Jeffrey Britt, the storied political operative who has pulled unseen strings in Rhode Island political campaigns for more than a decade, was indicted on a money-laundering charge on Friday in connection with his work on House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello's 2016 reelection campaign.

PROVIDENCE — Jeffrey Britt, the storied political operative who has pulled unseen strings in Rhode Island political campaigns for more than a decade, was indicted on a money-laundering charge on Friday in connection with his work on House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello's 2016 reelection campaign.

The indictment handed up by a statewide grand jury on Friday morning charges Britt with one felony count of money laundering and one misdemeanor count of making a prohibited campaign contribution and "disguising it as the contribution of someone else," Attorney General Peter Neronha said at a news conference.

Britt, who has a home in Florida, will be arraigned Nov. 1. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Britt's lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente, issued a statement alleging that Britt has been "used by the Mattiello campaign as a fall guy."

The full statement began: "Mr. Britt is disappointed in today's indictment, but, at the same time, he is anxious to clear his name at a public trial.

"We think it will become apparent that these charges should not have been brought — and certainly not against Mr. Britt. Obviously, in the sometimes sordid history of Rhode Island politics, participating with others in raising $2100 for a campaign mailer, three years ago, is a pretty underwhelming offense. That probably explains why the Board of Elections closed its investigation into the matter in April 2018, with just a warning to the Mattiello campaign.

"It certainly does not justify the State's overcharging this petty episode as money laundering, when — at most — it might be a misdemeanor under Rhode Island law," said the statement issued by Corrente's law firm. "Worse, today's indictment unfairly singles out Mr. Britt, a contractor to the Mattiello campaign.

"We believe that the evidence at trial will leave Rhode Islanders scratching their heads about who did and who did not get charged, and will show that Mr. Britt was used by the Mattiello campaign as a fall guy. We are confident that the jury will see this set-up for what it is, once they hear the testimony from everyone involved." (Neronha said no further indictments are expected in this case.)

The grand jury investigated alleged shenanigans in the final weeks of Mattiello's tough 2016 campaign for reelection in his Cranston home district, and specifically the roles played by Britt and potentially other aides in arranging and financing a mailer endorsing Mattiello.

The mailer, ostensibly issued by political newcomer Shawna Lawton, was one of the oddest side stories of Mattiello's campaign against Republican National Committeeman Steven Frias, a race Mattiello won by a mere 85 votes. Neronha told reporters that there was no admissible evidence that Mattiello, a Democrat who has been House speaker since 2014, had knowledge of Britt's alleged misdeeds.

READ: Who is Jeff Britt? 7 things to know about the man indicted in R.I.’s latest campaign scandal

Here is what happened: In mid-October 2016, Lawton, the little-known Republican whom Frias defeated in the GOP primary, sent voters in the House District 15 a mailer explaining why she intended to vote for Mattiello in the general election.

Since Lawton had only $43.34 in her campaign account after the primary, then-state GOP Chairman Brandon Bell filed a complaint with the Board of Elections questioning how she could have paid for the $2,150 mailer.

It came to light that Britt — a hired gun who has worked for Republicans and Democrats, including most recently Gov. Gina Raimondo's reelection campaign — had met with Lawton and left her with the impression he could help secure action at the State House on her campaign against the vaccination of school-age children against human papillomavirus.

The Journal subsequently reported: two Mattiello supporters, Teresa Graham of Greenville (the wife of Ed Cotugno, the mail-ballot king of Rhode Island, credited with Mattiello's slim victory that year) and Victor Pichette of Warwick made $1,000 donations to Lawton’s campaign so that it would appear she alone had arranged and paid for for the mailing. (Shannon Graham, also of Putnam Pike in Greenville, had been paid $1,035 by the Mattiello campaign days earlier for employee services.)

Bell alleged that Lawton had “coordinated” the mailing with the Mattiello campaign in possible violation of state law banning coordination between a campaign and anyone making an "independent expenditure" that exceeded the state's $1,000 contribution limit.

“Ms. Lawton indicated in writing that she was ‘promised’ action on vaccination issues by the Mattiello campaign in return for her endorsement," Bell said in a news release that accompanied the complaint. "This is a quid pro quo, and could be considered a form of bribery.... Although Mattiello and Lawton deny there was any deal, Ms. Lawton’s written comments say otherwise."

He alluded to an online chat reported by The Journal, in which Lawton told allies that Britt had “reached out to me.” On Oct. 1 of that year, she wrote: “Yes, I have been ‘promised’ we will get further with our issues.”

That led to a two-year, stop-and-start investigation by the state Board of Elections, the initiation of contempt proceedings against Britt for rebuffing subpoenas, and finally the case's progression to the attorney general.

The indictment alleges this previously undisclosed series of events: Britt "delivered $1,000" to someone identified as "Donor 1," who then "deposited $1,000 in cash into his checking account at Centreville Bank." The unnamed donor then wrote a check, dated Oct. 19, 2016, from the same checking account to Lawton.

Around Oct. 20, Britt met with Lawton again to present her with two $1,000 checks that he represented to be campaign donations from two other people. With those checks in hand, she "provided [Britt] with a check drawn on her campaign account for $2,150 which was to be used to pay the cost of the mailer."

Lawton belatedly filed a report explaining where she got the money: from Graham and Pichette. "At no time was it disclosed to the Board of Elections or in any public filing that Mr. Britt had funneled the $1,000 in cash to Ms. Lawton's campaign through 'Donor 1,' " Neronha told reporters.

Neronha said "Rhode Island's election laws exist for a reason.... They exist to make sure that the public knows the true source of funds used to support political candidates.... In short, they exist to ensure the integrity of elections. Mr. Britt as alleged here thwarted these goals by intentionally and unlawfully disguising the true source of funds used to pay for Ms. Lawton's mailer endorsing Speaker Mattiello."

Neronha, in office since January, said he was struck by the "lack of seriousness with which some people who had knowledge relevant to this investigation [responded] to the Board of Elections inquiry. '

Asked at one point how he viewed the Lawton mailer, Frias said: "I think it served two purposes, first by having a Republican — someone ostensibly a Republican — come out and support the Democrat, it creates confusion among Republicans as to who to support in that race.

"Second, this race was going to go down to the wire and every vote mattered. Even if Shawna Lawton only had a few dozen votes in a race decided by 85 votes [it] makes a difference. She got 122 votes in that primary. Some of those people who voted for her in that primary are friends or family members."

Mattiello denied any knowledge of the alleged activities. The elections board found no evidence he personally knew of the behind-the-scenes machinations around the mailer, but ordered him, in a related case, to repay $72,068 in over-the-limit spending that a PAC, which he controlled, spent on his 2016 reelection campaign.

The response to Friday's indictment from Mattiello campaign spokeswoman Patti Doyle: "These proceedings do not involve the Speaker. The Board of Elections resolved this issue for the campaign approximately one year ago."

Frias, for his part, said: "Speaker Mattiello ran a campaign which engaged in criminal activity, and this criminal activity played a role in his win. He also misled the voters when he said his campaign had no involvement with the illegal mailer.

"If it was me, I would be so ashamed. In fact, I find it embarrassing to be even represented by somebody like him. Why does Mattiello surround himself with criminals?"

State GOP Chairwoman Sue Cienki called on Mattiello to resign. He did not respond.

With reports from staff writer Brian Amaral