Governor Don Carcieri admitted to an ethics violation for hiring his "niece-in-law" to work for the State of Rhode Island.  Carcieri was fined $2,500 and his niece, Stephanie Accaputo resigned last Friday.  This is Carcieri's 4th ethics violation. 

     I find this whole situation surprising.  It seemed pretty obvious from the beginning that the Governor was reaching with his "niece-in-law" defense, and it seemed fairly obvious from the beginning that she shouldn't have been hired.  In the end, it gave Carcieri's foes more ammunition and cause a distraction from the issues.


http://newsblog.projo.com/2008/11/governor-carcie-4.html#425584