RI Political Corruption

Small Strands of the RI Web of Interests

By Justin Katz | January 13, 2009 |

Simply because it represented an unanticipated expenditure during a time of extremely tight budgets — indeed, when the town council is pondering a “token” reduction in its own pay totaling $2,520 — I made note of the Tiverton Town Council’s decision to make $900 available to municipal officials to attend a Grow Smart RI workshop…

This Is How the State Works (Its Way into a Hole)

By Justin Katz | January 11, 2009 |

It’s important to keep in mind that this report consists mainly of allegations, some of them (at least) made by people with compromising motivation. That said, the insight into the practices of our state are well worth familiarization: [Probate Judge Robert E.] Rainville says he has done nothing wrong — and that the complaints against…

No Precedent for the Irons Ruling

By Carroll Andrew Morse | January 11, 2009 |

In today’s Projo, I have an op-ed detailing how the Rhode Island Superior Court’s dismissal of the Ethics Commission case against William Irons ignores basic precedents that have been established by the Courts regarding legislative immunity. The decision is being appealed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. More detailed background on the cases cited and…

The Supreme Court on Legislative Immunity

By Carroll Andrew Morse | January 6, 2009 |

Robert Benson‘s solution, proposed in last Friday’s Projo, to the legal question of whether ethics rules can be applied to the official lawmaking activities of legislators presented by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission v. William Irons case…Why not keep the speech in debate provisions in place except when the legislator is accused of a serious…

Stop “Unethical, but Legal”

By Justin Katz | January 2, 2009 |

Robert Benson, first vice president of Operation Clean Government, calls for outrage over Superior Court Judge Francis Darigan’s ruling that legislators cannot face consequences for votes cast in response to bribes: This is not just some arcane legal conundrum of little interest to most Rhode Islanders. Darigan’s decision essentially guts the state’s Code of Ethics…

Up Against the Pirates Who Never Left

By Justin Katz | December 27, 2008 |

I understand that part of historian Doug Burgess’s argument is that piracy was once a somewhat respectable occupation among American colonies, but I can’t help but take this as an indication of the historical nature of conservative reformers’ current task: Newport became a Colonial capital for pirating. “The Colony [of Rhode Island] now began to…

On Legal Corruption

By Justin Katz | December 22, 2008 |

The link is more associative than direct, but something in attempts to use recent research to paint as a myth the pervasive impression of rampant corruption in Rhode Island has seemed off to me. I’ve thought, for example, that there must be something in the fact that journalists put Rhode Island at the top of…

Takin’ Care of a Tax-Lien

By Carroll Andrew Morse | December 15, 2008 |

Here’s a better explanation of the point regarding Felix Garcia’s tax-lien that I didn’t do a very good job of making on Matt Allen‘s show on Friday night: If the standard operating procedure in the City of Providence is to release a tax-lien, before even a promised partial payment has actually been made, the City…

Exhausted by Corruption

By Justin Katz | December 11, 2008 |

Wherein, I express tiredness with political corruption on the Matt Allen show. Why aren’t other people fed up with the likes of Cicilline? Stream by clicking here, or download it.

In Support of Pride

By Justin Katz | December 2, 2008 |

How’s this for a study in contrasts: OF ALL THE COMMUNITIES EXAMINED BY CHANNEL 12, THE STATE POLICE HAD THE LOWEST RATE OF ACCIDENTAL DISABILITY PENSIONS. MOST CITIES AND TOWNS WERE UP AROUND 40, 30 PERCENT, SOME IN THE 20S. YOU GUYS WERE AT EIGHT PERCENT. I THINK IT WAS OF 230 RETIREES, ONLY 19…