Disgraced would-be state legislator Laufton Ascencao of Bristol, who won the District 68 House of Representatives seat in 2018 only to resign months later after a host of financial irregularities …
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Disgraced would-be state legislator Laufton Ascencao of Bristol, who won the District 68 House of Representatives seat in 2018 only to resign months later after a host of financial irregularities were uncovered, is expected to be arraigned on an embezzlement charge Thursday morning in Sixth Division District Court in Providence.
Mr. Ascencao, the one-time Golden Boy of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, fell from grace last December after allegations of financial impropriety were levied against him by the Warren Democratic Town Committee and his once-friend, June Speakman.
Ms. Speakman, who later ran for and won the empty seat he ultimately vacated, was the first in Warren to find troubling financial disclosures in Mr. Ascencao’s campaign finance records. She forwarded her concerns to the Rhode Island Board of Elections.
Charges have not yet been officially filed against Mr. Ascencao, and his attorney, John Grasso of Providence, said he had not yet seen the criminal complaint filed against Mr. Ascencao by the Rhode Island State Police. But State Police Major Timothy Sanzi said Wednesday evening that the affidavit to be filed in the case contains one count of embezzlement.
He also said he and Mr. Grasso had been working "for some time" to determine Mr. Ascencao's whereabouts and confirm his presence at Thursday's arraignment, set for 9 a.m.
Fall from grace
According to a fiscal audit released by the board of elections in February, Mr. Ascencao misspent thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and a private organization's funds during his successful campaign for the District 68 seat, failed to file proper paperwork and accepted donations well above the legal limit.
The audit also concludes that Mr. Ascencao used nearly $2,800 in campaign funds on food, beverages, meals and travel expenses without saving receipts or accounting for the spending. It also alleges that he diverted thousands of dollars from the Sierra Club, of which he was Rhode Island chapter president, to his own campaign and to pay rent and expenses for the Rhode Island Working Families Party, of which he was a lobbyist and organizer.
Among the audit's findings: