Aponte submits resignation from Providence City Council after felony plea deal

PROVIDENCE, RI (WLNE) – Longtime Providence City Councilman Luis Aponte turned in his resignation letter at city hall Tuesday afternoon as part of a plea deal on a felony embezzlement charge.

Aponte pleaded nolo contendere Monday to the charge after prosecutors said he misused $14,000 of his campaign money on personal expenses, such as subscriptions to Netflix, iTunes, Xbox Live, and other bills.

Aponte was sentenced to 4.5 years probation and had to resign from office as part of that deal, despite being reelected just in November.

After the two-year legal fight, Aponte’s resignation letter was short.

“Please accept this letter as my official resignation as a member of the Providence City Council,” Aponte wrote in the letter.

“[He is] no longer a city councilman, but it hasn’t been officially accepted by the City Council yet,” said Billy Kepner, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communication for the City Council. “Going forward, the [city] clerk is working with the Board of Canvassers to create the time line. There will likely be a special council meeting within the next week.”

When the council meets, Kepner said they will officially accept the resignation, and declare a special election for Ward 10. It’s not clear when that election will take place but it must be within 90 days of that special meeting, Kepner said.

A city spokesperson tells ABC 6 that a special election for a city council seat can cost between $30,000 and $40,000.

Now that Aponte is officially out, attention is now turning to that inevitable special election and who will take his place.

Linda Perri is the chair for the Washington Park Neighborhood Association in Aponte’s district. 

“He’s done a lot of good things for the neighborhood. It’s a shame,” she said. “It’s a loss for the community and the neighborhood.”

She said it’s time to move forward and start thinking about the future of Ward 10.

“The issue at hand is to replace him so we have representation for Ward 10. That’s the most important thing,” Perri said.

ABC 6 reached out to Aponte, but our request for comment was not immediately returned.