CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — The R.I. Ethics Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to dismiss an ethics complaint alleging nepotism against Cranston Mayor Kenneth Hopkins, who denounced the accusations as a political attack.

A former city worker filed a complaint against Hopkins back in April. He unsuccessfully accused the first-term Republican mayor of violating the nepotism clause of the state’s code of ethics for the mayor’s role in the hiring and promotion of his son-in-law, who is a Cranston rescue lieutenant.

The commission voted 5-0 to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, meaning the case is permanently closed. The panel interviewed several current and former firefighters as part of its investigation and ultimately determined there was no probable cause to move the complaint forward.

“No evidence was found that I exercised any influence or authority over the hiring or promotion of my son-in-law,” Hopkins said in a statement Tuesday that heralded the ruling.

According to the ethics report, Hopkins’ son-in-law Jacob Shackleford was qualified to become a firefighter, ranking fourth out of 68 candidates. He was also promoted to lieutenant in 2024 only after multiple other people turned down the position, according to the panel.

“Based upon the results of the investigation and the legal analysis as presented herein,
the prosecution submits that there does not exist probable cause,” Commission Prosecutor Teresa Giusti concluded.

Hopkins thanked the commission for tossing the complaint, saying “I am not and have never been involved in the hiring/selection process for firefighters. I leave those functions to the city’s personnel department and our fire department leadership in accordance with the City Charter.”

He continued, “while I am pleased that this matter has been favorably resolved before the Ethics Commission, I am troubled by the undeserved attack on my family, our good name, and my reputation.”

Hopkins also took aim at the complainant, John Psilopoulos, saying he went after the mayor reputation for political reasons that resulted in an “unwarranted attempt to besmirch me and my family.”

“Shame on him as he clearly was acting as a political tool for my primary opponent and her husband, for whom Psilopoulos worked for when he was mayor,” Hopkins added.

Psilopoulos, who served as deputy under former Republican Mayor Allan Fung, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The former mayor’s wife, state Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, is currently running against Hopkins for mayor. Fenton-Fung criticized the ethics decision Tuesday, saying “Rhode Island’s reputation for insider politicians acting badly and getting away with it just got served another punch in the gut with this erroneous decision that ignores the mayor is the appointing authority.”

“This decision issued behind closed doors opens the floodgates for mayors and other government officials around the state to start hiring their children and family members with not a concern in the world or even getting an ethics opinion at the forefront,” she added.

Once allies, the two families have become political enemies in the years since Hopkins succeeded Fung as mayor in 2021, who was term limited. Fung endorsed Hopkins in the race to replace him, and Hopkins won over his Democratic opponent, Maria Bucci, with 54% of the vote.

Since announcing her campaign against Hopkins, Fenton-Fung has been increasingly critical of the mayor and his administration’s employment of family members. The criticism continued this week, as Fenton Fung issued a statement Monday alleging Hopkins of recently hiring his nephew’s partner as a police dispatcher, despite her handing in an application two days after a deadline.

“Ken Hopkins is at it again helping his family and those they love get taxpayer-funded positions,” Fenton-Fung said Monday. “Enough is enough — it’s time for him to go.”

Fenton-Fung echoed the criticism Tuesday, urging Cranston voters to “reject such insider deals at the polls this September.”

“Between the hiring of his son-in-law at Cranston Fire, his son through suspicious circumstances at the school department, and now his nephew’s significant other at the Cranston Police department, Cranstonians can see through the smoke filled back room deals,” she added.

Hopkins has defended the city employment of his family members, saying he doesn’t get personally involved and that his family members are well-educated and well-qualified to serve.

The mayor also shot back at Fenton-Fung, saying her effort to target his family is “going below the belt” and that she owes them an apology.

“How ludicrous — how ridiculous is that?” he said Tuesday about the most recent criticism, adding that he will not stand aside and let her criticize the Hopkins name.

“It’s important that we also set a message that negative campaigning doesn’t work any more — people don’t want that,” he told Target 12. “They want good leadership, they want good services and what she did was downright awful to disparage the Hopkins name.”

Eli Sherman ( esherman@wpri.com ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook .

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