City Official Charged With Misconduct

A Middlesex County assistant district attorney this week filed charges of larceny and conflict of interest against Conrad C. Fagone, commissioner of the Cambridge Department of Public Works.

The charges allege that Fagone used city employees to do work for the Cambridge Council of Boy Scouts, of which Fagone is a board member.

Fagone was unavailable for comment last night. He has said the charges are untrue.

Officials of the Middlesex County district attorney's office were unavailable for comment.

The complaint, first lodged against Fagone almost two years ago but not acted on until Tuesday, accuses Fagone of using city property and city employees to construct floating rafts and to repair cabins at a Boy Scout camp in New Hampshire. The construction materials are alleged to have been paid for with city funds, a source close to the investigation said last night.

The conflict of interest count carries a maximum one-year prison term. The larceny by a public official charge, a felony, carries a maximum sentence of ten years.

Fagone is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in Middlesex District Court on April 27.

Another source close to the investigation said Boy Scout officials have said the materials were paid for by the Boy Scouts and that any labor by city workers was donated.

Fagone, one of the city's most popular public officials, is in charge of maintenance of city property, new construction, and other city projects.