Coventry Fire District Hires Lawyer to Investigate Alleged Pot-Smoking Chief

The board of the Coventry (Anthony) Fire District held an executive session meeting last night and came out of it with an announcement that lawyer William Harsch would be heading an investigation into alleged misconduct by Chief Paul Labbadia.

Labbadia was the target of a WPRI investigation that caught him on undercover cameras apparently smoking marijuana and drinking and driving his fire department SUV.

The fire district meeting, which typically has sparse attendance, was packed with media and residents in anticipation of some kind of action by the board in response to the report.

Harsch is the former chief of the state Department of Environmental Management and Ethics Commission member.

Board members told the audience that they are frustrated by the allegations just like residents and “we want to do it right,” said John D’Onfrio.

Residents in the district are upset about what’s happening to the district, not only in terms of the Labbadia allegations, but also its fiscal straights.

On Wednesday, David Gorman, the President of the Coventry Professional Fire Fighters’ Local 3372, the local fire union, said the district presented information at a budget workshop last week that showed the district owes nearly $500,000 on a line of credit and has been routinely not paying vendors or making pension payments to the state Municipal Employee Retirement System.