Official—AG Needs to Investigate Providence Disability Pensions

Official—AG Needs to Investigate Providence Disability Pensions

A prominent city official is saying the potential for fraud and abuse in Providence disability pensions is so serious that the state Attorney General needs to investigate—warning that the city is facing a scandal that could be as serious as Plunder Dome.

“The City council is admirable in hiring an investigator to look into the abuse and Commissioner Pare is also looking, but I believe that we should turn it over to the Attorney General's office immediately. This would save a step in the process,” said Ken Richardson, an outgoing member of the city retirement board and also a former member of the Municipal Finances Review Panel.

The City Council approved the audit after an undercover video caught a retired firefighter on a disability pension for a shoulder injury lifting weights in a gym. After that report, Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare said he was launching a review of disability pensions.

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Much attention has been drawn to the period between 1988 and 1991, when 8 out of every 10 retiring firefighters went out on a disability pension—with a compounded COLA to boot.

‘The finger-pointing as already begun’

“The fact that there were a high percentage of disability retirees is not a coincidence. Everyone seems to agree with this,” Richardson told GoLocalProv. “The finger pointing has already begun. The Attorney General's office can alleviate the finger pointing with a review. This review should consist of reviewing each disability pension file and look for a common thread.”

“The weight of the Attorney General's office on a review would be more effective than what is presently being done by three different parties independent of each other,” he added. “The thought of criminal charges will make more people tell the truth if given immunity. The other reviews will not result in this type of immunity and will thus preclude them from speaking freely.”

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said the responsibility for initiating any investigation at the state level rests with the State Police. “When somebody tells us to investigate something we have to tell them, ‘Listen you have to go to law enforcement first,’” said spokeswoman Amy Kempe.

A spokesperson for the State Police could not be reached for comment in time for publication.

In Providence, the city councilman who has led the charge for the pension audit, David Salvatore, said he was open to the idea of an investigation at the state level as well—but he said the city would still move forward with its audit. “If the Attorney General or the State Police want to investigate on a parallel track, that’s fine,” Salvatore said. “The more eyes, the better.”

State officials to launch pension task force

One possible way the state could get involved is through a pension fraud task force that General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Kilmartin announced they would form in a joint news release when they were campaigning for office last year.

The task force would “serve as a forum to share and mine data, as well as other information on suspicious or potentially fraudulent pension activities.” It would also coordinate investigations among the U.S. Attorney, Auditor General, and local and state police. At the time, Kilmartin’s campaign said he would “aggressively prosecute pension fraud occurring on a state or municipal level.”

The two candidates said they would also cooperate in instituting new ethical guidelines for campaign contributions from companies involved in investing pension funds. And they said they would set up a whistleblower hotline for tipsters to report suspected cases of fraud and abuse.

Campaign promises a work in progress

So far, six months into office, neither Raimondo nor Kilmartin have announced any progress on those campaign promises, even as pension fraud has dominated the headlines.

But yesterday, officials in both offices said they have been working behind the scenes towards implementing the pension fraud task force. “The Treasurer’s Office has had several conversations with the Attorney General’s Office. The initiative is still a work in progress,” said Joy Fox, spokeswoman for Raimondo.

Kempe confirmed the two offices had been hold discussions over how to implement the plan. “I know our office is committed—as well as Treasurer Raimondo’s office—to making the system more transparent, have more oversight, and to have the tools to go after people who defraud the system,” Kempe said.

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