Lawsuit Alleges Misconduct by Cicilline

A lawsuit filed by Robert Ceprano, the tax collector fired by Providence Mayor David Cicilline in January, alleges that the mayor intervened to waive interest on back taxes owed by Richard Bready, the CEO of Nortek, and other favored friends.

Ceprano, according to the ProJo, alleges that he refused to take a $25,000 check from Bready for back taxes because it did not include the interest, only to have Cicilline's chief of staff intervene, explaining that Bready was "a generous contributor to the city."

Cicilline fired Ceprano in January in the wake of a controversy involving his brother John Cicilline, who gave the city a bum check for $75,000 to cover a tax delinquency.

Cicilline's press secretary Karen Southern has just issued this statement: "The allegations are completely false. Everything about this case - the plaintiff's lawyer, Artin Coloian, the amount of money, the people named - reveals exactly what this is - a baseless attack by political enemies of the Mayor."

Seems like this controversy just won't go away, which may explain why the mayor decided - months ago - that he wouldn't run for governor.