Attorney General Lynch Again Says 'No" to Investigating Allegations of Public Corruption
January 15, 2010
ErikForAG.com
Erik Wallin
Erik Wallin, candidate for Attorney General, today expressed shock and outrage at Attorney General Lynch's apparent refusal to launch an investigation into actions by Mayor Moreau and his longtime friend and campaign contributor, Mike Bouthillette. "The recent Hummel Report initiated from a public tip alleges that Mr. Bouthillette paid for Mayor Moreau's new furnace ten months ago. This is exactly the type of information that should initiate an investigation, however, the Attorney General's public statements yesterday make clear that that will not occur."
Wallin noted that in January 2009, reporter Bill Rappleye reported on a sweetheart deal occurring in Central Falls whereby Mike Bouthillette received contracts from the Mayor to secure foreclosed homes under alleged "emergency powers" and that Mr. Bouthillette was charging in excess of two to three times the going rate, or $12,000-$16,000 for this work while the standard amount is about $5,000. Wallin also noted that this recently come-to-light furnace issue occurred just a couple months after the Rappleye report. "It is shocking enough that Attorney General Lynch will not look into these recent allegations, however, what is even more outrageous is that the January 2009 report did not give cause for Attorney General Lynch to do anything. Frankly, had Attorney General Lynch acted after this January 2009 report, maybe this most recent issue could have been discovered by law enforcement rather than the media."
"Sadly, this is a long line of public corruption and graft cases that this Attorney General has actively chosen not to investigate or prosecute. Rhode Island deserves better - it deserves an Attorney General who will be aggressive, independent and proactive in cases of public corruption." Wallin noted that Attorney General Lynch has yet to respond to Wallin's calls to detail the charges contemplated by him prior to Attorney General Lynch's announcement that no charges will be brought in the theft and mismanagement of $75 million at the state's landfill. "As a political insider, Attorney General Lynch proves time and time again that he is too close, as is the case with Mayor Moreau, to those betraying the public trust and therefore uses his office to protect rather than prosecute them."
Wallin reiterated his position that as Attorney General, he will have a Public Corruption Task Force staffed with seasoned prosecutors who will have primary responsibility for proactively and aggressively investigating and prosecuting cases of public corruption. In addition, Wallin will create a 24-hr Corruption Tipline to the Attorney General's Office so that the public can report claims to the state's highest law enforcement officer and not just the media. "I hope Rhode Islanders are as fed up as I am and stand with me to begin taking back our state," Wallin stated.
keywords: corruption, patrick lynch, mike bouthillette
The Cancer That Is Corruption
by Erik Wallin | October 01, 2009 - Warwick Beacon
The cancer that is corruption continues to devour our state. Most recently, the governor’s audit shed light on $75 million of willfully mismanaged taxpayer dollars for insider deals, extravagant bonuses, over-paying and a variety of other corrupt actions. read more...
