The state Ethics Commission put off deciding whether to discipline or dismiss Executive Director Dan Mollway yesterday – some five months after announcing it was considering action because of his conduct on the job.

Mollway, 63, who has been the director for 24 years, has been on leave with pay since Feb. 10.

Mollway appeared before the commission yesterday with his attorney, Paul Saito, and his legal adviser, Susan Ichinose.

Commissioners issued a four-page report last month saying Mollway had trouble working in the state office and that he is not appropriately engaged in the activities of his office, which leads to low morale among some staff members.

Mollway supporters said yesterday that he had a long and respected career.

Saito said it was unfair to make Mollway’s case public.

"There has been no poor performance, no misconduct. This is just petty," Saito told the commissioners.

"The best thing is to put him back to work; he is going to retire soon. Let him work and groom a successor," Saito said.

Commissioners declined comment but offered to make public more of the information of the case contained in a private report. Saito objected to including portions of the report that contained information about Mollway’s medical records.

The commission and Saito agreed to both go over the private report and meet on Wednesday to decide on areas to be included in a new public report. Saito said the commission would then hold another public hearing on June 23.