PROVIDENCE – Providence City Council President Luis A. Aponte on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to four charges related to the misuse and embezzlement of campaign funds.
Aponte, who was indicted by a statewide grand jury and arraigned at R.I. Superior Court in Providence, was not immediately available for comment. He was released on $1,000 personal recognizance.
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The four charges include two felonies, carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a $50,000 fine, according to R.I. Attorney General spokeswoman Amy Kempe.
Aponte also was charged with two misdemeanors related to the misuse of campaign money.
State prosecutors allege Aponte between 2014 and 2015 misused funds taken from his campaign account, Friends of Luis Aponte, according to court documents. The amount exceeded $1,000, triggering a felony charge.
Aponte was also charged with embezzlement of more than $100, also a felony, taken from the same campaign account. Prosecutors allege the embezzlement happened between 2013 and 2015.
“Luis Aponte … did embezzle or fraudulently convert [campaign funds] to his own use,” according to the documents.
Additional details were not immediately made available, but Aponte was the subject of a Board of Elections report last year. The report said he borrowed thousands of dollars from his city retirement account to reimburse his campaign fund for more than $15,000 in personal or undocumented expenses over the previous six years.
Aponte, one of the capital city’s most powerful politicians, represents Ward 10, which includes the neighborhoods of Lower South Providence and Washington Park. He was first elected to city council in 1998.
The council president is the second high-ranking Providence politician to be arrested within the past year, as city council majority leader Kevin Jackson last year was arrested and charged for misappropriating campaign contributions and embezzling money from a youth sports team.
Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza called on Aponte to step down as council president, saying residents “deserve to be represented by council members who lead with the utmost moral authority.
“It’s deeply disappointing to once again learn of charges against a City Council member here in our city,” Elorza said in a statement. “Providence has worked so hard to overcome this stereotype and today’s indictment … proves that we still have a long way to go.”
Aponte’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
Eli Sherman is a PBN staff writer.
