UPDATED: Taylor Accuses Mollis of Benefiting from Tainted Donations

UPDATED: Taylor Accuses Mollis of Benefiting from Tainted Donations

He may have given the money to charity, but Secretary of State Ralph Mollis is still reaping the benefits of hundreds of dollars in donations from three North Providence councilmen who were indicted on bribery charges earlier this year, according to his Republican challenger, Catherine Taylor.

“As Catherine Taylor said on a debate in 630 WPRO last week, the government official in charge of elections must have correct instincts in setting an example that inspires trust in the process. Mollis’ instincts are dead wrong,” said Taylor Campaign Manager David Kang. “Refusing to return contributions from former colleagues and city council members who sold their vote—who betrayed the public trust—shows an utter lack of understanding about what’s right and what's wrong.”

After a barrage of criticism over the donations from his Democratic primary opponent, Lou Raptakis, Mollis donated $875 he received from the three councilmen—Joseph S. Burchfield, Raymond I. Douglas III, and John A. Zambarano—to charity early in September. (UPDATE: A campaign spokesman today called the criticism “recycled” news. See below.)

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Mollis ‘gets his cake and eats it too’

But by donating the money—instead of refunding it—Kang said Mollis was still able to use some of the money to secure public matching funds. “It’s like he gets his cake and he eats it too,” Kang said.

State campaign finance records show that Mollis was able to secure $800 in matching funds from donations he received from Burchfield and Douglas. The records do not indicate he used any of the donations from Zambarano for matching funds.

‘Taxpayer the unwitting accomplice’

In the grand scheme of things, the amount of the money may not be that much, but it’s the principle that matters, Kang said.

“To take those contributions and apply for public matching funds just adds insult to the injury he's already caused to the integrity of the process. Mollis audaciously takes those illicit contributions and then extorts taxpayer money in the form of matching funds,” Kang said, accusing Mollis of “essentially engaging in a money laundering scheme with the taxpayer as the unwitting accomplice.”

“This is the epitome of the “old boys’ club” politics that has plagued our state for too long,” Kang concluded.

Mollis: ‘Recycled news’

“This is just recycling old news and what this is is a desperate attempt by a desperate campaign to throw anything right out there and see if it sticks,” responded Mollis spokesman John Houle. He noted that the $800 was a small amount of the money Mollis has raised.

Houle also criticized Taylor for not releasing her tax returns, saying it was inconsistent with her message of transparency.  Houle said the public deserved to see how much Taylor earns, since she has taken $129,368 in public matching funds. (Mollis has released his returns.)