels.
Kirkus Reviews hailed 1999's "A Cinderella Affidavit" as a "legal thriller so savvy and so well-written it's hard to believe it's a first novel." And Publishers Weekly called 2001's "Witness for the Dead" a "polished thriller with a multilayered plot and vivid characters."
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