Mass. GOP Seeks Ethics Probe Of Newton Mayor Setti Warren

BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts Republicans are asking the state Ethics Commission to investigate whether Newton Mayor Setti Warren violated conflict of interest laws by awarding a city contract to a company that employs his former campaign co-chairman.

The contract, worth up to $500,000, was awarded to Kleinfelder/SEA Consultants to study and evaluate dozens of
municipal buildings.

Howard Haywood, who helped run Warren's mayoral campaign, works for the company. The contract still must be signed by Warren, who is also a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Scott Brown.

Brown is up for reelection next year.

A Warren spokesman dismissed the complaint as a "baseless" attack from Brown's Republican supporters.

A spokesman for the Ethics Commission, which typically does not comment on investigations, did not immediately return a call.

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