PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Rhode Island Ethics Commission on Tuesday dismissed a complaint against Frank M. Sylvester, chief of the Lime Rock Fire District in Lincoln, that concerned his registering and parking cars at the district fire station for many years instead of at his Pawtucket residence.
Based on the prosecutor's recommendation, the panel unanimously dismissed, based on "a lack of evidence to establish that Chief Sylvester has knowingly and willfully violated" the ethics code, according to Jason Gramitt, the commission's staff lawyer.
"Initially there is vague statutory language in the motor vehicle and tax laws relative to motor vehicles registration. And so, on top of that, the evidence showed that Chief Sylvester, on two separate occasions, had sought advice from the Department of Motor Vehicles as to what those laws meant," Gramitt said. "And the advice that he received was equally vague."
Last year, the the ethics panel found probable cause that Sylvester used his public office for financial gain, a standard that lets the commission look further into the matter. But the probable cause threshold was low compared to the standard of "based upon a preponderance of the evidence" that confronted the commission and which led to the dismissal.
John J. Cullen, a Lincoln resident, filed the complaint in 2011, asserting that Sylvester saw financial gain by registering his cars at the station due to a lower car tax rate in Lincoln. Pawtucket has one of the highest car-tax rates in the state..
In 2011, a Rhode Island state police investigation found there was no criminal intent by Sylvester in the car registrations. The state police and the attorney general's department did find that he must register the personal vehicles to his home address.
Correction: An earlier version of this item misstated the state police investigation's finding in 2011.