State Rep. Almeida arrested on unlawful appropriation charges
By News Staff
State Police have arrested State Representative Joseph S. Almeida for allegedly misappropriating $6,122.03 in campaign contributions.
57-year-old Almeida, who was the Deputy Majority Whip in the RI House of Representatives and former
He resigned his position as Deputy Majority Whip.
In a statement House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello said, “I am very disappointed to learn of the arrest of Representative Almeida. I have not spoken with him yet. However, I received a letter from Representative Almeida today indicating that he has resigned his position as the Deputy Majority Whip. Under the circumstances, I find this to be appropriate and I accept his resignation from his position on the Democratic Leadership Team.”
The investigation originated from a complaint filed by the Attorney General’s Office, who received results of a campaign finance audit.
The investigation revealed that Almeida made cash withdrawals and negotiated numerous checks on his campaign account that were then made payable to either cash or to himself, without expenditure documentation.
Almeida reportedly provided some documentation to support only a small part of the expenditures and withdrawals used to pay campaign workers, but couldn’t provide any receipts or verification to support the remaining expenditures in question.
The Financial Crimes Unit of the Rhode Island State Police then served a search warrant on all bank account activity related to Almeida’s campaign accounts and determined that he withdrew $6,748.03 in cash and checks that he negotiated made payable to himself or cash from the campaign account between May and December of 2012. Almeida was only able to provide documentation for one expense which was used to pay a worker $250.00.
$376.00 in cash deposits were also made in that timeframe. The remaining $6,122.03 in cash withdrawals and checks was unaccounted for by Almeida.
Almeida pleaded not guilty in district court and was released on $10,000 personal recognizance.
(C) WLNE-TV 2015
