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I was surprised by your endorsement of Nicholas Mattiello for District 15 representative. Mattiello was a key operative (or non operative depending on one's viewpoin)t in the 38 Studios Fraud (Raimondo's term for 38 Studios). As the House majority leader at the time, either he approved of adding $75 million to the already $50 million in the EDC budget, he either knew what the additional $75 million was for or never questioned why the EDC needed that much more in its budget. Either rationale is totally unacceptable. He not only let it happen, he brought the entire majority of the House along to make it happen. Representative Mattiello, who became Speaker when Representative Fox resigned shortly before moving to an out of state federally gated community, then determined that the taxpayers should make good on the deal rather than having the insurance company pay up as the insurer of it. We all know insurers investigate thoroughly before paying anything and certainly a $75 million payoff would have been investigated. Mattiello, the lawyer, knew this too, and insisted that the taxpayers foot the bill to avoid an investigation by an outside (non-government political entity) uncontrollable by the insiders responsible for the fraud. And, insurers do not pay fraudulent claims. What really surprised me was how the Beacon and the Herald was so amenable to doing business with Mattiello prior to endorsing him. Mattiello's finance reports list payments of $500 and $7,689.50 to Beacon for advertising. It makes me wonder, and no doubt others like me, if Mattiello bought the endorsement by the Herald and Beacon for a total of $8,189.50 as of the last campaign report. He also paid GoLocal $9,000 for advertising. GoLocal chose to endorse Mattiello. And the Providence Journal did likewise after many condemnations of Mattiello's actions as both the majority leader and Speaker. Mattiello made the truck tolls happen. Mattiello made "straight time" instead of overtime for Sunday work at Twin Rivers. Mattiello made private grants using taxpayer money to favored groups. These were "deserving" groups and consisted of voters. Want to buy a bridge? Mattiello sponsored the pension overhaul in the legislature. Sprawler is right on the money. The State was $4 BILLION in arrears to the pension fund a year before an upcoming election year. His interest was not in saving the pension fund, it was hiding the malfeasance of the State in not making its required payments as an employer. Consider your readers experiences if their employers failed to make the necessary payments to Social Security as required. Independent forensic investigations over the last several years have concluded that the pension fund has lost even more money and sooner or later, Mattiello will be requiring the taxpayers to pony up to bail out the state just like 38 Studios. Did you ever wonder why the roads and bridges fell into such emergency repair despite all the taxes and fees motorists pay? More neglect by the state. And, who is going to bail out the State for its malfeasance? Mattiello says the truckers, but we know better than that, don't we? Why has the legislature never discussed "Payday Loan Interest", "Term Limits", and a host of other bills submitted by our representatives in the House? DOA at the insistence of Mattiello. Mattiello, for 10 years, has said we do not need an ethics bill. The General Assembly can "police itself". He has repeatedly beaten back all of the ethics bills before the General Assembly, until AFTER all of his cronies got caught with their pants down in a variety of unethical practices. And this is the person the Beacon and Herald wants to return to the House? Really? Are you serious? Or, did $8,189.50 have anything to do with it?