The Mageau Files

Mageau on the attack on November 14

Jim Mageau’s documents tell an amazing story

By Will Collette

Town curmudgeon Jim Mageau reserved a slot under “Persons Wishing to Be Heard” at the November 14 Town Council. And he was heard.

He used his 15 minutes to attack Council Vice-President Deputy Dan Slattery, Town Administrator William DiLibero, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Primiano and Economic Improvement Commission (EIC) chair Frank Glista.

He described an elaborate criminal conspiracy led by Glista, and aided by DiLibero and Primiano, plus helpers from among Town Hall staff. And Mageau accused Deputy Dan Slattery of aiding and abetting the conspiracy by conducting a cover-up.

When he was finished, he handed his package of evidence to Police Chief Jack Shippee to be included in the official record of the meeting. Those documents are now posted on Clerkbase. 

Now we can analyze those records and find out what they say.

And they say nothing. A total of 15 documents and 37 pages and nothing that supports Mageau’s allegations of a criminal conspiracy.

Nor is there any evidence that Deputy Dan Slattery conducted a cover-up, because to conduct a cover-up, first you need something to cover up.

Deputy Dan - a cover-up?

That’s not to say that Deputy Dan didn’t conduct a goofy, if not flawed, “investigation” of whether there was something amiss. But the “evidence” Mageau submitted as proof of a criminal conspiracy is really evidence of nothing but Mageau’s state of mind.

Let’s walk through Mageau’s claims and see how they match up with the facts. You might want to check out the recording of Mageau’s performance on Clerkbase before going through his supposed proof.   

1. 1. Did Deputy Dan Slattery conduct a cover-up? The only evidence is Mageau’s say-so. Other Council members have already taken Deputy Dan to the woodshed for going off half-cocked and conducting an investigation he had no authority to conduct. But a cover-up? Not even close. 

Mageau says Slattery made a false claim that his investigation was conducted “in concert with the Town’s attorney.” That’s one of the few things Mageau got right. Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero distanced himself from Deputy Dan when Slattery presented his “findings.” Ruggiero did remember Deputy Dan asking if he (Slattery) could look into a complaint that had been brought to him. Ruggiero said he recalled saying he supposed it was all right but that was his only involvement.

2. The Case of the Felonious Flyer. The “crime” Mageau sees at the heart of the conspiracy is a brochure some town hall staff produced as a Friends of Ninigret Park hand out at the Rhythm and Roots Festival. Mageau claims Friends of Ninigret Park is an illegal, unauthorized “phantom organization” and, as proof, he provides documents showing Friends of Ninigret Park actually is not illegal, unauthorized or a “phantom” at all.

Mageau’s “evidence” includes minutes of the Economic Improvement Commission and Town Council. These minutes show the Town Council not only heard about the plan for Friends of Ninigret Park group but also appropriated $500 for the EIC to get them started. Mageau’s documents actually prove Friends of Ninigret Park was conceived and developed in the open, in good faith.

3. Are the Friends of Ninigret felons? Mageau claims that “Friends of Ninigret Park” is not incorporated, is not registered as a non-profit organization and therefore is not entitled to claim that donations made to it are tax-deductible.

It’s true Friends of Ninigret is not incorporated, nor a free-standing 501(c)(3) organization. Mageau bought a certificate from the Secretary of State saying that Friends of Ninigret Park is not incorporated. He could have saved the $30 the Secretary of State’s office charges for such documents.

Friends of Ninigret Park does not need to be incorporated or be a free-standing 501(c)(3) organization. Neither are the Friends of the Charlestown Animal Shelter or the Friends of the Dog Park. They are sanctioned groups that operate under various units of the town government.

Ordinance #345, up for final passage at the December Town Council meeting, is the last step to formalize the relationship between the town and Friends of Ninigret Park.

"They took $23 AND my
strawberries"

Yes, Mageau is correct to claim that the brochure carried a misstatement. Donations to “Friends of Ninigret Park” are not tax-deductible. What the brochure should have said is donations to “Town of Charlestown/Friends of Ninigret Park are tax-deductible”, since the town was and is acting as the fiscal agent of the Friends of Ninigret Park.

But since the collection box at Rhythm and Roots only took in $23 in bills and coin, it’s pretty unlikely any major tax fraud will result. You can’t deduct charitable donations without a receipt and none of the people who dropped coin in the box got a receipt. Although Mageau says he will now file his complaint with the “proper authorities,” he should prepare himself for disappointment.

4. 4. The $23 heist. Mageau says that the $23 collected is fraudulent absent a Town Council resolution and approval of a majority of the voters at a Fiscal Town Meeting.

Actually, the minutes from the May 4, 2011 Town Council meeting (included in Mageau’s package of “proof”) looks an awful lot like a Town Council approval resolution. They voted to add $500 to the town budget to give the EIC funds to get Friends of Ninigret Park going. And Jim, we don’t have Fiscal Town Meetings anymore. We haven’t for several years now. Instead, we vote on the budget at a Special Election – that was last June – and the $500 for the EIC was part of the budget approved by the voters.

By the way, the $23 was kept in a locked collection box. The box was opened in town hall by two of the staff, counted and then deposited in the General Fund for the benefit of Ninigret Park. Mageau thinks there should have been more money collected. Nobody asked him how much he pitched in. 

5. The Secret Plan. Mageau says there is a nefarious plot to construct a “$1.5 million entertainment complex” at Ninigret and somehow this “phantom group” is at the heart of it.

In fact, there is a comprehensive master plan for Ninigret Park created through an open process and the collective effort of lots of people, including Frank Glista, Paula Andersen and others who have been vilified by Mageau. The plan includes a proposed new concert area – and drawings of this were included in the brochure that got Mageau so cranked up in the first place. The Master Plan, with drawings of the entertainment center, was finalized in April 2008.

The "secret  plan" Jim Mageau uncovered - completed and April 2008 and  posted on the town website.

 And Jim is just now finding out that there is a long-term plan for Ninigret Park? And he’s shocked, shocked to find there’s an entertainment venue in the plans. He shouldn't be – because in April, 2008 when the comprehensive plan for Ninigret Park’s future was finalized and presented to the town, Mageau was Town Council President.

Oh, the evil his enemies do – actually preparing a plan out in the open, involving dozens of Charlestown citizens, and then publishing a report that anyone can read on the Town website.  There's also a map.  What a bunch of sneaky bastards!

And here is the "secret" entertainment venue from the secret plan that Jim Mageau uncovered
(detail from the map presented to the town in April 2008 and posted on the town website)

Charlestown’s festivals bring in thousands of visitors and hundreds of thousands in revenue to the town and to local businesses. They are a major big deal for this town. I don’t know the price tag for that venue. $1.5 million actually sounds kind of low to me, if we want to draw big name acts. I mean, we won’t get Cher to make us one of the stops in her next Farewell Tour if we have a cheesy venue.

The Mageau file of damning evidence contains a number of other weird items that seem apropos of nothing. For example, there is a 3-page letter from Statewide Planning that lists Charlestown’s top priorities for transportation projects that has nothing to do with Ninigret Park.

Frick & Frack - co-conspirators?

There is an e-mail from Colleen Rogers to Bill DiLibero thanking and complimenting the town for its “great job” of helping people during the Hurricane Irene crisis.

There is the “Frick and Frack” complaint DiLibero filed against Lisa DiBello that has nothing to do with anything in Mageau’s charges. 

And the file is padded with sections from the Town Charter and the RI General Laws that Mageau seems to believe are relevant to his charges.

Here’s how I see it.

First, there seems to be no logical reason for Mageau’s desperation to turn a couple of harmless errors into a major federal case, literally. Except, perhaps Mageau (a) is hungry for attention or (b) wants to divert attention away from his acolyte, Councilor Lisa DiBello, whose mismanagement of her own non-profit and ethical issues over town contracts given to her friend have been thoroughly documented in Progressive Charlestown. 

Deputy Dan in one of his clever disguises

That said, let’s recap what little substance there is to Mageau’s charges. Deputy Dan Slattery screwed up by conducting an “investigation” that was flawed in its inception and Inspector Clousseau-like in its execution. He had no legal basis for deputizing himself to do this, and did more harm than good.

Yes, it does appear that the procedure for formalizing Friends of Ninigret Park might have been out of sequence. Ordinance #345 fixes that. Technically, the EIC and town hall staff should have waited, but they wanted to try fund-raising at the last festival of the season. So yes, they jumped the gun. But hey, we’re talking about $23.

Town Hall staff made a mistake by saying donations to Friends of Ninigret Park were tax deductible instead of writing in “Town of Charlestown/Friends of Ninigret Park. A mistake. And since only $23 was collected, no harm, no foul (just don’t do it again).

Except there has been some harm done. James Mageau stood before the Town Council and a packed house audience and publicly slandered Frank Glista who has put endless hours of work into this and other projects for the benefit of this town. And Mageau insulted the town staff over nothing. Over trumped up, bogus, unsubstantiated charges.