PROVIDENCE –– A legislative panel yesterday probed allegations of staff intimidation, cronyism and patient neglect at the Rhode Island Veterans Home, part of a continuing investigation the Carcieri administration has likened to a witch hunt.

“I’m ashamed of the management because of the way they acted,” House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Kenneth Carter said during an emotionally charged hearing. “The veterans home itself is not a bad place. It’s the management that we had at the time that destroyed it, tried to, but they’re not going to succeed … not as long as I can breathe.”

A spokeswoman for the Carcieri administration, which runs the Bristol institution that houses hundreds of aging veterans, dismissed the criticism –– which first surfaced in a July 2007 report by a special House commission. An updated report was released last October.

“Really, the allegations … are coming from current and former disgruntled employees,” said Laurie Petrone, director of communications for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. “The continued airing of outdated findings from an old report is a disservice to the veterans living in the home and their families,” Petrone said. “The issues have been addressed. We have new leadership in the home.”

Indeed, lawmakers conceded yesterday that the situation has improved. They were troubled, however, that a former veterans home administrator, William Camara, was promoted even after allegations of staff intimidation and cronyism surfaced.

Camara, who did not attend yesterday’s hearing, now serves as the $107,115-a-year acting deputy director of the Department of Human Services, where he oversees day-to-day operations for all non-Medicaid-related agencies or divisions.

“There’s enough evidence, I believe, that we should look at bringing charges,” Carter said, accusing Camara of lying under oath at a previous hearing and threatening at least one former employee.

That employee, Judith Alves, a recently retired certified nursing assistant, testified yesterday that Camara physically blocked her from leaving an office during a 2006 confrontation.

He “put his foot on the door, crossed his arms, bobbed his head and smirked at me,” Alves said. “I was being verbally abused, held against my will.”

Camara left his position at the veterans home in the fall after being promoted, although he maintains an office there, among other locations. Another controversial figure, former nursing director Jan Markoff, resigned in December 2007.

Retired Brig. Gen. Rick Baccus, who was named to succeed Camara as administrator in the fall, drew praise yesterday from lawmakers.

Carter said he would continue to investigate Camara until “he resigns or he’s transferred out of state government.”

Petrone, meanwhile, stood behind the embattled figure. “We consider Bill Camara to be an exemplary employee,” she said.

speoples@projo.com