Huh, Rhode Island, Taking a bite out of Public Corruption? Yes, Read.

In Rhode Island, new effort to stamp out public corruption

By Ian Macdougall, The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island is a state famous for its public corruption, from the racketeering trial of former Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci to a rogues’ gallery of lawmakers, governors and even judges accused or convicted of abusing their offices for personal gain.
Those cases have tended to be the province of federal prosecutors, in part because federal corruption statutes ban a host of corrupt practices not covered under fairly limited state corruption laws.
Elected last fall, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin is hoping to change that with a bill that would expand the toolbox state prosecutors have at their disposal to bring charges against corrupt public officials.
The legislation — introduced in the House and Senate earlier this spring — proposes to forbid government officials from influence peddling or depriving the public of their “honest services,” among other corrupt acts that fall short of outright bribery. It would also increase the statute of limitations for corruption charges from three years to 10 years, allow the state to revoke the pe nsions of employees convicted on corruption charges and compel those convicted to forfeit their ill-gotten gains.
The parallel House and Senate bills had their first hearings in committee this month.
“In these times of budgetary strain and government distrust, the citizens of Rhode Island need assurance that their government, at all levels, is working to further the public good,” Kilmartin wrote in a letter to the House and Senate committees considering the legislation.

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