Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

A United Express flight headed from Chicago to T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island was diverted to Rochester, N.Y. sometime after 10 this morning.

The aircraft with 63 passengers and four crew aboard, which had left O'Hare airport at 7:50 a.m. Central time, landed safely at the Greater Rochester International Airport.

David P. Damelio, director of aviation at the Rochester airport, said the plane was diverted after a pilot smelled and saw smoke. Damelio said the airport got an alert at about 10:12 a.m. Damelio said the smoke was apparently the result of a faulty air conditioner unit and dissipated after the aircraft landed.

Jeff Kovick, a United Airline spokesman, offered a different explanation for the airplane's diversion. He said a report of possible smoke in the cabin -- where passengers are -- of the CR7 aircraft led to its landing in Rochester at about 10:27 a.m. EDT as a precaution.

Kovick said the airline arranged for another plane to fly the passengers to Rhode Island and that they arrived in the Ocean State at about 2 p.m.

Kovick said the airline will fully assist in the investigation.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

PROVIDENCE -- The jury in the murder trial of of Marquise Jones, 21, of Providence, finished for the day without reaching a verdict -- some 3 1/2 hours after receiving the case from Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause.

Jones faces five charges in the Dec. 7, 2004, shooting of Brian Davis, 17, also of Providence. Jones allegedly conspired with two friends from the Chad Brown public housing complex, Robert Crowell and Montrel Daniels, to kill Davis in revenge for Davis having "jumped" and beaten Crowell outside a KFC restaurant.

In his summation in Providence County Superior Court, defense lawyer Russell Sollitto challenged eyewitness identifications of Jones as the driver of the car from which Davis was shot and fatally wounded on a Route 95 off-ramp in Providence.

And Sollitto sought to undermine the credibility of Donald "D-Bo" Barnes, whose testimony is key to the state's allegation that Jones conspired with Crowell and Daniels.

Sollitto emphasized that Barnes struck a plea bargain with the state on unrelated criminal charges, including a case in which Barnes was charged with participating in a drive-by shooting. In that case, the state has agreed to seek a maximum nine-year prison sentence, or many fewer years' imprisonment than he would potentially face if convicted of those charges.

Read Journal coverage of yesterday's developments in court.

-- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Journal photo / Connie Grosch
From left, Bruce M. Foucart, special agent with ICE's Office of Investigations in Boston, U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente and Col. Brendan P. Doherty, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, appear at the post-raid press conference today. Video: Listen to excerpts from their remarks today.

PROVIDENCE -- Thirty-one workers employed by contractors for the state judiciary were arrested yesterday at six state courthouses in raids by state police and federal immigration officers investigating identity fraud, officials said at a news conference this morning.

The suspected illegal immigrants, from Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil and Mexico, worked for Tri-State Enterprises, of North Providence, and Falcon Maintenance, of Johnston. All are believed to be maintenance workers.

Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Investigations in Boston, said they are suspected of identity theft and document fraud, using fake identification to get work. If they end up being charge criminally, they face potential prison time and deportation.

The workers were arrested on administrative immigration violations as "part of an ongoing criminal investigation," said Paula Grenier, ICE spokeswoman in Boston. "No one has been charged criminally. They are charged with being in the country illegally."

Twelve of the 31 were released for humanitarian reasons, such as being primary caregivers for children, Foucart said at the news conference. The rest are being held, but officials have refused to say where. Watch video of the news conference.

Craig Berke, a court spokesman, yesterday said the state judiciary initiated the investigation that led to arrests. "In early June, we forwarded evidence to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Rhode Island State Police," he said.

Berke said those who were arrested "are not state employees. They are not employees of the judiciary."

The raids happened during the first meeting of a governor's advisory panel charged with monitoring any "unintended consequences" of Governor Carcieri's executive order cracking down on illegal immigration. The order issued in March requires that state police be deputized with certain immigration enforcement powers.

The courthouses involved are: the Garrahy Judicial Complex and the Licht Judicial Complex, both in Providence; the McGrath Judicial Complex in Wakefield; the Murray Judicial Complex in Newport; Kent County Courthouse in Warwick, and the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal in Cranston.

Aside from law enforcement officials, among those responding today to the raids -- which the State Police refused to label the action as -- were Governor Carcieri, community members upset by the arrests, and spokesmen for the two firms who employed the workers.

In the two Providence courthouses, those workers were just starting their shift at 5 p.m. yesterday and would have normally stayed till 9 or 10 p.m. In the other courthouses, the workers come in earlier and are normally done by 6 p.m.

Asked about the timing of the raids, Corrente said, "The best information we have is this is a coincidence." He said the date for the raids had been set for "a couple of days."

Rhode Island State Police Supt. Col. Brendan Doherty, who also spoke at the news conference hosted by U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente at the U.S. Attorney's Office in downtown Providence, said he spoke with Carcieri's chief of staff, Brian P. Stern, "four or five days ago" regarding the upcoming sweep.

But Doherty, a member of the advisory panel, said he didn't mention the raids at the State House meeting, also attended by the governor, because the investigation was still ongoing.

Asked if it was a coincidence that the raids -- which began at 5 p.m. -- coincided with the first meeting of the advisory panel -- which convened at 4 p.m. -- Doherty replied, "Absolutely."

Governor Carcieri this afternoon denied having any direct involvement in last night's arrests.

"We had nothing to do with this. This is completely independent of anything to do with the state level," the governor said during a brief impromptu news conference outside the WPRO office in East Providence this afternoon, where he was scheduled to tape a series of unrelated public service announcements.

Carcieri also said it was a "complete coincidence" that the sweep occurred during the first gathering of his 27-member advisory panel charged with monitoring "unintended consequences" of his executive order earlier in the year cracking down on illegal immigration.

"I just heard about [the action] -- got a heads up the day before," Carcieri said. "It was pure coincidence. I think that that committee is still important."

Carcieri continued: "The federal government has a job to do; immigration has a job to do. They're going to do what they have to do... These are activities they're undertaking on their own. They give us a courtesy the day before of alerting us to it, but we have no involvement whatsoever."

Listen to the governor's comments.

At the panel's meeting, Doherty said that the state police would not be conducting any immigration raids or sweeps. But, he said, Rhode Island is not a "sanctuary state, and if we find someone who is here illegally or unlawfully, we will notify ICE."

When asked today about that statement, Doherty said yesterday's actions were not raids. "These were arrests," he said. "This was not a raid. This was a police action, these were arrests. State police will not be conducting raids and sweeps..."

Foucart said he could not say where the suspects were being held. "That's too sensitive a question," he said. All suspected illegal immigrants have due process, he said, and removal proceedings.

Foucart said they are suspected of identity theft and document fraud, using fake identification to get work.

"Simply put," he said, "Ilegal aliens using fake documents to work in the U.S. are a vulnerability to sensitive security sites."

If they are found guilty of a crime and sentenced to jail time, they serve their time, and are then deported, according to Foucart.

This afternoon, about 50 people, many of them each holding one white carnation, gathered outside the Garrahy Judicial Complex in Providence to denounce the arrests. Watch video of the rally.

-- With reports from projo.com staff writers Jack Perry, Brandie Jefferson, Michael McKinney, and Journal staff writers Karen Ziner, Steve Peoples and Tom Mooney

>> Continue reading: Update: Court raids nab 31 on immigration violations

WASHINGTON -- North Providence Little League slugger Christopher Carpenter hit an RBI single this afternoon as the All-Stars from the Eastern states battled their Midwestern counterparts to an inconclusive ending in this summer's Tee-ball on the White House South Lawn.

Christopher, 5, the son of Kerry and Daniel Carpenter, also roamed freely when the Eastern All-Stars turned to take the field, running for fielding chances at second base as enthusiastically as he patrolled center field.

During the break for singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," at the conclusion of the one-inning epic -- for which no official score was kept, though at least a dozen runners from each team stepped on home plate -- Christopher danced to rhythms that would have mystified Red Sox relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon.

Presiding in shirtsleeves over the exploits of young Carpenter and 50 other All Stars from around the country, was the First Tee-baller, the only Little League baseball veteran ever to occupy the Oval Office, President George W. Bush.

-- John E. Mulligan, Journal Washington Bureau

NEWPORT -- Four citizen activists, joined by two environmental organizations, filed a federal lawsuit today to stop the city from fouling the harbor and local beaches with pollution. The group announced it will soon sue Middletown over its discharges, too.

"Newport's beaches and Newport Harbor are iconic waterways. They are really both local and national treasures. Unfortunately, partially treated sewage and stormwater has caused literally hundreds of swimming advisories, beach closures and warnings, " Matt Auten, an advocate for Environment Rhode Island, said while standing on the shore of Easton's Beach, also known as First Beach.

Behind him, red flags flapped in the wind, warning bathers not to go into the water at the Middletown end, known as Atlantic Beach. A stream close to where Auten stood is suspected of carrying contaminants to the beach from elsewhere in the city. This afternoon, the state Department of Health lifted is no-swimming recommendation at the beach.

Environment Rhode Island filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Providence.

What the group is seeking, with the legal assistance of the Boston-based National Environmental Law Center, are out-of-court settlements with Newport and Middletown.

"Environment Rhode Island and the four Newport residents have been working with the town and the city for years to try and end these pollution problems. Neither the city nor the town have taken adequate steps at this point," said Theresa Labriola, the law center's staff attorney. "Our goal is to come up with an enforceable resolution to this problem with a date certain when the pollution will end."

She said that the U.S. Clean Water Act empowers citizens affected by pollution to bring lawsuits, called "enforcement actions," in federal court. The suit names not only the city, but Earth Tech, the company that operates the city's sewage treatment systems.

-- Journal staff writer Richard Salit

EAST PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri this afternoon denied having any direct involvement in last night's arrests of suspected illegal immigrants by federal immigration agents and state police.

"We had nothing to do with this. This is completely independent of anything to do with the state level," the governor said during a very brief impromptu press conference outside the WPRO office this afternoon, where he was scheduled to tape a series of unrelated public service announcements.

Thirty-one maintenance workers employed by two contractors were nabbed at the state's six courthouses. Today, at a press conference at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence, a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement official and the head of the Rhode Island State Police said the arrests were related to identity fraud.

Carcieri said it was a "complete coincidence" that the sweep occurred during the first gathering of his 27-member advisory panel charged with monitoring "unintended consequences" of his executive order earlier in the year cracking down on illegal immigration.

"I just heard about [the action] -- got a heads up the day before," Carcieri said. "It was pure coincidence. I think that that committee is still important."

He continued: "The federal government has a job to do; immigration has a job to do. They're going to do what they have to do... These are activities they're undertaking on their own. They give us a courtesy the day before of alerting us to it, but we have no involvement whatsoever."

Craig Berke, a court spokesman, yesterday said the state judiciary initiated the investigation that led to arrests. "In early June, we forwarded evidence to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Rhode Island State Police," he said.

The governor said he was not monitoring the progress of the raid last night. He said the action "has nothing to do" with his recent executive order aimed at curbing illegal immigration, which requires state agencies to verify the immigration status only of new hires.

"I am concerned that there is more of this going on," Carcieri said, before slipping into the WPRO office. "How much of it's going on? I don't know. That's the point. We don't have good information."

Listen to the governor's comments.

-- Steve Peoples, Journal State House bureau

PROVIDENCE -- About 50 people, many holding white carnations, gathered this afternoon outside the Garrahy Judicial Complex to denounce the arrests yesterday of maintenance workers at state courthouses.

Federal and state law enforcement officials indicated earlier today the 31 workers were suspected illegal immigrants and that they were arrested on charges related to identity fraud.

Roxana Rivera, a representative of the Service Employees International Union, Local 615, opened the news conference this afternoon, surrounded by others standing in a horseshoe shape.

"We are here to denounce what happened last night in this courthouse and in other courthouses across the state," she said.

"Raids do nothing to address the whole issue of immigration," she said, adding that they cause harm to communities.

"We need comprehensive immigration reform," she said repeatedly, but did not detail what that would be.

Speakers at the rally were making their comments in both English and Spanish.

Steve Brown, of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said, "There is nothing fair, compassionate or just about what happened to these individuals."

After being arrested, he said those arrested were placed into vans and taken out of Rhode Island, making it that much more difficult for families to know where to reach them.

"This is simply not a process that we as a country should tolerate for any individual," he said.

He also referred to the meeting of the governor's advisory panel on immigration issues yesterday, where he said state police were saying "no raids were being planned at the same time these raids were being executed."

Today, Brown noted, at the U.S. Attorney's Office followup press conference, state police officials denied the actions were raids, instead calling them arrests.

In press release earlier today, the group gathering this afternoon described itself as including leaders of the immigrant community, elected officials, other community members and people of faith who are "working together to promote a message of unity and security for every Rhode Islander."

Among them was the Rev. James Ruggieri, who said that legal counsel will be available tomorrow at 1 p.m. at St. Patrick School in Providence to help those affected by the arrests. The school is located at 244 Smith St.

The group is gathering today at Dorrance Plaza, outside the Garrahy complex, which was one of the six courthouses statewide hit by federal immigration agents and state police yesterday evening.

-- With reports from projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The New Orleans Hornets have signed free agent forward James Posey.

Posey's agent, Mark Bartelstein, says Posey, who played last season for the Boston Celtics, has agreed to a four-year contract worth $25 million.

The Celtics had considered Posey to be their top offseason priority.

For more on this story later today, go to projosports.com.

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) -- A gynecologist has been indicted for manslaughter in the death of a 22-year-old woman who went to him for an abortion.

Cape & Island District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said today that Dr. Rapin Osathanondh was indicted by a Barnstable County grand jury in the death of Laura Hope Smith.

Smith was pronounced dead at Cape Cod Hospital after going to Osathanondh's Hyannis office for an abortion on Sept 13. Her mother has said Smith was 13 weeks pregnant when she had the abortion.

Smith's mother filed a complaint about the doctor with the state medical board. Osathanondh resigned his medical license in February after he came under scrutiny in Smith's death.

-- The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- House members from the Northeast worried about rising energy prices want a major increase in federal home heating aid this winter.

The lawmakers today sent a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking for as much as $9 billion in heating aid to be included as part of a new economic stimulus bill. They also requested up to $1 billion for weatherization programs to help homeowners conserve energy and save money.

Congress appropriated $2.57 billion for low-income home energy assistance last winter.

New England governors have also recently called for a substantial boost in federal heating aid.

-- The Associated Press

A United Express flight headed from Chicago to T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island was diverted to Rochester, N.Y. this morning after a pilot smelled and saw smoke in the cockpit.

The aircraft with 67 passengers and four crew aboard, which had left O'Hare airport, landed safely at the Greater Rochester International Airport, said David P. Damelio, director of aviation at the airport.

The smoke resulted from a faulty air conditioner unit and dissipated after the aircraft landed.

Damelio said the airport got an alert at around 10:12 a.m. and the plane had landed at 10:17 a.m.

As of shortly before 1 p.m., the plane had not left Rochester, according to Damelio.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Check out Video of Martha and the Vandellas singing "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave."

PROVIDENCE -- You might have heard a heat wave could be coming, so here's the scoop:

According to their most up-to-date forecast, the National Weather Service is calling for a high temperature of 88 degrees for the Providence area today, and 91 degrees on Friday and Saturday.

A heat wave, according to Bill Simpson at NWS, means at least three days with temperatures reaching 90 degrees or higher.

"It might not be official, but it could come very close," he said from the office in Taunton.

And since temperatures are taken at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, it's possible other parts of the state will, officially, experience a heat wave.

But with the humidity and, the south winds, and the sun beating down on a clear, cloudless day, one thing is clear about this weekend:

"Just because it isn't an official heat wave doesn't mean it's not going to be darn uncomfortable," Simpson said.

Watch the mercury rise on projo.com's weather page.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

A Providence Superior Court jury is set to begin deliberations today in the trial of a 21-year-old charged in the murder of a teenager more than 3 years ago.

Marquise Jones faces charges in the death of Brian Davis, who was 17 at the time of his death.

Yesterday, the focus of the trial was video games. Jones said he was playing games the night of the murder, but rebuttal witnesses -- including Richard Suls, network administrator and Webmaster for the state's attorney general -- questioned whether the game system Jones said he used was even available at the time of the murder: Dec. 7, 2004.

Jones, of Providence, is charged with murder and four other counts -- a sixth count was dismissed by the prosecution. He allegedly drove a stolen car from which shots were fired into another car on a Route 95 Exit ramp. The shots fatally wounded Davis.

Sen. Jack Reed is set to address an energy summit today to speak about energy dependence and national security.

Reed, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former Army Ranger is speaking at 2020 Vision's National Summit on Energy Security.

His address, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in Washington, will stress concerns that energy dependence and climate change are threats to economy and national security.

Reed is also scheduled to join presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., to Afghanistan and Iraq.

VIDEO: Watch Sen. Jack Reed give his speech live, via CNN.com.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on the first manned mission to the moon.

Read more about today in history.

Slowly, but surely, it's getting hotter.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a high temperature near 87 degrees today with clear, sunny skies and calm south winds.

Skies should stay clear tonight when temperatures drop to about 65 degrees with calm south winds.

Tomorrow, look for sunny skies and temperatures reaching about 90 degrees with calm west winds.

Take a look at the upcoming stretch of hot weather on projo.com's weather page.

Today's front page features a story about federal agents and the state police raiding courthouses and arresting workers believed to be illegal immigrants. Those arrested work for two contractors hired by the state and are believed to be maintenance workers.

Download a copy of today's front page in .pdf format.