State Police say No Crimes Committed in CCFD Financial Fiasco

The investigation into the beleaguered Central Coventry Fire District's finances by the State Police has completed and there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Col. Steven G. O'Donnell said that the investigation, which began in 2013 after the town's General Assembly delegation asked for it in a letter to the state Attorney General, included a review of a pile of documents from the fire district and town offices.

"The investigation showed that the Central Coventry Fire District suffered from a significant error in a commercial fire tax assessment that was compounded over a two-year period," O'Donnell said in a release. "This error created a general fund deficiency of $1.6 million in their operating budget over the two-year period. The investigation also determined that there was no basis for the initiation of any criminal charges in regard to Central Coventry Fire District expenditures that were improperly reimbursed by grant funds."

The investigation was conducted by the State Police Financial Crimes Unit and focused on any possible criminal actions that led to the fire district ending up in receivership. Documents from the Court Appointed Special Master Brian Stern, the fire district itself, the tax assessor's office and the district's own tax collector were reviewed.