« 12 arraigned on charges linked to gambling ring | Today | Circus shows start at Dunk tonight »

May 3, 2006

Beacon board members go to court to block removal

PROVIDENCE -- Two Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. board members filed a Superior Court motion today asking a judge to block Governor Carcieri from removing them from the board.

Carcieri sought to terminate long-time board members George H. Nee and Henry Boeniger last month as part of a shake-up of the company leadership after an internal investigation produced evidence of abuses at Beacon. Company CEO Joseph A. Solomon was subsequently fired.

Last week, Nee and Boeniger asked Carcieri for an independent hearing to review his decision to remove them. A meeting was planned for tomorrow afternoon.

But today, Boeniger and Nee filed paperwork in Superior Court asking a judge to approve a temporary restraining order preventing Carcieri from firing them. They claim that Carcieri discriminated against them because of their union affiliations. Boeniger and Nee are also seeking to be reimbursed for legal fees.

Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal dismissed the move as a waste of time. “While we have not had an opportunity to review the complaint in detail, one thing is clear: This lawsuit has absolutely no merit, and simply represents an audacious and completely self-interested effort by Mr. Nee and Mr. Boeniger to distract from their abject failure to prevent the rampant mismanagement that occurred under their noses at Beacon Mutual,” Neal said in a statement released this evening.

A judge is expected to review the motion tomorrow morning.

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 6:08 PM | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)