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November 16, 2006

Fake doctor ordered to pay back $1.4 million

PROVIDENCE -- An Exeter man convicted in May of pretending to be a doctor has been ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution to 338 former clients he victimized.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi had already sentenced John E. Curran, 41, to more than 10 years in prison. Today, in the second part of the sentencing, Lisi ordered Curran to repay the money he took from people who thought they were being helped.

According to evidence presented at the trial, Curran wore a lab coat with "M.D." after his name as he looked at people's blood under a microscope, and told them they had parasites, immune-system failure or even cancer. He told dying people that he could make them better and healthy people that they were in danger of dying.

As treatment, he sold them "E-water," which he said had healing powers similar to the waters at Lourdes, and "Green Drink," a powdered vegetable mix that he said helped the body fight disease. He also had an array of machines in his office that patients could use for $10,000; they included a hyperbaric chamber, an "ionizing footbath," and devices that applied heat, water, oxygen, massage or infrared lights.

In two years, Curran's patients bought $1.4 million in treatments, federal investigators showed.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:25 PM | Comment

Swansea teen killed in morning crash

SEEKONK -- A 17-year-old Swansea resident and student at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School was killed Thursday morning on Route 6 after her car suddenly swerved across the highway and struck a telephone pole.

Angela T. Durfee, of 28 Rangley St., Swansea, was declared dead at the scene of the accident, which occured around 7:17 a.m. just west of Seekonk Speedway in front of Supreme Coffee & Donuts.

The police said she was not wearing a seatbelt.

One witness reported that Durfee's car suddenly swerved from inside the eastbound land, cross over the center line, and struck the telephone pole along the highway, also known as Fall River Avenue.

State police are still investigating the tragedy to see if the can learn why Durfee suddenly lurched to the side.

-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:37 PM | Comment

Update: House leadership vote splits Democrats, including R.I.'s

WASHINGTON -- A contentious leadership vote in the House of Representatives today divided House Democrats and Rhode Island's congressional delegation while dealing Nancy Pelosi a political defeat just hours after she was selected to be the first female Speaker of the House.

House Democrats soundly rejected Pelosi's candidate, Pennsylvania Rep. John P. Murtha, voting 149 to 86 for Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer as the House majority leader.

Rhode Island's two Democratic congressmen split on the vote. U.S. Rep. James Langevin voted with the majority for Hoyer, while U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy voted for Murtha.

Langevin said his party was united, despite the contentious vote.

"I think today was a minor challenge or a kind of a fight within the family," Langevin said this afternoon. "But at the end of the day, it’s a minor bump in the road and in the longterm we come out of this caucus united and stronger than ever."

Kennedy also largely dismissed news of today's rift as a "diversion" for "political junkies." He said that Rhode Island is better positioned politically because of his vote for Pelosi's candidate, despite the loss.

"This [vote] is also something that she appreciated," Kennedy said this afternoon.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Like other House Democrats, Langevin acknowledged behind-the-scenes political maneuvering before the vote and said he received repeated requests from Murtha and his supporters for his vote.

But Langevin was attracted by Hoyer's "overall record" and a personal connection that dates back to Langevin's first run for federal office.

Hoyer, who co-sponsored the Americans with Disabilities Act, reached out to Langevin, a quadriplegic, during the 2000 Democratic primary, during which Hoyer donated to Langevin's campaign and invited him to Washington to meet "some key leaders."

"It's unusal for a sitting member of Congress, especially someone with his seniority, to get involved in a primary," Langevin said of Hoyer. "He was there early [for my campaign] and an eager supporter. I’ve had a personal loyalty and deep respect for him."

Kennedy said this afternoon that his vote for Pelosi's candidate positioned him well for the coming session in which Democrats will have the House majority for the first time in more than a decade.

"[Murtha] now goes back to being chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee...and Rhode Island gets over 900 million (dollars) in direct defense payroll every year," Kennedy said. "We have an enormous stake in having a good relationship with the chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee."

And Kennedy's vote also puts him in the good grace of Pelosi, who may have lost a political battle today, but will be the most powerful member of the House of Representatives in the new Congress.

"She’s still the speaker. So essentially she’s still got her hands on all the levers of power in the Congress," Kennedy said. "It was a two-fer. I get a big bonus because Jack’s the chairman of defense appropriations subcommittee, which is vital to my district, and once again I’m voting in favor of Nancy Pelosi. I’m happy where I am and where I’ve positioned myself and Rhode Island’s First District."

But like Langevin, Kennedy dismissed the significance of today's rift among Democrats so soon after the historic election that gave them majorities in the House and the Senate.

"I think clearly what matters most to people is what we as a party produce when we get to work,” Kennedy said. "This is political junkies' excitement and diversion. But it really doesn’t constitute anything in the way of a meaningful difference in people's everyday lives."

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:28 PM | Comment

National Grid proposes 6.6% drop in electricity rates

National Grid has proposed lowering electricity rates by about 6.6 percent, which would trim the bill of a typical residential customer by about $5.11 a month.

In a filing submitted this afternoon to the state Public Utilities Commission, National Grid said that declining natural gas and crude oil prices have lowered its projected costs of buying electricity for its customers next year.

The company proposed the lower rates become effective on Jan. 1, 2007.

A typical customer, which National Grid defines as one who uses 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, would pay $72.71 a month under the proposal, a savings of $5.11 over the current charge of $77.82.

In September, National Grid decreased rates by 3.9 percent, which lowered the bill of a typical customer by about $3.12 a month.

Posted by Tim Barmann at 4:21 PM | Comment

Photo: Serious wait for PlayStation3

Journal photo / Bob Thayer
Jennifer Hogan, far right, of East Providence and dozens of others line up outside Best Buy in Seekonk, Mass., today in hopes of snagging the latest Sony PlayStation -- PlayStation3 -- which they said will go on sale here tomorrow morning at 7. Hogan, who was fourth in line, said she arrived at about 7:45 a.m. to get a spot. There was a line yesterday until about 11 p.m., when customers were asked by authorities to leave and come back in the morning. They did, even though they lost their places. All were good-natured about the wait, seeing it as a time to make new friends or get some reading done.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:03 PM | Comment

Judge rejects AG's request for guidance on Station release

A Superior Court judge this morning rejected a petition from the attorney general that sought guidance on what material gathered as part of The Station nightclub fire investigation must be made public.

Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson said that Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's petition does not follow the procedure laid out in state law regarding access to public records, according to Kristin E. Rodgers, a lawyer representing The Providence Journal. Last month, The Journal filed a public records request for The Station fire evidence.

State law requires public agencies, upon request, to either give out public records or cite a legal exemption before a certain deadline. If the requester is unhappy with the response, the requester can file a lawsuit.

In this case, Lynch filed a suit before the deadline, which is today, expired. The suit asked for a deadline extension and for guidance on what material in The Station case should be kept secret because of privacy considerations.

Lynch is expected to provide The Journal with a formal response to its request by the end of the day today.

Posted by Paul Parker at 2:55 PM | Comment

New trial denied for former boys club director

PROVIDENCE – The former employee who accused Gerald R. Lynch of sexually assaulting him testified “forthrightly and did so in the court’s opinion in a credible fashion,” the judge in the Lynch case said this morning.

The testimony provided enough evidence to support the guilty verdict that the jury returned last month, Judge Edward C. Clifton said.

As a result, the judged today denied a motion for a new trial for Lynch, a well-known political figure who until last spring was director of the East Providence Boys & Girls Club. The ruling, which Clifton made from the bench in Superior Court, set the stage for Lynch’s sentencing.

-- Journal staff writer John Castellucci

The former East Providence City Councilman faces a term of 10 years to life in prison when he returns to court for sentencing on Feb. 19.

Lynch, 62, of 23 Morra Way, Rumford, was found guilty of four counts of first-degree sexual assault, all of them stemming from the oral sex that occurred when he owned a flower shop in Pawtucket and the victim, now a man about 37, worked there as a young teenager.

During a 40-minute hearing before Clifton this morning, defense lawyer Lise J. Gescheidt argued that the victim’s testimony wasn’t credible and that he didn’t offer the evidence of force necessary to support a conviction for sexual assault.

Special Assistant Attorney General Maureen Keough disputed that. “There is evidence of force, and I would suggest that evidence is credible and would support the verdict,” she said.

Clifton agreed, saying the witness’s credibility had withstood days of “excruciating cross-examination.”

Clifton said he was satisfied that, “from the evidence introduced, and the reasonable inference from that evidence, and the weight of that evidence,” that he would have reached a verdict similar to the one returned by the jury.

-- Journal staff writer John Castellucci

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:54 PM | Comment

It's that time again -- Providence skating rink to open

PROVIDENCE -- It's that time again.

Thanksgiving is a week away. Most of the trees are bare. The Christmas commercials are back on TV. And mayor's office announced today that the Providence skating rink is about to open.

The Bank of America skating center in Providence's Kennedy Plaza will open for the first time this winter season next Tuesday at 4 p.m.

The 14,000 sq. ft. facility, which the mayor's office notes "is twice the size of Rockefeller Plaza’s ice rink in New York City," allows Providence residents to skate for free on the first Saturday of each month.

“The Bank of America City Center offers the perfect way to spend a winter day or evening for our residents and visitors alike,” Mayor David N. Cicilline said in a statement. “Last year more than 60,000 skaters experienced the thrill of gliding across the ice and this year promises to be just as exciting.”

General admission is $6 and $3 for seniors and children (under 12). Skate rental is $4. The rink is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.

It's even open on Thanksgiving Day from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:24 PM | Comment

Update: Jury convicts trash collector in Cape slaying

AP File Photo / Steve Heaslip, Cape Cod Times
Christopher McCowen, shown being led out of Barnstable Superior Court last Thursday, was convicted today of murdering fashion writer Christa Worthington on Cape Cod.

BARNSTABLE, Mass. -- A former trash collector was convicted today in the rape and murder of a fashion writer who was found lying in a pool of blood in her Cape Cod home with her 2-year-old daughter clinging to her body.

Christopher McCowen, 34, was found guilty of first-degree murder, rape and burglary in the January 2002 killing of Christa Worthington, 46, by a jury that deadlocked after five days and was forced to start deliberations anew Tuesday after one member was replaced.

McCowen, who was Worthington's garbage man, initially denied having any physical contact with her. But after police told him his DNA was found on her body, McCowen said he had consensual sex with her and beat her, but that his friend had plunged the knife through her chest.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:13 PM | Comment

Guilty verdict in Cape Cod murder trial

A jury has convicted Christopher McCowen of first-degree murder for the 2002 death of fashion writer Christa Worthington on Cape Cod.

McCowen, who worked as Worthington's garbage man, cried as the guilty verdict was read at about noon.

Worthington, 46, was found lying in a pool of blood in her Truro home, dead from a single stab wound to her chest, with her 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Ava, clinging to her body.

McCowen initially denied having any physical contact with her. But after police showed him a DNA report linking him to the crime scene, he told eight different versions of the events leading up to Worthington's death, according to a state police trooper who testified during the trial.

McCowen said he had consensual sex with Worthington and beat her during an argument, but claimed his friend, Jeremy Frazier, stabbed and killed her. Frazier was never charged.

-- With reports from The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:04 PM | Comment

Michael Derderian is not now eligible for work release

After being removed from his job by state officials, nightclub co-owner Michael Derderian is not now eligible for work-release from the Adult Correctional Institutions.

He'll remain in prison during the day as long as an internal investigation into “security concerns” continues. The state won't say what the investigation involves.

Whether he will continue with the prison’s work-release program at all is in question at this time and will be part of the determination by the ACI’s internal investigation unit, which comprises state Department of Corrections staff, ACI spokeswoman Tracey Poole said this morning. Poole said the department doesn’t know how long the investigation will take.

On Friday, the Department of Corrections “removed” Derderian “from the work site” where he had been employed for three weeks, Poole said today, citing “security concerns.”

“There were some security concerns that were brought to our attention and, therefore, an investigation is being conducted,” Poole said this morning. “I can’t compromise the investigation by telling what the security concerns were.”

The State Police were involved, Poole said, and “have determined that no criminal charges will be pursued.” She would not say who the police investigated. A call to the state police has not immediately been returned.

Derderian began his work-release job at a Warwick auto-body shop on Oct. 23 after he was sentenced in September to serve four years in the ACI’s minimum-security work-release program.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

He and his brother, Jeffrey Derderian, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter charges related to the 100 deaths from the 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick.

Jeffrey Derderian received a 10-year suspended sentence, with 500 hours of “appropriate” community service and three years of probation.

Michael Derderian was hired to do “office-type work” and “some light bookkeeping” for a longtime friend, James Buckley Jr., at his Allendale Auto Body and Sales, 2058 Elmwood Ave. in Warwick.

He is back in a minimum-security facility at the ACI this week, Poole said.

A man who answered the phone at Allendale Auto Body said Buckley was not available, and he declined comment on Derderian or his work status at the shop.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:44 AM | Comment

Police find 10 stolen Harleys in storage units

CENTRAL FALLS -- The Pawucket police announced today the discovery of 10 stolen Harley-Davidson motorcycles in a Central Falls storage facility.

Local police began investigating a rash of motocycle thefts last week -- at least five of the bikes were reported stolen in recent weeks, according to Pawtucket police. Most recently, a Harley was stolen from the parking lot of the Hose Company No. 6 restaurant on Central Avenue in Pawtucket last Friday.

The police investigation led them to a Pawtucket man who rents storage units at the Storage America facility in Central Falls. Police searched the units yesterday and discovered 10 Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

All of them had been reported stolen -- four in Pawtucket and the other six from Providence, Woonsocket and Attleboro, according to the police.

Police have not released the suspect's name, or the charges he faces.

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:30 AM | Comment

Feds to fine dog club, president for killing protected birds

A beagle club in Warwick will be fined $20,000 for killing turkey vultures, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks and other migratory birds protected by international treaties.

The Little Rhody Beagle Club, Inc., on Cowesett Road and its president, William Forward, apparently were trying to protect the many rabbits kept on the property for training the beagles.

Club officials used traps and poisons to fend off predatory birds like hawks and owls. And other protected species like mourning doves died after eating poisoned bait and even the carcasses of the poisoned predatory birds.

The U.S. attorney's office announced today that it has charged Forward and the club with killing the birds with firearms, steel leghold traps and an insecticide.

The bird killings violate the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, according to U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente’s office.

Forward and the club have agreed to plead guilty to six misdemeanor charges, according to Corrente. They have signed agreements that will require them to pay $20,000 in fines, the maximum prescribed by the statutes they have allegedly violated, said Thomas Connell, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The agreements have not yet been accepted in court.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:57 AM | Comment

Wal-Mart extends $4 prescription deal to R.I., Mass.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart has expanded the rollout of its $4 offer on some generic drug prescriptions, adding eleven new states -- including Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The move adds more than 500 Wal-Mart stores offering the discounted medications -- and eight right here in Rhode Island, the company announced today. It also adds more than 17 prescriptions to the offering, bringing the total to 331.

The $4 price buys up to a 30-day supply of the drugs.

Thirty-eight states are now covered by the generic drug program, which the company launched in Florida in September, and Wal-Mart has said it expects to make it nationwide by around January. Other states added to the program today are Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Washington and West Virginia.

The company says the move is aimed at saving working Americans money on health care. But critics say it's a stunt to draw in business and a grab for a bigger share of the drug business. The discounted prescription drugs are available in 3,009 Wal-Mart pharmacies.

As reported in today’s Journal, the Woonsocket-based CVS Corp. said Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s introduction of $4 prescriptions for generic drugs isn’t having much effect on its sales.

“It doesn’t seem to be greatly hurtful,” CVS chief financial officer David Rickard said yesterday at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference in New York.

Investors and analysts are concerned that Wal-Mart’s moves will hurt chains such as CVS and Walgreen Co., the biggest U.S. drugstore company, putting pressure on profit margins.

-- The Associated Press and Journal reports

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:49 AM | Comment

Download today's front page

An exhumed body, the airline merger and Iraq are our top stories today.
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Posted by Peter Phipps at 7:17 AM | Comment

Weather: Fog now, heavy rain, wind tonight

The National Weather Service has issued a dense fog warning for the region until 9 a.m. and says there's a chance of rain, mainly after noon, and then heavy rain and wind tonight.

The high temperature is expected to reach 65 degrees -- some 20 to 30 degrees above normal -- and humidity is already 94 percent, as a moist air mass has descended on the region.

The weather service issues such advisories when visibility is expected to drop to one-quarter of a mile or less for at least three hours. It's urging drivers to be cautious.

A cold front will push out the warm air tonight, and the transition should bring gusty winds and rain, with potential thunderstorms mainly after midnight. One to three inches of rain and flooding is possible, the weather service says.

It has issued a flood watch for much of southern New England, except for southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod, for late tonight and tomorrow.

Check out the weather service's dense fog advisory, special weather statement, hazardous weather outlook and flood watch.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:15 AM | Comment

Traffic: Heavy fog limits visibility

Drivers might want to leave early and take it slow this morning because dense fog has settled over the region and limited visibility.

The National Weather Service has issued a dense fog advisory until 9 a.m. for parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The weather service issues such advisories when visibility is expected to drop to one-quarter of a mile or less for at least three hours.

"Motorists are advised to slow down as objects on and near roadways will be seen only at close range," the weather services says.

Shortly before 6:30 a.m., traffic had already backed up slightly on Route 195 West in Providence.

You can find traffic alerts describing accidents here, browse traffic cams to see real-time photos of the highways and check out the DOT’s road construction schedule here.

Also, check out congestion mapping -- i.e., how heavy the traffic is -- here.

To report a traffic incident, call the Transportation Management Center at (401) 222-5826 and choose option #2.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:01 AM | Comment