The reported move comes after disclosure that many of the city's gasoline pumps had gone uninspected for several years.

01:00 AM EDT on Friday, June 11, 2004

BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Staff Writer

CRANSTON -- Bruce Peterson, the city official responsible for inspecting Cranston's gas pumps, said yesterday that he was resigning, according to a state official.

Peterson told John Shaw, administrator of occupational safety for the Department of Labor and Training, that he was resigning when the two spoke yesterday morning. Peterson, who has served as the city's sealer of weights and measures since 1997, did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.

Shaw said that Peterson told him he had been sick, and that the job had gotten to be too much for him.

Shaw immediately appointed Anthony Goes, who does inspections in Central Falls and Pawtucket, to do a full sweep of Cranston's more than 30 gas stations. Goes started last night, inspecting three stations on Reservoir Avenue.

Tuesday, a Journal survey of 20 gas stations throughout Cranston found that most had not been inspected in the past year, as is recommended by the state. Some had not been inspected since 1999, and others had no inspection stickers at all. Peterson collects a $2,500 stipend from the city to inspect the gas pumps every 6 to 12 months, and to order that they be calibrated if they are dispensing an incorrect amount of gasoline.

Mayor Stephen P. Laffey has called for Police Chief Michael Chalek to investigate Peterson, to determine if any of his actions could be considered criminal. Laffey said that a detective has been assigned to look into the case.

"This situation represents exactly what's wrong with government -- handing out hard-earned taxpayer dollars to politically connected people who do not perform any service," Laffey said in a statement.

Peterson, 63, was first appointed to his city position in 1993. He was replaced by Harry Nicolopoulos in 1995 and 1996, and then returned to the job in 1997. Peterson is the Ward 2 Committee chairman for the Democratic City Committee, and is also the sealer of weights and measures for the Town of Narragansett.

Peterson is appointed by the City Council, and can only be removed by the council. As of yesterday afternoon, the city clerk had not received a letter of resignation from Peterson.

The situation was first brought to light by local resident Robert Cote, who suspected that something might be wrong when a gas pump indicated he had put 17.6 gallons into what he knew was a 16-gallon tank. Cote contacted City Councilwoman Cynthia Fogarty and told her he thought something was amiss.

Fogarty said she had contacted Peterson in the fall to ask him about the old inspection stickers, and he said he would improve his performance. She spoke to him again this spring after checking the pumps herself, and he said he was working on it.

Figures provided by the city clerk yesterday do show some improvement so far this year -- Peterson had collected $300 as of this month, matching his collections for all of 2003.

Since January 2000, Peterson has collected $2,006 in fees, with the low point coming in 2002, when he collected only $211. In 1999 alone, he brought in $1,312.

His predecessor, Nicolopoulos, collected $603 in 1995 and $1,380 in 1996.