NO CHARGES: RISP and AG Issue ILO Report on McKee After More Than 3 Years

NO CHARGES: RISP and AG Issue ILO Report on McKee After More Than 3 Years

After more than three years, the Rhode Island State Police and Attorney General Peter Neronha have completed their investigation of Governor Dan McKee and the so-called ILO contract.

The report is critical of McKee but no charges will be brought against the Governor or any other parties.

“In September 2021, the Rhode Island State Police ('RISP') began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the award of a government consulting contract, commonly referred to as the 'School Reopening Contract' to the ILO Group, LLC ('ILO'). This Office joined the RISP investigation in October 2021.  The contract was in the amount of $5,170,828.81, which came from the federal government’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief ('ESSER') funds awarded to the state to assist with its response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” states the report.

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No Charges

According to the report, "For the reasons set forth in this report, we conclude that, after a thorough review of all the evidence collected during the investigation, there is insufficient evidence to support the criminal prosecution of Governor Daniel J. McKee ('Governor McKee') or any other person for these offenses. While the investigation revealed that, in awarding the contract to ILO, Governor McKee and his administration ignored the findings of a state review team and failed to comply with state regulations regarding the contract procurement process, more is needed for criminal prosecution. Failure to abide by state procurement regulations is not in and of itself a criminal offense."

“As detailed in the RISP Narrative and described below, the investigation established that Governor McKee took steps to ensure that the School Reopening Contract would be awarded to ILO against the findings of state contracting authorities…” states the report.

 

Email - "Fixed"

An email by DOA sent by Rafal-Baer on the same day that the School Reopening RFP was posted by the DOA further supports the conclusion that the procurement process was manipulated from the outset. When an out-of-state consulting colleague inquired with Rafal-Baer about the RFP, she responded in the below email, "It's a fixed RFP but luckily I know the person it's fixed for [winky face emoji]."

 

Dr. Julia Rafal-Baer, PhD, is the former executive at Chiefs for Change who left in 2021 to form ILO Group, LLC.

 

Conclusion - No Charges

Governor McKee’s interference in what he and his administration purported to be a competitive and fair procurement process for the School Reopening Contract caused this Office, the Rhode Island State Police, and the public to question whether the award of the School Reopening Contract to ILO was done properly or otherwise. The Governor and his administration did not follow state procurement rules and regulations – the evidence of that is plain and cannot be seriously disputed.  But enforcing state procurement rules is not within this Office’s responsibilities.  Our job is to determine whether crimes were committed. To that end, the evidentiary trail here was complicated, and understanding its threads and weaving them into apparent truth took considerable time.

But we are comfortable with the ultimate conclusion. And that is this:

Yes, Governor McKee intentionally and against the findings of an independent state review team steered alucrative, federally-funded state contract to a company formed for that purpose by Magee's close associate, Rafal-Baer.  Yes, Rafal-Baer, along with Magee, himself a close advisor to Governor McKee, arranged to have SKDK provide communication services to the Governor free of charge. That said, the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the former was in exchange for the latter. Nor does it establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the CFC paid-for services SKDK provided to Governor McKee free of charge were for his political, personal benefit rather than for his benefit as holder of government office. The evidence is cloudy and contradictory in places, especially regarding the critical issue of the political versus governmental nature of the services SKDK provided the Governor, paid for by Chiefs for Change. But cloudy and contradictory evidence rarely if ever justifies a prosecution, and seldom leads to a successful one. We choose not to bring one here.