PROVIDENCE – Luis A. Aponte, Providence City Council president, was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday, according to a report by WPRI-TV CBS 12.
Aponte could not immediately be reached for comment.
The charges against Aponte are presently unclear, as the council president hadn’t yet been arraigned as of 2 p.m. Grand jury decisions made before arrest are typically kept sealed until the accused is arraigned in R.I. Superior Court.
The city council president was scheduled to make an appearance in Superior Court Wednesday afternoon, according to Rhode Island Public Radio.
R.I. Attorney General spokeswoman Amy Kempe declined to comment.
Aponte, one of the most powerful politicians in the capital city, was the subject of a Board of Elections report last year which said he used campaign contributions for personal expenses.
Aponte represents Ward 10, which includes the neighborhoods of Lower South Providence and Washington Park, and was first elected to city council in 1998.
The council president would become the second high-ranking Providence politician to be arrested within the past year, as city council majority leader Kevin Jackson last year was charged with misappropriating campaign contributions and embezzling money from a youth sports team.
Mayor Jorge O. Elorza spokeswoman Emily Crowell declined to comment, saying she hadn’t yet seen an indictment.
Aponte’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
Eli Sherman is a PBN staff writer.
