Former city council candidate Gerard Catala found guilty of violating state campaign finance law
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and Colonel Darnell S. Weaver announced today former Providence city council candidate Gerard Catala has been found guilty in Sixth Division District Court of violating state campaign finance laws.
On February 28, 2024, Judge Anthony Capraro found Gerard Catala (age 45) guilty of two counts of failing to file campaign finance reports as required by state law. Judge Capraro filed the case for one year and ordered 20 hours of community service.
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that knowingly and willfully failed to file two required finance reports, stemming from his candidacy for the Ward 9 city council seat in the 2022 election.
Following Judge Capraro’s decision, the defendant, through his attorney, immediately appealed the conviction to the Rhode Island Superior Court.
“Campaign finance laws exist for many reasons, among them to provide transparency into how candidates are financing their campaigns and whether they are doing so legally,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Neronha. “In this instance, this Office stepped in at the request of the Board of Elections to prosecute a candidate for public office who blithely and repeatedly ignored campaign finance laws. Failure to file such reports, after repeated directives from the Board of Elections to file them, can lead only to one place: criminal prosecution. I am grateful to the Board of Elections for their strong partnership with this Office, and to the State Police for their usual excellent investigative work in this case.”
In 2022, the Board of Elections referred this matter to the Office of the Attorney General and the Rhode Island State Police for investigation. The referral from the Board of Election followed repeated failures by Mr. Catala to timely file required campaign finance reports, despite having received numerous communications from the Board of Elections regarding filing requirements.
During the trial, the State proved the defendant failed to file a required campaign finance report for candidates due 28 days before the primary (August 16, 2022) and a second required campaign finance report due seven days before the primary (September 6, 2022). It is alleged that despite numerous communications from the Board of Elections, the defendant failed to file either required report. Prosecution of earlier alleged failures to file required reports were barred by the applicable statute of limitations.
Special Assistant Alison Bittl of the Office of the Attorney General and Corporal James M. Brown of the Rhode Island State Police investigated and prosecuted the case. Director of Campaign Finance Richard Thornton of the Rhode Island Board of Elections conducted the audit of Mr. Catala’s campaign account.
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