WPS Contracts Probe: Oliver, Gothberg Broke Law, Policy

Oliver’s and Gothberg’s contracts each stipulate they can be suspended or fired for, “Cause, including but not limited to reasons such as incompetency, assault, cruelty, insubordination, neglect of duty, incapacity, conduct unbecoming of a school administrator (scandal, arrest, etc.) or failure, in whole or in part, to observe, perform and comply with the provisions of this agreement, the directions of the Superintendent, the policies of the Committee, the laws of the State of Rhode Island or the applicable state regulations and rulings,” according to Attorney Timothy Groves of law firm Barton Gilman.

Groves was commissioned by the School Department to investigate the the district’s vendor hiring after Warwick Schools received a complaint that Oliver had hired Jada Trucking for contracts without first advertising the work. Jada Trucking is owned by David Oliver, cousin to facilities director Kevin Oliver.

Superintendent Lynn Dambruch and the School Committee otherwise disciplined the men during an executive session Nov. 12. Each is still at their jobs at Warwick Public Schools. Dambruch and the School Committee did not release further details on the consequences of the WPS contracts probe findings.

“Following a thorough investigation and careful consideration, the Warwick School Committee voted 4-0 to accept the Superintendent’s recommendation for discipline of the two employees involved in procurement violations. School Committee member Ms. Hazelwood recused herself and did not participate in the discussion or the vote,” said Warwick School Committee Chairman Shaun Galligan.

“The Committee acknowledges the seriousness of the findings and has taken appropriate disciplinary action. As this is a personnel matter, we will not comment further on the specifics of the discipline,” Galligan said in a statement when questioned about the WPS contracts probe.

We remain committed to ensuring that the Warwick Public Schools’ procurement processes are transparent, ethical, and in full compliance with all applicable laws and policies. Moving forward, we will implement necessary measures to uphold these standards and maintain the trust of our community.”

Groves interviewed 15 people and reviewed more than 300 pages of documentation during his investigation, according to Warwick Schools’ “Record of Final Action” of the investigation.

The Rhode Island State Police have also announced an investigation into WPS contracts hiring practices, at the urging of Mayor Frank Picozzi.

Groves’ WPS contracts probe reports that Oliver and Gothberg each broke R.I. Gen. Laws §45-55-1. Penalties listed there read, “Any person who knowingly and intentionally violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

WPS Contracts Probe: Oliver’s law, policy breaches a “lapse in judgment”

According to Grove’s report, “Kevin Oliver’s acts and omissions in securing moving services for WPS violated Rhode Island’s Code of Ethics and resulted in violations of R.I. Gen. Laws §45-55-1 et seq. and WPS Policy DJC.”

However, the document continues, “Policy DJC has been in place for years, and Directors are responsible for knowing and following its terms. Kevin Oliver should have known better than to disregard clear law and policy based on a vague notion that he could use a “preferred vendor” to provide moving services because it was expedient to do so, and/or because that is how he perceived others had done it. This was a serious lapse in judgment, but in the estimation of this investigator, that was the extent of it.

It is worth noting that every witness interviewed for this investigation praised Kevin Oliver’s work ethic and his integrity – including Mr. Lamendola’s former general manager at Astro, Josh Lavoie, who attested that, in his experience, Kevin Oliver is “definitely the most truthful person to deal with.”

There is no evidence that Kevin Oliver tried to hide the fact that moving projects were not going out to bid. As misguided as his concept of a “preferred vendor” exception was, none of the checks in the procurement process questioned Mr. Oliver’s practice.” Groves wrote.

WPS Contracts Probe: Gothberg’s judgment lapses not intentional fraud

“According to the Policy DJC has been in place for years, and directors are responsible for knowing and following its terms. Gothberg has acknowledged that at all times relevant to this investigation he knew and fully understood that, barring some permissible exception, any recommendations for construction-related moving procurements that he brought to the Building Committee that were over $10,000 should have gone out to bid. Yet he admitted that he had recommended proposals for such procurements that he knew had not gone out to bid.”

“As he said to the investigator, “I think it’s pretty clear that I should have forced bidding because this was all coming through the bond, and in hindsight I should have forced the issue, but didn’t.” Mr. Gothberg has also acknowledged that he failed to properly vet the qualifications of Jada Trucking. As a result, the Building Committee awarded a contract for moving services to a vendor that lacked the requisite authorizations to provide intrastate commercial moving services in Rhode Island, and all of the work awarded to that vendor had to be suspended and posted for bidding.”

“These were significant lapses in judgment, but this investigation found no credible evidence that Mr. Gothberg had any intention of defrauding the school district or the taxpayers to financially benefit himself or for any other improper purpose. Mr. Gothberg’s violations were the result of a failure to follow through on his responsibilities in the procurement process.

In his initial meeting with Superintendent Dambruch after Mr. Lamendola’s complaint went public, Mr. Gothberg acknowledged that on several occasions he and Mr. Oliver had skipped the bidding process for contracts for moving services. In his interview for this investigation, Mr. Oliver admitted that he had not been aware that a PUC authorization was required for commercial intrastate movers, and he had not checked on that until after M.r Lamendola had raised it during a meeting on June 26, 2023, well after Jada, which lacked PUC authorization, had been awarded two six-figure contracts by the Building Committee on his recommendation.”

The RI State Police investigation into  WPS contracts practices is ongoing. The full WPS contracts report is embedded below: WP-Contracts-Probe-Report-212062024090904-0001

Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.