RI Political Corruption
Any softening of Rhode Island’s new wish-list fire code are welcome, but this seems a little too typical of the state’s operating practices to inspire comfort: Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano testified at an open hearing on the code regulation changes that was held last September, to re-emphasize the Senate’s position that the code changes…
In mid-November, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island applied for a 12% rate increase of its direct pay (i.e., non-group) products. Public hearings have been under way. On December 13, 2007, US Attorney Robert Clark Corrente announced that as a part of Operation Dollar Bill, his office had reached an agreement with Blue Cross…
And the people who keep digging. That’s what my latest Providence Journal piece is about. As I said the other day: We’re in a race to move the state toward change before the four groups I describe in the op-ed manage to force too many others beyond its borders.
Maybe we can plug the state deficit with Ethics Commission fines: The Ethics Commission voted yesterday to prosecute state senator and union official Frank Ciccone on two charges, but dropped five other charges that his votes in the General Assembly amounted to ethics violations because they benefited unions he works for. The decision means that…
A sure indication that Rhode Islanders are in for a beating? The folks who are in a position to ease the pain of our collapse and recovery have to “talk” about stuff like this: William R. Guglietta, chief legal counsel for the House Democratic majority leader, is tentatively scheduled to be sworn in as chief…
Could there be a better expression of Rhode Island’s erroneous mentality than EMT’s comment to Marc’s post on the triple-dipper union fireman? So why is this only OK for union presidents who don’t rock the boat? All you conspiracy theorists REALLY believe that Cicilline didn’t feed this straight to the Journal, who are trying to…
A gentleman by the name of John B. Webster has identified a line of business he thinks will be successful in Rhode Island: providing “incarceration assistance” to white collar criminals. From the Chicago Sun Times… When John B. Webster was convicted in 2001 for lying to the FBI, he lost his law license and his…
Ian Donnis weighs in with a bit more on the RI Foundation and how it funnels money–donated anonymously–to help fund Providence Mayor Cicilline’s administration: Cianci had departing Rhode Island Foundation chieftain Ron Gallo on his show yesterday. Just a few moments ago, Cianci pointed to how conflicts could arise from the foundation’s funding arrangement for…
Dan Yorke has been asking for some media outlet to look into the links between The Rhode Island Foundation and Providence Mayor David Cicilline’s administration. According to a 2003 press release, the Rhode Island Foundation set up a contribution structure to the Mayor’s Administration via The Fund for Providence: The Fund was established at The…
US Attorney Robert Clark Corrente reminds us in his October 9 press release Even though Martineau has signed an agreement to plead guilty, he has not yet entered a plea. This presumably will happen on Friday, the day Former House Majority Leader Gerard Martineau (D) is scheduled to be arraigned, according to the Providence Journal.…