Block Alleges “Abuse of Power” by Warwick Officials in Complaint Filed with AG & U.S. Attorney
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Former gubernatorial candidate Ken Block has filed complaints with the Rhode Island Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney's office, asking for an investigation into what he believes was an illegal search of his business by City of Warwick officials -- after Block said he unveiled "terrible financial situations" in the city.
Block took to Facebook to announce his actions on Thursday.
READ: Block's Legal Complaint BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Today, I filed complaints with the US Attorney's office and the RI Attorney General's office against the city of Warwick. It was one year ago today that my office building was the recipient of a fire inspection brought on by an 'anonymous, non-specific complaint' - this happened right after I had helped expose some terrible finance situations at the Warwick fire department," wrote Block.
He continued:
"The next day, Mayor Solomon came to my office to 'get to the bottom of it.' He promised to get back to me - but never did. Then, I was visited by the Warwick tax assessor's office. I am asking for investigations of abuse of power, intimidation and whether or not I was the victim of an illegal search. No government should act as the city of Warwick has acted."
Block's Letter
Block provided GoLocalProv with the following letter he sent on Thursday:
Rhode Island Attorney General Noronha:
I write today to file a formal complaint with your office regarding the City of Warwick. I believe that I have been the victim of abuse of power and an unfair and possibly illegal search.
The episode I will describe has been well-covered by the media, and I will include links to some stories to help confirm aspects of my story.
On October 17, 2018, the Warwick Fire Department, in the person of Fire Marshal Michael Matteson, knocked on the door to my offices, which are located at 20 Altieri Way, #3 in Warwick, RI. Matteson’s stated purpose was to investigate “a report of a fire code violation”. When I pressed him on the nature of the complaint, he stated that the complaint was an “anonymous, non-specific complaint” of a fire code violation.
Matteson toured my office and left.
The next day, Warwick Mayor Joseph Solomon also knocked on the door to my office and asked to tour my offices, with the stated purpose of wanting to see what the Fire Marshal saw and in his words: “get to the bottom of this.” Mayor Solomon told me that he would get back to me, but I have not heard from him since.
On either October 19 or October 22 of 2018, a woman who claimed to represent the Warwick Tax Assessor’s office asked to come into my offices regarding the taxes for one of my businesses.
The Warwick Beacon made an open records request, asking for information regarding the anonymous complaint. I have attached the response to this complaint. That response contained absolutely nothing helpful to help me understand anything about the complaint at all.
It is important to note that not just my business offices, but every business in my building is primarily private. None of us operate retail operations where the general public has access to our offices and could notice some sort of safety issue.
The very idea that the complaint was “non-specific” also should raise eyebrows! If there was something wrong that was obvious to a member of the public and it was bad enough to warrant filing a complaint with the fire department, why was the complaint NOT specific about what was wrong? The answer is likely because the complaint was bogus and was the pretext for a fishing expedition by the fire inspector and then Mayor Solomon.
As a necessary backstory to all of this, I have been deeply involved in helping to uncover several irregularities with the finances of the Warwick Fire Department. And on October 16, 2018, I had been on the radio discussing the fact that the president of the Warwick firefighter’s union had admitted to the Providence Journal that some of those irregularities were made possible by “secret side deals” between the fire union and the administration of the city of Warwick. In fact, that admission was a front-page story in the Providence Journal.
The visits to my office by first the fire department, then the Mayor and lastly the tax office conspired to send me a crystal-clear message: stop causing trouble or we will make your life hard.
Public servants should never abuse the power that is only made possible by the voters and taxpayers that support them. I look to your office as an important check on this sort of abuse.
I ask you to determine if the powers that accrue to the city of Warwick in the form of the fire inspector and/or the tax assessor were abused in an effort to attempt to intimidate me.
I also ask you to determine if the fire inspection constituted an illegal search.
I have held off on filing this complaint until the one-year anniversary, as I was hoping against hope that Mayor Solomon would, in fact, have kept his word and gotten back to me.
Some news stories that document and confirm elements of what I have described above:
http://warwickonline.com/stories/invalid-deal-among-new-allegations-against-fire-dept,137512
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20181018/warwick-fire-department-conducts-inspection-of-critics-business
http://warwickonline.com/stories/anonymous-fire-code-complaint-investigation-continues,138506
I am always available to answer any questions you may have regarding this complaint.
I can be reached on my cell phone at (401)
I can also readily be reached via email at kblock@
All of my very best,
Kenneth J. Block
Related Articles
- The Scoop - Does RI GOP Want Ken Block Or Not?
- Ken Block to Run for Rhode Island Governor as Republican
- Should the Attorney General Investigate Ken Block’s Claims?
- NEW: Ken Block Criticizes Raimondo’s Agenda
- The Scoop - Ken Block Offers Alternatives to Sales Tax Elimination
- RI PowerPlayer: Ken Block
- GoLocalProv Voter’s Guide - Candidates for Governor: Ken Block
- Ken Block: The Master Lever Challenge to RI Legislators
- NEW: Ken Block Says Master Lever May Have Helped Fox Avoid Defeat
- NEW: Doherty Campaign Manager Endorses Ken Block
- NEW: Ken Block Receives Endorsement From Rep. Doreen Costa
- Ken Block: RI is Racing to Tread Water
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Ken Block: Understanding and Fixing What Went Wrong With 38 Studios
- Vote NO on Rhode Island Ballot Question #5, MINDSETTER™ Ken Block
- Kenney: Don’t Fall for Ken Block’s Misinformation
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Ken Block Vote YES on Question 3
- NEW: Ken Block Receives Endorsement From RI Taxpayers
- NEW: Fung Campaign Calls on Ken Block to Release Tax Returns
- Should Gov Candidate Ken Block Release His Tax Returns?
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Ken Block: Independence from Bad Government
- Simply, RI Leaders Lack Political Will – Guest MINDSETTER™ Ken Block
