Operation Clean Government (OCG) has today filed a formal complaint with the RI Board of Elections alleging Representative Gordon D. Fox to be in violation of Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Law.
This complaint comes as a result of research that OCG has conducted into the alleged violations of RI Ethics Laws by Representative Fox. The intent of reviewing Fox's campaign filings was to determine whether Rep. Fox was receiving campaign contributions from employees of GTECH.
OCG found that Rep. Fox's filings for the first and second quarters of 2003 were missing a substantial number of names of the employers of contributors as well as addresses of contributors.
Rep. Fox was directed by the Campaign Finance Division to amend his second quarter On-Going Quarterly Report within 30 days of a letter being sent to his campaign treasurer. This deadline has come and gone without the above mentioned problem being corrected.
OCG has serious concerns that House Majority Leader Fox, as one of the states most powerful leaders, is either unaware of state law or chooses to ignore the law. Fox is now faced with allegations of three violations of the RI Code of Ethics, a violation of the Constitution of the State of Rhode Island, and now campaign contribution law.
It is imperative that Rep. Fox first provide a proper filing of his campaign contributions for public review, and second, to explain the timing in his role with the law firm Ferrucci Russo, P.C., and his work with GTECH while also acting in his official capacity to consider and vote on a bill enabling the Rhode Island Lottery Commission to enter into a master contract with GTECH to give the firm an exclusive 20-year contract to run the state's traditional and video-lottery system.
Note: The above text is from the OCG Press Release.
