House GOP leader threatens legal action over JCLS records

January 28, 2020 8:55 pm

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PROVIDENCE (WLNE)- A letter from Rhode Island House Minority Leader Blake Filippi sent Tuesday to Joint Committee on Legislative Services Executive Director Frank Montanarro has threatened legal action if documents and hard drives removed from committee offices are not accounted for.

“I have come to learn that records and computer hard drives of the JCLS have been removed from the JCLS office in our Statehouse basement,” wrote Filippi. “You have provided no notice of this unusual action to me, in my capacity as a member of JCLS, and no notice to other members of JCLS.”

Citing state law in regards to the preservation of records, Filippi’s letter ordered documentation of all movement of computers and files and their current location, or else he “would seek injunctive relief in Superior Court compelling compliance with our General Laws.”

House spokesman Larry Berman stated that any movements at JCLS offices were related to the discovery of black mold under an employee’s desk last week.

Earlier Tuesday, the offices were evacuated and furniture and carpets thrown out after a steam leak was discovered to be the source of the mold, Berman said in a statement.

“All the records and computers were moved to a room next door,” said Berman.

The move comes after a flood of activity surrounding an audit of the Rhode Island Convention requested by House speaker Nicholas Mattiello and challenged by Filippi.

Mattiello withdrew the audit request last week hours after a Superior Court suit was filed by Filippi.

That suit also addresses leadership issues at the JCLS, with Filippi alleging that Montanarro and Mattiello “have, and continue to, unlawfully exercise the sole statutory authority of JCLS to ‘maintain the records of the General Assembly.'”

Since then, Convention Center executives have sought a State Police investigation into the motivations behind the audit request.

Addressing reports that State Police were on hand at the State House last night, Major Christopher Dicomitis would only confirm that the police were present as part of an ongoing investigation.