Deep River Board of Selectmen member Cynthia Torres filed a complaint with the small town’s Ethics Commission on September 30, seeking an investigation into fellow Deep River Selectman Duane Gates and his relationship with a long-time town contractor with multiple town contracts.
Torres, a Republican, wrote in her complaint that Gates, a Democrat, has previously recused himself from voting on contracts with Running Brook Farms due to his relationship to the company or the owner, Scott Papoosha, and that the Ethics Commission should investigate to determine the exact nature of that relationship and whether any ethical violations have occurred.
Torres cites documentation she received indicating communication between contractors working on a grant-funded town project and Gates as evidence that his relationship with the contractor should be investigated.
“The invoice does not, by itself, establish that Mr. Gates was employed by or compensated by Mr. Papoosha or Running Brook,” Torres wrote in the complaint. “It does independently document his involvement in communications concerning the project and provides a basis for the Commission to determine the capacity in which he was acting and whether any disclosure, recusal, or conflict-of-interest obligations applied.”
She also alleges a $14,900 contract between the town and Running Brook Farms for brush removal and stump grinding had continued “beyond the original procurement,” and resulted in payments of $75,600 throughout 2025.
Torres writes in her complaint that she is simply asking the Ethics Commission to document the nature of Gates’ relationship to the town contractor to determine if there were any ethical violations. She also notes an outstanding Freedom of Information request with the town for all payments made to Running Brook that has yet to be fulfilled.
“If the evidence establishes that there was a financial or personal beneficial relationship, I ask the Commission to determine when that relationship began, whether it overlapped with Mr. Gates’s participation in Town matters involving Running Brook Farms or Mr. Papoosha, whether the required disclosures and recusals occurred, and whether any provisions of the Deep River Code of Ethics were violated,” Torres wrote.
The Ethics Commission has held a series of special meetings since receipt of the complaint, entering into executive session each time and concluding that the commission would continue to examine the complaint.
Although the exact nature of Gates’ relationship with Running Brook is unknown, public comments made by Gates have described his work with Running Brook Farms as voluntary, and he has addressed allegations that he has a conflict of interest directly in public meetings, pointing out that he has previously abstained from voting on contracts involving Running Brook Farms.
The September 8, 2026, Deep River Board of Selectmen meeting became somewhat heated as Gates addressed fellow board members and members of the public over what he said were insinuations made by Torres during a previous Planning and Zoning Commission meeting about a possible conflict of interest.
The P&Z meeting heard concerns from residents over a large project by Papoosha Real Estate LLC to create a Christmas Tree farm on Kelsey Road that has involved tree-clearing and blasting; Papoosha Real Estate is also owned by Running Brook Farms owner Scott Papoosha.
“Am I friends with Running Brook Farms? Absolutely,” Gates said during the September 8 meeting. Gates said that he volunteered to help cut down trees for projects of public interest. Gates then read from the minutes of an August 2025 BOS meeting in which he abstained from voting on awarding a town contract to Running Brook Farms, which was the lowest qualified bidder. “I don’t see a conflict of interest there.”
“What I’m trying to say is I’m not going to be penalized because of who I’m friends with or them,” Gates said. “I’ve contributed almost twenty-five years of public service to the Town of Deep River.”
Gates then addressed Torres directly; “I’m not going to be accused of wrongdoing and negative stuff because there’s a lot of conflict of interest if we want to peel the layer of onions back, Cynthia.”
“There are clear conflicts of interest,” Torres responded. “It’s in our Ethics Commission, it’s in our ethics ordinances, that if you have this relationship with somebody and there is… I don’t even know why we would argue about it, honestly. You have a close relationship to which you recused yourself from a vote but then have oversight of contracts with Plattwood.”
Plattwood refers to the town’s Plattwood Park project to make improvements and upgrades to the park, including adding a new concession stand and restroom facilities to the park, which has a beach and sports fields. The project is supported by a $435,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant awarded in 2022, as well as $100,000 in matching town funds. Running Brook Farms is one of the contractors working on the project.
During the meeting, Torres reiterated her claims that Gates is signing off on contract expenditures and communicating with the contractors who are installing the kitchen equipment in the new concessions stand; Running Brook Farms, it should be noted, is not the kitchen equipment contractor.
“It just goes on and on and on,” Torres said. “If we want to air it out, let’s air it out. The townspeople have talked about it forever.”
First Selectman Carol Jones stated that Gates “is not doing anything with the Plattwood concessions,” and stated that any phone calls were likely related to resizing the equipment, to which Gates concurred. “You’re connecting some dots that should not be connected because they don’t really connect.”
Since the conflict of interest subject has been broached, it appears to have spread to other areas of town governance, according to meeting minutes for the following September 22 meeting, during which Chair of the Republican Town Committee Jonathan Lambert raised concerns about Board of Finance member Michael Weglarz serving on the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority and that it should likewise be referred to the Ethics Commission.
“It was noted that, based on past practices, a Board of Finance Chair has previously served on the Water Pollution Control Authority. Carol Jones stated that she contacted other towns and found that many Water Pollution Control Authorities have a member of the Board of Finance serving on both boards,” the town meeting minutes state. “Jones further noted that Michael Weglarz would most likely recuse himself from matters if a conflict of interest arises.”
Jones also indicated that another appointee to the WPCA, Nick Olson, “might also face conflict of interest issues, due to his livelihood, and she would hope that he also would recuse himself from any vote that might represent a conflict of interest.” Olson owns Winthrop Construction LLC, a home construction business.
During the September 8 discussion, Gates also mentioned that a town Board of Finance member also works for a local contractor, although it was unclear to which member he was referring, and whether that contractor had any contracts with the town.
“We have someone on the board of finance who works for a local contractor also, so that’s okay?” Gates said.
“Are they making decisions?” Torres said. “We have to look at things.”
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