Opinion ID: 733247
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Summary of Burns' Case

Text: 13 In his defense, Burns maintained that he did not deliberately conceal his attendance at Harvard, and had, in fact, obtained permission from members of Northeast's board to pursue the degree. Further, Burns contended that he did fulfill his duties to Northeast while he was in school. 14 With regard to the apartment, Burns maintained that Northeast officials had discussed opening a Boston office for a number of years, and that the apartment he rented was merely the proper implementation of this plan. Burns further contended that although he did intend to sleep at the apartment while in the Boston area on official business, the apartment was also suited for use as office space, and was necessary for Northeast to arrange training with the State of Massachusetts. 15 Burns also averred that although the time sheets he directed his sister to submit on his behalf were not accurate, those sheets do not evince any intent to deceive on his part. He testified that the purpose of the time sheets was simply to inform National of vacation time, sick leave and holidays.