NORTH PROVIDENCE — State labor officials have rejected an unfair labor practice complaint that challenged the town’s use of GPS tracking devices on public works vehicles and also brought attention to a police probe of criminal vandalism at the town garage in late 2008 and through the first half of 2009.

The incidents of vandalism were cited in the town’s written response to unfair labor charges that Council 94, the union for public works employees, filed with the Rhode Island State Labor Relations Board.

Vandals gashed the tire of a backhoe, broke windows, tore bathroom fixtures off the walls, poured oil at the base of a freshly planted tree and removed bathroom tiles within hours of their installation, according to Mayor Charles A. Lombardi.

In response, the town posted a police sergeant, Kristian V. Calise, to the facility in the late fall or early winter of 2008-2009, Lombardi said.

Calise’s probe did not lead to any arrests, but his activities helped prompt the filing of unfair labor charges against the town in June.

Gerard E. O’Neill, a lawyer and the business agent for Council 94, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, alleged that the police sergeant intimidated personnel and his activities represented the town’s attempt to “spy on” union workers and their leaders in violation of state labor laws. O’Neill also accused the town of violating labor laws by installing GPS devices without negotiating with the “certified collective bargaining representative.”

In a proceeding that came to a close on Oct. 27, the town’s lawyer, Vincent F. Ragosta Jr., argued that the town had the right to post Calise and give him managerial authority.

The State Labor Relations Board reviewed the case and dismissed it, determining that the union’s charge did not warrant the issuance of a formal complaint.

The ruling is unlikely to set much of a legal precedent on the ability of Rhode Island cities and towns to use GPS tracking devices on public vehicles because North Providence argued that it had dutifully negotiated its use of the devices rather than challenge the union’s argument that negotiations are required.

But the proceedings that led to the labor board’s ruling, in combination with Lombardi’s statements, depict significant difficulties in the in late 2008 and through the first six months of 2009.

Various “acts of criminal vandalism” had caused damage to the facility at 2 Mafalda St. and also to employee vehicles parked outside, according to Ragosta’s June 26 legal brief to the labor board.

Some vandalism had occurred prior to the late fall of 2008, according to Lombardi. In one incident, someone poured oil at the base of a freshly planted tree outside the building at 2 Mafalda St., Lombardi said.

Calise’s presence at the garage was on-and-off over a span of more than eight months beginning in the late fall or early winter of 2008-2009 and running into July 2009, according to Lombardi.

Toward the outset of his probe, some town employees installed new tile in the bathroom. Within hours, someone had torn the tiles down, Lombardi said.

Calise’s work did not produce any arrests, Lombardi said. “Maybe a couple retirements,” he added with a chuckle.

“From what I’m told,” he said, “the police talked to people there.”

“That’s the reason one of the employees left,” Lombardi said.

Lombardi said the two employees opted to retire after the police talked to them about the alleged theft and vandalism, but he has no other information about the exchange because he does not handle police matters.

The town’s police chief, Col. John Whiting, declined comment on Calise’s investigation, saying only that the allegations of intimidation against the sergeant are “ludicrous.”

O’Neill declined to comment on the case, saying he needed time to review the labor board’s ruling first.

Lombardi questioned why public works employees would feel “intimidated” by the “mere presence of a police officer.”

“I question if they were doing something wrong,” he said.

Since the retirement of some employees last spring, the public works department has been running efficiently Lombardi said, adding that he is proud of the division’s employees.

mreynold@projo.com