LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Metro Ethics Commission ruled Councilman Anthony Piagentini violated Louisville's Code of Ethics.
Piagentini, a Republican who represents District 19 in east Louisville, was found guilty on six out of the seven ethics code violations he was charged with.
On Thursday, the commission fined Piagentini $3,000 and "strongly" recommended he be removed from Metro Council.
A decision to remove him from the council would need to go before the full Metro Council for a vote.
Metro Council Majority Caucus spokesperson Kyle Ethridge said five members of the council or Mayor Craig Greenberg would need to bring the charges before the council to officially remove Piagentini.
"The findings of the Ethics Commission are clear and unanimous," Greenberg said. "My administration will swiftly respond to these serious violations to preserve the public's trust in Metro Government."
Ethridge said the earliest a removal vote could be taken could be at the next Metro Council meeting on Nov. 9.
Read the Commission's Final Order:
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What were the ethics violations?
Piagentini's charges stem from allegations he leveraged his power as a local lawmaker to get a new job.
Last year, he co-sponsored a proposal to allocate $40 million from the American Rescue Plan to the Healthcare Workforce Innovation Coalition.
While he abstained from the final vote, he took a consulting job with the group leading that coalition around the same time of the vote.
On pages 18-20 of the commission's final ruling, it says Piagentini signed a "statement of work" to work for the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council (CEOc) that was dated to begin on 12/1/22, the same day as the council vote.
"The understanding was, you know, we were trying to shoot for a December 1st start date..." Piagentini said during his August trial on this matter.
There was also a "Welcome aboard Anthony" email chain that same day. However, CEOc President Tammy York Day and Piagentini both said during the trial that he didn't sign the work contract by hand until "shortly after 12/1/22."
WHAS11 asked Piagentini after the final ruling Thursday if he thought CEOc benefitted from his connections to the organization and he said he had "no idea. You're asking me to talk about the CEOc...no. I don't represent them."
"The public deserves to know that their elected public servants are not involving themselves in schemes to individually enrich themselves," the commission said in their ruling. "And to know that, when such an actor is caught, they will be dealt with appropriately."
In a statement, Metro Council President Markus Winkler (D-17) said the council is aware of the commission's recommendations.
"We want to express our sincere appreciation to the Ethics Commission for conducting a comprehensive review of this matter," Winkler said. "We take these concerns very seriously. Together, we will carefully examine the recommendations and determine the subsequent actions to be taken."
Piagentini called the commission's ruling a "complete travesty of justice."
"I was offered employment, and when I did that, I did precisely what the law and what all councilmembers have done for 20 years when they go through the recusal process," he said. "I abstained from the vote and I did not discuss it from that point forward."
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