CRANSTON, RI—The president of the Providence branch of the NAACP has accused Mayor Allan Fung of nominating a new fire chief who used a racist slur in an argument with another firefighter.
In a letter to the news media, NAACP president Jim Vincent accused Deputy Chief Paul Valletta of using the "n" word in an audio recording provided to him by a source. The recording was also leaked to Channel 10. The firefighter involved in the fight, Lt. Scott Bergantino, confirmed that it was Valletta on the recording.
But Fung said Tuesday that he has listened to the recording many times and never heard Valletta using a racist slur for black people.
"I've listened to that myself and others have," Fung said. "I have not heard the 'n' word used ever in the time I've known Deputy Chief Valletta."
Valletta is also the president of the firefighters union and a lobbyist for the Rhode Island Association of Firefighters. He was not at the fire station when a reporter called Tuesday and did not respond to a message sent via Facebook.
The recording captured part of a fight between Valletta and Bergantino in September 2017. Valletta was charged with assault and suspended with pay pending an internal investigation. The court later found him not guilty of assault but guilty of disorderly conduct.
Vincent said Fung, in response to an incident involving youth from out of town at a Cranston public pool, reportedly said he would not tolerate anyone using racial slurs.
"I agree with him," Vincent said. "If the chief has used the 'n' word, shouldn't that exclude him from consideration?
"I'm calling for an investigation of this, based on the unedited tape," he said. "I'm asking the mayor to listen to it and then make a judgment."
Asked why he would recommend someone who had been charged with assault, Fung's director of administration, Dan Parrillo, said Valletta has been a firefighter in Cranston for 35 years.
"He ranked first on the oral and written exams," Parrillo said. "He's been the Number 2 guy in the organization and we're lucky to have him."
Fung said there were three candidates for the job and one dropped out to take a position elsewhere. He said Cranston's civil-service statute dictates that a chief be chosen from within the ranks.
"Jim doesn't know what he's talking about," Fung said. "He wants us to appoint a minority. I don't have that flexibility. I need to make sure that that person is going to be able to lead and do the job. Paul Valletta is the right person."
If he is confirmed by the City Council on July 27, Valletta will step down as union president and lobbyist, Parrillo said.
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