federal probe into Statehouse corruption
Ethics board to try convicted North Providence senator
June 21, 2006
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A former state senator convicted in an influence peddling investigation now faces a separate trial for violating the state ethics code.
Former Sen. John Celona, a Democrat, resigned in March 2004 after investigators searched his North Providence home, seizing computers, boxes of documents and other evidence. He's cooperating with a federal probe into Statehouse corruption and pleaded guilty last year to three mail fraud counts.
The state Ethics Commission decided Tuesday to schedule a public hearing July 25 to try Celona on multiple violations of the ethics code. He's accused of accepting employment that compromised his integrity as a legislator, failing to disclose information on a financial disclosure form and advancing a bill that helped CVS Corp. while he was on the company's payroll.
The Ethics Commission had delayed acting on the case to avoid compromising criminal investigations, said Jason Gramitt, a commission attorney.
"We've decided that the time is now to proceed," Gramitt said. "The complaints have sat long enough."
Celona chaired the now-defunct Senate Corporations Committee, which oversaw bills regulating health insurance. Federal prosecutors say Celona was paid more than $260,000 by Roger Williams Medical Center and then supported or opposed legislation on the hospital's behalf.
Three people connected with the hospital have been charged in the probe: Robert Urciuoli, the hospital's former chief executive; Frances Driscoll, a former senior vice president; and Peter Sangermano Jr., who ran an assisted-living home affiliated with the hospital.
Celona hasn't been sentenced.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/06/21/ethics_board_to_try_convicted_north_providence_senator/
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