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My grandfather used to always say "Consider the source."

Rob Cote was a scuba diver instructor. He owned Captain Rob Cote's Pro Divers, Inc. and according to the Secretary of States web site he failed to submit his required Annual Report in 1996,1998, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2013.He has since closed the business. He's been charged with making harassing phone calls and he was arrested for illegally disposing gasoline into his septic system. A neighbor to his business heard an explosion and observed smoke and called the Warwick Fire Department who extinguished the fire and Cote was arrested. Their investigation found "at least 20 and as much as 30 gallons of gasoline in the septic system." That gasoline would have leeched into our water system if Cote hadn't been caught.

In June 2012 he announced that he was "moving out of the City", but went back on that promise.

He submitted a proposal to the City of Warwick to scuba-train a group of Warwick Firefighters. They denied his proposal and got the needed training for about 5% of what Cote wanted to charge. He's been a vicious critic of the Warwick Fire Department ever since. Is this Cote seeking revenge for not receiving his excessively inflated scuba-training proposal? OR is he angry because he got arrested when he got caught poisoning our water supply? Or is it both. In either event, he HATES the Warwick Fire Department.

He was also an opponent of the car tax. I was too. In fact, I spoke at the podium here in Warwick as well as the State House on several occasions, standing right next to Cote. Then, he switched gears. Instead of fighting against the tax itself, he decided to begin a new fight against the way Warwick was setting the value of the cars. From that day on, I no longer supported him. And from that day on, he became my greatest critic too, stealing my signs, lying about me and passing out fliers filled with non-existent "data". When you think of it ...How could I have a license to broker mortgages, drive a registered car today, or not be sued by the City of Warwick for non-payment of taxes if Cote was right about ANY of those accusations. The fact is, he's a liar. The fact is he's a thief.

My grandfather was right. Consider the source.

Happy Spring everyone.

Rick Corrente

The Taxpayers Mayor