BOSTON (AP) – A sports writer at The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester was fired on Thursday after an investigation determined that he had not only plagiarized parts of a recent column from a Sports Illustrated writer, but had borrowed from other writers in the past without proper attribution, the newspaper said.

Ken Powers had been the paper’s New England Patriots beat writer for the past five years.

“Ken Powers’ column on January 30 did not constitute his own work,” Telegram & Gazette editor Harry Whitin said in a written statement. “He does not dispute that. Further investigation has revealed that this was not an isolated incident and that he has previously used the work of others without proper attribution. We have terminated his employment and our investigation into his past work continues.”

Powers said his firing was unjustified. “I am disappointed that a 20-year spotless record doesn’t mean anything,” he told WBZ-TV. “The termination is a terrible injustice to me.”

The newspaper had called him home earlier this week from Jacksonville, Fla., where the Patriots are to appear in Sunday’s Super Bowl, after a reader tipped off editors to similarities between Powers’ column last Sunday and a Jan. 24 online column by Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

Powers’ column and King’s column were both about the rise of the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, who play in Sunday’s Super Bowl, after both lost their first games of the 2003 season.

Among the questionable passages:

In the second paragraph of his column, Powers wrote, “Each team was 0-1, and each had fallen to 0-1 in rather humiliating fashion. The Patriots had been shut out in Buffalo, 31-0, just four days after releasing very popular defensive captain Lawyer Milloy because he refused to take a substantial pay cut.”

King wrote: “Each team was 0-1, and each had fallen to 0-1 in rather humiliating fashion. The Patriots got shut out in Buffalo 31-0, just four days after whacking very popular defensive captain Lawyer Milloy because he wouldn’t take a major pay cut.”

Another passage in Powers’ column referring to ESPN analyst Tom Jackson’s comment that Patriots players hated head coach Bill Belichick read: “Whatever has been said since that day about Patriots players just shrugging their shoulders over Jackson’s statement is a bunch of bull. Many in the organization were surprised, and Belichick was stunned.”

King’s column read: “Whatever has been said in the intervening time about the New England players just shrugging their shoulders over Jackson’s statement is a bunch of bunk. Many in the organization were stunned, and Belichick was really surprised.”

Near the end of the column, Powers wrote: “The Patriots will try to pound Corey Dillon. McNabb will move Brian Westbrook everywhere and try to get him to make plays in the open field. But the New England defense is as disciplined as a unit can be. Philly’s defense is second in that category.”

King wrote: “The Patriots will try to pound Corey Dillon. McNabb will move Brian Westbrook everywhere and try to get him to make plays in the open field. But the New England defense is as disciplined as a unit can be. Philly’s defense is second in that category.”

King had called Whitin on Wednesday to ask that Powers not be fired, Sports Illustrated spokeswoman Alison Keane said.

“It was not an official plea, not said with any knowledge of the facts, just a comment from one human being to another,” she said.

Kathy Shaw, the Worcester unit chair for Local 31041 of The Newspaper Guild, which was representing Powers, did not immediately return a telephone call.

The Telegram & Gazette is owned by The New York Times Co.

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