The Donald Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.

The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

CENTRAL FALLS — Mayor Charles D. Moreau expressed incredulity and anger yesterday that the executive director of the Donald W. Wyatt Federal Detention Center makes more than the combined salaries of himself, the police chief and fire chief.

The Journal reported this week that Anthony Ventetuolo Jr., the jail’s top administrator, signed a three-year contract in May that pays him $230,575 a year with incentives that could substantially increase his salary if the average daily population reaches 680 prisoners.

“I’m speechless,” Moreau said in his office yesterday. “I have no term for it. It’s incomprehensible. I cannot believe that a consultant makes more than the fire chief, police chief and mayor of the city combined.”

Moreau said he had repeatedly asked board members for copies of the contract, but he did not get one until Thursday. He said that he also had heard that there is an addendum to the contract that he has yet to get his hands on.

Moreau, whose annual salary is $71,736, is the highest-paid city employee. Police Col. Joseph F. Moran III and Fire Chief Rene Coutu each make $66,903. The combined salaries of the three top city officials is $205,535 — about $25,000 less than Ventetuolo’s base salary.

Dante Bellini Jr., an executive vice president at the RDW Group of Providence and spokesman for Wyatt, defended Ventetuolo’s contract yesterday, saying that the executive director’s salary also includes the costs of clerical and bookkeeping services to the board. He also said that Ventetuolo, through his consulting business, Avcorr Management of Warwick, manages the $106-million bond program that was used to finance the jail, and has weekly contact with the bond holders. “That’s a fairly big responsibility,” he said.

According to the contract, Ventetuolo, who became executive director of the jail in 2007, has a wide range of responsibilities, including serving as a liaison to the U.S. Marshals Service, overseeing the daily operations of the jail and developing an annual budget.

Meanwhile, Moreau has accepted the resignation of Al Romanowicz, chairman of the jail’s five-member corporation board. In recent days, Moreau has appointed three replacements for two members of the board who have resigned and a third who recently died.

The sole remaining board member is Eugene Racquier, a retired state corrections officer. Moreau said he has no intention of replacing him.

Romanowicz, who met briefly with the mayor yesterday morning, said it was his decision to step down after serving on the board for about a decade. Moreau said that he gave Romanowicz a choice: resign or be terminated.

“Obviously, there have been some things going on,” said Romanowicz outside the mayor’s office in City Hall. “The mayor is trying to get [Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees] back. I understand his position.”

Moreau said that he will name a replacement for Romanowicz next week.

The resignation of Romanowicz and the other board members are the latest in a series of sweeping changes that Moreau has undertaken to gain control of Wyatt and appease federal ICE officials to get detainees returned to the jail as quickly as possible. The federal agency abruptly removed 153 detainees from the jail last month pending completion of an investigation into the death of a Chinese national who spent about one month at Wyatt last summer while he was awaiting deportation.

Last week, ICE announced that it was terminating its contract to send immigrant detainees to Wyatt. The move is costing the prison about $100,000 a week and it appears that layoffs are imminent among the staff of 200, which includes guards, nurses and other personnel.

Moreau said his financially strapped city was getting about $52,000 each month from the jail. He said that now, with a sudden drop in the prison population, the city is no longer getting its appropriation, which amounted to more than $500,000 last year.

Moreau said he has to consider cutting public services or layoffs to make up for the shortfall. He said the city’s annual budget is slightly more than $17 million, and the city is dependent on monthly payouts from Wyatt, which has a budget of more than $20 million.

It’s clear that Moreau wants the newly appointed board members to keep him better informed.

He remains upset that he was not apprised of Ventetuolo’s contract negotiations. He said he does not believe the executive director should make more than $145,000 and he said that the city should be getting about a $1 million a year from the prison, instead of the $500,000 that it has been getting. He also said that he plans to contact state Auditor General Ernest Almonte and ask him to conduct a forensic audit into Wyatt and all of its contracts with outside vendors that provide services to the jail.

Moreau said he wants auditors to review Wyatt’s expenditures on public relations and outside legal counsel. He responded with a “no comment,” when asked whether he will move to terminate Ventetuolo.

“Everything is in play,” he said.

Moreau said the newly formed board is expected to hold its first meeting next week, and that there should be plenty of issues for them to discuss.

Bellini said that Ventetuolo will meet with members of the state’s congressional delegation, possibly as soon as next week, in an attempt to get detainees returned to Wyatt. He said the executive director has no plans to resign.

“Tony has absolutely no intention of stepping down,” Bellini said. “We continue to do what’s in the best interest of the facility and the people of Central Falls, as we have always done.”

bmalinow@projo.com