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May 31, 2007

Man gets 20 years for helping to ship cocaine to R.I.

PROVIDENCE -- A Colorado man was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison for arranging last year with the then-owner of a Providence liquor store to ship 5.5 kilograms of cocaine to Rhode Island at $19,000 per kilogram.

In January 2006 conversations monitored by agents, Fernando Gonzalez-Ramirez, 34, of Aurora, Colo., told Estroredarcio Bernard, who operated California Liquors on Union Avenue in Providence, that a shipment would arrive within a few days.

On Jan. 30, 2006, agents spotted a car with Colorado license plates outside California Liquors and followed the car to a Hathaway Street warehouse. Later that day, Drug Enforcement Administration agents searched the building and found 11 packages, each holding a half-kilogram of cocaine, "which proved to be 87 percent pure."

Bernard and the driver of the Colorado car, Adalberto Bejarano-Gonzalez, were arrested by agents that day. Adalberto Bejarano-Gonzalez is a cousin of Fernando Gonzalez-Ramirez.

Federal agents arrested Fernando Gonzalez-Ramirez in Colorado in August after more investigation.

Federal agents also seized nearly $100,000 in cash: $9,300 from a West Warwick home, $70,500 from California Liquors and $20,000 that Bernard’s wife turned over to the FBI. She was not charged.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Bejarano-Gonzalez, who drove the Colorado car, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possessing with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine. In January, he was sentenced to 37 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres.

Bernard, who operated California Liquors, pleaded guilty in January to the same charges and is detained while awaiting a scheduled June 25 sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente announced the sentence, which Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi imposed in U.S. District Court.

The 20-year sentence was mandatory under federal law because Gonzales-Ramirez was convicted of trafficking in more than five kilograms of cocaine and had a previous drug-trafficking conviction.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:49 PM | Comment

Lawmaker plans bill to amend Newport Grand contract

PROVIDENCE -- An East Providence lawmaker announced today he will submit a bill Tuesday to allow the state Division of Lotteries to amend the Newport Grand video-slots contract.

Rep. Henry Rose, a Democrat, made the announcement this evening on the House floor.

Newport Grand's prospective new owner, James A. Procaccianti, met with legislative leaders in April to ask lawmakers to lock in Newport Grand's tax rate for 15 years instead of the 10 years that the current contract allows.

It's unclear whether Rose's bill will do this. He declined to give details until the bill is offically submitted.

Earlier this month, The Procaccianti Group, a Cranston-based national developer, pitched to business leaders its plan to buy Newport Grand, the former jai alai fronton, and to create upscale housing and a commercial center on land surrounding the gambling facility. The developer announced in April it would buy Newport Grand for $155 million as a key component of a future expanded development.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Elizabeth Gudrais of the Journal State House Bureau and Journal archival reports

The Procaccianti Group's presentation included a preliminary economic impact analysis of the project. The draft report said the construction of hotels, restaurants, recreational and entertainment venues, and office and retail space would create 2,800 jobs, generate $280 million in sales and produce annual state and local tax revenues of $31.2 million.

The project represents a $2-billion investment, with $1.4 billion of that to be spent in Rhode Island, according to that presentation.

Beyond the 24-acre Newport Grand site, Procaccianti is eyeing another 30-plus acres nearby to redevelop. Some of the land is owned by the state and might be put up for sale during the proposed realignment of the Pell Bridge ramps, while other parcels are part of the former Naval Hospital site that sits on Narragansett Bay and could one day be declared surplus property by the federal government.

Calling the project O2 Newport, Procaccianti's draft proposal envisioned a five-star hotel, possibly the Ritz-Carlton, a spa and wellness center, restaurants, stores, an indoor water park and an indoor complex for recreational sports. The development would also feature office space and luxury condos and apartments, to create an environment where people can live, work and play.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:40 PM | Comment

Fire incinerates contents of Coventry steel building

COVENTRY – Automobiles, cutting torches and welding equipment inside a steel building were destroyed in a morning fire in Coventry when sparks from a metal-cutting grinder ignited nearby combustible material.

The 30-by-50-foot building itself survived the intense heat of the fire, but nothing inside the structure on Twin Brook Lane did, according to Robert Seltzer, chief of the Central Coventry Fire District. He estimated damages could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

By this afternoon, fire investigators deemed the fire to be accidental, Seltzer said. A worker had been using the grinder, whose sparks ignited nearby wood or rags, but he had left the building to go to an automotive store. When the worker returned to the building, whose exact address Seltzer could not provide, the building was on fire, the chief said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries – one a back strain and the other heat exhaustion, said Seltzer, who believes they were both treated and released from a local hospital.

With no water supply in that part of Coventry, firefighters had to rely on tanker trucks. The four Coventry fire districts responded, as did crews from Exeter-West Greenwich and Oneco, Conn., Seltzer said.

Reported at 9:48 a.m., the fire was under control around 10:30 a.m. and completely out by about 11 a.m., Seltzer said.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 6:07 PM | Comment

R.I. spelling bee champ's wings clipped / Video

Rosa Nguyen, Rhode Island's competitor in the National Spelling Bee, met her match today in malacophyllous -- the word that ended her run after making it into the bee's semifinals.

She was close, with her only mistake an "o" where that second "a" should be, according to results posted on the Scripps National Spelling Bee Web site.

Rosa, the blilingual daughter of Vietnamese immigrants and an eighth grader at Deering Middle School in West Warwick, who won the statewide spelling bee in March, spelled several words that might make any of us sweat. In round four, for instance, she spelled transisthmian correctly. And in round five, she got umami right.

Extra: See a video interview of Rosa talking today about her experiences at the bee.

The bee championship finals are scheduled to air live on ABC tonight from 8 to 10.

The bee, which is being held this week in Washington, D.C., features competitors from around the country who aced their state spelling bees. It is a two-day competition that began yesterday.

Rosa won the state spelling bee, sponsored by The Valley Breeze newspaper group.

Rosa also knows her way around geography. She was the runner-up in the statewide geography bee this year.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:03 PM | Comment

Man accused of assaulting infant son held on $1M bail

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- A Fall River man accused of assaulting his 8-month-old son has been ordered held on $1-million surety bail by a judge.

Christopher Cerce, 30, of 81 Webster St., 3rd floor, pleaded not guilty at today's arraignment in New Bedford Superior Court to two counts of assault and battery with substantial body injury.

The surety bail means coming up with $100,000 or the full amount in property.

The infant, who the police have said they found unconscious in Cerce's apartment, was taken to St. Anne's Hospital in Fall River and then moved to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, where he remains.

A Bristol County grand jury indicted Cerce earlier this month .

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Meaghan Wims

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:54 PM | Comment

Providence mayor taps new director of inspections

PROVIDENCE -- Public Works Deputy Director Francisco Ramirez has been tapped as the new director of the city’s Department of Inspection and Standards, which has been without a permanent head since last February.

Ramirez, who Mayor David N. Cicilline credits with overseeing implementation of the Big Green Can trash can project, will oversee 50 employees running the city’s Zoning Board of Review, its building permits and its housing code enforcement.

“Francisco Ramirez has been an invaluable member of my cabinet for the past four years. His extraordinary leadership skills and unique ability to implement strong management systems have earned him the respect of his peers,” Cicilline said today in a statement. “I am confident that Francisco’s ability to build consensus and collaborate across departments will lead to excellence in customer service in Inspection and Standards.”

-- Journal staff writer Daniel Barbarisi

Ramirez will be joined by new hires Kerry A. Anderson, who will be chief of structures and zoning, and Jasmin Checo, who will become prosecution coordinator.

Ramirez replaces Samuel J. Shamoon, who retired last February after three years on the job. Since then, there have been a string of temporary directors.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 4:39 PM | Comment

Pawtucket man indicted in woman's shooting death

PROVIDENCE -- A Pawtucket man has been indicted on a charge of murdering a woman and on 10 other felony counts, including accusations that he robbed tellers and a customer at a Providence bank.

Deaven Tucker, with a last known address of Pidge Avenue, is accused of the shooting death of Jennifer Duarte at Grotto and Hurley avenues in Pawtucket's West End on Nov. 21 last year, according to a news release today from Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch.

Other counts related to the murder charge involved weapon possession, using a firearm after having been convicted of a violent crime, and others.

The day before Duarte was found by police lying in the road, Tucker is accused of committing four counts of first-degree robbery.

Three of them were against tellers at the Sovereign Bank at 131 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, and one was against a customer, the authorities allege.

The Providence County grand jury handed up a secret indictment, which means the grand jury investigates and brings the original charge.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

At Wednesday's arraignment, the Attorney General's Office took steps to have Tucker considered a "habitual offender," which means he faces a possible "sentence enhancement" of 25 years if found guilty.

According to the Attorney General's Office,Tucker's past convictions include: in 1995, two counts of breaking and entering; one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in 1999, and one drug count in 2003.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:21 PM | Comment

Man accused of assault in Lincoln Woods stabbing

State and Providence police have charged a Providence man in connection with a stabbing that occurred last Friday at Lincoln Woods State Park.

Rafael Rosario, 18, of 108 Rugby St., is charged with felony assault with a dangerous weapon.

People in Lincoln Woods State Park at the time of the stabbing Friday afternoon said a boy took out a large knife and gashed another youth with it during a chaotic mingling of dozens of high school boys.

Authorities reported that the victim’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Bail for Rosario was set this morning at $10,000 with surety in Sixth District Court, Providence. He is next due in court on June 14 for a determination of attorney hearing.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Armed with an arrest warrant, members of the state police detective bureau and the Providence police arrested Rosario around 10 p.m. last night, the state police announced this afternoon.

Environmental protection officers from the state Department of Environmental Management assisted state and Providence police in the investigation that led to Rosario’s arrest.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 3:21 PM | Comment

Mass. company decides against R.I. expansion

CANTON, Mass. -- A Massachusetts bioengineering company has decided against an expansion in Rhode Island.

Instead, Canton-based Oranogenesis plans to stay in Massachusetts and expand there.

That's the word today from Gov. Deval Patrick.

Organogenesis, which makes living skin substitutes, had been thinking about expanding in Rhode Island and had even picked out a site. But the president and CEO of the company, Geoff MacKay, says Patrick's commitment to promote life sciences research in Massachusetts helped convince the firm to stay.

It reversed course after Patrick announced a $1 billion life sciences initiative last month.

"I think they feel like the climate is right for life sciences and that's exactly what we want Organogenesis and other companies to feel," Patrick told The Associated Press.

Organogenesis will add 300 new highly skilled jobs, doubling its existing employee base and expanding its facilities to 250,000 square feet.

-- The Associated Press

Organogenesis was founded in 1985 and describes itself as a leading tissue regeneration company. It has employees both in the United States and Switzerland. Its primary product is Apligraf, a form of bioengineered skin that is used to close open wounds on diabetics and the overweight.

Patrick was to attend a formal announcement at mid-afternoon today.

A former executive at two Fortune 50 companies, Patrick has pledged to enact a promise previously made by former Gov. Mitt Romney, another corporate executive-turned-governor: to serve as the state's chief salesman. Patrick has focused on retaining 342 major employers in the state, while also bolstering a sales staff to attract new employers.

He has paid particular focus on the life sciences industry, which has a base in Cambridge and along Route 128. Last month he paid daily visits to a biotechnology conference in Boston to promote the state's friendliness toward business.

He also announced a 10-year, $1 billion initiative to promote stem cell research and other life sciences work in Massachusetts. It would create a bank of stem-cell lines for public and private research, establish research grants for scientists and upgrade public college facilities for public and private use.

In addition, it includes tax incentives to promote development of life sciences companies.

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:30 PM | Comment

R.I. gets $699,000 to compensate crime victims

Rhode Island is getting $699,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to help pay for a program that compensates victims of crimes.

The money is from the federal Crime Victims Fund, which comes from fines and other payments made by criminals in federal cases.

The compensation provides reimbursement to crime victims or their survivors for expenses "resulting from their victimization, such as medical costs, mental health counseling, and lost wages," according to a news release today from the office of U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente.

“A gratifying aspect of this award is that taxpayers don’t finance it, criminals do, through fines and special assessments,” Corrente said in the statement. "The Financial Litigation Unit in my office sees to it that every convicted felon pays any fine imposed, as well as the mandatory $100 that is assessed for each count of conviction.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:08 PM | Comment

Photo: The pull of planting a garden

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
North Cumberland middle schooler Allison Leso, left, tugs on a troublesome weed as classmate Laura Sullivan looks on today, as Cumberland middle school and high school students planted a community garden to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The plot is at the town-owned Cumberland Community Farm, formerly Franklin Farm.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:37 PM | Comment

R.I. rated 'safe Democratic' when it comes to Senate

The Web site of Congressional Quarterly has come out today with an analysis of a dozen U.S. Senate races next year in which Democrats will be trying to keep their jobs.

And Rhode Island should easily go Republican.

Just kidding.

Rather, CQPolitics.com reports that Rhode Island is among six states rated as "safe Democratic." The others are Massachusetts, Illinois, Delaware, West Virginia, and Michigan.

"Two factors that can influence a race rating are incumbency and a state’s political leanings, and these circumstances are working in favor of the Democrats in these six states,'' says the CQPolitics.com article. "All six senators have won at least two Senate elections, and they took an average of 67 percent of the vote in the 2002 election."

Up for re-election in 2008 in Rhode Island is Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, who easily won election to his second term in 2002.

Elected to the second Senate seat forRhode Island last fall was Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, who defeated Republican incumbent Lincoln Chafee in a close race that drew national attention.

Rhode Island's two congressmen, Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin, are also Democrats.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:29 PM | Comment

Dunk operator considers suing consultant for overrun

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
A heavy-equipment operator works in front of the Dunkin Donuts Center today tearing up the plaza to make way for the new facade.

PROVIDENCE -- Facing criticism from state lawmakers over a 31-percent cost overrun in the overhaul of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, the agency that operates the arena is investigating whether it can sue the consulting firm that it says inaccurately estimated the cost of the project.

The Rhode Island Convention Center Authority today asked its legal counsel, Bruce A. Leach, of the Providence law firm Desimone and Leach, to review the feasibility study provided three years ago by the Minnesota consulting firm Ellerbe Becket.

The authority used that 106-page report in crafting its request to borrow $62 million to upgrade the civic center. The cost of that project has ballooned to $81.4 million, and the authority has asked the legislature to approve another $13.4 million in borrowing to help close that gap.

-- Journal staff writer Benjamin N. Gedan

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:08 PM | Comment

Ethics commission puts off Montalbano case

PROVIDENCE -- The state Ethics Commission this morning put off indefinitely its trial-like hearing on the ethics case against state Senate President Joseph Montalbano, issuing a stay but not taking up a request by Montalbano's lawyer that the case be dismissed.

The decision came after hearing a number of consitutional arguments from Montalbano's lawyer, Max Wistow.

There are eight charges against Montalbano, all related to his votes last spring supporting a referendum on the proposed West Warwick casino and his legal work for the Town of West Warwick.

Four of the charges stem from his votes in the Senate committee handling the casino legislation and later on the Senate floor. Those charges accuse him of having a substantial conflict of interest when he voted and of not filing statements disclosing the potential conflict of interest between his work for the town and his votes on the casino legislation.

The other four charges stem from his failure to disclose his work for the town in financial statements filed with the Ethics Commission.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Bruce Landis

Last week, a motion filed with the Ethics Commission by Wistow asserted that federal and state court rulings based on the federal and state constitutions give Montalbano and other legislators protection against prosecution based on their votes.

Wistow has also demanded a jury trial in court for his client rather than the adjudicatory hearing before the Ethics Commission that decide ethics cases now.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:59 PM | Comment

One former Providence mayor helps another / Photo

Journal file photo
Then-Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr. talks with former Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. at a 1999 Cianci fundraiser.

When former Providence Mayor Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr. needed help landing a job so he could get out of federal prison and into a halfway house in Boston, former adversary Joseph R. Paolino Jr. called a friend.

Paolino, of course, was the City Council president who became mayor when Cianci was forced to resign in 1984 from his first stint as mayor of the capital city. The two have had a sometimes contentious relationship, but they’ve been “communicating over the past few years” with letters, Paolino said this morning.

It’s tough, Paolino said, to see someone who used to be on top who has fallen. He thinks “anybody that’s got compassion” would do what he did.

“Sometimes when people are in need of help, you put your political differences aside,” Paolino said on his cell phone today from New York, where he’s conducting business. “We’ve both done that. We’re old warriors. We’ve been adversaries. We’ve been friends. We’ve been colleagues. And he needed help.”

Cianci asked Paolino if he knew anyone in Boston, and Paolino delivered. He called Paul Roiff, originally a Rhode Islander and now owner of the posh Fifteen Beacon hotel that has signed Cianci on for some marketing work while he’s in the halfway house, Coolidge House in Boston.

Cianci was released from federal prison at Fort Dix, N.J., at about 3 a.m. yesterday and arrived at the halfway house less than seven hours later. He's scheduled to start working at the hotel Monday.

“I called Paul Roiff and told him that Cianci was going to be in Boston, would be in a halfway house, needed some help and if he had any need to hire someone of his talent,” Paolino explained. “And without hesitation, Paul Roiff said yes.”

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Paolino said helping Cianci, like helping anyone in need, “feels good.”

Plus, he goes way back with the Cianci family, he said. He has known the former mayor’s daughter, Nicole Cianci, “since she was born.” She and her children now live in a building partly owned by Paolino’s real estate company, The 903 condominium development behind Providence Place mall, Paolino said.

Paolino characterized Cianci as "the kind of guy who knows how to bring himself back up." He said he’s hopeful that Cianci’s “future is brighter than his past.”

“He needed a hand of friendship, and I was happy to offer it to him …,” he said. “And hopefully it gives him a fresh start.”

Paolino said he knows Cianci wants to be back in Rhode Island, but he said he doesn’t really know what direction the colorful former mayor will take in life.

“I don’t know what goes, really, through his mind,” Paolino said. “He’s got a tremendous amount of talent. He’s very bright. He very much wants to be back in Rhode Island.”

Mostly, Paolino thinks Cianci wants to focus on being a father and a grandfather, noting that Nicole had her third child recently.

As for those letters the two former mayors exchanged while Cianci was in federal prison at Fort Dix, N.J., Paolino said he has never divulged the contents of a correspondence he considers “private.”

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:44 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features coverage of former Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr.'s release from prison to a halfway house in Boston and a report that more Rhode Island National Guard members are being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 10:40 AM | Comment

Traffic: Slow going into the city

Traffic is heavy this morning on Route 95 north and Route 195 east heading into the city, according to the state Transportation Management Center's Web site.

The management center has lifted its alert for an accident on Route 146 north in Providence that had slowed traffic earlier this morning.

For other traffic needs, check out the state roadways, via the Department of Transportation's online traffic offerings.

You can find any 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 and listen to or read the radio reports for the week about traffic and construction on specific roadways.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 8:49 AM | Comment

Montalbano seeks dismissal from Ethics Commission

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Rhode Island Ethics Commission holds a hearing today on whether to dismiss the ethics case against state Senate President Joseph Montalbano.

Montalbano is accused of violating the state ethics code by voting for a casino resolution that would have benefited West Warwick at the same time he was doing legal work for the town.

His lawyer filed a motion last week asking the commission to dismiss the case and arguing that state legislators can't be prosecuted for their votes.

Montalbano, a North Providence Democrat, is currently scheduled for a trial-like hearing before the commission on Tuesday. He has asked for a jury trial in Superior Court.

The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:04 AM | Comment

Chance of showers

Look for a chance of showers today between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Otherwise, today should be mostly cloudy with a high near 70 degrees in the Providence area, the National Weather Service says.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment