Providence Ethics Commission Opens Investigation into “Quid Pro Quo” Complaint Against Paré
Thursday, March 12, 2020
The Providence Ethics Commission voted Wednesday to open an investigation into a complaint lodged against Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré by City Councilman James Taylor.
Taylor alleged Paré demanded a “quid pro quo” in telling the City Council that his salary had to be fully restored, after being cut, in order to hire a fire chief for the vacant position.
“I was impressed by the courage and integrity of the members of the Providence Ethics Commission who voted that there was sufficient information to move forward with an ethics investigation into Steven Paré, Commissioner of Public Safety,” said Taylor in a statement.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“They met this evening and refused to allow a whitewash predetermined investigation, and were outraged by the same. I will continue to monitor this matter closely and express my opinions,” he said.
WATCH: Prov. Councilman Taylor Pressing on Ethics Complaint Against Pare Alleging Quid Pro Quo
Taylor said he had been led to believe the Commission would not proceed, after an attorney hired by the City of Providence informed him there “was not enough evidence” to move forward.
On Wednesday, the Commission intervened and questioned the process of a de-facto investigation having been purportedly conducted prior to their authorization.
Commission Moves Forward
Commission member Zach Mezera said Wednesday night the process has been “convoluted” and that the Commission is seeking answers on how to proceed.
“I can’t speak on behalf of the commission, but I feel that it was a surprise for us that an investigation had progressed further than it should have gone. We followed the regulations the best as we could,” said Mezera.
“We want to know why they did this [this way]. We didn’t have the results of this [city] investigation, even if we had been given them we wouldn’t have read them,” said Mezera. “We stuck to our rules.”
“We need to look at what has been done and if it is sufficient. It could have been thorough, it could have been not,” said Mezera. “We’ll need to make a decision that the investigation meets the standard of what our investigation [requires].”
Pare said he had “no comment” when reached Tuesday evening.
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