the end of the first year of the crisis, most of the big banks remained closed. Policy measures took incremental steps to pay back small amounts first, including accounts with $2,500 or less, while larger accounts were capped at 10%. Some depositors waited for multiple years to recover their money, although eventually, according to Sundlun, all of it was returned with interest. Though he received criticism at the time from affected depositors and other segments of the public, some of whom called for his impeachment, Sundlun was elected to a second term and continued to stand by his decisions years later. Likewise, Whitehouse said it "without a doubt" could not have gone better. In total, DEPCO sold $697 million in bonds during its handling of the crisis. It filed about 300 lawsuits in total, targeting the failed institutions as well as other entities which played a role in creating the crisis. A major legal victory came in September 1997, against the financial company Ernst & Young, which served as auditor for RISDIC. The firm had last audited the insurer in February 1990, examining records for 1988 and 1989 without finding significant problems. DEPCO alleged Ernst & Young failed in its role, missing risks that ultimately led to the banking crisis. The firm denied wrongdoing, saying there was no way to predict some of the circumstances, like a downturn in the real estate market, but agreed to pay $103 million, marking what the Wall Street Journal at the time called "one of the largest ever [payments] by an accounting firm to a government agency." The funds were used to continue to pay down DEPCO's large debt. Another large settlement came from Fleet Bank, which paid $15.5 million when it was accused of setting up loans that helped two institutions deceive regulators. Following the crisis, all Rhode Island banks are now insured by federal entities. DEPCO's debts were settled by August 30, 2000, and it ceased operations in January 2003, in what the Credit Union Journal called "the final chapter in the worst scandal in credit union history." The sales tax increase which was intended to be temporary was never repealed. Possible connections to organized crime and corruption Among several other concerns Arlene Violet raised about Heritage Loan & Investment were those about its links to prominent figures in the Patriarca crime family. Police Captain Brian Andrews told The New York Times