PriMedia Complaint found to Have “No Probable Cause.”
Thursday, August 18, 2011
PriMedia, the Warwick-based advertising and media buying service that was under review for their state contract has been functionally cleared. The RI State Police and the Attorney General's office have found that there is "No Probable Cause" to continue the investigation.
“This is obviously a very positive outcome for my client. We believed from the very beginning the complaint was frivolous and filed by a competitor to further their own business interests,” said Bill Fischer, spokesperson for PriMedia. “It is truly unfortunate certain individuals decided to send the Rhode Island State Police on a wild goose chase.”
Governor Chafee's administration had earlier announced that PriMedia's contract would go out to bid. The entire issue of PriMedia's contract came to the forefront when an amendment was inserted into the state budget after midnight during the House of Representative's consideration of the omnibus spending legislation. The budget article extended PriMedia's contract and de facto canceled the contracts of competing media and advertising agencies - consolidating all the buying with PriMedia. The competing agencies once notified, then mobilized and began lobbying to repeal the budget amendment.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe amendment consolidating the buying at PriMedia was repealed a few days later. During the controversy, a complaint was filed with the RI State Police asserting that the original PriMedia contract for state work had been awarded inappropriately. Beyond the contract with the state of Rhode Island, PriMedia handles the buying for a range of corporations in the region and political leaders such as US Senator Jack Reed, General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, and former candidate for Governor Frank Caprio.
According to Fischer, “At this juncture we believe the Rhode Island General Assembly should initiate oversight hearings on this matter with a particular focus on how quasi-public agencies are expending taxpayer dollars. PriMedia is extremely proud of the service they have provided to the state these past two and a half years and they will continue to provide honorable service for the remainder of the contract.”
