Costantino Sues City, Councilman Over Missing $37,000
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The brother of Secretary of Health and Human Services and former House Finance chairman Steven Costantino this week filed a lawsuit against the city of Providence and South Side Councilman Luis Aponte over a $37,000 check he claims the city had no right to issue to Aponte over six years ago.
Gregory Costantino, the owner of Cost Realty, Inc., claims that in April 2005, he attempted to acquire the assignment of a tax title interest held by the city on a two-story home located at 3 Husted Court in the 10th Ward, which is represented by Aponte.
According to the suit, Costantino cut a check to the city for $37,210.91 (see below) and gave it to Aponte to deliver to the tax collector.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBut in a phone interview with GoLocalProv late last year, Aponte claimed “there were title issues” with the property and that Cost Realty could not move forward with the foreclosure. Just over four months later, the city issued a refund check (see below) to Aponte for the entire amount. Costantino claims he was never reimbursed.
“Aponte was never an officer, owner, shareholder, agent or representative of Cost, nor was he ever authorized to act on behalf of Cost, or to represent himself to be an agent of Cost, or to misappropriate Cost’s money or property,” the suit, which lists the city, Aponte, former treasurer Steven Napolitano and former tax collector Robert Ceprano as defendants, states.
Former U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente is representing Costantino.
Councilman Deposited Check in Personal Account
It remains unclear why the city would issue a check to Aponte. The original check is clearly signed by Costantino and Aponte said the two had no contract recognizing their partnership. But records show that Ceprano and deputy city collector Marc Castaldi signed off on the refund for Aponte and on August 19, the Councilman deposited it into his personal bank account.
“Again neither Aponte, nor any of the other defendants ever consulted with Cost or even told Cost what they had done with respect to the issuance of the refund check to Aponte,” the suit states.
In 2009, then Mayor and now Congressman David Cicilline fired Ceprano after he accepted a bad $75,000 check from Cicilline’s brother to help cover outstanding taxes. Ceprano subsequently sued the city for wrongful termination.
The suit claims Aponte lied to Costantino.
“Aponte also repeatedly represented to Cost that he had delivered the check to the tax collector and that Cost had acquired tax title to the property,” the suit states. “At the time Aponte made these representations, he knew them to be false or made them in reckless disregard of the truth.”
Council Committee Rejected Claim
In a petition to the City Council claims committee filed last November, Costantino requested an investigation into what happened to the property and the money he paid to acquire it.
“After several months of inquiring as to the status o the title and receiving no definite response as to when it would be transferred to me, I did nothing further and thought that eventually the matter would be resolved,” the petition stated. “Six years have now passed and still I have not received the tax title interest or a refund of the money paid by Cost Realty, Inc.”
Last week, the committee rejected the claim.
When asked about the check at the time, Aponte acknowledged he and Costantino were in a dispute over the amount of money owed to Cost Realty, but said he thought they were going to “work it out.” The Councilman said he was unaware of any complaint filed by Costantino, but said that he intended to hire a lawyer. Asked if it was a mistake to not have contract signed with his business partner, Aponte said, “the only mistake, I realize now, was doing business with a friend.”
Aponte did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
City Breached Contract
The suit includes six separate counts, including fraudulent conversion, false pretenses, fraud/deceit/misrepresentation, breach of contract and two violations of Rhode Island General Laws. Costantino is seeking a judgment for all damages sustained by his company, attorney’s fees and twice the value plus interest of the funds given to Aponte.
“By offering the property for tax sale and negotiating Cost’s check in the amount of the taxes due, including interest, costs, and expenses (totaling $37,210.91) for the purchase of the property, the city entered into a contract with Cost for the purchase of the property at tax sale,” the suit states.
The suit continues: “The city has willfully breached the contract by, inter alia, wrongfully issuing an ‘instrument of assignment of tax title’ to Aponte, personally, and not to Cost, and wrongfully refunding Cost’s funds to Aponte, personally, and not to Cost.”
On Wednesday, the Taveras administration refused to comment on the suit.
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