MassGOP says something fishy over caterer contract
Republican Party says Eastie restaurant employees donated to Healey campaign
The Massachusetts Republican Party called on the State Ethics Commission Friday to launch an investigation into a no-bid contract to provide food at state-run shelters that has since expired but was awarded to a company whose employees donated to Gov. Maura Healey.
MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale alleged, without evidence, a connection between donations to Healey’s campaign fund from staff at a food caterer late last month in East Boston and a $10 million contract handed to the company last year.
Carnevale said the donation of $1,000 made March 27 amounted to “play-byplay dynamics with this no-bid contract.” The contract expired on March 31, according to documents independently obtained and reviewed by the Herald.
“Gov. Healey appears unable to shake off the perception of unethical conduct. Whether it’s her nomination of her former romantic partner to Massachusetts’ highest court, her secretive travels, or how she seemingly rewarded a campaign contributor with a substantial no-bid contract,” Carnevale said in a statement Friday afternoon.
The state’s housing department handed East Boston’s Spinelli’s Ravioli a $10 million contract that effectively started Aug. 1, 2023, and ended March 31 to provide food at 30 emergency shelter sites housing local families and migrants.
A spokesperson for Healey declined to comment on the accusations from the MassGOP, instead referring to remarks made by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities earlier this week.
No-bid contracts were used in the early days of Massachusetts’ shelter crisis to “move quickly” to provide food, shelter, and other services to families in need because of federal inaction in Washington and rising demand on temporary housing in the Bay State, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities said.
“These services are essential to our ongoing work to transition arriving immigrants into jobs, housing and out of the emergency assistance system. These are families who have come here lawfully through the federal system, and we continue to urge Congress to step up to address this federal issue,” the spokesperson said in a previous statement to Herald.
Jeannie Giuggio, listed as the general manager of Spinelli’s Function Facility on state filings, donated $1,000 to Healey’s campaign on March 27, according to campaign finance data. Giuggio also donated $1,000 to Healey on Dec. 20, 2023, records show.
“I don’t really know,” Giuggio said in a brief phone call Saturday morning when told of the call for an ethics investigation by the MassGOP because of the March 27 donation. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
A Spinelli’s employee listed as the contact on the no-bid contract did not reply to an inquiry emailed Saturday morning.
Another person who listed themselves as an employee of Spinelli’s also repeatedly donated to Healey’s campaign over the past two years, according to state records on file with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
Spinelli’s Ravioli and three other carters have since been awarded contracts to provide food at shelters after state officials posted a “rolling” request for contractors, according to the state’s housing department.
The agency asked caterers to be ready to provide three meals per person and one snack per day in various settings, including hotels, for as few as ten and as many as 300 individuals per site per day, according to a bid solicitation dated Sept. 23, 2023.
More than 70 different companies are shown on a list of bidders, with Spinelli’s appearing twice, according to state records.
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities awarded food contracts to Commonwealth Kitchen, Stock Pot Malden, and Greek Kitchen Management on Feb. 21, according to a publicly available notice.
Spinelli’s Ravioli was handed a contract on March 14 through the competitive procurement process in a separate publicly available letter.
The since-expired no-bid food contract with Spinelli’s Ravioli was one of four the Healey administration inked.
Two other no-bid contracts have also expired while one $6.8 million deal with a Cape Cod cab company to provide transportation at shelters is active until April 13, according to documents reviewed by the Herald.