Mattiello’s Top Staffer Montanaro and Mold Cleanup Company’s Boss Are Longtime Friends
Monday, February 03, 2020
When there were reports of mold in the Joint Committee on Legislative Services (JCLS) offices in the State House, Frank Montanaro knew just who to call.
Montanaro, the executive director of the JCLS and Speaker of House Nicholas Mattiello’s go-to guy, called Single Source to do the cleanup.
He knew the company well, as he had a long-standing personal relationship with Jack Pomeranz — who, with his family, runs Single Source.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to the company’s website, “Jack Pomeranz continues to share his disaster restoration industry expertise in the role of Single Source Executive Vice President of Business Development.”
The Department of Administration tells GoLocal that Montanaro alone called in the company. "My Division placed an emergency request for work on behalf of JCLS. DCAMM did not remove any items in the JCLS office. Single Source had already been onsite to conduct preliminary work, so DCAMM proceeded with the same firm,” said Carole Cornelison, Associate Director, DCAMM.
Over the past three-plus years, Single Source has received more than $147,000 in state payments, according to Rhode Island's transparency portal.
Pomeranz and Montanaro Weekend in NYC
Pomeranz and Montanaro’s relationship goes back years.
In the midst of Mattiello’s controversial re-election race in 2016, Montanaro and Pomeranz traveled together by boat for a multi-day July 4th celebration.
Montanaro declined to be interviewed, but Mattiello’s spokesman Larry Berman wrote in an email to GoLocal, “Frank said he and his wife paid for all their personal expenses on a trip to New York three and a half years ago.“
While Pomeranz's company got the call for the State House cleanup work, a competing company tells GoLocal that the Rhode Island system is politically driven.
On Saturday, GoLocal reported that the general manager of a Rhode Island mold remediation company is calling the bid system in the state rigged. Two company executives contacted GoLocal after it unveiled the use of the firm to clean mold in the State House had strong ties Mattiello and his staff.
Chris Gagnon with Servpro said that his partner Frank Mattos had been told to “give to Mattiello” — and that Servpro was audited not once, but twice, following a significant contract in 2016 with the state, that he says he believes was brought on by a competitor.
Mattos operates Servpro of Providence, as well as Warwick/East Greenwich and Cranston in Rhode Island; he also operates Servpros in Boston, Weymouth-Hingham and Quincy.
"Right now, [the work awarded] is simply based on relationships," said Gagnon. "And that's not right."
JCLS Actions Under Investigation By State Police
Presently, the Rhode Island State Police are investigating actions tied to the JCLS as it relates to a threatened audit of the Rhode Island Convention Center.
In addition, House Minority Leader Blake Filippi has raised questions about records of the JCLS. Filippin sent the following to Montanaro following the removal of items from the JCLS offices:
"I hereby direct you to provide the members of the JCLS with a written log of all records and computer hard drives that were removed from the JCLS offices, their current location(s), and a list of all persons with access to these locations. Given the damage created by the presence of mold to documents and hard drives, additionally please include a log of any documents or hard drives that have been destroyed.
I also demand a written commitment that all documents and hard drives will be preserved, only accessed in the normal course of business, and that none of these items will be moved, removed or altered without prior written notice to the members of JCLS.
If I do not hear from you by 10 AM on January 29, 2020, I will seek injunctive relief in Superior Court compelling compliance with our General Laws."
Donations and Personal Relations
The friendship between Montanaro and Pomeranz is not the only close personal tie. Pomeranz is engaged to Mattiello’s former administrative staffer, who is now assistant to Majority Leader Joe Shekarchi. She, too, is a donor to Mattiello -- having donated $350 to her former boss.
She earns $83,995.86 annually according to state records.
Pomeranz and other family members have donated over $8,000 to politicians in Rhode Island.
Members of the Pomeranz family have donated $1,700 to Mattiello.
Related Articles
- Mattiello’s Top Staffer Montanaro and Mold Cleanup Company’s Boss Are Longtime Friends
- RI State Police Exploring Mattiello’s Interference in Convention Center’s Discipline of Crony Demers
- RI Convention Center Rejects Mattiello’s Demand for Audit - Chairman Calls Motivation Political
- Top Female Exec at RI Convention Center Says Mattiello Associate Demers Would “Ruin My Life”
- Raimondo Sues Over General Assembly Marijuana and Hemp Oversight - Mattiello and Ruggerio Swipe Back
- As Controversies Mount, Mattiello Reverses Course on Legislative Control Over Marijuana and Hemp
- BREAKING: Mattiello Campaign Consultant Britt Indicted By Grand Jury UPDATED
- NEW: “Britt Used by Mattiello Campaign as Fall Guy,” Claims Attorney Following Indictment
- House GOP Leader Filippi Sues Speaker Mattiello to Block “Illegal Audit”
- EXCLUSIVE: Cleanup Company of State House Mold Has Close Ties to Mattiello UPDATED
- Raimondo, Mattiello, Block and Two Political Parties Among Britt’s Clients
- Speaker Mattiello, Convention Center’s Demers & State House Staffers Linked By Their Sons’ Baseball
- First Democratic State Rep. Breaks Ranks with Mattiello—Calls Speaker Reckless and Abusive
- Democratic Reps Call for Caucus for Mattiello to Explain “Dark Cloud” Hanging Over State House
- Whitcomb: Pandemic Prevention; How to Get Green to Take Off; Mattiello in 9th Inning?
- Controversies Piling Up for Mattiello
- Projo Editorial Mirrors Mattiello’s Talking Points, Raising More Questions of Newspaper’s Lobbyist
- UPDATED: Convention Center Formally Asks RI State Police to Investigate Mattiello’s Actions