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February 16, 2007

R.I. murder suspect dies in N.Y. jail

A man facing murder charges following a violent stabbing in the Rumford section of East Providence last fall is dead.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office reported tdoay that Joel Noonan died in New York City’s Bellevue Hospital at 1:53 p.m., according to Michael Healey, a spokesman for the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office.

Noonan, a former union roofer from Avon, Mass., was in New York state custody awaiting sentencing for two violent crimes in New York City when he died, Healey said, adding that the cause of death was cardio-pulmonary failure.

Healey couldn’t provide any details surrounding the death, except to say that Noonan had been being held in Riker’s Island Prison Complex before being moved to the hospital.

Noonan was charged with stabbing Steven Dowgiala to death after forcing his way into Dowgiala’s home in Rumford last September. Dowgiala’s wife, Susan, is Noonan’s cousin. The police say Noonan fled to New York City where, the next day, he was shot by police as Noonan came at them with a knife.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

A Providence County grand jury had indicted Noonan on one count of murder, one count of entering a dwelling house with the intent to commit murder, and two counts of simple assault.

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office was planning to extradite Noonan to Rhode Island after his New York sentencing, Healey said. "Once we get a copy of his death certificate in Rhode Island, that will likely close our case," Healey said.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 6:41 PM | Comment

Beagle-training club penalized for 'altering nature'

PROVIDENCE — A federal magistrate judge today fined The Little Rhody Beagle Club and its former president a total of $28,144 for illegally using pesticide, guns and steel leghold traps to kill birds and other animals that were preying on a stock of rabbits, which the club uses to train beagles.

The club, at 832 Cowesett Road in Warwick, and its former president, William Forward, pleaded guilty to illegally killing migratory birds and illegally using a pesticide to kill birds and other wildlife.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond accepted the terms of a plea agreement, placing both the club and Forward on probation for one year. He fined the club $18,144. He fined Forward $10,000. And he ordered to club to pay $1,855 in veterinary bills that a neighbor rang up after his dogs became ill because of the club’s pesticide.

The government contended that the Cowesett Road club, which trains beagles to flush rabbits out of cover, and hosts field trials, killed the birds using guns, steel leg-hold traps, and by setting out as bait, eggs and animal carcasses seeded with the insecticide carbofuran.

As a result, red-tailed hawks, Cooper's hawks, great-horned owls, northern flickers, northern mockingbirds, turkey vultures and mourning doves died.

Almond said the club also created a potential hazard for children in the area by putting a highly toxic pesticide and illegal traps on a site that was only partially surrounded by a waist-high wire fence. He noted a “thickly settled neighborhood is within a bike ride” of the 90-acre parcel.

-- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick

“The actions taken to address the problem appear somewhat amateurish and lacking in forethought and a desire to find out how to do it the right way,” Almond told the defendants this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Providence.

Almond said the club was “altering nature to suit its own needs,” and he said the birds and other animals killed by the poison and the traps were “innocent victims.”

Posted by Steve Peoples at 5:52 PM | Comment

Tall Ships to dock again in Newport

NEWPORT — While most Rhode Islanders are keeping their eyes peeled to the ice beneath their feet and tires, a Newport group has its gaze fixed on the sea, with visions of summer and a flotilla of mighty sailing vessels majestically gliding into port.

This week, Amica Insurance Tall Ships Rhode Island 2007 announced the final line-up of vessels that will be coming to Newport from June 27 to July 1. It will be the only Tall Ships gathering in New England this summer, and organizers have been promising it would be among the best and biggest of Newport’s seven festivals.

After the inaugural event, which celebrated the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, “It’s as big as any event we’ve ever had,” said retired Navy Adm. Thomas Weschler, co-chair of this year’s festival and a long-time Tall Ships organizer.

This week’s announcement touted the participation of 22 Tall Ships, including a handful of the grandest. These have the distinction of being recognized as Class A vessels, which means they are either impressive square-rigged vessels or more than 131 feet long, or both.

The headliners include a trio of three-masted, square-rigged ships: the 293-foot Gorch Fock II, from Germany; the 249-foot Gloria, from Colombia; and the 254-foot, Cisne Branco, from Brazil.

-- Journal staff writer Richard Salit

During the last festival, in 2004, most of the ships tied up at wharves on Goat Island, where a security checkpoint and metal detectors were set up. Admission was $5 and long lines formed. It was organized at the last moment after a private promoter withdrew from the event.

This year will be similar to festivals of the past, with Tall Ships tying up at docks from downtown to Fort Adams and no general admission fee. There will be no ships at Goat Island.

The festival headquarters officially opened today at an office at 71 Long Wharf.

-- Journal staff writer Richard Salit

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 5:40 PM | Comment

Update: Celona to plead to state corruption charges

PROVIDENCE — Former State Sen. John A. Celona is expected to plea guilty Tuesday morning to some of the five state criminal charges he faces related to using his power and influence for personal gain.

A court spokesman said that a judge was notified of the former senator’s intentions this afternoon. It is likely that the plea will be in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch would not comment on the terms of the plea or any of the pre-trial discussions.

“What I will say, however, is that my office has long looked forward to holding Mr. Celona accountable for having violated the public trust and betrayed the faith of the people of Rhode Island,” Lynch said in a statement.

Lynch said that Celona is expected to enter a plea and be sentenced on Tuesday.

Celona's attorney, William Dimitri, declined to comment this afternoon.

The plan was disclosed this afternoon by Superior Court Associate Justice Daniel A. Procaccini. Celona will appear before Procaccini at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 3 on the third floor of the Licht Judicial Complex.

Celona, 53, has already pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges of selling his office to Rhode Williams Medical Center, the CVS drugstore chain and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. The North Providence Democrat was sentenced two weeks ago to 2 ½ years in prison. He was instructed to report to prison by noon on March 2.

What started as a case against Celona has turned into a large-scale federal investigation — dubbed Operation Dollar Bill — which is looking into ties between payoffs and legislation in the Rhode Island State House. Celona has been cooperating with authorities which led him to receive a lesser federal sentence.

He has also been fined $130,000 by the state Ethics Commission after entering a plea there. Celona’s lawyer has argued that the state charges would be “double jeopardy” — essentially punishing him twice for the same misconduct.

But Procaccini refused to throw out the charges, saying that the Ethics Commission acted on a civil complaint while the charges in state court against Celona are criminal.

Procaccini wrote that the $130,000 ethics fine against Celona, for the 10 ethics violations that he admitted to last July 25, “does not seem out of proportion or excessive when considering the legislative view that an essential way to prevent and remedy unethical practices is through an assessment of civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation.”

-- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz

An April 2005 state criminal indictment charged Celona with one felony and four misdemeanor offenses.

The first charge, the sole felony, alleges that Celona obtained his senator’s salary under false pretenses by failing to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of his office in accordance with his oath. It carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Celona also faces three criminal charges of violating the state Code of Ethics by accepting employment that impaired his independence of judgment regarding his official duties. Each violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison. One count relates to Roger Williams Medical Center, another to CVS and the third to Blue Cross.

The final count alleges that the yearly financial statements submitted to the Ethics Commission for 2000, 2001, and 2002 were false.

-- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:24 PM | Comment

R.I. Democrats join House rejection of Bush's Iraq plan

WASHINGTON - Rhode Island's two congressmen were among the majority of the Democratic-controlled House who issued a symbolic rejection of President Bush's plan to deploy more troops to Iraq this afternoon.

The move opened what could be an epic confrontation between Congress and commander in chief over an unpopular war that has taken the lives of more than 3,100 U.S. troops. The vote on the nonbinding measure was 246-182.

Democratic Reps. Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin were among those disapproving of Bush's plan. See the full roll call vote here.

Read the full story.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 3:42 PM | Comment

Sports this weekend: Big doings on College Hill

It's a big night for Providence's Ivy League school. The Brown men's basketball team (2-6 Ivy League, 7-16 overall) is at the Pizzitola Center tonight to take on Harvard (3-5, 10-12) at 7; Paul Kenyon will have a game story tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Bears' men's ice hockey team (3-4-1, 8-11-5) is also at home, at 7, against Dartmouth (3-3-1, 12-10-3). Robert Lee will have a story on that contest.

Over at The Dunk, the P-Bruins skate against the Springfield Falcons at 7. The P-Bruins are back at home on Sunday at 4:05 against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

And in high school sports, there's a big girls basketball showdown at 7:30 in North Providence between the Cougars (13-1 in division games) and rival Division II power Pilgrim (13-2); check projo.com's High School Game Day page tomorrow for a gallery of game photos.

The NBA kicks off its All-Star festivities tonight. There should be plenty of flash on the court in Las Vegas tonight for the All-Star Celebrity Game at 7 (on ESPN) and the Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam at 9 (on TNT). The slam dunk competition, the three-point shooting shootout, and the skills competition are Saturday on TNT beginning at 8:30. And the game itself is Sunday at 8 on TNT. There's no truth to the rumor that the over-under has been set at 300 points.

Providence College's men's basketball team (5-6 Big East, 15-9 overall) is back at home, where the Friars are hard to beat, to take on St. John's (6-7, 15-11) at noon tomorrow. The Rhody Rams (9-3 Atlantic 10, 16-10 overall) look to stay on top in the Atlantic 10 tomorrow when they welcome Charlotte (5-6, 11-13) to the Ryan Center at 2. Both the Rams and the Friars are on Cox Sports Television. Projo.com's College Hoops Blog will also have a postgame note on each contest soon after it has ended.

The Boston Bruins visit the mighty Buffalo Sabres (at 39-15, the best team in the NHL) on Saturday night at 7; you can see the game on NESN.

Posted by Mike McDermott at 3:35 PM | Comment

Reed to appear on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed is scheduled to appear on NBC's Meet the Press this Sunday, according to Reed's office.

Rhode Island's senior senator has become a leader in the Democratic response to President Bush's strategy in Iraq.

Reed is scheduled to appear on the show after host Tim Russert interviews White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.

The show airs in Rhode Island at 10 a.m. Sunday on Channel 10 WJAR.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:34 PM | Comment

25-year-old gets 15 years on gun charge

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres today sentenced Kendall Rose, 25, of Providence, to 15 years in prison as an armed career criminal.

He was arrested Rose in October 2005 after he tossed away a revolver on June Street. Rose, 25, has three prior felony convictions.

Rose, whose most recent address was on Chad Brown Street, pleaded guilty in August to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

At the plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha said that on October 18, 2005, Providence Police officers Jonathan Primiano and Curt Desautels saw Rose take a chrome revolver out of his sweatshirt pocket, drop it, and kick it under a car. They arrested him.

Rose has prior a prior felony conviction for assault with a dangerous weapon, and two for drug trafficking. Those three offenses made him an armed career criminal, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. Ordinarily, being a felon in possession of a firearm has a maximum sentence of ten years in prison

Posted by Peter Phipps at 3:15 PM | Comment

Fire crews prevent car fire from spreading to house

NORTH PROVIDENCE – Around lunchtime today, a man started his car to warm it up, went back inside his home and then discovered the car engulfed in flames when he came back outside about five minutes later.

At that point, 12:06 p.m., the man called 911 and reported the fire was close to a 1.5-story garage and not far from a three-story dwelling, North Providence Fire Battalion Chief Gerald Capaldi said.

When firefighters arrived at 18 Lyman Ave. at 12:09 p.m., they discovered a car “fully involved” and a fire that had spread to a wood-frame garage. The house itself, also a wood-frame building, stands about 10 feet away, Capaldi said.

The first two engines that arrived quickly extinguished the blaze, which totaled the car and damaged the wood shingles of the garage. The fire never reached the house, Capaldi said. It was under control by 12:23 p.m.

No one was injured. The fire remains under investigation, but it does not appear suspicious, Capaldi said. The car owner told crews that he had had some mechanical issues with the auto, according to Capaldi.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Strong winds increased the risk of the house catching fire, according to Capaldi.

“Fortunately for us, we were there at the right time and able to put water on quickly and confine damage to the auto and the 1.5-story garage,” the battalion chief said.

Capaldi is not sure how many families live in the three-story tenement.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:40 PM | Comment

Lincoln Woods death is still a mystery

LINCOLN -- State officials still aren't sure exactly what happened to Mark Cardozo, the 50-year-old man whose body was found in Olney Pond.

The regional manager of Lincoln Woods, Ken Rogers, said that it's unclear if Cardozo, who was known to frequent the frozen pond with his dogs, had fallen through thin ice or, for some reason, walked into open water.

If he fell through the ice near where his body was found, Cardozo was hundreds of yards away from the designated skating area – the only spot on the large pond where ice thickness is regularly monitored and deemed safe for people.

The Providence man's body was found yesterday in a small spot of open water across the pond from where his van was parked.

Rogers said that people commonly ignore the signs and four small buoys in the skating area that designate the safe area.

"It's kind of difficult to regulate human behavior," Rogers said.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 2:09 PM | Comment

Mass. woman dies in truck-rollover in Swansea

SWANSEA, Mass. -- A Massachusetts woman was killed early this morning when the truck she was driving on Route 195 East through Swansea went off the road and rolled over in a wooded area.

Sarah A. Coggeshall, 30, of Marion sustained fatal injuries in the crash and was declared dead at the scene, the state police said in a statement.

Coggeshall lost control of the 1997 Toyota Tacoma as she headed east on Route 195, the police said. The vehicle went off the left shoulder, into a median and continued through a wooded area, rolled over and came to rest on its roof. The police located the truck on the highway before Exit 2 in Massachusetts.

Coggeshall was wearing a seat belt when the crash happened, the police said.

The investigation is continuing with assistance from the state police collision analysis and reconstruction section, the Bristol County District Attorney's state police unit and the state police crime scene services section. Swansea police, fire and emergency services personnel and state troopers helped at the scene.

-- Journal staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:27 PM | Comment

Will Celona plead or go to trial? Answer due today

PROVIDENCE -- A judge said today he expects to know by the end of the day whether former state Sen. John Celona will reach a plea deal on state corruption charges or go to trial.

Celona has already pleaded guilty to similar charges in federal court and was sentenced Jan. 31 to two and a half years in prison. He has admitted in federal court to selling his office to Roger Williams Medical Center, CVS Corp. and Blue Cross & Blue Shield.

Superior Court Judge Daniel Procaccini said Celona's attorney and prosecutors have been working on a deal, and he gave the two sides until the end of the day to tell him whether the case would conclude with a plea or continue to a trial.

"I've been told that there have been discussions, and we have been trying to resolve it short of a trial," Procaccini told The Associated Press.

The judge declined to reveal any terms being discussed.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office confirmed to The Providence Journal early this afternoon that a decision would be made today.

Celona's attorney, William Dimitri, declined to comment.

If Celona decides to enter a plea, he would do so Tuesday morning in Providence Superior Court, Procaccini said. Otherwise, the judge would set a trial date.

-- The Associated Press, with reports from Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz

Celona has assisted federal investigators in a massive probe of State House corruption and was the star witness last year in a trial that resulted in the convictions of two former Roger Williams executives.

Two former CVS vice presidents were indicted last month on federal fraud, conspiracy and bribery charges. They have pleaded not guilty. Federal prosecutors say they are investigating seven politicians and seven corporations as a result of Celona's help.

A state grand jury issued a five-count indictment against Celona in April 2005, before he was charged in federal court. Several months later, he pleaded guilty to three counts of federal mail fraud, but the state charges have never been resolved.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:23 PM | Comment

Man recovered in Olney Pond was wearing boots

LINCOLN – The Providence man whose body was recovered yesterday in a pond at Lincoln Woods State Park was wearing rubber boots when he was found.

The family of Mark Cardozo, 50, of Nisbet Street, initially said he went to Olney Pond Wednesday to skate. Searchers also found an empty skate box in his van. But divers found no skates on his body or in the water, DEM spokeswoman Gail Mastrati said yesterday.

Early this afternoon, crews who helped recover Cardozo’s body confirmed for Mastrati that the man was wearing Muck Boots when he was found.

Cardoza's van was found yesterday morning in a parking lot at the state park, prompting the state Department of Transportation to call the Lime Rock police.

A diver from the Cumberland Police Department found Cardozo’s body shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday in an area of the pond where there were stretches of open water. Much of the pond is iced over.

The pond is marked in different places with signs indicating safe or not safe for skating.

Cardozo’s two golden retrievers had stayed in the area overnight, running back and forth from his van to the place where he apparently fell through the ice. The dogs have been taken in by Cardozo’s brother, Mastrati said this afternoon.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 1:16 PM | Comment

Pats' Brady testifies at Weis' malpractice trial

BOSTON -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady testified today that he watched his mentor Charlie Weis move in and out of consciousness after the Notre Dame coach's gastric bypass surgery.

"At that moment I wasn't sure what was happening, if that was normal or not normal," Brady said in Suffolk Superior Court during Weis' medical malpractice lawsuit against two Massachusetts General surgeons.

"As it developed, I realized this was a very serious issue we were dealing with," he said.

Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:32 PM | Comment

Firefighter injured in Burrillville blaze

BURRILLVILLE -- A firefighter was injured this morning when his foot went through a floor while he fought a fire that badly damaged a two-story home in Wallum Lake, a fire official said.

Firefighters saw smoke pouring from both floors of the unoccupied home at the corner of Wallum Lake Road and Buck Hill Road when they arrived, said Arthur Houle, Pascoag Fire Marshal.

The firefighter, from Harrisville, was not seriously injured, Houle said.

The fire was reported at the old barn-style home around 9:30 a.m., and firefighters were still pouring water on the smoldering fire at about 11:45 a.m.

Emergency crews from Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts responded to the rural area to help control the fire, according to Burrillville firefighter Joe St. Pierre.

-- With reports from projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples and photographer Bill Murphy.

Posted by Jack Perry at 12:00 PM | Comment

Baby it's cold outside

PROVIDENCE – The ice remains on many side streets, and sidewalks are still pretty treacherous after our Valentine’s Day storm.

With a temp of just 10 degrees now and the high expected to reach just 28 today, there may not be much more melting today either.

Saturday may bring warm enough temps to melt some of the ice before the potential for more snow moves in Saturday night. Tomorrow, we should have a high of 37. The National Weather Service predicts a 30 percent chance of snow showers for Saturday night and Sunday, with a high of 34 on Sunday.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:06 AM | Comment

Judge to rule today on CVS bid to buy Caremark

WOONSOCKET -- A development could come today in CVS's attempt to acquire pharmacy benefits manager Caremark R-x.

A Delaware judge is expected to rule on whether he should stop the acquisition, which is worth billions of dollars.

Missouri-based Express Scripts is trying to stop the deal and buy Caremark itself for $26 billion in stock, a proposal that forced Woonsocket-based CVS to raise its original offer.

Lawyers for Express Scripts object to a $675 million dollar break-up fee that they say unlawfully locks Caremark into the CVS deal.

The rival bidder also says Caremark executives and directors would get lucrative positions at the combined company.

Officials from Caremark and CVS call the charges in that lawsuit and another like it unfounded.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a photograph of men breaking up ice on Broad Street in Cranston and a story about the problems drivers encountered when roads turned icy after Wednesday's storm.

There's also a story about the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Cape Cod receiving federal recognition and the possibility of the tribe opening a gambling facility near Rhode Island.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment