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June 20, 2007

Looking for laughs? Go to East Providence

For laughter tonight, head to East Providence.

Cambridge, Mass., native Stephanie Peters will be on stage at the Comedy Connection, at 39 Warren Ave.

Call (401) 438-8383 for more information.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:50 PM | Comment

Senate overrides governor's medical marijuana veto

PROVIDENCE -- The state Senate has overridden Governor Carcieri's veto of a medical marijuana program.

A spokesman for Senate President Joseph Montalbano says the vote was 29 to 4. House lawmakers are planning a similar vote later this week.

Democratic lawmakers are trying to make permanent a program allowing seriously ill patients to use marijuana to ease their symptoms. The program will expire this month unless the House and Senate override Carcieri's veto.

The program applies to patients with cancer, AIDS and other debilitating illnesses.

Carcieri, a Republican, opposes the program because he says it leaves patients open to federal prosecution and encourages them to buy drugs from illicit dealers.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:48 PM | Comment

Sharks and waves aren't the only danger

ATLANTA -- Waves and sharks aren't the only dangers at the beach.

A father-and-son team of doctors reports more than two dozen young people have been killed over the last decade when sand holes collapsed on them.

They found that since 1985, at least 20 children and young adults in the United States have died in beach or backyard sand submersions. And at least eight others died in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

That's according to a letter from the doctors published in this week's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Among the victims was Matthew Gauruder, who died from a collapse at an after-prom beach party in Westerly six years ago. The 17-year-old was playing football with friends when he fell backward into an eight-foot-deep hole someone had dug earlier.

Gauruder, of Manchester, Conn., was a senior at Rockville High School in Vernon, Conn.

-- The Associated Press, with Journal archival reports.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:30 PM | Comment

Prosecution rests in Richardson murder trial

WARWICK -- The prosecution rested its case in the murder trial of James Richardson, with a medical examiner testifying that Margaret Duffy-Stephenson had 11 stab wounds to her body.

Wounds to Duffy-Stephenson's neck caused her death, according to testimony in Kent County Superior Court by Dorota Latuszynski, a physician in the medical examiner's office. A major vein in Duffy-Stephenson's throat was cut.

Also today, Sharon Mallard, a forensic scientist at the state Department of Health who did DNA work in the case, said that male DNA was found under one of Duffy-Stephenson's fingernails. Richardson could not be excluded as a source of the DNA, while testimony in the case has already said that more than 99 percent of the population could be excluded.

Richardson, of Cranston, according to testimony, was hired in 2000 by Duffy-Stephenson's husband, James O. Stephenson III, through a Cranston-based temporary-employment company, Labor Ready, to work at Stephenson’s company, Picture Perfect Landscaping. Richardson worked for the company, full- or part-time, until 2005, Stephenson said. But beyond his work for the company, Richardson also performed odd jobs for the Stephensons, including tending to their Blackmore Street lawn and painting rooms in the house.

The defense, in its opening statement, has said Richardson had an alibi and family members could account for his presence during the time Duffy-Stephenson died.

The defense can begin calling witnesses tomorrow.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Talia Buford and archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:24 PM | Comment

Court upholds 2003 conviction of NYC man

PROVIDENCE -- The state Supreme Court today upheld the conviction of Timothy Stone, who robbed and shot a cab driver and then assaulted two employees inside Capriccio's Restaurant in Providence seven years ago.

Stone, who was from New York City, was convicted in 2003 on nine charges, among them first-degree robbery, assault with intent to commit murder, committing a crime of violence while armed with a firearm, and carrying a firearm after having been previously convicted of a crime of violence.

In appealing to the state's highest court, Stone asserted the Superior Court judge erred in denying several motions to dismiss various counts of the indictment. The high court disagreed. Read the reasoning in depth here (pdf).

On June 11, 2000, Connecticut cabdriver Joseph Koch picked up two men, one of them Stone, who asked to be driven to Providence, according to the court decision. Koch asked for payment ahead of time because of the long distance and Stone gave Koch $100.

Eventually, while stopped at a red light, Koch was shot in the back of the head and lost consciousness for a while. He regained consciousness to find the two men gone. Koch honked the car horn to try to get help, and a Johnston and Wales University security officer discovered Koch "bleeding profusely from the neck," the court's decision says.

Another Johnson and Wales security officer heard the gunshots and saw the bleeding Koch outside the cab. Koch told the officers he'd been shot by his passengers.

Laurence Russolino and Armando Gomes Alves -- Capriccio’s restaurant employees -- testified that after 10 p.m. they had finished their shifts and were standing outside when they heard gunshots.

Russolino said he noticed a taxi stopped in the middle of the street and saw two men leave it.

Stone approached Capriccio's while the other man ran away. Russolino testified that he and Alves went back in to Capriccio’s and Stone ran after them. Inside, Russolino yelled for someone to call 911 and tried to leave but could not get out using a route that took him to the front door, which was locked with a chain.

Russolino ran back downstairs and came upon Stone beating Alves on the head with the gun. Alves testified that after Stone chased him into Capriccio’s, the two men struggled for the firearm.

While Alves had the gun he emptied the bullets from the clip. When Stone grabbed the weapon, Alves ran into the dining area. Stone attacked him with the gun and Alves "suffered serious head injuries; he was hospitalized and required stitches and staples to his skull," according to the court. Alves was also shot in the hand.

Providence police officers Brian McNally and Frank Villella went into the restaurant through the back entrance, went down the back stairs, through the kitchen, and to the front door, where they said they found Stone holding a gun to a cook's head and threatening to kill him.

After repeatedly ordering Stone to drop the gun, the officers fired their weapons. Stone was shot in the wrist and was taken into custody. Police said they recovered the $100 bill that Stone was found to have taken from the cab driver.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:12 PM | Comment

Fourth suspect pleads guilty in debit-card scheme

PROVIDENCE -- The fourth suspect this week admitted his role in a scheme to steal debit and credit card information from Stop & Shop customers.

Mikael Stepanian, 28, of Studio City, Calif., pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to U.S. District Court documents.

He is the last of four men arrested in February at a Stop & Shop in Coventry as they tried to retrieve a doctored PIN pad from a checkout lane.

Federal and state authorities later charged the men with helping divert $132,000 from customers at two of the supermarket chain’s Rhode Island stores.

Three other suspects, all from California, pleaded guilty in the same case: Gevork Baltadjian, 20, of Winnetka; Arutyun Shatarevyan, 20, of Los Angeles; and Arman Ter-Esayan, 22, of Valley Glen.

Law-enforcement officials said the four men, all from the Los Angeles area, flew into Southern New England twice in February to pull off the scheme. They are accused of removing or trying to remove PIN pads from Stop & Shops in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi

In as little as 12 seconds, officials said, the group could replace the devices with doctored machines capable of recording financial information belonging to supermarket customers.

The suspects would return days later to retrieve the doctored PIN pads and extract the information from the units.

State and Coventry police arrested the men Feb. 26 at the Stop & Shop on Tiogue Avenue in Coventry.

At least 1,100 credit and debit accounts were compromised at Stop & Shop stores in Coventry and Cranston, federal officials said. U.S. Secret Service agents have confirmed that fraudulent charges or withdrawals totaling $132,000 were made in Arizona and California on at least 232 of the accounts.

As a result of their guilty pleas, the four men are subject to up to five years’ imprisonment on the first charge and at least two more years in prison on the second charge, plus fines of up to $250,000 on each charge, according to federal court documents.

Stepanian is scheduled to appear Friday in U.S. District Court.

Sentencing for Ter-Esayan and Baltadjian is set for Sept. 7. Shatarevyan’s sentencing is set for Sept 21.

All four men are being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:49 PM | Comment

R.I. Supreme Court orders new trial for convicted man

PROVIDENCE -- The state Supreme Court today ordered a new trial for a Providence man convicted on drug charges, saying a mistrial should have been declared because the defense lawyer was not given certain FBI reports before trial.

Radames Gonzalez, 44, of 301 Blackstone St., was sentenced to three years in prison after a jury convicted him on numerous drug charges, including three counts of delivery of cocaine, and on a charge of resisting arrest.

On appeal, Gonzalez’s lawyer argued that the state violated discovery rules, which require prosecutors to turn over certain information to the defense to prevent “trial by ambush.”

During the trial, an undercover detective testified that he watched Gonzalez dealing drugs several times before he made his first purchase from Gonzalez on Aug. 7, 2003. During cross-examination, the detective revealed for the first time that he prepared reports about those earlier incidents, and the FBI had the reports.

But those reports were not provided to defense lawyer John F. Cicilline prior to trial, so Cicilline asked for a mistrial, arguing that he had inadvertently “opened the door to evidence of uncharged drug offenses” because he didn’t know about the FBI reports. The prosecutor, Special Assistant Attorney General Kelly A. McElroy, said she did not find out about the FBI reports until after the trial began.

-- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick

Superior Court Judge Gilbert V. Indeglia agreed discovery rules had been violated, but he said the violation was not intentional and refused to declare a mistrial.

And instead of declaring a mistrial, he apparently decided to let the defense cross-examine the detective with information from the reports while preventing the prosecutor from asking follow-up questions.

In a 12-page opinion written by Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg, the Supreme Court said, “We are satisfied that, in the case before us, a mistrial was warranted and a continuance or any lesser measure could not counterbalance this evidence or remedy the fact that defendant’s trial strategy was neutralized.”

The high court agreed that the failure to disclose the FBI reports was unintentional but said, “The prejudice was significant.”

“The jury learned about prior, uncharged criminal conduct of the defendant, and the defense strategy was irreparably altered,” Goldberg wrote. “In light of defense counsel’s representation that, had he known of those reports beforehand, he would not have engaged in that line of questioning, we are satisfied that the refusal to pass the case was a clear abuse of discretion.”

So the Supreme Court wiped out the convictions and sent the case back to Superior Court for a new trial. In a footnote, the court said, “Because it is undisputed that the discovery violation was unintentional, we discern no double jeopardy issues that would preclude a new trial.”

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:45 PM | Comment

Carcieri pulls labor nominee; blasts Nee

PROVIDENCE -- In a big dust-up today, Governor Carcieri withdrew his nomination of Adelita Orefice for state Labor Department director and blasted George Nee, secretary treasurer of the state AFL-CIO with killing Orefice's nomination.

The governor, a Republican, charged that the maneuver was retaliation for Orefice's role as a whistleblower in the Beacon Mutual case.

Nee readily acknowledged that he intended to speak against Orefice’s confirmation at the cancelled hearing.

Why?

"Because I think she has been a very poor director of the Department of Labor and Training. I’ve dealt with directors since 1976. They’ve come from the business community. They’ve come from the labor community and they’ve come for governmental service and I would say she’s been the worse."

He cited a number of issues of concern, including what he called the “pathetic’’ enforcement of prevaiing wage laws, and ill-advised use of state p risoners to transport documents with social security numbers, that were inadvertently dumped at the state landfill, tback to her department for shredding.
Asked if the union campaign to scuttle her nomination was payback for her role in bringing problems at Beacon to light, he said: “Beacon is behind us. The statements in the governor’s press release are not even worthy of comment. He’s gotten to the point of being irrelevant and pathetic.’’

More than a year ago, Orefice disclosed the results of an internal audit at Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. that led to investigations and what Carcieri called "the expulsion of several union leaders" from the company's board of directors.

Nee, the governor said, lost $20,000 a year when he lost his position at Beacon.

“In the last few days, we understand that George Nee -- who lost his seat on the Beacon board in the wake of the scandal -- has been actively lobbying against Adelita’s re-confirmation," Carcieri said in a news release.

"He has even gone so far as to personally warn people not to testify on her behalf.”

Beacon is the state's dominant provider of workers' compensation insurance with about 14,000 policyholders. At least one now-former Beacon official has been indiated by a statewide grand jury on charges of conspiracy and insurance fraud.

And an outside review of Beacon released in April 2006 found indications of unfair pricing practices and preferential treatment by Beacon of some of Rhode Island's big businesses.

Beacon's board hired a new chief executive with ties to the governor.

The appointment of DeOrsey is part of a management overhaul of Beacon that began more than a year ago with the firing, for cause, of Clark and Beacon's president and chief executive officer, Joseph A. Solomon.

An outside review of Beacon released in April 2006 turned up evidence of unfair pricing practices and preferential treatment by Beacon of some of the state's big businesses.

Carcieri "temporarity withdrew" Orefice's nomination for Department of Labor & Training as the Senate Labor Committee was due to vote on the nomination at its 2:30 p.m. meeting today.

“It is clear that the Senate planned to reject Director Orefice’s nomination as political retaliation for standing up to organized labor and defending Rhode Island taxpayers,” Carcieri said in the statement. “Members of my staff have been told that her nomination was doomed to failure.”

He added: "It is shameful that the Senate Labor Committee has decided to put politics before the best interests of the Department of Labor and Training. This is just another indication that the union leadership is actually in charge of the Rhode Island State House.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney and Katherine Gregg, Journal State House bureau chief

Nee todau cited a number of issues of concern regarding Orefice's tenure, including what he called the “pathetic’’ enforcement of prevaiing wage laws, and ill-advised use of state prisoners to transport documents with social security numbers.

Asked if the union campaign to scuttle her nomination was payback for her role in bringing problems at Beacon to light, he said: “Beacon is behind us. The statements in the governor’s press release are not even worthy of comment. He’s gotten to the point of being irrelevant and pathetic.’’

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:10 PM | Comment

Carcieri calls for investigation of TV target

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri today called for an investigation of a former state employee shown on television "frequenting" a bar during work hours, an announcement that comes as the governor and largest state employees union have battled over the state budget.

A news release from Carcieri's office notes in a headline that former employee Robert Pelosi is a Council 94 member and calls the employee's alleged behavior "outrageous."

Pelosi would "regularly arrive at the bar in the morning in a state owned vehicle while at the same time collecting $21,000 in overtime payments" in 2006, the governor's office said citing the ABC6 newcast.

Carcieri asked the director of the Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals to review the case of Pelosi, who worked for the department. According to an ABC6 newcast, Pelosi was shown frequenting the bar.

In recent weeks, the governor and Council 94 have been at loggerheads.

Carcieri proposed cutting 1,000 state employee jobs as one component of a deficit-closing plan. Democrats who command large majorities in the House and Senate easily pushed aside that proposal in passing a budget the governor has vowed to veto.

Democrats have said they can override a veto.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:05 PM | Comment

Cranston police ID officer who shot man

CRANSTON -- The Cranston police officer who shot an apparently suicidal man Thursday afternoon has been identified as Jaime Cahill, an eight-year veteran of the police department.

Cahill, according to a police report released today, responded to a call about a possible suicide attempt at an apartment building at 28 Harris Ave. at about 4:53 p.m. that day.

The officer made his way to apartment 229 with several firefighters in tow and encountered a man, standing at the doorway, who said, “He’s got a knife, I’m not going in there.”

As Cahill approached, he saw a second man standing in the kitchen, holding a knife in his right hand and yelling at the officer to “get out.”

The officer ordered the second man, Keith Olin, 44, of Cranston, to put the knife down several times, according to the report.

Olin, who was bleeding from one arm, swore several times and at one point said “blow me away,” according to the report. He moved into the living room, and Cahill walked into the kitchen.

-- Journal staff writer David Scharfenberg

Olin lowered his knife at one point, at Cahill’s command, but when Olin raised his knife and began moving toward Cahill, the officer fired two shots at him. Olin stumbled back into the living room and went down on a knee.

Olin, who has been charged with aggravated assault, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition today.

Cahill has been placed on administrative duty, according to procedure, while the attorney general’s office, the state police and Cranston police conduct an investigation.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 2:31 PM | Comment

Photo/Cianci leaves halfway house, returns to R.I.

Buddy Cianci in Boston today.
AP Photo

PROVIDENCE -- Former Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr., convicted in 2002 for racketeering conspiracy, was released today from Coolidge House halfway house in Boston.

He will remain on home confinement until July 28, presumably at the home of his nephew in East Greenwich.

Cianci will leave federal Bureau of Prisons custody on July 28 and will be on two years of supervision by the U.S. Probation office, said Mike Truman, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Cianci has sought approval to live in nephew Brad Turchetta's home in East Greenwich. Truman said he did not know where Cianci will live.

On June 11, Turchetta faxed a no-trespass order to The Journal and other news organizations telling media members to stay away from his East Greenwich home.

At Cianci's trial, the prosecution said he oversaw widespread corruption at City Hall. He was only convicted on one conspiracy count.

Cianci was released from federal prison in Fort Dix, N.J., last month after about 4 1/2 years there and arrived at Coolidge House to a horde of media waiting for him. He, his nephew and his daughter got out of an SUV and entered the building's graffiti-scrawled back entrance.

Since his release from prison, there's been talk about whether Cianci would get a talk-radio program and whether he could run for office again.

But he's had the more immediate need of securing employment while finishing out the terms of his sentence.

At first, a public relations firm announced Cianci would work at Fifteen Beacon, a luxury hotel on Boston's Beacon Hill.

Later, a different public relations firm announced Cianci was working at The 903 Residences -- a 330-unit condominium complex in Providence behind Providence Place Mall.

Cianci started work at The 903 Residences, co-owned by another former Providence mayor, Joseph Paolino, in early June. He is an assistant to project manager Frederick J. Vincent, who retired in 2005 as acting director of the state Department of Environmental Management. Read more about his job here.

"From what I've heard, the staff and the residents love having him there," Paolino said earlier this month.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:47 PM | Comment

Businessman convicted of tax evasion

PROVIDENCE -- A businessman who used aliases, post-office box mail drops and extensive ATM withdrawals to "distance himself" from his income, according to prosecutors, has been found guilty of evading taxes on about $1.2 million, the U.S. Attorney's office announced today.

A jury in U.S. District Court, Providence, found Neil Stierhoff, 51, of Hollywood Avenue, Providence, guilty yesterday, according to the release from U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente and Eileen O'Connor, an assistant attorney general with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Between 1999 and 2002, Stierhoff "attempted to conceal" the income by doing business under aliases, such as Joseph Adams, Adams Associates, and Universal Audio, according to a news release.

An IRS revenue agent testified that Stierhoff owed more than $450,000 in federal taxes for the years 1999 through 2002.

The jury found Stierhoff guilty of four counts of income tax evasion. The maximum penalty for each count is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled for sentencing September 26.

Stierhoff had been free on bond, but, after the verdict, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi ordered him detained.

Stierhoff used mail drops in Providence and White Plains, N.Y., the release says, along with withdrawing about $240,000 from ATMs between 1999 and 2002. A state police detective said he found more than $100,000 in cash in a room of Stierhoff's residence.

He used a fictitious name, Joseph Adams, to introduce himself to customers and has fake identification cards and bank cards under the name. He opened accounts at Fleet bank and through Paypal on the Internet and used ATM withdrawals as a kind of cash conduit, according to the prosecution.

He used cash to buy money orders that he in turned used to pay off bills to avoid a paper-trail of checks.

Tax Division attorneys John Kane and Thomas Voracek presented evidence during a week-long trial asserting that Stierhoff ran a business selling electronic testing equipment and sold the equipment by mail, in person, and through eBay, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:27 PM | Comment

Injured trooper still in serious condition

A state trooper remains in serious condition at Rhode Island Hospital this morning after being upgraded yesterday from critical condition for injuries sustained early Saturday morning.

Brendan R. Doyle was off-duty Saturday when the police say he attempted to stop a reckless driver in downtown Providence who then allegedly punched him so hard he fell backward onto the street and struck his head.

The man accused of punching Doyle is being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions on $1 million bail with surety on a charge of felony assault on Doyle. He is also held without bail for violating a protective order from his ex-girlfriend.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:54 AM | Comment

State flags lowered in honor of fallen firefighters

On Governor Carcieri’s orders, Rhode Island flags will be flown at half-staff through Sunday in honor of the nine firefighters who died battling the inferno in a South Carolina furniture warehouse.

“As Rhode Islanders, we know all too well the horrors that fire can bring on a community. We recognize that firefighters put themselves on the line to save people and property every time they arrive at a blaze,” Governor Carcieri said in a statement issued this morning. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the firefighters and people of Charleston, South Carolina, today.”

Posted by Kate Bramson at 10:35 AM | Comment

Not a great day to hit the beach

Today is not a good beach day – at least not at this hour. The next few days should be better swimming weather.

One of Rhode Island’s beaches remains closed today, according to a Department of Health press release. North Kingstown Town Beach is closed to swimming due to high bacteria counts.

If you’re looking for marine weather information, check out the National Weather Service’s interactive coastal marine map for this region.

Also, for all your nautical needs, boaters love the Maine Harbors site, which is packed with tide charts, marine weather news, information on fishing tournaments and links to local boat builders, charter operators, lighthouses and publications. The tide charts on this site are so well done that boaters rave about them. Check out Rhode Island’s chart.

Today, winds should be southwest 10 to 15 knots, with seas of 2 to 3 feet.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:00 AM | Comment

Traffic: Fog and some congestion

Traffic delays are heating up this morning. What looked like an easy-going commute on the area’s roadways at 7 a.m. now looks more congested.

Before you start your morning drive, check out the state roadways, via the Department of Transportation's online traffic offerings. And look out for this morning's fog, which is expected to clear around 9 a.m.

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 Kate Bramson at 7:29 AM | Comment

'Well Workplaces' recognized this morning

Governor Carcieri will present "Well Workplace" awards to 44 Rhode Island organizations this morning.

The organizations recently achieved "Well Workplace" status by the Wellness Councils of America.

The awards will be presented at a breakfast sponsored by the Worksite Wellness Council of Rhode Island.

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:04 AM | Comment

Morning fog should lift

PROVIDENCE – It’s a hazy, foggy morning, and we’ve got a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.

The fog should lift before 9 a.m. As for the showers, they’ll accompany a cold front moving across southern New England today. The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the region because it expects occasional lightning strikes and heavy downpours in some areas.

When it’s not raining, today should be a cloudy one. Expect a high near 77 today.

The next three days should be mostly sunny, with highs in the high 70s or low 80s.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:03 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Despite their concerns in several areas, the state Senate yesterday approved the $6.99 billion budget approved by the House early Saturday, according to a story on today's front page.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment