RI panel nixes complaint against attorney general

Rhode Island's Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint Tuesday that accused Attorney General Patrick Lynch of improperly accepting a $428 plane ticket to a New Orleans conference.

The complaint from Giovanni Cicione, chairman of the state Republican Party, accused the attorney general, a Democrat, of violating the $75 limit on gifts by accepting the plane ticket last year. The commission accepted the recommendation of one of its staff lawyers in voting 4-0 to reject the complaint.

The ticket was paid for by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, which organized the conference.

Commission Vice Chairman Ross Cheit said the gift limit did not apply to the plane ticket since the trade association was not regulated in Rhode Island and has no presence in the state.

The state ethics code bars public officials from receiving in one year a gift of more than $75 from a person or company with a direct financial interest in their decisions. The trade association does not meet that definition, Cheit said.

"The trade association never appears in Rhode Island," Cheit said. "They don't have a lobbyist in Rhode Island. They don't do anything in Rhode Island."

Lynch has said he plans to run for governor in 2010. His attorney, Richard Humphrey, said Lynch's conference appearance was part of his official duties as attorney general and benefited the state by helping combat online child pornography.

In a statement, Lynch called the complaint "pure political maneuvering" ahead of next year's elections.

Cicione said he was disappointed with the panel's decision but hoped the case could lead to some clarification on the ethics rules. He denied the complaint was politically motivated, saying "we don't submit things that we don't think have merit."