Woman fined, barred from state employment

The Indiana Ethics Commission on Thursday approved a settlement that bars a woman from ever working for the state of Indiana again and fined her $5,000.

Bridget Murphy worked at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management from 2004 until her termination in February 2020. She was inspections chief and oversaw a team of 15 that inspected wastewater treatment facilities. During her tenure the state inspected the Cloverdale and Waynetown plants.

After Murphy left state employment she contacted IDEM on behalf of both cities, who were clients of Utility Management and Construction LLC. She was paid more than $4,000 for the compliance work.

The ethics commission found she violated state law that prohibits an employee from leaving and then working on 12 particular matters that he or she had substantial involvement in while a state employee. One of those matters is an enforcement action, and Murphy was involved in overseeing the original inspections and enforcement actions against the towns.