Mayor Anthony Staffieri’s campaign will refund two checks totaling $650 to a donor who did not list his association to the city on a campaign contribution form.
In paperwork documenting the donations — paid by personal checks at two Staffieri fundraising events — Richard Antonucci lists himself as the manager of a restaurant in Madison.
Antonucci is also in charge of Annex Associates, the private company brought in last year by the Board of Aldermen to operate the city’s transfer station.
Ken Hughes, Staffieri’s campaign manager and the president of the Board of Aldermen, said there is nothing wrong with Antonucci’s submission, other than a minor clerical mistake transposing two lines, but the campaign doesn’t want any distractions.
“Neither the mayor nor I see the checks coming in, and I don’t want the cast any dark shadows over the great work Annex Associates has done with the City of Derby’s transfer station, all at no cost to the taxpayers. The donation will be returned today (Friday, Oct 16),” Hughes said.
When asked why Antonucci did not list his position at Annex Associates, Hughes said the document asked for “principal occupation.”
Antonucci apparently has several sources of income and chose to list the restaurant.
How does Antonucci split his time between managing a restaurant and running the city’s dump?
“He’s actually not at the dump that often,” Hughes said, adding that one of Antonucci’s employees is responsible for day-to-day operations at the transfer station.
“He runs three to four different businesses. When they ask for ‘principal,’ that’s the one where you make the most money,” Hughes said.
Hughes also said the the city does not have a monetary contract with Annex, so Antonucci was correct to answer “no” to the question “ … does contributor or business he/she associated with have a contract with said municipality valued at more than $5,000.”
