The Massachusetts Biotech Council is in hot water again. The state's Ethics Commission fined President Robert Coughlin $10,000 for secretly negotiating for the job while using his influence as the governor's economic development aide to craft a $1 billion subsidy program for the industry.
Coughlin began angling for the job just weeks after he was named Governor Deval Patrick's undersecretary of business development, according to the Boston Globe. He replaced former House speaker Thomas F. Finneran, who was ousted from the MBC after pleading guilty to federal obstruction charges. The council's leadership, though, says that Coughlin is staying.
"Bob Coughlin has done a great job leading the MBC, and we are confident we made the right choice in appointing him president. We look forward to having Bob lead the organization in 2009 and beyond," said council chairman Mark Leuchtenberger.
- read the story in the Boston Globe