INVESTIGATION: Diossa’s Campaign Lied About Travel Charges
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
A GoLocal investigation, which began more than three months ago, uncovered 26 trips by then-Central Falls Mayor James Diossa — many of the trips were to exotic places.
Now, GoLocal has uncovered more than a dozen additional trips and an attempt by Diossa to cover up the true cost to taxpayers for his travel costs.
Diossa is running for general treasurer in Rhode Island, and if elected, he will be responsible for approximately $10 billion in retirees' pension funds.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn total, the travel paid by third parties, partially paid by third parties, and paid exclusively by the City of Central Falls total nearly 50 trips and cost more than $80,000.
Central Falls may be best known nationally for its 2011 bankruptcy, and it is Rhode Island's poorest city. Per capita income in Central Falls is just $15,910 a year.
Of the 26 trips GoLocal previously uncovered, ten of them were international, including East Timor, Malaysia, England, Mexico, Colombia, China, and multiple trips to Israel and Taiwan.
Diossa's campaign claimed that those 26 trips were paid for entirely by third parties.
But that claim by Diossa's team was a lie.
The false statement helped him get through a tough Democratic primary against Stefan Pryor.
Diossa won by 11,660 votes.
Diossa's Lies About Travel Costs
After GoLocal’s initial story was first published on August 11, Diossa’s spokeswoman Alisha Pina said during an appearance on WPRO with Tara Granahan that same day, “No taxpayer monies were spent on any of these trips.”
LISTEN TO THE DIOSSA CAMPAIGN CLAIM ABOVE
A GoLocal Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request filed with the City of Central Falls on August 12 -- which was repeatedly delayed by Central Falls City Solicitor Matthew Jerzyk -- when released to GoLocal this week, showed that Diossa charged the city thousands of dollars for the trips — those very trips that his campaign said were paid for exclusively by third parties.
The financial documents turned over to GoLocal by the City of Central Falls unveiled that the crash-strapped city paid thousands of dollars to underwrite near-endless travel. More than $1,100 dollars in Central Falls was spent on a trip to England, which was sponsored in part by the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council — the organization receives its funding from state and federal taxpayer dollars.
Diossa charged the City of Central Falls for a portion of his trip to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The main sponsor of the trip was an organization called Next City.
A trip to Colombia sponsored by the Colombian government also was partially underwritten by Central Falls taxpayers, according to city records.
Diossa refused to respond to questions about the trips, the costs or the misleading statements.
Undisclosed Trips, Including Dubai, Cost Tens of Thousands More
GoLocal has also found numerous other trips paid for with city funds, including a trip to Dubai, in the United Emirates. That trip was fully paid for by Central Falls residents and cost nearly $6,000, according to city records. Records show that airfare and hotel charges alone exceeded $5,200.
The city refused to provide an explanation of the purpose of that Diossa’s trip to Dubai. Diossa did not respond to questions about the Dubai trip.
While Diossa was traveling, retirees of the City of Central Falls were being hit with major cuts to their pensions as a result of the city’s bankruptcy.
But, Dubai was just one of the trips that Central Falls residents picked up the tab for -- there were more than another dozen trips.
Questions About Diossa’s Reporting
More questions arise about Diossa’s reporting of the actual costs. According to Diossa’s Rhode Island Ethics Commission financial statement, he traveled to China in 2019. The total cost of the trip was reportedly just $400.00. It is unclear what the actual cost was and if the City of Central Falls paid for the balance.
The cost of Diossa’s travel while he served as mayor was not reported by Central Falls as travel in the budget; instead, entries were recorded in the City's general ledger under “professional development & training.”
In total, Diossa spent months traveling in the United States and across the globe -- the tab paid by third parties and Central Falls taxpayers.
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- Jerzyk Delays Release of Diossa’s Travel Costs, After GoLocal’s Request for Public Records
- Battle for Democratic Nomination for Treasurer — Pryor v. Diossa — Is the New Hot Race
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