Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

As Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena tells it, there was no hanky panky -- just an honest mistake.

His town wanted to buy one of the fire trucks Cranston was auctioning off, and human error got in the way.

For a stripped-down pumper truck worth all of a few hundred dollars, Fire Chief Andrew J. Baynes bid $6,000.

The problem was, he bid on the wrong truck.

The other pumper Cranston was auctioning had been appraised at $3,000 to $5,000, and that was the one Baynes wanted, Polisena says.

When Baynes realized his mistake he told Cranston's purchasing office. According to a letter sent to another bidder, the Board of Contract and Purchase later decided not to award either truck.

"There's no conspiracy theory, there was no bid rigging, it was just we bid on the wrong vehicle," Polisena said. "So Cranston was gracious enough to let us remove our bid."

Not so happy about the situation is Gordon Duke, of Johnston, and Rolando Castro, of Providence, who had the high bid -- $1,710 -- on the "good truck" and had hoped to send the 1989 pumper to a fire department in Guatemala.

Duke, a former Providence firefighter who has sent more than 30 used fire trucks to departments in Guatemala, said Cranston seems to be playing favorites with the bidders

Robin Muksian-Schutt, director of administration for Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung, said there was no favortism. The city acknowledged that Johnston made a mistake and also concluded that the bids on the "good truck" were below the appraised value.

He said he has reported the matter to the Rhode Island State Police and will also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice.

 Tags  Cranston RI Johnston RI

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