But the West Warwick Democrat points to his successes in the Senate as proof that he is serving the public's interest.

10:00 AM EST on Tuesday, January 6, 2004

BY ZACHARY R. MIDER
Journal Staff Writer

Sen. Stephen D. Alves, who seeks to become the next Senate majority leader, is a visible presence at groundbreakings, football games and senior brunches in his native West Warwick.

Less visible to the general public, he has, since 2001, been pursuing a defamation suit against two political opponents who criticized him through letters to the editors of local newspapers, and statements at public meetings.

A Superior Court judge threw out part of the suit in 2002, terming it "Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation" -- under state law, an illegal attempt to silence critics. The judge, Netti C. Vogel, ordered Alves to pay more than $17,000 in his opponents' legal fees. Alves has appealed that ruling to the state Supreme Court. He has not yet paid anything.

The critics named in the suit, brothers Alan and William Palazzo, had questioned, among other things, Alves' role in pension deals with the Cities of Warwick and Pawtucket in 1991. (Alan Palazzo, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully against Alves for his Senate seat in 2000.)

In 1991, outgoing Warwick Mayor Francis X. Flaherty, now a state Supreme Court justice, approved the investment of $1.2 million in city pension money through Alves' firm. Alves had supported Flaherty's campaign. The city's investment adviser had warned against the move, and the matter later became an issue during Flaherty's unsuccessful bid for governor.

That same year, Pawtucket Mayor Brian J. Sarault invested $1 million of his city's pension funds through Alves' firm, over the objections of the city finance director. Alves had also supported Sarault's campaign.

Sarault later pleaded guilty to unrelated extortion charges and was sentenced to serve time in federal prison.

Alves has repeatedly denied benefiting from political favoritism in either of the pension deals. "It's all a lot of hogwash," he said again yesterday.

West Warwick Sen. Stephen D. Alves

The Palazzos had also revived criticism leveled against Alves in 1999, after he had become a member of West Warwick's municipal pension board.

That year, a fellow pension board member accused Alves of trying to steer $10 million in business to Todd J. LaScola, with whom Alves occasionally golfed. (LaScola later pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of embezzling $6.4 million from clients.) Alves denies the accusation that he tried to steer the business to LaScola.

Alves' appeal of Judge Vogel's dismissal of part of his suit is expected to be heard by the state Supreme Court in March. Meanwhile, another part of the suit remains active in Superior Court.

That portion has been conditionally dismissed, however, after Alves failed to comply with a judge's order to provide documentation describing how he was damaged by the Palazzos' public statements.

The Palazzos are seeking to make the dismissal permanent. Lawyers involved with the case were at Kent County Superior Court yesterday morning for a hearing, which was rescheduled to Jan. 26.

Meanwhile, Alves continues to be a controversial figure in West Warwick.

Last week, the chairman of the Republican Town Committee issued a statement claiming that Alves pulled political strings to get a sister, Sharon A. Raiche, hired as a clerk in the Department of Labor and Training. She was hired in September 2002.

But Alves said yesterday that he had nothing to do with her hiring. "My sister can stand on her own two feet," he said.

Alves dismisses such controversies as fueled by "political rhetoric," and points to his successes in the Senate as proof that he is serving the public's interest. Just in the last session, he noted, he secured more state funds for the state's nursing homes and for an adult-immunization program.

And he helped West Warwick win a bigger-than-expected share of state school aid last year, he said. "That's what I was elected to do, to look out for the taxpayers of this town, and I have," he said. "The people of this town reelect me because I get the job done."