CRANSTON – Two Rhode Island senators have been fined for violations in their campaign finance reporting, while a former candidate is risking prosecution for failing to file required campaign finance material, according to the R.I. Board of Elections.
The Board of Elections voted unanimously on Monday to fine Sen. Elaine J. Morgan, R-Charleston, $1,200 and Sen. Thomas Paolino, R-Lincoln, $2,500, following audits which highlighted discrepancies and violations in the senators’ campaign finance reporting.
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Morgan used campaign funds for personal use in five separate occasions, for a total of $2,604.22, according to a Board of Elections audit. The senator also failed to accurately report $4,200 in contributions in 2021, reporting them as “aggregate” instead of listing each name, address, place of employment of the individual. In 2022, she again reported $2,748.63 in campaign expenditures as “aggregate” instead of listing the name and address of each vendor.
Morgan has since amended the reports and reimbursed her campaign account from her personal funds, according to the audit. She agreed to pay the imposed fine by December 31, 2023.
The Board of Elections found several discrepancies in Paolino’s campaign finance reporting from the last two years. According to an audit, in several occasions Paolino failed to report or misreported transactions, including failing to report a $10,000 loan repayment and 10 transactions totaling $1,369.37 in campaign expenditures.
The campaign finance reports have since been amended and Paolino agreed to pay the fine by December 31, 2022.
At the same meeting, the board voted to refer the matter of former House of Representatives candidate Daryl W. Gould to the Attorney General for “possible prosecution.” Gould, a former candidate for District 67 who has unsuccessfully run for office in 2016, 2018 and 2020, has failed to file required campaign finance documents for six years.
As of July 2022, Gould owes 27 campaign finance reports and $57,872 in late filing penalties according to a summary of non-compliance by the board.
