LEYDEN — The State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division has accused the former Leyden police chief and captain — who are husband and wife — of violating the conflict of interest law through various misdeeds.

Daniel and Gilda Galvis broke the law by selling town equipment for their private gain, contracting to repair town vehicles for profit through their co-owned auto shop, and other actions implicating self-dealing and misuse of their official positions, the commission alleges. The agency has issued each of the Galvises an order to show cause, requiring them to justify or explain their actions to the court.

The orders come three days after Daniel Galvis pleaded not guilty in Greenfield District Court to larceny charges involving town-owned police equipment. He faces two counts of larceny of a motor vehicle, two counts of larceny over $1,200 and three counts of violating the standards of conduct for public employees. The charges are the result of an investigation by the state Office of the Inspector General that concluded Galvis was responsible for the theft of a skid steer loader, a motor, a trailer and a Ford truck between 2018 and 2021.

The State Ethics Commission alleges:

■As Leyden police chief, Daniel Galvis obtained surplus equipment and vehicles for the Police Department and, along with his wife, falsely reported the sale of two trucks from the town to Daniel, with Gilda as police captain, transferring the titles to her husband in his private capacity. Daniel Galvis then allegedly sold the trucks and other town equipment in online auctions for a total of $17,050, which the couple kept for themselves. Daniel Galvis kept other town equipment at the Galvis home and failed to return it after his employment with the Police Department ended in late 2021, when Gilda also retired. The two submitted resignation letters just days after a meeting where the Selectboard shared the results of an executive session with Daniel Galvis to review racist, misogynistic and xenophobic content from emails he shared with other town employees and officers between 2015 and 2016.

■As Leyden’s emergency management director, Daniel Galvis determined the amount and timing of stipends to himself using funding the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant provided to the town via the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. He then allegedly directed his wife to complete his stipend requests, which the Leyden Selectboard approved. These stipends totaled at least $12,600 over approximately five years.

■Between 2014 and 2022, Leyden allegedly paid DJ’s Auto, the Galvises’ automotive repair company, approximately $8,900 for work on town vehicles, including approximately $1,500 for work on Police Department vehicles. As chief, Daniel Galvis allegedly determined which Police Department vehicles needed work and submitted payment invoices to the town on behalf of DJ’s Auto. As police captain, Gilda Galvis allegedly reviewed and processed DJ’s Auto invoices submitted to the Police Department.

■Gilda Galvis also worked for a local car dealership and served on its board of directors. The Police Department engaged the dealership to perform vehicle inspections and repairs that DJ’s Auto did not handle. As an employee of the dealership, Gilda submitted invoices for the Police Department work and, as captain, reviewed and processed invoices from the dealership.

■Each year since 1993, Galvis, in his capacity as chief, increased pay rates for all patrol officers and superior officers, including his wife.

The orders to show cause further allege that the Galvises’ actions violated several prohibitions of the conflict of interest law. Municipal employees are not allowed to participate in matters in which they, their immediate family or private employer have a financial interest, according to the State Ethics Commission. Public employees also may not use or attempt to use their official positions to obtain valuable privileges or benefits they are not entitled to and they cannot have a financial interest in a contract made by the municipality, act as agent for anyone else in connection to a matter the town is a party to, or receive compensation from anywhere other than the town in relation to a matter the town is a party to.

According to the State Ethics Commission, its Enforcement Division gives subjects an opportunity to resolve the matter through a disposition agreement before filing order to show cause.

The Galvises are represented by attorneys Richard “Rocky” Grossack and James McCall. Grossack said he and his co-counsel had no comment for the Greenfield Recorder when contacted on Thursday.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.