PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Independent gubernatorial candidate Joe Trillo acknowledged Wednesday that he was charged with simple assault in the 1970s in Cranston when he “inadvertently” hit a young Nicholas Mattiello, who was then a neighborhood kid who lived next door to him but is now the speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

He also said he was involved in another altercation at the General Assembly with another representative years later that was never reported to police. The only-in-Rhode Island revelations come just about a month before the Nov. 6 general election against Republican Cranston Mayor Allan Fung and incumbent Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo, prompting a charge from Fung that Trillo is "unhinged" and a boast from Trillo that he's a fighter.

The day full of October surprises started just after 7:30 a.m., when Trillo appeared on Gene Valicenti's WPRO show to reveal that he pleaded no contest to the charge involving Mattiello; it was later expunged, Valicenti said.

Trillo said the resolution of the charge did not involve a monetary settlement. Trillo was an adult at the time; according to Valicenti's account, Mattiello was about 12 or 13 at the time, while Trillo later estimated he was 14.

“It wasn’t really a big deal,” Trillo said.

Citing Trillo's own account, Valicenti said his neighbors next door had left their children at home alone. Other neighborhood kids, including Mattiello, were pounding on the door, trying to get in. Trillo went over to get them to go away, and while waving his arms, accidentally hit Mattiello, Valicenti said.

Trillo declined to be interviewed by The Providence Journal, but in a statement after his interview with Valicenti, Trillo said he was acting to protect a young girl who was frightened inside the house.

"When I reflect on that day, while I wish I hadn’t accidentally came in contact with Nicholas Mattiello, I know I did the right thing, trying to protect the frightened young girl," Trillo said.

Mattiello's parents decided to press charges and Trillo was summoned to the police to be charged, Valicenti said.

Asked whether Valicenti had described the incident correctly and fairly, Trillo said: "You gave everything but the bada-boom."

Trillo, who was in his 30s at the time, says he was not fined in the case. The case file was held for a year, then went away for his staying out of trouble, he said.

Court records show that Cranston police charged Trillo with assault in July 1975 and he was found not guilty in Jan. 3, 1977.

"He believes it's the same case," said Trillo spokeswoman Raina Smith. "He doesn't remember every single detail ... He remembers the emotional quotient and running to her defense."

Smith said Trillo has never been charged with assault any other time besides the Mattiello incident.

Mattiello, a Democrat, released the following statement: “I vaguely recall an incident that took place well over 40 years ago. I respect Joe Trillo, who is a friend and a good person, and I have a lot of affection for him.”

While talking about that assault, Trillo also admitted to an altercation at the General Assembly that was never reported to police — the time he got into a nose-tweaking, eye-poking, hand-slapping fight with then-Rep. Laurence Ehrhardt in an argument over legislation on inspecting boat toilets.

"As long as we've got the skeletons coming out of the closet," Trillo said Wednesday afternoon, to WPRO's Matt Allen.

Trillo said he and Ehrhardt were in a back room at the minority office in the State House when they got into "a heated argument, in each other's face."

Then, "out of nowhere, Larry poked me in the eyes with two fingers, and I slapped him back," Trillo said. "Double-fingered in the eyes."

"Like 'The Three Stooges'?" Allen suggested.

"Yeah," said Trillo.

Ehrhardt called in to the talk show with his own version of events. "I couldn't resist the temptation. I reached out and tweaked his nose, because I thought the situation was so ridiculous," he said. "Joe went wild and waving his arms."

While Ehrhardt said he didn't think he was in danger, "I have this whirlwind in front of me, and the result is he hit my arms a number of times, and I ended up with a series of bruises."

The staff heard the men fighting, but no one called the police, Trillo said. They both got over it.

"You put ten Republicans in a room, and you've got an argument," Trillo said.

In his interview about the earlier charge, Trillo raised the fatal car crash that Fung was involved with when Fung was in college. Fung addressed the crash during the 2014 campaign. Trillo blamed Fung's campaign for the "dirty trick" of raising the Mattiello assault, although the Fung campaign denies it was involved.

Fung called Trillo "unhinged" in his own interview with Valicenti Wednesday morning.

Fung's campaign spokesman Andrew Augustus said in an email: "Anyone who knows Joe Trillo is not surprised by this latest revelation. He can’t control himself and is unfit for office."