Barletta files RICO lawsuits alleging corruption in Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In the fall of 2020, the lead investigator from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), Todd Collins, performed a series of interviews based on a complaint filed by an unofficial whistleblower regarding “contaminated soil” at the RIDOT 6/10 project. The federal government ultimately shelved that first complaint and instead negotiated with an official whistleblower, Local 57 President Jim White. Collins never finished his report in 2020 and his interviews were put to rest, only to recently come to light as 6/10 contractor, Barletta, files RICO lawsuits.

Two Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) employees who were interviewed regarding the 6/10 project both pointed their fingers at Local 57 and Cardi, while calling it a “soil scheme”.

Barletta currently has a civil suit against RI Analytical, the lab that performed the first round of testing on the 6/10 soil. The lab has ultimately admitted it improperly handled the samples. Now Barletta has filed a lawsuit against Local 57 and Stephen A. Cardi accusing them of racketeering activities as defined by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, including but not limited to extortion and bribery.

This lawsuit may prove problematic for the RI AG’s case against Barletta, as the AG may not have seen any of this information. Any statements made regarding the false testing would be null and void. Any retribution against Cardi may be impossible as they closed their doors and attempted to run from their legal problems. Cardi was investigated in the original Washington Bridge lawsuits but they were ultimately dropped because of their timely closing.

This new round of lawsuits alleges entanglements between RIDOT officials, Cardi Corp., and Local 57 members. Will this civil suit lead to an even larger one that exposes a web of corruption in RI meant to punish out of state contractors? McKee may get his day of reckoning, but it might not be the people he is accusing that have to pay the piper.