Monday, August 29, 2022
Former CF Mayor James Diossa and lobbyist/City Solicitor Matt Jerzyk PHOTO: CF 2014
State House lobbyist Matt Jerzyk — who also serves as the City Solicitor for the City of Central Falls — has delayed a GoLocalProv request for public records relating to James Diossa’s travel costs during his tenure as Mayor of Central Falls.
Jerzyk was appointed to the Central Falls solicitor’s office by Diossa and has remained in the position under Mayor Maria Riveria.
Diossa, as Mayor of Central Falls, reported on his Ethics Financial Disclosure Statement that he traveled twenty-six times that were paid for by third parties.
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Those filings were improperly filed, according to his campaign spokesperson, who said in a radio interview on WPRO-AM, “It was a simple oversight.”
Diossa is a Democratic candidate for General Treasurer.
According to Diossa’s 2020 Financial Disclosure, his travel for 2020 included 26 trips to locations ranging from China, England, Colombia, Israel, and one of the poorest countries in the world — East Timor. Ten of the trips were international.
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Diossa improperly filled out the Ethics Commission Financial Disclosure Statement and reported many of the trips in 2020, but some of those trips took place in earlier years. The 2020 Financial Disclosure Statement should only list those trips which occurred that year.
But, the amounts reported appear to be incomplete. The funding by the third parties appears to be less than the total cost of the trip. As an example, Diossa reported a trip to Taiwan was subsidized by a cultural organization and reportedly cost just $1,950.
And in the radio interview on August 11, Diossa’s campaign spokesperson said, “No taxpayer funds were spent on any of these trips.”
On August 12, GoLocal filed an Access to Public Records Act request with the City of Central Falls requesting any travel costs Diossa incurred during his time in office.
By law, Central Fall has ten working days to produce the documents, but on Friday, August 26, Jerzyk did not produce the pubic travel documents, but instead sent a letter to GoLocal delaying the production of the travel costs for an additional twenty working days.
“The City of Central Falls received your request for copies of certain public records on August 12, 2022. Due to the extensive amount of research pertaining to your request, the City has good cause to extend the ten (10) day time period by an additional twenty (20) days. Please note this is not a denial of your request to review the requested documentation. Thank you for your time and cooperation,” wrote Jerzyk.
The extension by Jerzyk, allowed by law for requests that are extensive, pushes the release of the travel costs to late September, after the Democratic primary.
The letter by Jerzyk did not provide for a procedure for an appeal of the extension.
Jerzyk and Diossa
Jerzyk and Diossa have long been close political allies, and Diossa’s campaign has made payments to Jerzyk and his wife, Suzanne DaSilva, over the years.
Jerzyk, who started his career as a progressive activist in the 2000s, today plays multiple roles. Besides his position as Central Fall City Solicitor, he is a State House lobbyist and for a period of time, was a director of a hemp business.
Jerzyk worked for former conservative Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello — a pro-gun rights and anti-abortion rights legislative leader. According to state lobbying records, this past session of the General Assembly, Jerzyk lobbied for JUUL the e-cigarette company, Uber and Bally’s to name a few.
Now, the delay by Jerzyk blocks the disclosure of Diossa’s travel charges until after the Democratic primary.
In a follow-up, GoLocal wrote to Jerzyk, “Just following up on the APRA, we have never before had a 20-day extension for a travel cost request. Are the City’s financial records in such poor condition?”
Jerzyk did not respond.
SOURCE: Diossa RI Ethics Commission Financial Disclosure Statement 2020
SOURCE: Diossa RI Ethics Commission Financial Disclosure Statement 2020
SOURCE: Diossa RI Ethics Commission Financial Disclosure Statement 2020
