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Archive for the ‘RHODE ISLAND’ Category
Bristol Rhode Island Police Chief Josue “Josh” Canario Hired - Failed Written Test, 8 Others Scored Higher, So Why Was He Selected?
June 19th, 2008
BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND — At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, the doors to Room 286 in the Roger Williams University School of Law building closed. Nine men sat in chairs, as several women, volunteer members of the Bristol Personnel Board, began instructing them on the test they were about to take.
One hundred questions. Two hours and 30 minutes. Testing their knowledge of police procedures; laws; concepts of supervision and management.
The nine test-takers included all of the top brass in the Bristol Police Department (excluding retiring Police Chief Col. Russell S. Serpa, whose job they were all seeking), as well as current and retired police veterans from Bristol and other communities.
When they finished the tests, the women collected the exams and sealed them in an envelope. Shortly after, the envelope was mailed to the University of Maryland’s testing center.
Read MoreFormer Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Nicholas Gianquitti Charged After Swearing At Children And Murdering Firefighter Over Child’s Ball - Wants Bail
June 4th, 2008
WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND — The 911 call came in at 3:11 p.m.
Nicholas Gianquitti had just shot his next-door neighbor, Jim Pagano.
And the shooter’s wife, Jennifer, was on the phone –– screaming, incoherent.
“Please!” she seemed to be yelling. “Please!”
Extra
Special Report: Our continuing coverage on the Cranston shooting
She asked for an ambulance. She said her husband was a retired police officer.
Then Nicholas took the phone. Calmer.
And in the chaos, a nascent defense: The neighbor had come to his house, he said. The neighbor had pushed him down the stairs.
“I drew my weapon and I shot him,” Nicholas Gianquitti told the 911 operator.
“I was afraid for my life,” he said.
“He’s on my property,” he said. “I’m in the right.”
Read MoreNorth Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Sgt. Michael Ciresi Sentenced To 20 Years For Laundry List Of Crimes Including Burglary
May 31st, 2008
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Michael Ciresi, a suspended North Providence police sergeant, will serve a minimum of 20 years in prison after being sentenced today for several crimes, including two burglaries.
Ciresi, who had been on home confinement since February, was ordered to the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston by Judge Robert J. Krause.
On Feb. 11, a jury convicted Ciresi on two counts of burglary, one stemming from an armed home invasion in Pawtucket in which his gun was found.
He was also found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, the use of a firearm to commit a crime of violence, attempting to steal money from a stolen ATM after a police raid, receiving a stolen generator, obstructing a police officer and harboring a criminal by hiding a traffic summons in his police locker.
Read MoreFormer Johnson Rhode Island Police Officer Marc Zaccagnini Sentenced To Just 60 Days In Prison For Assault, Vandalism, And Trespassing
May 27th, 2008
JOHNSTON, RHODE ISLAND — A former Johnston police officer was sentenced to 60 days in prison earlier today by a Superior Court judge.
Marc Zaccagnini was found in violation of his five-year deferred sentence for vandalism and trespassing after he was convicted of committing simple assault in a separate case.
That conviction last month led Judge Gilbert Indeglia to impose prison time, emphasizing that Providence police arrested Zaccagnini only a short time after he had worked out his deferred sentence with the court last October.
Indeglia also said that Zaccagnini is “not the man on the street.” “He’s a law enforcement officer who’s taken an oath to enforce the law and abide by the law,” Indeglia said.
Zaccagnini was not led away in handcuffs because Indeglia opted to let him wait for the state’s Supreme Court to rule on an appeal in the case.
Read MoreFormer Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Nicholas Gianquitti Arrested, Jailed, Charged With Murdering Fireman Over Children’s Toy Ball
May 25th, 2008
CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND - A Cranston firefighter was allegedly gunned down in front of young children by an ex-cop neighbor after an apparent dispute, police said.
Authorities believe Cranston firefighter Lt. James Pagano and neighbor Nicholas Gianquitti, a former Providence cop, had been arguning Sunday.
Shortly afterward, Gianquitti allegedly opened fire on Pagano at his home on a quiet dead-end street as children watched in horror, said Cranston police Chief Stephen McGrath.
Cranston Fire Chief James Gumbley confirmed Pagano had been slain Sunday, adding he was a well-liked and well-respected firefighter since 1991.
Gianquitti was arrested and ordered held without bail on a murder charge.
He did not enter a plea before he was ordered held yesterday in 3rd District Court.
His lawyer did not immediately return a phone message.
Read MoreNutcase Former Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Nicholas Gianquitti Shoots And Kills Firefighter During Child’s Birthday Party - Over Bouncing Balls
May 20th, 2008
One problem: Gianquitti seemed at odds with the neighborhood children.
Their balls were always bouncing across his lush lawn or hitting his polished car.
Gianquitti complained about this last year to a friend from his old neighborhood, Oakwind Terrace.
The kids’ balls “were always banging his cars,” recalled Ron Silvestri of his conversation with Gianquitti. “They were brand new cars and he didn’t like his cars being ruined.”
Gianquitti, a slight man who drew a disability pension from the few months in the early 1990s when he served as a Providence police officer, complained to his neighbors on Daisy Court as well. And parents there and on the adjacent cul-de-sac, Lily Drive, warned their children to keep clear of the man with the tuft of orange hair sprouting from his chin.
Above The Law: Providence Rhode Island Police Chief Dean M. Esserman Circumvented Airport Security To Save Time
May 15th, 2008
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — A week ago yesterday, Police Chief Dean M. Esserman was about to fly to Savannah, Ga., to lecture about leadership and community policing.
He said he did what he always does. He telephoned the police station at T.F. Green Airport to say he was coming, that he would be expecting an escort.
In other words, law enforcement courtesy. He would be escorted by an airport police officer and save time by not having to wait in a line of passengers at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.
Esserman got his escort. And by his own account as well as that of a TSA spokeswoman, he was initially allowed to walk around the metal detector and personal-search process, to avoid having to take off his shoes and belt and empty his pockets, and go straight to his departure gate.
Read MoreSuspended Johnson Rhode Island Police Officer Quits Amid Investigation - Details Hidden From Taxpayers
April 18th, 2008
JOHNSTON, RHODE ISLAND — A Johnston police officer who was suspended with pay after an incident that raised questions about his behavior, has resigned, town officials said today.
In a news release today, Major Joseph Polisena requested the state Attorney General’s office and the state police to investigate unspecified allegations of improper conduct.
“Although the officer has resigned, these are very serious allegations that should be reviewed by the highest law enforcement agencies in the state of Rhode Island,” the mayor’s statement said.
He added that “this will ensure the public of the integrity and independence of any conclusions reached regarding the conduct of this officer.”
Police Chief Richard S. Tamburini would not identify the officer, saying that is because the town has asked the state Attorney General’s office and the state police to review the findings of a Johnston police investigation of what happened.
Read MoreProvidence Rhode Island Police Cancel Promotional Exam After Inside Information Is Leaked To Promotion Candidate. FOP Union Leader Implicated
April 15th, 2008
PROVIDENC,E, RI — Police Chief Dean M. Esserman today announced that he has canceled a promotional examination for sergeant scheduled for April 26 because inside information about the exam allegedly had leaked to one of the candidates for promotion.
The inside information, according to a statement by Esserman, was the identity of some of the study material for the exam. One of the candidates for promotion who planned to take the exam apparently learned what the study material would be approximately three weeks before the material was announced. That would have given the officer a head start in his studies at the expense of his competitors.
The study material at issue will be replaced by other material when a new exam is scheduled, Esserman announced in a statement.
Read MoreRhode Island State Police Take Control Of Troubled Woonsocket Police Department
March 6th, 2008
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND — The Rhode Island State Police yesterday took over the temporary management of the Woonsocket Police Department until the city hires a new police chief.
The takeover came after a tumultuous couple of days in which the Police Department’s chief and deputy chief retired after the chief’s ex-wife made allegations that they had changed test scores on a police exam to get her on the force.
Mayor Susan D. Menard and state police Col. Brendan P. Doherty announced the takeover during a news conference at Woonsocket police headquarters yesterday.
Lt. Eric L. Croce, 43, a 22-year veteran of the state police, introduced himself to the officers and city officials who attended the news conference saying he was honored by the opportunity. “I welcome the opportunity to lend stability and provide a calming atmosphere to the department,” he said. He started work yesterday.
Read MoreWoonsocket Rhode Island Police Chief Michael A. Houle Quits In Disgrace Amid Test Score Fixing Scandal
March 4th, 2008
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND — Four days after word got out that the police chief’s former wife leveled allegations that the chief and deputy chief helped change test scores so that she could get on the force, the chief has announced his retirement.
Chief Michael A. Houle sent a letter announcing his retirement to Mayor Susan D. Menard yesterday: “My credibility as Chief and attempts to make positive changes in the Police Department continue to be stonewalled and challenged. This is due to misleading and false information being provided to the media and lack of support by various people who have chosen to become involved and interfere in the day to day operations of the Woonsocket Police Department,” Houle said in the letter. “I can no longer assume the position of Chief of Police without considering the affects [sic] this negative publicity has made on my family.”
Read MoreWoonsocket Rhode Island Police Chief Michael Houle And Deputy Cheif Richard Duios Under Investigation For Altering Police Recruit’s Test Scores
March 1st, 2008
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND — A city police officer is alleging that the police chief and deputy chief changed test results and corrected a test in-house to change the rankings of police recruits.
Sgt. John Scully, the president of the Woonsocket police union, notified Mayor Susan D. Menard of the allegations in a letter dated yesterday. In the letter, he says that an officer told him that Chief Michael Houle and Deputy Chief Richard Dubois violated testing procedures.
“An assertion has been made by an officer that certain testing procedures have been violated by the Deputy Chief and Chief. Specifically, I have been told that test results have been changed and a test was corrected in house by the Deputy Chief in order to change the ranking of police recruits. I have memorialized my conversations with all involved parties and stand ready to offer testimony to any investigatory body or commission that you may convene. I do not undertake this correspondence lightly; these charges are serious in nature and it is my duty to report any allegations of wrong doing on the part of any officer of the Woonsocket Police Department,” Scully wrote in his letter.
Read MoreSisters Describe East Providence Rhode Island Police Officers Beating Their Brother To Death
February 29th, 2008
EAST PROVIDENCE. RHODE ISLAND — The sisters of a man who died in police custody Wednesday said officers used excessive force to subdue him and that the force caused his death.
Gabriela Farias, 45, and Genoveva Porto, 46, didn’t deny that their brother, Leonel Farias, 40, a diagnosed schizophrenic, waved a knife at the police or that he struggled with them after he had a violent outburst in his home at 153 James St.
Both sisters said the officers — Gabriela Farias said there were six to eight of them — continued to beat Farias even after he had been knocked out with chemical spray and was down on the pavement.
Both sisters said the police kept beating him even after they begged them to stop. “They just kept hitting him and hitting him,” said Gabriela, a tech sergeant in the Air National Guard. “I know they were doing their job, but he was already out and they just kept hitting him. All I could see was blood and there’s still blood out there from all over the side of his face.”
Read MoreRhode Island State Police Take Over Troubled And Disgraced North Providence Police Department
February 21st, 2008
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Mayor Charles Lombardi took the unusual step yesterday of putting the town’s Police Department under temporary control of the state police, saying he can think of “no better way” of restoring the reputation of a department whose image was tainted by the felony convictions of a sergeant.
Flanked by Col. Brendan Doherty, the superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; North Providence Deputy Chief Paul Marino; and state police Lt. David Palmer, the mayor introduced Palmer as interim chief.
The announcement came eight days after a three-year investigation into the activities of North Providence police Sgt. Michael Ciresi ended when a Superior Court jury convicted him on 9 of 10 counts, including burglary, larceny and receiving stolen goods. It also came four days after Police Chief Ernest Spaziano, who had defended Ciresi as a character witness during the trial, interrupted a vacation to tell Lombardi he would retire by March 14.
Read MoreNorth Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Sgt. Michael Ciresi Convicted On 9 Of 10 Criminal Charges, Including 2 Counts Of Burglary And Jailed On $1 Million Bond
February 11th, 2008
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — A suspended North Providence police sergeant has been convicted of nine of 10 charges against him, including two counts of burglary, following a Superior Court trial.
Judge Robert D. Krause ordered Sgt. Michael Ciresi held on $1 million bail surety, meaning $100,000 cash or the full amount in property, and he was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs.
A sentencing date has not been set.
Along with the two counts of burglary, Ciresi was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, receiving a stolen generator (a misdemeanor), attempted larceny from a stolen ATM, harboring a criminal and obstruction of a police officer.
He was found not guilty of receiving a stolen gold and diamond bracelet (a felony).
Read MoreJudge Refuses To Dismiss Criminal Charges Against Suspended Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Sgt. Michael Ciresi
February 6th, 2008
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — A lawyer for suspended North Providence police Sgt. Michael Ciresi is planning to call at least three witnesses today in Ciresi’s defense after Superior Court Judge Robert Krause yesterday rejected his motion for summary judgment.
With the jury given the day off, Krause yesterday asked defense lawyer John Lynch Jr. to explain his rationale for seeking a dismissal of six charges, including two counts of receiving stolen goods each with a value of more than $500.
Lynch said one of the counts — receiving a stolen generator — should be dismissed because the generator Ciresi was alleged to have received had undergone depreciation in the two years before the theft and would no longer have been worth the $529 that the owner paid in 2002. Krause said he would let the count stand and leave it up to the jury to decide how much the generator was worth.
Read More25 Woonsocket Police Officers And Union Head Attend City Council Meeting Calling For Review Of Troubled Department Soon After Police Chief Michael Houle Gets A No Confidence Vote
February 6th, 2008
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND — About 25 police officers, including the head of the police union, attended the City Council meeting Monday night to voice their frustration with the operation of the Police Department and to ask when the department review will occur.
They also wanted to dispel comments by Mayor Susan D. Menard that they are complaining because they do not have a contract.
The police union, Local 404, gave Police Chief Michael Houle a vote of no confidence at the end of December. Sgt. John Scully, the union president, said that police officers are concerned with Houle’s lack of communication with command staff, rash decisions and favoritism.
“There is no communication with the command staff. He makes irrational decisions at whim. Stuff like that hurts the whole department when others are not part of the decision-making,” Scully said.
Read MoreNorth Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Sgt. Michael Ciresi Acted As A Lookout During Crimes, Warned When Police Were Coming
January 24th, 2008
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Mark Pine, a key witness in the trial of suspended North Providence police Sgt. Michael Ciresi, took the stand yesterday, testifying the policeman assisted him at least five times in stealing tires and rims from a dealership by letting him know if the police were coming.
Pine, now serving a 15-year sentence at the Adult Correctional Institutions for burglarizing the home of a suspected drug dealer two days before Christmas 2004, has told the police that the firearm that officers retrieved from the scene was one given to him by Ciresi, along with black gloves and a mask.
Ciresi is being tried on 10 charges, including two counts of burglary, two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary and using a firearm when committing a crime of violence.
Read MoreTrial To Finally Begin For North Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Sgt. Michael Ciresi - Faces Charges That Include Burglary, Receiving Stolen Goods, And Trying To Steal Money From A Stolen ATM Machine
January 23rd, 2008
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - A jury has been selected for the trial of a North Providence police officer charged with burglary and other crimes.
Sergeant Michael Ciresi faces 11 charges accusing him of receiving stolen goods and trying to steal money from a stolen ATM.
Prosecutors say Ciresi partnered with Mark Pine, who’s now serving a prison sentence, to burglarize a house in September 2002 and the home of a suspected drug dealer two years later. Pine is expected to testify against Ciresi.
Read MoreWoonsocket Rhode Island Police Asleep As Man With History Of Suicidal Threats Hangs Himself In Police Headquarters, Or Did They Help?
January 17th, 2008
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND — State police are working with local police to investigate the death of a city man who apparently hanged himself with his shirt while in a cellblock at Woonsocket police headquarters Monday night.
The police found Robert Frank Dumont, 52, dead in his cell at around 10:45 p.m., according to Deputy Chief Maj. Richard Dubois.
Dumont is the brother of Christine C. Dumont, who was 42 when she was murdered by serial killer Jeffrey Mailhot in 2004.
The police had arrested Dumont, of 62 Boyden St., at around 10 p.m. for allegedly breaking into an apartment in the building where he lived. Dumont, who appeared intoxicated, fought with the police and they sprayed him twice with pepper spray, to no avail, Dubois said. Dubois said that during the struggle to subdue Dumont, the police did not strike him.
Read MoreWoonsocket Rhode Island Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle Questioned By City Council As To Spending - After Unfunded Purchases And Contracts
January 17th, 2008
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND — The city’s election season has ended but apparently not the local battles over operation of the police department.
This time it is Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle’s hiring of a firm to begin work on winning the department national accreditation that has the attention of members of the City Council.
Houle contracted Northeast Police Accreditation to conduct a study of the department as the first step in that process but members of the Council are questioning the chief’s plan to pay for the work.
The panel has also criticized Houle’s move to present the idea to the panel last fall simply as a proposal even though he had already made the decision to hire the consulting firm and signed a contract to that effect.
City Councilman John F. Ward wants to know more about Houle’s plan to fund the $43,000 to $46,000 worth services the contract awards to Northeast Police Accreditation.
Read MoreWest Warwick Rhode Island Police Officer Jonathan Caldwell Charged With Beating His Former Girlfriend Co-Worker
January 7th, 2008
CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND — A West Warwick police officer is accused of beating his ex-girlfriend, who is also a co-worker.
West Warwick police officer Jonathan Caldwell was charged with domestic simple assault after an alleged incident with the woman in Cranston on Dec. 24.
According to a police report, Caldwell’s ex-girlfriend claimed that Caldwell was very drunk and that she tried to stop him from leaving his Cranston house because she was worried about his safety.
She said she stepped in front of Caldwell and, according to the police report, that he pushed her into the wall and onto the floor, and then punched and kicked her before exiting the house. The accuser said she had torn cartilage in her knee and several bruises.
The ex-girlfriend was at first reluctant to come forward. She initially told her brother that she tripped over a cat, but she eventually went to Cranston police.
Read MorePolice Union Votes No Confidence In Woonsocket Rhode Island Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle
December 26th, 2007
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND – A defiant Woonsocket Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle blasted the police union’s vote of no confidence on Wednesday, saying the union’s gripes have nothing to do with him but everything to do with the union’s need to control the Police Department.
“The fight is on,” Houle said shortly after the vote was taken. “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care what the union says. This is not about me. It’s about the fact that the union doesn’t have a contract and has filed for arbitration. It’s about the fact that the union doesn’t want to make co-payments for medical like the other two unions in this city. This has nothing to do with me or my job performance.”
The International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 404 took the vote on Wednesday with 79 officers voting no confidence and six in support of the chief. Union leaders say the vote is a reflection of the department’s lack of confidence in Houle’s leadership abilities.
Read MoreID Theft Conviction Tossed After Unlawful Traffic Stop By East Providence Rhode Island Police
December 25th, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Timing is everything — even when it comes to detaining alleged criminals, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
The court this month threw out the 2003 conviction of Jose A. Parra for identity fraud, saying the police were three or four minutes late when they detained him by asking that he step out of a vehicle to be searched for weapons.
In those few minutes, Parra’s detention became an unwarranted stop and thus the computer and other “document-making” instruments that the police later confiscated from his apartment should have been inadmissible at his trial, the court ruled. It sent the case back to the Superior Court for a new trial.
The case centered on the events of Jan. 9, 2002.
Working on an informant’s tip that Parra was dealing cocaine, state police and East Providence detectives had staked out an East Providence apartment. They watched Parra leave the apartment and slide into the rear seat of a minivan.
Read MoreD’oh! - Woonsocket Rhode Island Police Officers Put On Desk Duty After Woman Prisoner With Gun Makes It Into Police Holding Cell
November 26th, 2007
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND - The police department’s prisoner handling policies are under review following a Wednesday morning incident in which a woman arrested during a car stop was reportedly able to smuggle a loaded firearm through police processing and keep it with her during her stay in a department jail cell.
Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle promised the in-depth probe of current department practice while responding to what he described as clear failures in those practices during the incident.
As of Friday, two department members who had dealings with the suspect, a felon convicted in a previous incident involving a weapon, were assigned to desk duties while an internal investigation of the matter continued, according to Houle.
“I think you can have all the policies and procedures in place, but you need to be sure that they are followed,” Houle said.
Read MoreWell Known Latino Radio Personality And Central Falls Rhode Island City Council Member Luis A. Gil, Charged With Child Molestation, Steps Down
November 24th, 2007
CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND — A week after rejecting calls for his resignation, the City Council member accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy stepped down, saying his continued presence on the council was distracting it from important business.
Ward 4 City Councilor Luis A. Gil submitted his letter of resignation yesterday. He changed his mind about resigning after Monday night’s council meeting, chagrined that coverage by the media focused on the fact that he didn’t show up, his lawyer, Richard K. Corley, said.
City Council President William Benson Jr. said Gil is doing the right thing, but should have done it sooner.
“He said he wasn’t going to miss any meetings, and then he missed the meeting,” Benson said.
Meanwhile, local newspaper and television reporters descended on the council chamber, curious about whether Gil would attend.
Read MoreWoonsocket Rhode Island Police Officer Steven Fairley Charged With Computer Tampering After Sabotaging Department Computer
November 10th, 2007
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND - A Woonsocket officer is accused of tampering with a police department computer to embarrass a workplace rival.
Steven Fairley is charged with three counts of illegal computer access and one count of illegal computer access causing damage. He has not yet entered a plea.
A spokesman for Attorney General Patrick Lynch said Fairley formerly ran the Woonsocket Police Department’s evidence room and apparently became upset when he was replaced.
Working from a computer at home, Fairley allegedly accessed an evidence room computer and changed its passwords to prevent his successor from using it.
Prosecutors said Woonsocket had to pay more than $2,500 to fix the damage.
A man who answered the phone at a telephone listing for Fairley said the officer would not comment.
Hacker Shuts Down Rhode Island State Web Site - In Other News, Rhode Island Has An Internet Web Site
November 10th, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND –A computer hacker temporarily shut down a state Web site run by the secretary of state’s office, forcing the cancellation of a local meeting.
A spokesman for Secretary of State Ralph Mollis says the Web site was taken off-line on Wednesday, after an in-house technology staff detected an unusual amount of Web site traffic and suspected a virus.
When problems continued, Mollis’ staff brought in outside experts, who detected an attack by a computer hacker.
Mollis spokesman Chris Barnett says no personal information is kept on the Web site, which posts information about public officials and records.
The Exeter Fire District Board of Commissioners had to cancel a meeting when it could not post a notice on the Web site, as required by law.
Woman Bleeds To Death In Her Home After Pawtucket Rhode Island Fire Dispatchers Fail To Send Ambulance In Response To 911 Call For Help
October 24th, 2007
PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND — Recordings of the 9-1-1 calls made while Maria G. Carvalho was bleeding to death in her home on Gooding Street show that fire dispatchers failed to send an ambulance even though they were told she was losing blood.
The calls, which were routed by state 9-1-1 operators to the Pawtucket Fire Department’s dispatch center, begin at 10:57 a.m. Sept. 20, when Yvette LeBlanc, an 81-year-old neighbor of the Carvalhos, tells the dispatchers that Maria’s husband João has just come across the street and asked her to telephone them for help.
The calls end at 11:17 a.m., after one of the Fire Department rescue workers who was finally sent to 101 Gooding St. calls to tell the dispatcher to send the police.
By then, Mrs. Carvalho, a 53-year-old kidney patient, is dead, having lost an enormous amount of blood through the shunt inserted in her arm so she could undergo dialysis.
Read MoreBarrington Rhode Island Snitch Bianca Jones-Pearson Learns Firsthand The Consequences Of Stupid Internet Posts And Aiding Police
October 8th, 2007
BARRINGTON, RHODE ISLAND –A 16-year-old who posted an Internet message urging her high school classmates to stop underage drinking says she has been harassed in school, branded a “narc” and had eggs and empty beer cans thrown at her house.
Bianca Jones-Pearson, a junior at Barrington High School, posted the message on Facebook, a social-networking site, in August after the death of a classmate that prosecutors believe was alcohol-related. Seventeen-year-old Patrick Murphy died in July when he fell into the Barrington River while kneeboarding.
Since the message appeared, she says, classmates have taunted her, with some joking about circulating a petition to have her kicked out of school. Jones-Pearson and her family say some classmates named a dead cat in biology class after her.
The family says people have driven past their house multiple times and shouted “Narc.” Her mother also reported a smashed window at her pottery studio last month.
Read MoreRhode Island Is Realizing Crazed Plan To Treat Teens As Adults (Sending Them To State Prison As Sex-Toys For Hardened Criminals) To Save Money Isn’t Working Out The Way They Planned. New Plan Puts Kids In State Prison, Who Might Have Gone Home Under Old Plan. Of Course, Cops Love It, Sending Children “To Spend Some Time With The Big Boys”
October 6th, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - When 17-year-old Dennys George was arrested this summer, allegedly for carrying 10 grams of crack cocaine, he was taken handcuffed and shackled to the state prison’s high-security wing — not a juvenile facility.
See Also:
Rhode Island Now Prosecuting Kids As Adults To Cut Costs
George said he was strip-searched and spent the night in a cell with another teen. Though he didn’t have contact with older inmates, he wouldn’t shower because he was afraid of being near them.
“They told me, ‘You’re going to spend some time with the big boys,’” George said, recounting a talk with police. “I was so stressed, I didn’t even know what was going to happen to me.”
George is one of about 40 teenagers who have been jailed in the state prison under a new law that treats 17-year-olds as adults in the court system. Billed as a way to save money, youth advocates, judges and the attorney general sounded the alarm early that the proposal might actually be more expensive, and could hurt children.
Read MoreProvidence Rhode Island Police Officer Marcus Huffman Pleads Not Guilty To Raping Teen In Police Substation
August 22nd, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND – A police officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to raping a 19-year-old woman at a deserted police substation, then showing up to take a report after the woman called 911.
Marcus Huffman was arraigned in Providence Superior Court on a charge of first-degree sexual assault. A judge set bail at $50,000.
Iraqi Prime Minuister Nouri al- Maliki talks to the reporters after his meeting with Syrian vice president Farouk al -Sharaa Tuesday in Damascus. al-Maliki’s three-day sojourn in Syria comes as part of his efforts to seek neighbors’ help in stemming the violence ravaging Iraq. He and Syrian President Bashar Assad appeared briefly before cameras before going into a closed meeting Tuesday. (AP)
Prosecutors say Huffman was on patrol March 18 when he met the woman after she was turned away from a club because she appeared intoxicated. Huffman is accused of offering her a ride, driving her to the substation and raping her.
Read MoreProvidence Rhode Island Convict Given 13,000 Years To Make $12 Million Restitution At $75 A Month
August 22nd, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND – Joseph Mollicone, whose name is synonymous with Rhode Island’s banking crisis of the early 1990s, returned to court Tuesday for a restitution review.
When Mollicone was convicted of embezzlement in 1993, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $12 million in restitution.
Mollicone has been working for his friend’s metal-stamping business since his release on parole in 2003, but he told Magistrate Patricia Harwood that he’s also doing some real estate work on the side and that he is hoping some deals come through.
“I’m confident that I will have more income,” Mollicone told the court.
Harwood is interested in increasing Mollicone’s monthly restitution payments, which started at $30 a month when he was released from prison and are now up to $75 a month.
Court records show that as of Aug. 20, Mollicone owes $11,995,631.50 in restitution.
Read MoreProvidence Rhode Island Police Officer Det. Sgt. Scott Partridge Under Investigation After Judge Tosses Bogus Drug Case And Evidence Surfaces In Officer’s Attic
August 21st, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — The Providence police chief on Monday said he has ordered an internal investigation after a detective accused of conspiring with the mayor’s brother to frame drug suspects turned over surveillance reports that he had earlier testified did not exist.
The probe was announced moments after a federal judge threw out cocaine dealing charges against Khalid Mason, who alleged he was framed in a conspiracy involving Detective Sgt. Scott Partridge and defense attorney John Cicilline, the brother of Providence Mayor David Cicilline.
Part of the police probe will focus on whether Partridge broke internal rules by storing evidence at home. The surveillance reports were found in his attic. Partridge did not immediately return a message seeking comment, but has denied the allegations.
Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman said nothing in the reports cast doubt on the case against Mason, and he seemed skeptical about Mason’s claims of a wider conspiracy.
Read MoreProsecutors Drop Federal Charges In Case Highlighting Sloppy And Shoddy Providence Rhode Island Police Investigations
August 18th, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND –Federal prosecutors are making a last-minute request to drop criminal charges against an accused drug dealer because a detective recently found notes at home that police claimed didn’t exist.
That revelation could abruptly end a case that has already unearthed sloppy police work and that allegedly involves a corrupt, far-reaching extortion plot featuring a rogue police detective and defense attorney John Cicilline, the brother of Providence Mayor David Cicilline.
Prosecutors filed their request Thursday, two business days before the scheduled start of defendant Khalid Mason’s trial on cocaine dealing charges. Defense lawyers had planned to argue that Mason was set up in a corrupt scheme involving John Cicilline and others.
“Something stinks somewhere,” said Michael Connolly, Mason’s defense attorney and a former federal prosecutor. “I haven’t seen anything like this in my 25 years of practice.”
Read MoreNorth Providence Rhode Island Police Stand Behind Their Officers Violence Against Peaceful Protesters - As Hospital Attempts To Save Their Victim’s Leg
August 18th, 2007
NORTH PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — As the police stepped up their probe into whether officers used excessive force against a 22-year-old demonstrator whose leg was twisted and broken during Saturday’s protest against an Asian restaurant on Mineral Spring Avenue, Deputy Police Chief Paul Marino and Mayor Charles Lombardi both reiterated yesterday they don’t believe local officers did anything wrong.
Alexandra Svoboda, of 139 Wood St. in Providence and originally from Lincoln, Neb., was in surgery yesterday for the second attempt to save her leg. Meanwhile, outside Rhode Island Hospital, fellow demonstrators from the Providence branch of the International Workers of the World gathered to express their support for their fallen colleague.
There are conflicting stories about how Svoboda — who has an aunt and uncle who were FBI agents — was injured.
Read MoreFoster Rhode Island Police Officer Suspended Indefinitely, Details Hidden From Media And Public
August 9th, 2007
FOSTER, RHODE ISLAND — A police officer has been placed on indefinite leave after an incident that occurred at least three weeks ago, Police Chief Robert Coyne confirmed yesterday.
“We are dealing with an issue involving an officer and an investigation is ongoing,” Coyne said.
Coyne would not confirm the name, age, or rank of the officer when asked by a reporter, citing the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights. The officer has not been suspended and is still receiving pay, Coyne added.
Coyne said no other officers were involved in the incident. When asked about the nature of the incident, Coyne would say only that the officer in question did not physically harm anyone or discharge his firearm.
“The official response is ‘no comment,’” he said.
Capt. Eric Rollinson, vice president of Local 637 of the International Brotherhood of Police, the union representing Police Department officers, referred questions to union attorney Gary Gentile.
Read MoreVeteran Providence Rhode Island Police Officer Marcus Huffman Suspended, Indicted For Rape Of Mentally Or Physically Helpless Woman
August 2nd, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND – Patrolman Marcus Huffman, a 13-year-veteran of the police force, was indicted today on a rape charge and immediately suspended from duty without pay.
The Providence County grand jury handed up an indictment charging that Huffman vaginally penetrated a woman on March 18 “at a time when he knew or had reason to know that she was mentally incapacitated, mentally disabled, or physically helpless.” Under the law, the alleged offense is formally called first-degree sexual assault.
When Huffman reported for duty on the 3 to 11 p.m. work shift, he was informed that he was suspended without pay due to the indictment, said police Maj. Paul C. Fitzgerald, commander of the Uniformed Division.
Huffman, 37, of West Warwick, had been on restricted duty while the case was under investigation, monitoring the metal detector at the entrance to the Public Safety Complex.
Read MoreVeteran Woonsocket Rhode Island Police Officers Timothy Paul And Walter Warot Suspended, Again…
July 17th, 2007
WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND — Veteran police officers Timothy Paul and Walter Warot were suspended again on Friday last week after Police Chief Michael L.A. Houle concluded his investigation of violations lodged against the two in May.
Paul, a lieutenant, and Warot, a captain, were initially suspended at the end of May pending a departmental, non-criminal investigation. They returned to work 15 days later and worked for nearly a month before they were both notified of the second suspension on Friday, according to the police union president, John Scully III.
Paul, who said that he and Warot were ordered on Friday not to talk to the media, referred all questions to Scully.
“The chief is looking for a 60-day suspension without pay and a demotion to the next highest rank,” he said. The edict would demote Paul and Warot to sergeant and lieutenant, respectively, Scul