By Richard C. Lewis, The Associated Press
Providence, R.I. (AP) -- The police chief in Central Falls resigned Wednesday, hours before he was to appear in federal court to contest his suspension by that city’s mayor.
Chief Thomas Wilson, 48, resigned after a months-long battle over his employment with Mayor Charles Moreau. It began last fall, when Moreau said during his mayoral campaign that once in office, he’d dismiss Wilson and replace him with someone who lived in Central Falls. Wilson lives in Cranston.
Wilson, a 26-year police veteran who was the deputy chief in Warwick, claims he was targeted because he didn’t support Moreau during the campaign.
``This has nothing to do with residency,” said Wilson’s attorney, Lee Blais, of Boston. ``That’s a red herring. What’s going on here is (Moreau’s) trying to stack (his administration) with political supporters.”
On Wednesday, the chief said he wasn’t stepping down to avoid a confrontation. ``I’m doing what’s in the best interest of the city, for the residents of the city, and to have efficient police service,” said Wilson. ``You cannot have a mayor interfering with the operations of the police department, and if I stayed on, that’s precisely what would occur.”
Moreau did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
Wilson was appointed chief in January 2003 by Lee Matthews, who lost a close contest to Moreau last fall. Wilson filed a lawsuit in December, arguing the mayor had engaged in ``patronage firing.”
Later that month, the parties announced Wilson’s lawsuit had been suspended, after an agreement with Moreau that he’d be retained when Moreau took office.
In March, the chief was notified he would be suspended for two days, for allegedly taking time off without permission. The chief’s lawyer said his client was at an FBI briefing, and threatened to sue.
Moreau again threatened to fire Wilson. Last week, Wilson won a federal court order barring Moreau from doing that. About a half-hour later, the mayor suspended him. Wilson had planned to file a motion for injunctive relief against the suspension on Wednesday, but decided to resign instead.
Blais said Wilson will proceed with his $4 million lawsuit against the mayor. He also said three other plaintiffs will be added who claim to have been harassed by the mayor. They are Thomas Shannahan, library director; Donald Twohig, a construction manager at the library; and Twohig’s son, also named Donald Twohig, an assistant library director and computer specialist.
The lawsuit also will name the city and some administrators -- including the personnel director and city solicitor -- as defendants.
``I have never seen a larger collection of individuals oblivious to the way government is supposed to run,” Blais said.
The plaintiffs expected to be added to the suit all claim they were harassed because they didn’t support Moreau during his campaign. In April, Moreau ordered the library’s computers searched, and said he found material from Matthews’ campaign on Twohig’s computer. He went around the chief in that incident, Blais said.
Shannahan said he would leave because of Moreau’s questions over how he set contracts to bid. Moreau has said Shannahan has hired Twohig’s father over the past six years without bidding the contracts, at a cost of $400,000, according to The Providence Journal.