Warwick, RI - Another scandal is brewing in Rhode Island. This one involves Mayor Charles Moreau of Central Falls who got a big discount on a home heating furnace from a friend who does business with the City of Central Falls (Hummel Report 1/14/10 and 1/21/2010).  

At a minimum Mayor Moreau has violated the Code of Ethics and accepted an illegal gift.  Today the RIGOP has filed the attached complaint with the Ethics Commission arguing that, at a minimum, Mayor Moreau has violated the Code of Ethics and accepted an illegal gift.  “Somehow we need to make sure public officials are held accountable for their actions,” said Republican Party Chair Giovanni Cicione.  “Unfortunately, Attorney General Lynch does not seem willing to vigorously pursue public corruption – perhaps the Ethics Commission will do the job that he refuses to do.”

When current Attorney General Lynch was confronted with this story by former Attorney General Violet and Jim Hummel on local public broadcasting show the Lively Experiment on January 14, 2010, he indicated he would not initiate an investigation into Mayor Moreau’s conduct because Moreau was ‘a friend’ of Lynch. 

“Regardless of Lynch’s warm relationship with the Moreau administration, Mr. Lynch has a duty to look into this kind of wrongdoing and bring people to justice,” concluded Cicione. “This ‘do nothing’ attitude towards fighting public corruption exhibited by our Attorney General is one key reason why economic growth is stifled in Rhode Island – it must stop.” 

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