Wellesley Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Peterson has paid a $5,000 civil penalty after acknowledging to the state Ethics Commission a conflict of interest related to the town’s hiring of the fire chief’s son as a firefighter in 2019.

This follows the commission’s announcement in August that Wellesley Fire Chief Richard DeLorie paid a $10,000 civil penalty for violations related to his son’s hiring.

According to the commission, Peterson admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by altering the Fire Department’s hiring process to favor the chief’s son and by selecting and interviewing the son of his wife’s cousin.

The Ethics Commission, citing statute, doesn’t answer questions about specifics of cases like this.