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November 9, 2006

7 accused of trafficking in crack cocaine in Pawtucket

PAWTUCKET -- After a 10-month investigation, a federal grand jury has charged seven men with drug trafficking for allegedly selling crack cocaine out of the Prospect Heights housing project.

During a press conference at Pawtucket Police headquarters today, U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente said that four of the seven men charged have been arrested. The others are considered fugitives.

Corrente said law enforcement officers disrupted a large-scale cocaine trafficking ring in Prospect Heights.

Some of the accused are suspected of being part of a loosely knit gang known as the Prospect Heights Posse, which has no known national affiliation, Pawtucket Police Chief George L. Kelley III said.

A total of 22 ounces of crack cocaine with a street value of $22,000 was recovered, according to Corrente.

-- Journal staff writer Tatiana Pina

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:00 PM | Comment

Police: Man tries to kill self by jumping over mall railing

PROVIDENCE – In an apparent suicide attempt, a Providence man jumped over a third-floor railing inside the Providence Place mall this afternoon and landed on the first floor.

He survived, with a broken arm and leg, according to police Maj. Paul Fitzgerald.

At about 2 p.m. today, the unidentified man “took a running leap over the banister inside the mall,” Fitzgerald said.

The police are treating the incident as a suicide attempt and do not yet have information about what led up to it, Fitzgerald said.

Rescue crews took the man to Rhode Island Hospital, according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Kate Bramson at 5:05 PM | Comment

Providence man, 20, pleads guilty in revenge killing

PROVIDENCE – An 18-year-old city man pleaded guilty today to killing 20-year-old Richard Perez last June, a murder of revenge after the shooting less than an hour earlier of another 18-year-old.

In Superior Court today, Judge Robert D. Krause sentenced Nicholas Paredes, of 150 Adelaide Ave., to 60 years, with 35 to serve at the Adult Correctional Institutions and 25 years suspended with probation, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 4:36 PM | Comment

Chances dim for Cranston candidate Fung

CRANSTON -- Mayoral hopeful Allan W. Fung got bad news today from the state Board of Elections, leaving little hope that he will be named as Mayor Stephen P. Laffey's successor.

The Board of Elections said it will not count 19 of the 73 provisional ballots toward the city's mayoral tallies, eliminating any chance that Fung could overcome the 63-vote deficit that separates him from Democrat Michael T. Napolitano.

Robert Kando, the board’s executive director, said the 19 ballots — cast by registered voters who voted in an incorrect precinct — have been classified as “federal office only” and will not count toward any statewide or city contests.

“We do just what the rule says, federal only,” Kando said. “No hearing is scheduled. It’s an administrative item.”

The Board of Elections’ regulations governing provisional voting partially disqualifies any voter whose provisional ballot application lists a home address outside of the district in which the vote was cast.

Those ballots, the regulation says, count only for presidential and congressional elections.

Fung, the City Council minority leader, needs to receive 69 of the 73 votes to win the mayor’s office. His campaign’s legal counsel, Angel Taveras, said Fung may challenge the Board of Elections regulation.

“Those 19 are registered voters, registered in Cranston,” Taveras said.
“Valid votes should be counted.”

Fung also plans to request a full recount of votes cast in what is being called the closest mayoral election in city history.

-- Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Peter Phipps at 3:30 PM | Comment

Chafee: Power shift could be good for country / Photo

--- Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Sen. Lincoln Chafee addressed his Tuesday loss to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse at a news conference today in his Providence office.

PROVIDENCE – A lot of people have told U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee over the last two days that they’re sorry he lost, but glad control of the House and Senate have switched to the Democrats.

He feels the same way, Chafee, a Republican, told the press in Providence today. He stopped short of saying that he planned to change parties.

“I think the president now is going to have to talk to the Democrats,” said Chafee, who frequently clashed with the administration.

This has been an exhausting period, Chafee said, with the seven-day-a-week race that takes so much from the candidates. Losing, he said, is traumatic.

“I’ll be honest, it’s a kick in the guts,” he said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 3:30 PM | Comment

Traffic: Cleanup completed at Exit 14, Route 95S

The state has finished cleaning an oil spill at Exit 14 off Route 95 South in Warwick and all lanes have reopened.

The state's Transportation Management Center had earlier warned drivers about possible traffic delays because of the cleanup.

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:36 PM | Comment

David Gergen to speak at Roger Williams today

BRISTOL -- Longtime political figure David Gergen is scheduled to speak today at Roger Williams University, where the former presidential adviser will deliver a lecture entitled, "The Bush Second Term -- Issues and Answers."

Gergen directs the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has served as a White House adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton.

Gergen's appearance is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the university's campus recreation center. A limited number of public tickets are available at the door for $5 or by calling (401) 254-3067.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:23 PM | Comment

11M bottles of acetaminophen recalled; CVS among retailers

WASHINGTON -- A major manufacturer of acetaminophen sold by Wal-Mart, CVS, Safeway and more than 100 other retailers recalled 11 million bottles of the widely used pain-relieving pills today after discovering some were contaminated with metal fragments.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or illness.

The recall affects bottles containing various amounts of 500-milligram caplets made by the Perrigo Co.

Like aspirin, acetaminophen works as a pain killer and fever reducer, but it does not have anti-inflammatory properties and does not produce the side effects associated with aspirin, such as stomach irritation, according to the American Council for Headache Education's Web site.

Read the full story.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:01 PM | Comment

Update: Superior Court in Providence briefly evacuated

PROVIDENCE – A box alarm went off, briefly evacuating Superior Court here shortly before noon.

More than 100 people, many of them jurors, went out the Benefit Street entrance to the courthouse, and many were standing in clusters on the streets leading up toward the Brown University campus.

By noon, people were returning to the building. The incident was nothing serious, according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department.

-- Journal staff writer Cynthia Needham

Posted by Kate Bramson at 12:01 PM | Comment

R.I. woman, 21, charged in N.H. college hazing incidents

PLYMOUTH, N.H. -- Four students at Plymouth State University -- including a 21-year-old Barrington woman -- have been charged with hazing, providing alcohol to minors and simple assault.

New Hampshire police are investigating what they believe is a series of hazing incidents off-campus this fall involving women pledging Chi Alpha Zeta, a non-sanctioned, non-recognized sorority.

Warrants and affidavits in support of their arrests have been sealed and details of the incident haven't been released.

Police have arrested Amanda Gomes of Barrington, R.I.; 21-year-old students Meagan Ford of Lyndeborough; Jillian Sargent of Wilton; and Alana Hokans of Wethersfield, Conn.

Three years ago, 20-year-old Plymouth State student Kelly Nester, of Coventry, R.I., was killed while pledging another unsanctioned sorority. She died when a sport utility vehicle carrying 10 pledges, some of whom were blindfolded, crashed.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Steve Peoples at 10:59 AM | Comment

Update: Westerly textile mill to pay $150K for polluting

PROVIDENCE -- Three environmental groups have won a "groundbreaking" legal battle that will force a Westerly textile mill to upgrade its environmental safeguards.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was settled earlier in the week, were holding a press conference today outside U.S. District Court in Kennedy Plaza to discuss the settlement.

U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres signed an agreement on Monday that forces Bradford Dyeing Association, Inc. to upgrade its existing facilities and to pay $150,000 for past violations.

Half of that money will establish a Bradford Area Environmental Fund for local environmental and public health projects, and half will be devoted to reducing pollution emissions from the mill's main boilers.

The lawsuit charged that the mill had been discharging illegal levels of copper, lead, fecal coliform bacteria and other pollutants into the Pawcatuck River for more than five years, and had consistently failed tests measuring the overall toxicity of its effluent.

The mill, located in the village of Bradford, borders the Pawcatuck, which at that point forms the boundary between Westerly and Hopkinton.

The failed tests were submitted to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management every month.

"State and federal environmental regulators gave [the mill] a free pass for years,” explained Environment Rhode Island Advocate Matt Auten. “As a result, citizens and environmental groups were forced to step up and take legal action to enforce our clean air and clean water laws."

The company issued a statement this morning:

“Bradford Dyeing Association has always taken its responsibility to the environment and to its neighbors seriously, and this agreement is further proof of that commitment," said spokesman Gregg Perry in a statement.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

"As part of this settlement, BDA is investing in new equipment and processes to upgrade the company’s air and water quality systems," Perry continued. "Taking these steps will ensure BDA continues to meet state and federal environmental regulations, and that BDA will remain an important economic engine in Southern Rhode Island."

The case is the first known "Rhode Island citizen enforcement suit to enforce portions of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act," according to an advisory issued by several environmental groups such as Environment Rhode Island that plan to attend this morning's press conference.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 10:46 AM | Comment

Jury still deliberating in slaying of Cape fashion writer

BARNSTABLE, Mass. -- Prosecutors in the trial of a trash collector accused of killing fashion writer Christa Worthington insist he acted alone and made up a story about his friend being the real killer.

But under the state's joint criminal venture theory the jury could still convict Christopher McCowen even if they believe his story that Jeremy Frazier stabbed her, even though Frazier was never charged.

Jurors resumed deliberations for a third day today in the trial of McCowen, 34, who is charged with raping and killing Worthington on Jan. 5, 2002.

After both sides finished presenting evidence in the trial earlier this week, Assistant District Attorney Robert Welsh asked Judge Gary Nickerson to instruct the jury on the joint venture theory. McCowen's attorney, Robert George, fought the request, but Nickerson agreed with prosecutors.

-- The Associated Press

Some legal analysts said the theory could make it easier for the jury to convict McCowen.

If jurors were not allowed to consider the possibility that McCowen and Frazier committed the crime together, they would have to accept the prosecutor's theory that McCowen acted alone in killing Worthington in order to find him guilty of murder.

But under the joint venture theory, jurors were told they could also convict McCowen if they believe he participated in the crime, even if they think it was Frazier who fatally stabbed her. McCowen has said he had consensual sex with Worthington. He also told police he helped Frazier beat her, that he watched as Frazier killed her and that he helped Frazier wipe down her body then beat her.

"It's inviting a compromise verdict in a very emotional case," said Stephanie Page, a public defender.

"By giving a joint venture instruction not based on the prosecution's theory, it allows the prosecution to have its cake and eat it too, and that is just not fair," Page said.

Under the theory of joint venture, someone who actively assists another person in committing a crime is considered just as responsible for the crime. Under the theory, the person who assisted must share the same mental state or have the same intent as the person who actually commits the murder.

Some lawyers said it is somewhat unusual, but not unheard of, for a judge to instruct the jury on joint venture in a case in which only one person has been charged.

Edward P. Ryan Jr. a defense lawyer and former president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, said he believes the judge's instruction was appropriate, given McCowen's statements to police. Allowing jurors to consider the joint theory will help prosecutors because it gives the jury two options for conviction, he said.

"The prosecution looked the jury in the eye and said we think his story of the other guy being involved is baloney. However, if you believe what the defendant says about the second guy's involvement, you can still find (McCowen) guilty of murder," Ryan said.

But David Frank, a former prosecutor, said the joint venture theory could end up working against the prosecution.

"I've always found the more options you give to a jury, the more complicated things can become in the jury room," Frank said. "As a prosecutor, what I'd be worried about is if there is conflict about how the crime happened, some jurors may view that as reasonable doubt."

Also on Wednesday, prosecutor Welsh was among four people nominated by Gov. Mitt Romney to be an associate justices on the District Court Circuit.

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:32 AM | Comment

Traffic: Multiple accidents on 95N slows commute

PROVIDENCE -- The state Department of Transportation has reported two accidents along the same stretch of Interstate 95 North at about 8:30 a.m. that have clogged the morning commute.

The first accident took place in the left lane of the highway before Exit 16, which leads to Route 10. The second accident happened in the right lanes of the same area, according to the Department of Transportation.

There's no word on any injuries associated with the accidents.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 8:59 AM | Comment

Fire burns old farmer's market building

PROVIDENCE -- Fire crews responded to a blaze at the old farmer's market on Kinsley Avenue last night.

"Someone lit a bunch of pallets on fire in one of the brick buildings," James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department, said this morning.

Firefighters got to the scene at about 7:40 p.m. and extinguished the fire in about 20 minutes. The two-story brick building that burned was vacant, Taylor said, adding that no one was hurt.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 8:59 AM | Comment

Dems Senate takeover gives New England new clout

WASHINGTON -- The shift of Senate control to the Democrats will intensify the surge of clout for increasingly "blue" New England, with key new committee chairmanships among the gains.

Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed will regain the seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee that he held for the 18-month interval of Democatic Senate rule during President Bush's first term. Appropriators hold the pursestrings on most government programs.

Reed's ascent could give Rhode Island a formidable one-two punch in the continual struggle to secure federal dollars for the state, since Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Reed, already a Democratic voice in military affairs, will rise in seniority on the Senate Armed Services Committee and become chairman of the panel's subcommittee with jurisdiction over emerging military threats around the globe. Reed's close associate, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., will replace Republican Sen. John Warner as Armed Services Committee chairman.

Democratic power will get an early showcase next year as Levin, Reed and their colleagues question former CIA chief Robert Gates, Mr. Bush's choice to replace Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, at committee hearings to weigh the question of whether the full Senate should confirm Gates's nomination.

Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has signaled that as the new chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, he will move quickly to push pass an increase in the minimum wage. He will replace New Hampshire Republican Judd Gregg as chairman.

The new Congress will convene in January after a brief "lame duck" session of the existing Republican-led Congress.

-- Journal staff writer John Mulligan

Veteran Vermont Sen. Patrick J. Leahy may best personify the dramatic change. He will be the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which controls nominations to the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Leahy will thus represent new-found Democratic power to curb the rightward shift that President Bush has achieved with the seating of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on the high court.

The new chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will be Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd. He will preside opposite Fall River-area Rep. Barney Frank, who will lead the counterpart panel in the House.

-- Journal staff writer John Mulligan

Posted by Steve Peoples at 8:24 AM | Comment

Today's Journal front page

Today's front page features full coverage of Secretary of State Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation and a story exposing that nearly 5,000 dead people are registered to vote in Rhode Island.

See the page in .pdf format.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:29 AM | Comment

Warm sun on its way

PROVIDENCE -- It may be November, but it won't feel like it today.

The wet weather that soaked the area overnight is gone. And morning cloudy skies are expected to give way to bright sun today with a high near 65 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Tonight's temperatures will be mild as well. The weather service is predicting a low around 48 degrees.

Clear and mild conditions are expected to stick around into the weekend.

For more weather and updates, see projo.com/weather.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:14 AM | Comment

Wake today for Newport soldier killed in Iraq

The wake for Sgt. Michael Weidemann, the 23-year-old Newport soldier killed in Iraq last week, is scheduled for today.

Weidemann's body was returned to his family earlier in the week. Visiting hours for the 2001 Rogers High School graduate are scheduled from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport.

Weidemann's funeral will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 324 East Main Rd., Portsmouth. Burial will follow on the church grounds.

Weidemann was killed last Tuesday while on patrol in the Anbar Province west of Baghdad when his armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.

He was serving his second tour in Iraq for Army's 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 7:00 AM | Comment