Restaurant Owner Pleads Not Guilty to Bribing Ex-Speaker Gordon Fox

A restaurant owner accused of bribing former Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox has pleaded not guilty.

Raymond Hugh pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a single count of bribing a public official.

Providence Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause set bail at $50,000 personal recognizance.

Hugh was indicted by a grand jury last month and accused of bribing Fox in 2008, when the Democratic politician sat on the Providence board of licenses. At the time, Fox was House majority leader.

Fox stepped down as House Speaker last year amid a corruption investigation.

He is now in prison after admitting in federal court that he took more than $50,000 to help push through a liquor license for one of Hugh's restaurants.

The application faced strenuous opposition from neighbors, including Brown University.