Official at La Salle Academy Catholic school charged with bribery

[Ian David]

Official at Catholic school charged with bribery

December 15, 2006

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --An employee at a Catholic prep school was indicted on charges that he accepted bribes from contractors who did work at the school.

A state grand jury charged Richard P. Rochefort, 48, the director of buildings and grounds at La Salle Academy in Providence, with 20 counts of accepting or soliciting a bribe.

His wife, Gail Rochefort, 48, was also charged with a single count of conspiring to solicit or accept a bribe -- as well as aiding and abetting the solicitation of a bribe.

The school said in a statement that Rochefort had been placed on an indefinite unpaid leave of absence and that no other La Salle employee was implicated.

Prosecutors say Richard Rochefort accepted or solicited more than $10,000 in bribes from companies that received contracts to do work at the school.

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/12/15/official_at_catholic_school_charged_with_bribery/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News