RI Ethics Commission Bars Richard Charest From Business Talks

Former Rhode Island Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest is barred from discussing business with state officials for one year following his move to the private sector, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission decided Tuesday.

The commission unanimously adopted a recommendation that limits Charest’s ability to represent his new employer before the very agencies he once led. This decision follows questions raised by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha regarding the state’s revolving door clause, which restricts former administrators from lobbying their former colleagues to prevent undue influence.

As reported by Rhode Island Current, Charest began his role as head of CharterCare Health of Rhode Island on Nov. 1. The organization serves as the local subsidiary for Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital.

The seven-page ethics opinion, presented by commission staff attorney Teodora Papa, outlines specific boundaries for Charest’s professional conduct through late 2026. While Charest may still maintain personal relationships with former colleagues, he is prohibited from engaging in business-related discussions with them.

Specifically, the ruling states Charest cannot represent himself or CharterCARE before any division of the health and human services agency, the governor’s office, or the Department of Administration. These prohibitions extend beyond formal legislative activity and meetings to include informal interactions, such as phone calls and social gatherings, if the content of the discussion pertains to business and industry.

“It is the content of the discussion, rather than the venue,” Papa said, noting that personal discussions are not prohibited.

Charest is also strictly barred from using any confidential information obtained during his nearly five years in state government to benefit CharterCARE. Under his new contract, Charest had agreed to withhold all interactions with state agencies until receiving this formal guidance from the commission.

The ethics ruling arrives as CharterCARE faces intense scrutiny over its management of two critical safety-net hospitals. Since acquiring Roger Williams and Fatima hospitals from a bankrupt owner in March, the operator has struggled to stabilize operations and resolve contract disputes with roughly 1,200 unionized workers.

The timing of Charest’s appointment is critical for the healthcare operator’s ability to satisfy state regulators. The transition from leading the state’s massive health and human services umbrella agency to managing the very providers that rely on state systems creates a complex intersection of public oversight and private management.

While the Ethics Commission has issued similar opinions for other former officials in the past, the pressure on CharterCARE remains unique due to its recent acquisition of distressed assets. Whether Charest can lead the organization toward financial solvency while managing these strict communication barriers is unknown.

Attorneys for Charest, Marc DeSisto and Sarah Boucher of Providence-based DeSisto Law, did not immediately respond to requests for comment following Tuesday’s decision. Similarly, Otis Brown, a spokesperson for CharterCARE, was unavailable for comment.

The Dec. 11 deadline for the hospital operator’s new financial plan will likely serve as the first major test of Charest’s leadership within the limits of the state’s ethics laws.

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