Lawyer: Coventry senator being investigated by state police likely to resign

COVENTRY, R.I. — Rhode Island State Police confirmed Tuesday they are investigating state Sen. Nicholas Kettle (R). And while they won’t say why, Kettle’s lawyer says it was prompted by “a breakup of a relationship” between the young senator and his girlfriend days ago that spilled onto social media.

State police detectives arrived about 6 a.m. Tuesday at Kettle’s home on Barbs Hill Road, armed with a search warrant, said lawyer Paul DiMaio. They escorted Kettle, dressed in his pajamas, out of the house, searched him for any weapons, and then proceeded to search his house, garage, car and an “antique outhouse,” apparently looking for computers, DiMaio said.

Kettle may have anticipated law enforcement’s arrival, because he had already turned his electronic devices over to DiMaio. “He gave them to me over the weekend when this allegation spilled into cyberspace,” DiMaio said. DiMaio said he gave the computer and other devices to state police detectives later Tuesday.

The investigation has nothing to do with revenge porn “or porn of any kind,” DiMaio said. But he said he expected Kettle to resign: “He doesn’t want all this hanging over his head while he tries to do business up there [at the State House].”

Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180116/lawyer-coventry-senator-being-investigated-by-state-police-likely-to-resign