WESTERLY — A lawyer for School Committee member Dominic DiFazio said he expects the Rhode Island attorney general’s office to proceed with two felony fraud charges against DiFazio related to his private contracting business.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general, however, said the fraud case was still in the screening process.

Michael P. Lynch, lawyer for DiFazio, said he was told that the state would proceed with the felony charges based on information provided by the Westerly police.

Lynch and DiFazio also said the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection was dropping its investigation of a separate fraud complaint, in Ledyard.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal could not confirm that the Department of Consumer Protection had dropped its investigation and said yesterday that his office was reviewing the status of the investigation.

DiFazio, who runs Dom DiFazio Contracting from his home on Valley Drive in Westerly, was arrested Nov. 17 and charged with two felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses after he cashed two checks totaling $2,761.72 for down payments from an elderly couple wanting their windows replaced. The company does remodeling, roofing, siding and repairs.

He was arrested again Dec. 11 on a complaint by Pasquale Squillante, of Warwick, who operates A-1 Rolloff Disposal. Squillante said he delivered containers to Jamestown and Middletown for DiFazio’s workers to dispose of materials.

Squillante said he went to DiFazio’s credit union to cash a check Dec. 7 and learned that the deposits to cover that check had not yet cleared. He said that as he was leaving, he met DiFazio coming in and that they went to the teller’s window together.

While they waited, Squillante said, the uncollected funds were cleared to cover the check, but DiFazio took the check from the teller’s hand and told Squillante he would have to wait.

Squillante said he tried to deposit the check, for $779, but it was returned to him after it didn’t clear on the second try. He said he then went to the Westerly police.

DiFazio was arrested Dec. 11 at police headquarters on Airport Road. Because the check was for less than $1,000, the charge is a misdemeanor. He was released on his own recognizance. A pretrial conference was set for Jan. 11 in District Court, Wakefield.

dnaylor@projo.com