Corporation records show that Canton’s recently ousted conservation agent served as president of an engineering firm that successfully sought construction permits from the town, a fact apparently unknown to the town’s Conservation Commission.

It was this apparent dual role that ultimately led to Robert J. Murphy’s dismissal in November from the job he’s held for 22 years. According to meeting minutes obtained by the Globe, when Conservation Commission members discovered Murphy’s link to M&M Engineering Inc., they became concerned it could be in violation of the state’s conflict of interest law.