Charge Against Fagone Suspended

A one-year-old investigation into conflict of interest charges against Cambridge's Commissioner of Public Works, Conrad C. Fagone, ended this week when the charges were dropped.

The case will be continued in Middlesex District Court for six months, after which all the charges will be erased, city solicitor Russell Higley said last night. "Conrad Fagone has been totally vindicated," Higley said.

The case stemmed from allegations that Fagone had ordered city employees to build rafts for a Cambridge Boy Scout camp, a charity he helped to run.

But the Cambridge City Council declared shortly after the charges were aired that Fagone had their support, and Higley said that "at worst, the government could prove that there was a technical violation. Even the district attorney said Connie had realized no personal gain."

City manager Robert Healy said yesterday the city will "not change its policy of doing whatever it can to assist private non-profit charities whenever it can."