EXCLUSIVE: Top Legislator’s Battle to Keep Spending Secret Has Cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Thousands
GoLocalProv News Team
EXCLUSIVE: Top Legislator’s Battle to Keep Spending Secret Has Cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Thousands
According to hundreds of pages of documents secured by GoLocal from the Rhode Island Attorney General and General Treasurer’s offices, the costs to date exceed $200,000 -- and some billing documents appear to be missing.
On February 15, GoLocal filed under the Access to Public Records Act seeking the billing documents for the more than a half dozen attorneys hired by the state of Rhode Island to fight efforts by House Minority Leader Blake Filippi to force the JCLS to meet and conduct legislative business in public.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTTaxpayers are paying the cost of many top state officials' legal bills including for former Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello. He was defeated in the November 2020 election.
"This Office represents state employees when they are sued for actions in the course and scope of their employment. Speaker Mattiello was sued in his official capacity and this Office’s obligation to defend him continues," said Kristy dosReis spokesperson for Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.
The JCLS, which has the exclusive authority over the General Assembly's $46 million annual budget, has not held a meeting in more than a decade.
It is comprised of Shekarchi who is the chair, Ruggerio, House Majority Leader Christopher Blazejewski, Senate Minority Leader Dennis Algiere, and Filippi.
The legal battle has now has gone on for more than two years and the legal bills have only just begun.
The law firm representing Ruggerio, Adler Pollock & Sheehan, has billed the state more than $108,000 through August of 2021, according to invoices submitted to the Attorney General’s office.
Adler Pollock & Sheehan has close ties to Ruggerio. Members of the firm have made political donations of $18,500 to Ruggerio during his tenure in the legislature.
The law firm representing General Treasurer Seth Magaziner and state controller Peter Keenan -- DeSisto Law, LLC -- has billed $45,962 thru August of 2021.
And, the law firm of Gunning and LaFazia, who has been representing former JCLS Executive Director Frank Montanaro has submitted invoices totaling $27,425, according to the invoices provided to GoLocal from Neronha's office.
The lawyer representing Mattiello and Shekarchi, Lauren Jones of Jones Associates, has not submitted any invoices relating to the case to the Attorney General’s office or the Speaker’s office.
JCLS’s legal counsel Joseph F. Rogers, III, wrote in response to GoLocal’s request, "Please be advised that this office is not in possession of any responsive documents, as such as such bills and payments are not made through the legislature.” Efforts to reach Jones on Tuesday night were unsuccessful.
And, according to court records, Cassandra DeAngelis has been retained to represent Algiere. The Attorney General's office, however, provided no copies of invoices to GoLocal for any billing from her law firm.
The cost of the litigation may only have begun. Neronha, who approved the taxpayers' coverage of the defendants, refused to represent or pay the legal bills for Filippi.
If Filippi wins the suit, the cost for the state could be significantly higher. "I don’t have a specific figure, but I estimate Attorney [Nick] Gorham has done many tens of thousands of dollars of legal work," said Filippi of his attorney.
The lawsuit -- Blake A. Filippi vs. Nicholas Mattiello, et al. PC-2020-00508 -- was filed in 2020 and recently given the green light to continue by Superior Court Michael Silverstein who ruled that the complaint can be amended.
"This entire case drips with irony, especially that top lawmakers are spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on lawyers so they can keep violating the law. The case isn’t to force the expenditure of taxpayer money - it is to force that the law is followed in order to spend those monies," said Filippi.
GoLocal’s News Editor Kate Nagle, on January 23, 2020, had asked Shekarchi if he would hold a meeting of the JCLS — he at the time was the House Majority Leader and the second in command to then-Speaker Nick Mattiello.
In the interview, Shekarchi said, “If [Filippi] asks for a meeting, we'll have a meeting.”
As Speaker of the House, Shekarchi's position on JCLS meetings continues to transform.
Shekarchi defends the ongoing litigation by the legislative leaders. In a joint statement with Ruggerio, the leaders said, “We understand that Justice Silverstein has ruled that Minority Leader Filippi may amend his complaint to restate his claims regarding the JCLS. While we disagree with him on this procedural issue, we respect Justice Silverstein's decision. We will now defend these claims on the merits.”
On Tuesday night, Shekarchisaid in a statement to GoLocal regarding the legal costs, “The lawsuit by Leader Filippi was filed before I became Speaker and was not initiated by me. State law provides for the defense of public officials to be paid through the Attorney General in these types of lawsuits. Leader Filippi’s lawsuit against the four other members of JCLS is an absolute waste of taxpayer dollars. The question of expending hundreds of thousands of dollars would be better addressed by Leader Filippi.”
Filippi says his lawsuit is simple.
"It’s to force this legislative committee to follow the law that requires it to meet in order to spend its $46 million per year in appropriation," Filippi said.