SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Westerly School Committee member Dominic DiFazio, who faces felony fraud charges as a private contractor, appeared in court yesterday on a misdemeanor fraudulent check charge for which the town is seeking a special prosecutor.

“It seems appropriate to me that the town wouldn’t prosecute its own official,” Town Solicitor Steven T. Hartford said yesterday. “We need to consult with the attorney general’s office.”

Leo Manfred, who prosecutes Westerly misdemeanor cases in District Court with testimony from police Capt. Thomas L. Toscano III, told the court the town wanted to hire private counsel.

District Court Judge William C. Clifton suggested they do it quickly and set a trial date of Feb. 8.

Defense lawyer Michael P. Lynch objected to the delay. “They’re alleging a potential conflict. I don’t see any conflict at all,” he said outside the courtroom.

“They are simply afraid of political fallout. They’re afraid to do the job they are paid to do by the people of Westerly,” Lynch said, adding that DiFazio serves the town without pay as a member of the School Committee.

Lynch said DiFazio had resolved the fraudulent check matter privately. A Warwick-based trash disposal service, A-1 Rolloff Disposal, confirmed yesterday that DiFazio had paid the $779 he owed for rubbish removal.

Dom DiFazio Contracting, which is based in Westerly but also has a license to do business in Connecticut, advertises widely. The May 2007 Providence phone book has a DiFazio ad across the bottom of the front cover.

In a separate case, DiFazio is charged with two felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses, to which the attorney general’s office has added a charge of unlawful appropriation of more than $1,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 22 in Superior Court, with a pretrial conference Feb. 18.

DiFazio, who sat in court with his right wrist taped, said he wasn’t at liberty to discuss how he broke it.

dnaylor@projo.com