The DA Who Can’t Stop Breaking the Laws He’s Paid to Enforce
Meet Robert J. Galibois II — Cape and Islands District Attorney, self-styled champion of justice, and a man who apparently believes the conflict of interest laws that apply to everyone else simply don’t apply to him. After all, who’s going to prosecute the prosecutor?
That’s not a rhetorical question in Barnstable County. It’s a genuine crisis of accountability.
The Car Crash That Launched a Thousand Spin Jobs
On February 23, 2023 — barely weeks after being sworn into office — DA Galibois was involved in a car accident while making an illegal U-turn in his state vehicle. The Barnstable Police Department issued him a warning for three separate violations: improper turn, marked lanes violation, and failure to file an accident report. Three violations. On day one of the job, essentially.
Now here’s where it gets rich. Instead of accepting responsibility — the thing DA offices demand of everyone they prosecute — Galibois directed his own Second Assistant District Attorney to draft a press release. On official DA letterhead. Using taxpayer-funded staff time. To spin the story in his favor. The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission determined this was a violation of the conflict of interest law — specifically, using public resources to further his own private interests.
He paid a $5,000 fine. He signed a Disposition Agreement admitting the violations. He waived his right to a hearing. And then he went right back to work — prosecuting other people for their misconduct.
The Landlord Connection: Promoting a Campaign Donor’s Apartments on the Public Dime
But wait — there’s more. Also in February 2023, a donor to Galibois’s election campaign reached out to offer rental apartments to DA’s Office staff before they were publicly advertised. Galibois didn’t recuse himself. He didn’t pass the message along through a personal channel. He sent an office-wide email to his entire staff — using the resources of the District Attorney’s Office — promoting his donor’s apartments. He subsequently personally referred two of his Assistant District Attorneys to the donor.
Using your public office to reward your campaign donors. In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this is called a conflict of interest violation. In the rest of America, we call it swamp politics — and it happens at every level from Washington D.C. all the way down to the Cape Cod DA’s office.
The State Ethics Commission’s Executive Director David A. Wilson put it plainly: “Public resources are to be used for the public’s benefit.” Galibois used them for his own benefit and his donor’s benefit. That’s the summary. There’s no ambiguity here.
Still In Office. Still Prosecuting. Still the DA.
Despite being fined for ethical violations, despite admitting guilt in writing, despite using his DA’s office as a personal PR firm — Galibois remains the Cape and Islands District Attorney. He has the power to decide who gets prosecuted in Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties. He decides which cases move forward, which get dismissed, and who faces the full weight of the law.
Think about that the next time you get a traffic ticket. Think about it when a local business owner faces regulatory scrutiny. Think about it when someone without the right connections ends up on the wrong side of a charging decision.
Fighting His Own Sheriff: The Galibois vs. Ogden Saga
If the ethics violations weren’t enough entertainment, Galibois also made headlines by suing the Dukes County Sheriff, Robert Ogden, in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court — a dramatic escalation of a fight over access to potential evidence. The District Attorney literally sued the Sheriff. On Martha’s Vineyard. These are the people running the justice system on Cape Cod and the Islands, folks. They can’t even get along with each other.
When the top law enforcement officials of a region are fighting each other in the state’s highest court while one of them is on record for ethics violations, something has gone deeply wrong. The people of Cape Cod and the Islands deserve a DA whose greatest legal battles are against actual criminals — not against the sheriff’s department.
A Note on Accountability
In Massachusetts, DAs are elected officials. Robert Galibois is up for re-election. The voters of the Cape and Islands will have the opportunity to render their own verdict. We suggest they consider the evidence carefully — there’s a documented record, signed admission, and a $5,000 fine to start with.
The job of the District Attorney is to hold others accountable for breaking the law. The least we can ask is that the DA hold himself to the same standard. So far, the record suggests that is not happening.