BOSTON (AP) — The State Ethics Commission is alleging former Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis improperly contacted officials at the Worcester County Jail after receiving a request from a campaign supporter to place an inmate on work release.

The commission said an employee who worked for the supporter of Glodis was due to begin a four-month sentence at the jail for a larceny conviction.

The commission said the supporter contacted Glodis who agreed to call the jail. The commission said the inmate was then placed on work release the first day of his incarceration even though he was not eligible.

Glodis said the decision to release the inmate was made by a three-member panel over which he had no influence and at the time the jail was under a federal agreement to release non-violent inmates.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.