Health Violations Reported at State Beach Concessions

Before news broke that the State Police are investigating David Caprio, who landed a state contract to operate concessions at Roger Wheeler, Scarborough and Misquamicut State Beach — and then gave a Cranston state representative, Peter Palumbo, a manager job — state health inspectors had found numerous health and safety violations.

In a series of inspections in July, inspectors found chicken, fish, clams and stuffies stored at about 50 degrees, undated prepared food, no thermometers in the fridges, fly strips hanging over a sink, mold inside fridges and clam chowder stored in the bathroom, among other violations.

On July 17, inspectors found the above-listed issues at Misquamicut State Beach during a follow-up visit after an inspection on July 2 showed other problems, such as a hand washing sink blocked by boxes of vegetable oil, ground beef cooked below temperature, chicken strips held at too low of a temperature, and staff who were not washing their hands.

Inspectors also found fish fillet thawing on a counter in stagnant water.

At Scarborough State Beach, an inspector on July 29 found similar issues including the lack of a full-time on site manager certified in food safety, which is required for all food establishments in Rhode Island.

They also saw workers not wash their hands while changing gloves, no soap in the hand sink, raw eggs stored above lettuce and tomato in a refrigerator and the practice of cooked chicken being removed from the grill and put into a container, covered and put in a cold hold unit while still hot — a recipe for bacterial contamination.

The following day, inspectors went to Roger Wheeler State Beach where they found much of the same.

The violations, which are all-too-common in the restaurant world, must be rectified or the license to operate could be revoked by the health department.

Caprio, a former state representative, resigned as the chairman of the state Democratic Party after it was revealed that he won the contract to operate the state beach concessions at the three beaches.

The controversy stems from the fact that Palumbo was the original highest bidder, but after being awarded the contract, he withdrew, claiming he couldn’t come up with enough money to operate the concession facilities.

That meant the contract went to the next highest bidder — Caprio — who had a bid of about $200,000 less than Palumbo.

Eyebrows were raised when Palumbo was discovered to have been hired by Caprio to manage the operations.

The incident has caused an outcry from many who are calling upon Palumbo to resign.

”While we wait for the facts to be uncovered by the State Police investigation, Representative Peter Palumbo should withdraw his name and candidacy for re-election. There are a number of allegations surrounding this investigation, and while everyone deserves their day in court, the reputation, dealings, and integrity of our elected officials should be beyond repute,” the state GOP said in a release.