Rhode Island will soon receive $230 million due to local police efforts in a $500 million federal investigation involving Google. The Rhode Island task force for the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations played a leading role in the investigation, which involved illegal advertisements for Canadian prescriptions run on Google's search engine.
The investigation into the ads - which pointed online visitors to websites where they could buy illegal Canadian prescriptions - resulted in Google forfeiting the revenue they received from the ads.
Of the $230 million the state will receive, $5 million will go to the Rhode Island National Guard, and $45 million will go to the State Police. The East Providence and North Providence police departments will split $120 million, and another $60 million will go to the state attorney general's office.
The funds are being distributed across the state based on law enforcement officials' time commitments, said Joseph Tavares, chief of police at the East Providence Police Department. The investigation originated when "information came to the attention of the Rhode Island task force," Tavares said. "(The investigation) started in Rhode Island, and that is where it continued."
Departments have submitted plans detailing how they would like to spend the funds, though they have not yet been received in full. The money cannot be used to cover salaries or fill budget gaps and must instead must be used for expenses such as equipment, infrastructure and training.
The expenditures must first be submitted and approved by the Department of Justice before the funds can be used, said Amy Kempe, spokesperson for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin.
Kempe said the attorney general's office is looking to invest in information systems, citing the office's use of paper time cards as a practice in need of an upgrade.
The East Providence Police Department will likely spend the funds on equipment, vehicles and other areas in need of improvement, Tavares said. He said the money will help the department and the city financially, but it is not a cure-all.
"To say that the city or the police department is never going to have money problems would not be accurate," he said. "But if (the funds are) spent in the right way, we should not have vehicle or equipment issues going forward."
Tavares added that about half the money will be invested, and some may also go toward constructing a new buildings for the police department.
The North Providence Police Department has similar plans for the money, said Captain Paul Ricci, administrative commander of the North Providence Police Department.
The department is considering building a new headquarters, since the current facility was built sometime in the 1970s, Ricci said. Funds may also be used for a training academy that would be shared with other law enforcement departments in the state, he added.
The State Police is discussing the facility with North Providence and East Providence, according to Captain Mike Winquist, detective commander for the Rhode Island State Police.
"This is still in its infancy," Ricci said. "We want to figure out ways to help out law enforcement - not just here, but statewide."
Tavares also expressed a desire for the money to help departments across the state.
"The whole idea is to make this a win-win for everybody," Tavares said. "We want to make differences in people's lives."
The process for receiving and spending the funds will be slow and deliberate to avoid legal complications that could arise from misuse of funds, Ricci said.
Tavares said there is a possibility the police departments could be granted waivers to use the funds in unspecified ways, but it remains unclear whether the departments will pursue this option.
