The leader of the Providence NAACP has been found guilty of campaign finance violations.
Gerard Catala was convicted on two criminal misdemeanor charges for failing to turn in required campaign finance reports, regarding his 2022 run for City Council.
The 45-year-old Catala was ordered to serve 20 hours of community service.
The charges will be dismissed if he avoids any further legal trouble for one year. Catala has run unsuccessfully for City Council three times in the past ten years.
Involving the 2022 run, Catala routinely missed campaign finance reporting deadlines, failed to disclose more than six thousand dollars in contributions, and could not show that bank debts involved campaign spending.
Catala has appealed the conviction.
(Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP / Getty Images