East Providence Mayor Facing New Ethics Charges
Monday, October 04, 2010
East Providence Mayor Joseph Larisa is facing new ethics charges over his failure to recuse himself before a judge whose appointment he voted on, according to documents obtained in a GoLocalProv investigation.
In May 2006 Larisa filed a petition in East Providence Probate Court, asking for the appointment of a legal guardian and an investment manager for one of his elderly clients, an East Providence woman named Marilyn Jones, according to court records. As a city councilman, Larisa voted on the appointment of the presiding judge in the case, Ralph Della Rosa. He also voted on his annual $7,500 salary, which is based on a part-time commitment.
Larisa is charged with violating the state ethics code by appearing before the judge, according to a complaint filed Friday by retired East Providence policeman John Rossi. The complaint points to state ethics rules that bar public officials, such as an attorney, from appearing before an agency or a board whose members they appoint. (Click here to read an Ethics Commission opinion on a related case. Click here to read the Rhode Island General Law 36-14-5(e)(2), the rule that the opinion cites.)
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLarisa Already Broke Rule Once
This is the second time Larisa has been accused of breaking the same rule. In 2008, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission concluded that he had breached the ethics code in July 2007 when he represented Thomas Riley, a Republican member of the East Providence Canvassing Authority, on a disciplinary matter before the city council. Larisa was no longer on the council—he lost his bid for re-election in November 2006—but the commission said the rules applied for up to a year after he left.
Larisa, who was re-elected to the city council in November 2008, lost an appeal at Providence County Superior Court and now is taking the case to the state Supreme Court.
“There are certain rules that apply and he seems to think they don’t apply to him,” Rossi told GoLocalProv. “The rules are in place to avoid any kind of impression of impropriety.” By flaunting those rules, he said Larisa’s actions raised doubts about the judge’s objectivity in the case—since the judge depended upon him and his colleagues for his job and his pay.
At Center of Budget Battles
Larisa is a prominent figure in Rhode Island politics, serving as the former chief of staff and executive counsel to Gov. Lincoln Almond. Earlier this year, he was the attorney for Central Falls when the city declared insolvency. As East Providence mayor he has been at the center of bitter fights over budget deficits, the teachers' contract, and police layoffs.
As the president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 569, Rossi fought Larisa over the termination of 13 police officers. Rossi later won back those jobs by getting rank-and-file union members to accept pay cuts. He retired from the department last spring and ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for state Senate District 18. His wife, Christine Rossi, is now running for a school committee seat.
Larisa could not be reached for comment.
Judge Weighs In
In a June 2006 court order, Della Rosa granted the requests for the appointment of a legal guardian and the investment manager. But he told GoLocalProv that he did not feel under pressure to grant any special favors to Larisa.
Della Rosa, who is not being accused of any ethics violations in connection with the case, said he didn’t really have a choice of recusing himself and assigning the case to the deputy probate judge or the municipal court judge. “We’re all appointed by the city council, so it’s not like I could go find somebody else to do what I had to do,” Della Rosa said. “We’re all in the same boat.”
Della Rosa served on the probate court until 2008, when he was not re-appointed. He said the city council gave him no specific reason for the decision.
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