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Corruption probe shook up R.I. politics
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| Contributor | Imperator |
| Last Edited | Imperator Jan 27, 2007 09:48am |
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| Category | Investigation |
| Media | Website - Yahoo News |
| News Date | Saturday, January 27, 2007 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Former state Sen. John Celona's lawnmower business faltered, his political career imploded and his reputation came undone in spectacular fashion.
But even after a guilty plea to federal corruption charges, Celona's impact on Rhode Island lingers. He is at the center of an influence-peddling probe that has shaken up the political establishment, demanded the resources of federal prosecutors and emerged as a campaign issue in last year's gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.
Celona, 53, is to be sentenced in federal court next week, 1 1/2 years after pleading guilty to accepting money from companies and using his influence at the Statehouse to advance their legislative agendas. Each of the three charges carries up to five years in prison.
Celona has tried to get a lenient sentence by cooperating with the government, turning on people who once paid his salary and testifying as the star witness last fall in a trial that produced convictions of two former Roger Williams Medical Center executives.
His credibility was attacked during days of blistering cross-examination, with defense lawyers calling him a liar and a cheat, but his testimony nonetheless gave an unflattering portrayal of state government, said Darrell West, a Brown University political scientist.
"He's described the personal networks that sometimes get in the way of good public policymaking, and he's shown how conflicts of interest are quite problematic in state government," West said.
Celona's home phone number is not published, and his lawyer, William Dimitri, declined to comment Thursday.
Celona, a Democrat from North Providence who took over his family's power equipment business, ascended from his local town council to the General Assembly, where he prided himself on a soft touch with his elderly constituents and became chairman of a key Senate committee. |
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