Robert B. Boyer, chairman of the West Warwick Economic Development Commission and a prominent land surveyor, bribed a West Warwick building official by paying him $2,800 to speed up local building projects, according to the state police, who arrested him Tuesday night.

Boyer gave the building official, Stephen D. Murray, cash payments of $300 and $500 on eight separate occasions between March and August, according to an affidavit used by the state police to secure an arrest warrant.

Murray, working in conjunction with the police, met with Boyer 22 times between Dec. 15, 2005, and Aug. 23.

Maj. Steven G. O'Donnell, flanked by West Warwick Police Chief Peter Brousseau, announced the charges at a news conference yesterday, saying the arrest was part of an ongoing investigation into complaints of town corruption that began 10 months ago.

Boyer, 69, of 15 Water St., has been charged with one count of bribery of a public official and one count of criminal ethics violations. He declined to comment when called yesterday afternoon.

"[Boyer] is a prominent person in the community," Chief Brousseau said. "It will be a shock to the community that he was arrested for this type of crime."

In addition to being chairman of the commission, Boyer is also a member of the governing board of the Kent County Water Authority. He owns a surveying business, Boyer Associates, which has worked with several developers involved in town revitalization efforts.

Repercussions of the arrest surfaced yesterday afternoon.

Harrah's Entertainment announced that it was severing all personal and financial relationships with Boyer. In a news release, company officials said: "We conduct our business with honesty and integrity, consistent with the highest moral, legal, and ethical standards, complying with all applicable laws and regulations, as stated in our Code of Commitment."

Boyer was hired in 2003 and given a contract to assist "with survey work for certain land acquisitions . . . historical surveys, maps and aerial work," company spokesman Alberto Lopez said in a phone interview.

In a subsequent phone conversation, however, Lopez said his initial description of Boyer's work was in error, and all he could say was that Boyer provided undefined "consulting services to our development team" in West Warwick.

Boyer first surfaced as a behind-the-scenes player in Harrah's 2002 attempts to win support from the West Warwick Town Council. That same year, Boyer sought an opinion from the Ethics Commission on whether it would be ethical to participate in discussions between the Economic Development Commission and Harrah's. The Ethics Commission advised him not to participate in any matters affecting Harrah's Entertainment because it would be a conflict of interest.

In the same ruling, Boyer was also directed to remove himself from discussions involving Harrah's and the Kent County Water Authority.

The state police began their investigation after Jeanne-Marie DiMasi, then president of the Town Council, made sweeping accusations of "shady dealings," and corrupt town practices during a Nov. 1, 2005, Town Council meeting.

When DiMasi went to Chief Brousseau to alert him of her allegations, he directed her to the state police.

"We received information at different times about possible corruption," Brousseau said yesterday. "Our position has always been to refer people to the state police so a neutral law office can investigate."

DiMasi met with the state police and a member of the FBI to air her allegations on Nov. 3. During the interview, DiMiasi gave investigators information about various town businesses, prompting officials to begin conducting a series of interviews within the town.

One of the people interviewed was Murray, the town building inspector since April 2000. It was during the Nov. 7 interview that Boyer's name surfaced. According to an affidavit signed by state police Detective Todd E. Catlow, Murray told police that Boyer repeatedly offered to pay him "under the table" to do consulting work on Bridal Mill, a mill rehabilitation project in West Warwick. Murray told the police that he declined the offer, but said he later provided some free advice to the project's developers.

Murray told the police he "thought Boyer was pushing this arrangement so that once Murray accepted money, Boyer would have 'something on him' and thereby control him and the Building Official's Office," the affidavit says.

Murray agreed to meet with Boyer so that the police could "monitor" the conversation and get more information about the alleged bribes, according to the affidavit.

Yesterday, O'Donnell refused to say how the police monitored the meetings, saying only that they were recorded. Boyer and Murray first met at Ferrucci's New York System, a local restaurant, on Dec. 15, 2005. According to the affidavit, Boyer said: "I would work it where there are no checks. As long as there is no documentation . . . they can say all they want to say."

At a later meeting, Boyer offered to pay Murray $500 every other week for his cooperation, the affidavit says. The first payment, the police allege, was on March 17, when Boyer gave Murray $500 cash in an envelope.

In meetings in May and June, Boyer allegedly expanded the parameters of the preferential treatment he sought. The affidavit says Boyer wanted what amounted to a $60,000 savings on impact fees levied on the 42 units of the Prospect Hill development; for a condominium project on Legris Avenue, Boyer wanted Murray to issue building permits despite the project's "faulty firewalls."

As time passed, according to the affidavit, the payments decreased to $300 and Boyer seemed to grow uneasy, warning Murray to avoid phone conversation about the payments and coming up with code phrases to use when arranging payments.

Boyer was arraigned at state police headquarters and released on $10,000 personal recognizance Tuesday night. He is scheduled to appear in Kent County Superior Court on Oct. 10.

In an e-mailed statement yesterday afternoon, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said, "Any allegation of public corruption is damaging because it erodes public trust in government. For this reason, it's important to note that the public official who was allegedly being bribed in West Warwick came forward and cooperated fully. . . . We look forward to prosecuting this case to the fullest extent of the law."

Councilwoman DiMasi, whose allegations launched the probe, expressed sympathy for Boyer, whom she said she has known for many years.

"I'm surprised he was arrested," she said. "I didn't know anything was going on right now, I thought they hadn't found anything."

The state police declined to say whether they expected more arrests. "Everything and anything is still on the table with the investigation," O'Donnell said. "The investigation is continuing and wherever it leads, we'll go."

With staff reports by Katherine Gregg of The Journal State House Bureau

tbuford@projo.com / (401) 277-7378