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« October 10, 2006 | Today | October 12, 2006 » October 11, 2006Slain Providence teen's father thanks police, prosecutors / Photo
PROVIDENCE – The father of teenage murder victim Errol J. Clinton today publicly thanked the police and the Attorney General’s Office for swiftly bringing to justice his son’s killer. “One thing that kept me going was knowing that the Providence Police Department was doing everything they could,” declared Julius Clinton, of Glenham Street in South Providence. Errol Clinton, 16, was shot dead in July 2005 as he tried to scramble away from a fight outside a house party at a triple-decker on a dead-end street in Elmwood. Julius Clinton, the father of five living children, said it was remarkable that the killer, Eddie Gonzalez, pleaded no contest to a second-degree murder charge only 14 months after the shooting. Gonzalez was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with 33 years to serve, Some murders are never solved, he pointed out. “Let Rhode Island know that they have good cops,” Clinton said at a brief thank-you ceremony in the auditorium of the Public Safety Complex. “I know from now on that I can rely on the Providence Police Department.” -- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith Posted by Kate Bramson at 6:45 PM | Comment Update: Handyman accused in elderly woman's kidnapWARWICK -- A handyman with a lengthy criminal record has been charged with robbing, assaulting and briefly kidnapping an 82-year-old woman who was a former client, the police said. Frederick A. Fain, 46, was arrested at his Elmwood Avenue apartment and charged with multiple felonies, including breaking and entering, burglary and kidnapping. The police allege Fain broke into former client Joyce MacLeod’s Jennie Lane home around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. She alerted the police around 10 p.m. when she returned from work and discovered missing computer and stereo equipment, according to police Captain Michael J. Babula. As detectives investigated the thefts, Fain allegedly forced his way into a second house, on nearby Farmland Road, and used tape to bind the hands of 82-year-old Doris Soder and cover her eyes, the police said. Babula said Fain repeatedly punched Soder as he robbed her home. He then dragged her into his truck, drove to an ATM and forced her to hand over her ATM card and pin number, the police said. After withdrawing money, he drove her to a nearby side street, where he left her bound and beaten on the curbside, the police said. “This is an unusually egregious, violent crime against an elderly woman who was robbed and terrorized,” Babula said. Fain was arraigned at Kent County District Court this morning and was ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions by Judge Stephen Erickson. -- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan Posted by Kate Bramson at 6:27 PM | Comment Inspection at registry turns up fire code violationsPAWTUCKET -- An inspection today of the space leased by the Registry of Motor Vehicles in the Apex building turned up an unspecified number of fire code violations but nothing warranting an immediate shutdown of the registry. “They did the inspection. It lasted an hour and a half to two hours,” State Fire Marshal George S. Farrell said late today. “My guys came back and said there was nothing that was an immediate danger.” Farrell declined to detail the violations in the meantime. In January 2005, a Registry employee who works in the Apex building testified at a union grievance hearing that “there have been ongoing issues with fire code compliance.” Cheryl Maggiacomo said the issues included inadequate electrical outlets and a non-existent evacuation plan. Hearing Officer David E. Carpenter denied the grievance, noting that the Apex building has a sprinkler system and the state “has made every reasonable effort to provide and maintain safe working conditions for its employees.” -- Journal staff writer John Castellucci The grievance went to arbitration, in the course of which the union -- Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- discovered that the temporary certificate of occupancy issued for the Registry had expired. This morning’s inspection of the Apex building was scheduled after union officials contacted the state Fire Marshal’s Office to express concern. The Registry moved to the Apex building in January 2004, after a cold snap caused some pipes to burst in its prior building, at 286 Main St. The move was supposed to be temporary while the Registry searched for a new home. But several lease deals fell through and a bond that would have authorized the Department of Administration to spend $9 million renovating a building in the Pastore Center in Cranston for the Registry was defeated at the polls. Department of Administration officials now say they hope to resurrect the plan, obtaining $14 million from the General Assembly to renovate the Aimes Forand building on New London Avenue. In the meantime, the plan is to remain in the Apex building, where the Registry has been operating on a month-to-month lease with the Apex Development Corp. On Tuesday, the state Properties Committee authorized Associate DOA Director Brian Peterson and John Ryan, deputy chief for property management, to enter into negotiations with Apex for a two-year lease.
Posted by Kate Bramson at 6:15 PM | Comment W. Warwick releases host agreement with Harrah'sThe town of West Warwick today released the details of the highly guarded host agreement with Harrah's, the entertainment gaming company that has partnered with the Narragansett Indian tribe to build a casino in West Warwick. The host agreement has been hammered out in Town Council executive sessions for months, culminating in the 75-page document released today. Bottom line: The town will receive $300,000 regardless of whether the proposed casino amendment to the state Constitution is passed by voters this November or not. Harrah's will also pay for the additional public safety personnel and equipment necessary to adequately protect the building. The host agreement also provides for $750,000 to offset possible residential property value loss for residents near the casino. The town is still working out language to define who will be eligible for the compensatory funds. Read the 75-page host agreement here (PDF document, wait for download). -- Journal staff writer Talia Buford Posted by Kate Bramson at 5:58 PM | Comment Study: A scale could be a dieter's strongest allyA Rhode Island researcher has developed a method that helps people to keep off the weight they’ve lost, always the hardest part of weight control. The cornerstone of the program is doing something that many dieters have been advised against -- weighing oneself every day. Other key aspects are responding quickly to even small weight gains, and getting support from others. In a study being published tomorrow in the New England Journal of Medicine, about half the program’s participants -- who had lost an average of 42 pounds before enrolling -- succeeded in maintaining their weight within five pounds over 18 months, compared with just over a quarter of those who didn’t participate. Participants received encouragement and information – either in meetings or on the Internet -- and those who received that help face-to-face were more likely to maintain their weight. “We know how to get people to lose weight. We don’t know how to get them to keep it off,” said Rena R. Wing, the study’s lead author. “This worked. This is one of the very few efforts to improve maintenance where we really were successful.”
Posted by Peter Phipps at 5:00 PM | Comment No verdict for fifth day in hospital corruption casePROVIDENCE – A fifth day has gone by without a verdict in the Roger Williams Medical Center corruption case. The jury adjourned late this afternoon, and deliberations will continue tomorrow morning at 9:30, according to Thomas Connell, spokesman in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Providence. Former hospital president Robert A. Urciuoli, Frances P. Driscoll, a former hospital vice president, and Peter J. Sangermano Jr., a partner in the hospital's assisted-living center, are facing conspiracy and mail fraud charges. Prosecutors say the officials conspired to steal the honest services of former state Sen. John A. Celona by hiring him to do the hospital's bidding at the General Assembly. Posted by Kate Bramson at 4:31 PM | Comment R.I. police get $300,000 for bulletproof vestsTwenty-four Rhode Island police departments have received almost $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to help buy 1,163 bulletproof vests. The city of Providence has received the most, with $78,000, according to U.S. Senator Jack Reed’s office, which announced the grants today. The federal money has been awarded under the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program, which is designed to help save the lives of police officers. Reed co-sponsored legislation in 2000 that authorized $50 million per year for the program, and he co-sponsored a bill in 2003 to extend the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act through 2007, according to his office. The program pays up to 50 percent of the cost for state, local and tribal governments to equip their officers with bulletproof vests. The following police departments received grants through the program: Providence: $78,000.00 East Providence: $36,000.00 Rhode Island: $21,844.93 Johnston: $20,250.00 Middletown: $17,850.00 Woonsocket: $16,800.00 Cranston: $15,675.00 Newport: $13,950.42 Westerly: $11,865.00 Portsmouth: $11,750.00 East Greenwich: $9,000.00 Pawtucket: $8,280.00 Coventry: $6,400.00 Barrington: $6,000.00 Scituate: $4,950.00 South Kingstown: $4,100.00 Smithfield: $3,520.00 West Warwick: $3,490.00 West Greenwich: $3,350.00 North Providence: $2,012.50 Glocester: $1,600.00 Lincoln: $1,500.00 Bristol: $952.50 Foster: $618.00 Total: $299,758.35 Posted by Kate Bramson at 3:20 PM | Comment Update: Package at Providence water board no problemPROVIDENCE -- A suspicious package that prompted an evacuation of the Providence Water Supply Board this morning has turned out to be nothing dangerous. Despite an earlier report from the Fire Department that La Salle Academy was also evacuated because the package was found near a fuel tank between the school and the water offices, students and teachers were not ordered to leave the building, said LaSalle’s vice principal of student life, Edward Cronan. The city's bomb squad X-rayed the package and determined at 1:23 p.m. that all was OK for water board employees to return to the offices at 552 Academy Ave., according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Fire Department. They were evacuated shortly before noon. Before the bomb squad began checking on the package, the police reported at 12:09 p.m. that they would evacuate the school, Taylor said. However, the students were not evacuated, Cronan said. The Fire Department told school officials that “everything was fine, so we just dismissed at the regular time,” Cronan said shortly after the school's 1:30 p.m. dismissal. Taylor said that a vice principal at the school would not allow any students to exit out of the south side of the building. After today’s dismissal, the president of the school, Brother Michael McKenery, said school officials were asked to lock the LaSalle parking lot earlier in the day, and they did so. They were aware of activity in the water supply board’s parking lot next door, but did not know details, Mc Kenery said. The school would have kept students later than their typical dismissal time if the problem next door had not been solved, Mc Kenery said. projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson Posted by Jack Perry at 2:45 PM | Comment Limited seating open for Chafee-Whitehouse debatePROVIDENCE -- Limited seating to the live, televised senatorial debate on Oct. 19 between Republican incumbent Lincoln D. Chafee and Democratic challenger Sheldon Whitehouse became available today for the general public. The Providence Journal and WPRI 12 are co-sponsoring the hourlong debate, which will air live from Warwick’s Toll Gate High School at 7 p.m. on WPRI. Rhode Island voters can register to attend by e-mailing their full names, addresses and daytime phone numbers to debates06@projo.com by noon next Monday. There is a limit of two names per request. Registrants will be notified on Tuesday. Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:46 PM | Comment Tobacco company to stop selling flavored cigs in U.S.RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company has agreed to a stop selling candy, fruit and alcohol-flavored cigarettes in the United States, according to a deal announced today between the tobacco giant and 38 states, including Rhode Island. The states argued that the specialized cigarettes were aimed at underage smokers in violation of the 1998 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, which prohibits tobacco companies from targeting young people in advertising and marketing. RJ Reynolds manufactures various cigarette brands, such as Camel, Salem, Vantage and Winston. "With smoking leading the pack as the cause of preventable deaths in our nation, the manufacturing and marketing of cigarettes aimed at capturing teenagers and even children as users of a product that can be deadly is unconscionable," Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said today in a statement. The states argued that the company targeted young people by using certain kinds of advertising and packaging with graphics, fonts, colors and styles. The states also cited the use of "scratch and sniff" and "lift and sniff" promotional cards scented with sweet, candy aromas, but lacking any scent of tobacco. -- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:44 PM | Comment Update: Exeter man accused of soliciting girls on MySpaceA 48-year-old Exeter man allowed to have marijuana under the state's new medical marijuana law is accused of soliciting teenage girls on the popular Web site myspace.com and smoking marijuana with them, police said today. Steven Trimarco, a resident of the Split Rock Trailer Park at 480 South County Trail, has been charged with 19 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, cultivation of marijuana, and multiple counts of possession of firearms and a silencer. The North Kingstown Police Department began investigating Trimarco after receiving information that he was meeting female teenagers online and was arranging to drive around with them to smoke marijuana, according to a press release from the North Kingstown Police and the state police. The police allege that at least five North Kingstown girls, ages 13 through 15, smoked marijuana with Trimarco more than one time. They allege that several of the girls went to Trimarco's home, where they smoked marijuana and drank alcohol. Trimarco is allowed to have marijuana under the Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Act recently passed by legislature, according to the police. Under the act, Trimarco is allowed 12 marijuana plants, the police say. But the police say they seized 72 marijuana plants from Trimarco's property, along with three rifles, a shotgun, a computer and other items. Trimarco was arrested Friday by the North Kingstown police and the Rhode Island State Police. He was arraigned yesterday in 4th Division District Court on charges lodged by the state police and North Kingstown police. He was ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institution until an Oct. 18 hearing. Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:25 PM | Comment Mass. officials begin MBTA searchesBOSTON -- Random searches for explosives by the MBTA transit police are under way and many commuters say they support the tightened security. Officials say they found no contraband in yesterday's inspections with portable screening machines. Transportation officials estimate the process took less than one minute per passenger. Police are fanning out unnanounced on commuter trains, subways, buses and commuter boats, randomly choosing riders. They're using a piece of cloth to swab the zippers, bottom or handles of carry-ons, and the portable machines then analyze the swabs for explosive residue. Massachusetts authorities were prompted to begin the practice for the first time since the 2004 Democratic National Convention by Gov. Mitt Romney, a likely 2008 Republican presidential candidate. -- The Associated Press Posted by Steve Peoples at 9:51 AM | Comment Rush hour accident on 95 South closes two lanesPROVIDENCE -- A traffic accident involving a tractor trailer and a van has snarled rush hour traffic this morning on Interstate 95 South. There's no word on injuries, but the state Department of Transportation issued an alert at about 9:15 a.m. indicating that the two of three lanes are closed at Branch Avenue, Exit 24, which is just north of downtown. More to come on Projo.com... Posted by Steve Peoples at 9:29 AM | Comment Shareholders sue Harrah's to block saleLAS VEGAS -- Two shareholders of Harrah's Entertainment are suing the company and the two firms that recently made a $15.1 billion buyout offer for the casino operator. In documents filed in a Delaware court, the shareholders say the deal is not in the best interests of investors -- and they're asking a court to block the deal and force Harrah's to solicit other bids. If the deal goes through, it would be the largest ever buyout in gambling history. In Rhode Island, Harrah's is pouring millions of dollars into a Nov. 7 ballot question that asks voters to amend the state constitution to allow the Narragansett Indian Tribe to build a casino in West Warwick. -- The Associated Press Posted by Steve Peoples at 9:05 AM | Comment Murder victim's father to address the media todayPROVIDENCE -- The father of teenage murder victim Errol Clinton will "address the media" at the Providence police headquarters this morning, according to an announcement released today by the police. The specific reason for Julius Clinton's public appearance is unclear, but his son's killer, Eddie Gonzalez, pleaded no contest to the crime and was sentenced two weeks ago to serve 33 years in prison. Clinton will appear this morning inside the auditorium at the Providence Public Safety Complex along with police officials and members of the state attorney general's staff. Errol Clinton, 16, was shot to death while running away from a fight at a house party last July in the city's Elmwood neighborhood. Posted by Steve Peoples at 9:01 AM | Comment Governor, state lawmakers to get green report cardPROVIDENCE -- The governor and other state lawmakers will learn this morning if they made the "green honor role," or even the coveted "energy star" status. The Environmental Council of Rhode Island will host a press conference at 11 a.m. where it will "grade" elected officials on votes related to clean air, clean water, renewable energy, sustainable land use, transportation and toxic chemicals, among other things. The council will also reviews Governor Carcieri's environmental record over the past two years. Today's event, to be held at the State House rotunda, will feature several speeches and is expected to attract several lawmakers and public officials. -- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples Posted by Steve Peoples at 8:35 AM | Comment Sidhu replaced by Campanelli at SovereignJay Sidhu was ousted as chairman and chief executive officer of Sovereign Bancorp, the third biggest bank in Rhode Island and New England, after a feud with the board of directors over the company's sluggish stock price. Sovereign, based outside Philadelphia, Pa., said in a news release this morning after a late night board meeting, that Joseph Campanelli, previously head of the bank's New England unit, will replace Sidhu as CEO. Sidhu will remain non-executive chairman until Dec. 31. Sidhu, 55, lost a 17-month fight with the directors over the company's stock price, which lagged peer banks, and the sale of a 20 percent stake in the company to Spain's Santander Central Hispano. Posted by at 7:34 AM | Comment EPA pushes new lightbulbs for low-incomePROVIDENCE -- Federal officials will meet this morning at the Villa Excelsior housing complex to promote its "Change a Light, Change the World" campaign. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development hope to convert the 76 low-income units at Villa Excelsior from incandescent light bulbs to Energy Star qualified ones. The new lightbulbs use two-thirds less energy and last 10 times longer, according to the EPA. The government says that changing one bulb will result in a savings of $40 over the life of the bulb and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA and HUD is hoping to convert more than 3,000 low-income units to the new lightbulbs. Today's meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:34 AM | Comment Jury to resume deliberations in Roger Williams casePROVIDENCE -- The jury in the Roger Williams Medical Center corruption case will resume deliberations this morning, marking its fifth day trying to decide the case. The 12-member jury adjourned yesterday afternoon without reaching a verdict. Former hospital President Robert A. Urciuoli, Frances P. Driscoll, a former hospital vice president, and Peter J. Sangermano Jr., a partner in the hospital's assisted-living center, are facing conspiracy and mail fraud charges. Prosecutors say the officials conspired to steal the honest services of former state Sen. John A. Celona by hiring him to do the hospital's bidding at the General Assembly. Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:02 AM | Comment Beautiful stretch of fall weather about to turn wetPROVIDENCE -- The beautiful stretch of fall weather Rhode Island has enjoyed in recent days is about to end. Sunny skies will disappear. And it's going to be wet. The National Weather Service is calling for showers to begin today after 3 p.m., with highs in the low 60s, and a steady east wind blowing between 8 and 13 mph. Conditions will deteriorate tonight, as heavy rain could bring between a half inch and three-quarters of an inch of cool rain. Get used to carrying an umbrella this week. The weather service says that wet weather may stick around until Saturday. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006