Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch issued the following statement today concerning the findings of the state Bureau of Audits’ examination into the overall operations of the RI Resource Recovery Corporation from 2001 to 2006:

“Like most Rhode Islanders, I am outraged by the information revealed by the recent audit of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation. During the course of the audit, I assigned a prosecutor from my White-Collar Crime Unit to work with the Rhode Island State Police so that we would be prepared to proceed in the event that any criminal conduct was uncovered. The State Police, the United States Attorney’s office and my office all reviewed the same information and reached the same conclusion: There is no direct evidence of criminal wrongdoing that either the state or the federal government can prosecute. We will continue to work with these agencies to examine our findings of the audit in more detail.

“My staff will be reviewing the audit again to see what, if any, other actions may be warranted. Given the audit’s magnitude, and the fact that up until now, it has been reviewed only within our Criminal Division, this review will take some time.

“What is clear, however, is that the oversight we count on failed at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation. Whether there were inadequate checks and balances, or those whom we counted on to exercise those checks and balances simply failed, it is time that we re-examine the proper role of Resource Recovery. For too long, the corporation’s profitability let it escape oversight. As long as it produced revenue for the state, its operations were not scrutinized. But that’s not the way state government should operate. The only way we will be able to transform our government is if there is accountability, for the rationale of decision-making and for performance, every step of the way. This audit cannot simply be put on the shelf and forgotten. It is time that the role, structure and oversight of the Resource Recovery Corporation be re-examined. We need to take a fresh look at whether such an important function should be left to a quasi-public corporation.

“It is very unfortunate that the outrages that this audit documents were allowed to flourish for so long. I cannot help but think that had this audit been completed sooner, and had the current management team been placed in charge several years ago, the debacle that is outlined in this report could have been avoided.”

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