Fung apologizes following State Police investigation

By Samantha Lavien

slavien@abc6.com

Two days after the release of a scathing State Police report on the Cranston Police Department and city officials, Mayor Fung is apologizing and answering questions about his role in the "political interference" the report accuses him of.

"I wish I had done a better job of balancing delegation with hands on action and yes I was too trusting of Col. Palombo,” said Fung.

The report points to a lack of leadership in the police department coupled by political interference by the mayor and his staff. A judgment the mayor disagrees with.

"The bottom line is this. I take ownership of fixing the problem,” said Fung.

One of the major issues brought up repeatedly in the investigation; the way the Mayor handled disciplinary action for Captain Stephen Antonucci.

He's the officer who ordered the 2013 parking ticket saga that led to this report and his eventual resignation.

While running for Governor the mayor said publicly that he supported strong punishment for Antonucci, but this report says he privately tried to reduce discipline, even convince the current chief to bring him back on as if nothing ever happened.

"All I can tell you is I didn't purposely wait. It wasn't about politics. It was about moving and getting finality into the situation,” said Fung.

The mayor said he wanted to bring Antonucci back against the Chief's advisement for financial reasons hoping his return would settle the three pending lawsuits.

When questioned why he went this far to support Antonucci…

"It's not a choice of choosing one individual over the tax payers of Cranston, it's not that at all,” said Fung. “In that incident with Captain Antonucci I felt what was right was trying to put a final resolution to that matter."

Fung said he has absolutely no plans to resign in the wake of this report. In fact he says he will likely seek re-election next year.

© WLNE-TV 2015