PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello has decided to return a $120 campaign donation from embattled state Rep. John Carnevale that he initially accepted three weeks ago.
WPRI-TV reports Carnevale made the campaign contribution to his fellow Democrat at a fundraiser for Mattiello’s re-election bid on Sept. 19.
Officials say the address that Carnevale gave for the Board of Elections filing was 150 Barbara St. in Providence — the very home where the city’s Board of Canvassers determined he did not live.
Mattiello spokeswoman Patti Doyle says the speaker is returning the check “due to the circumstances.”
Steven Frias, Mattiello’s Republican challenger, says he was surprised that the speaker accepted the donation and urged him to mail the check back to Carnevale’s “real address in Johnston.”
