Fung’s Relationship With Carpionato Dwarfed By Senator Reed’s Financial Ties

Fung’s Relationship With Carpionato Dwarfed By Senator Reed’s Financial Ties

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung’s rental relationship with the Carpionato Group has fallen under scrutiny with questions about payments and potentially non-payment of rent, but just across Chapel View lies the Congressional Office of United States Senator Jack Reed.

Reed moved his Cranston Congressional office into Chapel View approximately ten years ago and the federal General Services Administration has paid the Carpionato group approximately $140,000 per year for the past 10 years — a total of approximately $1.4 million for the 3,500 square feet.

And, since taking the lease, Carpionato’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alfred Carprionato has made tens of thousands of dollars in donations to Reed’s Political Action Committee. Carpionato is one of Rhode Island's wealthiest individuals and most successful developers. He is a regular on GoLocal's list of the Wealthiest and Most Influential.

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Political Real Estate -- and Rents

Reed’s office space costs $40 a square foot all included — a rate that is significantly higher than market rent in the Cranston-Warwick area. According to CBRE, one of the leading commercial real estate firms in the world, typical market rent in Providence’s financial district is just over $26 per square foot. Reed’s office is paying a rate about 50 percent higher than the area. The Carpionato space does include a significant number of amenities included.

The space at Chapel View, which was selected by Reed’s office staff, has to meet certain criteria of the United State Senate. Unlike his predecessor Senator Claiborne Pell, or Senators Lincoln Chafee and Sheldon Whitehouse, who all had one district office in Rhode Island, Reed has two state offices just nine miles apart. Reed's second office is in the Federal Courthouse in downtown Providence -- the location of Pell's office for over thirty years.

“GSA sets the rates and Sergeant at Arms negotiates and pays the rent, which is approximately $12,000 per month. No payments come from Senator Reed’s office budget,” said Chip Unruh, spokesman for Reed in Washington, D.C. 

The specifications of the lease were confirmed by Carpionato’s Kelly Coates. “Square footage is approximately 3,500 [square feet].  Rent is true gross and Includes all heat, air conditioning, electricity, security, cable TV, cleaning, building maintenance, real estate taxes, and very expensive buildout as specified by Seargent at Arms of U.S. Senate. [There is] heavy security and no open office areas,” said Coates in an email to GoLocal on Thursday evening. 

According to Senate policy, "The Sergeant at Arms of the Senate shall secure for each Senator office space suitable for the Senator’s official use in places designated by the Senator in the State he represents. That space shall be secured in post offices or other Federal buildings at such places. In the event suitable office space is not available in post offices or other Federal buildings, the Sergeant at Arms shall secure other office space in those places."

Donations from Carpionato to Reed

Nearly simultaneous to the decision to move into Carpionato’s property, Alfred Carpionato began to make significant donations to Reed’s special Political Action Committee — the Narraganset Bay PAC.

According to Federal Election Campaign records, Carpionato only made one donation for $3,221.75 to the fund prior to Reed seeking office space in Carpionato’s Chapel View development.

Since leasing space at Chapel View, Reed has received $32,736.59 in donations from Caprionato to the Senator’s leadership PAC.

When asked is the linkage between the timing of the lease and the donations from Carprionato created a perception of a conflict of interest, Reed’s office said, “By his actions, Senator Reed has always shown a commitment to transparency, accountability, and good government. He decides issues based on the merits and always tries to do what’s best for Rhode Island.”

Contributor name    Contributor state    Receipt date    Amount

CARPIONATO, ALFRED    RI    12/12/2006    $3,221.75

CARPIONATO, ALFRED    RI    09/05/2007    $4,228.00

CARPIONATO, ALFRED    RI    09/10/2008    $3,533.84

CARPIONATO, ALFRED    RI    09/22/2010    $4,278.00

CARPIONATO, ALFRED    RI    08/11/2011    $4,500.00

CARPIONATO, ALFRED    RI    10/04/2012    $4,500.00

CARPIONATO, ALFRED    RI    05/23/2014    $4,500.00

CARPIONATO, ALFRED    RI    07/25/2015    $3,975.00

Prior to moving into the office, Carpionato had donated two $500 donations in 2002 to Reed's personal campaign fundraising.

"Mystery PACs"

In 2011, GoLocal wrote a detailed expose about the Narragansett Bay PAC and other so-called "leadership PACs:

Washington-based watchdogs, like the Center for Responsive Politics, said that Reed and other lawmakers use leadership PACs as vehicles to leverage Capitol Hill clout to boost personal ambitions.

“It’s become a very popular vehicle for extending one’s political influence – being able to raise extra sums of money so that you can spread it around to your political brethren,” said David Levinthal, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics. “It’s also definitely a way for special interests to expand their clout with a member of Congress.”

Some watchdogs describe the funds as “mystery PACs,” because it’s often difficult for outsiders to determine their connection to lawmakers. The Narragansett Bay PAC’s quarterly filings with the Federal Election Commission, for example, list only the name of Elizabeth R. Young, a $1,000-a-month treasurer with an East Falmouth, Mass. address.

The use of such funds is sometimes controversial. And given its limited connection to his home state and laws that prevent Reed from using the money for his own re-election, GoLocalProv asked the senator’s office why his exists.

The Goal of Narragansett PAC

A spokesman offered this general response when asked a host of specific questions

"The goal of Narragansett Bay PAC is to help elect candidates who support policies to create good jobs, protect consumers, and provide working families with the opportunity to build a better life. The PAC strictly follows every disclosure rule showing all contributions and expenditures," Reed spokesman Chip Unruh said.

Indeed, reports filed with the Federal Election Commission detail the source of every dollar that flowed into the Narragansett Bay PAC and where the donations ultimately landed.

READ THE FULL STORY BY STEVE PEOPLES HERE.