McKee Denies Wrongdoing in Award
of ILO Group Contract

The governor says Attorney General Peter Neronha should have recused himself

File photo. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said he has done nothing wrong.
File photo. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said he has done nothing wrong.
Ian Donnis/The Public’s Radio
Share
File photo. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said he has done nothing wrong.
File photo. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said he has done nothing wrong.
Ian Donnis/The Public’s Radio
McKee Denies Wrongdoing in Award
of ILO Group Contract
Copy

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee on Oct. 31 denied any wrongdoing in connection with the award of a lucrative contract to a politically connected firm, and he said Attorney General Peter Neronha should have recused himself from the case because of his support for McKee rival Helena Foulkes.

McKee spoke with reporters a day after Neronha released a host of documents about his investigation into the $5.2 million contract awarded to a new firm, the ILO Group, to help Rhode Island schools reopen amid the pandemic.

Neronha said he found that McKee directed the contract to the ILO Group in a manipulated process, although he said the evidence was too cloudy and contradictory to justify a criminal charge.

Speaking with reporters during a Statehouse news conference, McKee said the absence of charges — from federal investigators as well as Neronha — underscores that he did nothing wrong.

The governor said the attorney general “made unfounded and incorrect allegations that I violated procurement laws, even though he fully admits that it is outside the scope of his office. Let me set the record straight. My office followed procurement law at that time.”

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

The use of a former federal prosecutor raised fresh insights on the Washington Bridge saga. Plus, is Rhode Island doing enough to promote tourism?

After questioning RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, Rep. June Speakman says she’s troubled by what she sees as little internal accountability or in-house expertise guiding the state’s major infrastructure projects
Customs and Border Protection officers detained the woman, who holds a valid green card, because of an outstanding warrant for shoplifting more than a dozen years old
State lawmakers pressed Director Peter Alviti for answers Thursday, marking the most intense public scrutiny of the Washington Bridge collapse since the release of a critical audit this fall
The latest production at The Gamm Theatre is ‘Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune,’ a two-hander about a one-night stand