When the latest of Governor Carcieri’s ethical problems (giving his niece a state job) started gaining traction last summer, he took to calling the lovely lady in question his niece-in-law. I remember asking myself — who says that? We now have our answer — slimy, guilty, obfuscating weasels say that. Today the Governor admitted to violating the anti-nepotism rules of the state Ethics Code and will pay a $2500 fine. (Stephanie Accaputo resigned Friday.) This announcement makes it the fourth ethics violation for this deeply religious member of the ‘values’ party. According to the ProJo,
Carcieri released a statement saying that “the governor did not intend to violate the Code of Ethics” but admitting that he did so after the commission “clarified” the code’s nepotism provisions in 2007.
The word that needed clarifying? ‘Niece’. Little Stephie is his wife’s brother’s daughter — in other words — his niece.