The Marion Board of Selectmen has asked Town Clerk Ray Pickles to resign from his town clerk position in light of the recent statewide grand jury criminal indictment for allegedly stealing over $600,000 from the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District (CMWRRDD).
In a letter signed and dated April 2, the selectmen acknowledged the criminal wrongdoings alleged against the former CMWRRDD executive director, who is also one of three defendants in a civil action filed against Pickles, his wife Diane Bondi-Pickles, and former CMWRRDD board chairman and retired Carver Health Agent Robert Tinkham, Jr.
“The Board of Selectmen is deeply troubled by these allegations,” the letter reads. “We acknowledge the presumptions of innocence enjoyed by all criminal defendants. However, we believe that effective public service requires that each and every public official must hold himself or herself to a higher ethical standard. It is difficult for any elected official to perform their sworn duties while ensnared in the controversy and mistrust arising from such criminal proceedings.”
The accusations, the selectmen wrote, if proven true, “constitute a staggering abuse of the public trust.”
The selectmen asked Pickles to tender his resignation immediately “in the interest of maintaining transparency and restoring the trust that our residents expect and deserve.”
“I have no idea what the response will be,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Norm Hills on April 2, “but at least we’ll be on the record.”
By Jean Perry