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.

A recycling nonprofit, through its New Bedford warehouse, puts used nets, ropes and other marine debris in the hands of local artists
Republican John Loughlin says he would reshape the office into a taxpayer oversight and accountability agency similar to a state inspector general
Federal cuts to Medicaid and food assistance complicate an otherwise encouraging revenue picture
Jewish advocacy leaders say the numbers are improving, but incidents remain higher than before the Oct. 7 attacks and the Gaza war
A Greek restaurant hiding inside a jazz club, a reimagined oyster bar and a group of diners with matching notebooks: meet the people keeping local restaurants buzzing
The Blazejewski era begins in the Rhode Island House