Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

« August 23, 2007 | Today | August 27, 2007 »

August 24, 2007

What's happening: Meddling matchmakers on stage

Head to Westerly tonight for some summer theater, where you can catch the story of two meddling fathers who try to get their children to become a couple in The Fantasticks.

The musical comedy starts at 8 p.m. at the Granite Theatre. Call (401) 596-2341.

Still casting around for something to do tonight and this weekend? Browse highlighted events on projo.com's Lifebeat page, and check out our calendar and movie listings.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:58 PM | Comment

Weather update: A weekend for the beach / Photo

projo.com photo / Andrea Panciera
Early-morning sun filtered by a light cloud cover made the dew on this spider's web sparkle at this Richmond home today.

The forecast for the weekend is hot and hazy.

So much so that for tomorrow, the National Weather Service has issued a heat alert between the hours on noon and 7 p.m. for southern New England.

Near-record heat is expected to spread over the region, with high temperatures climbing into the mid- and upper 90s across the Connecticut River valley, the Providence to Boston corridor and the Merrimack River valley of southern New Hampshire and northeast Massachusetts.

There is even a low probability that one or two locations in southern New England will hit 100 degrees tomorrow afternoon.

The advisory does not include the south coast of New England and the higher terrain, where slightly lower temperatures are expected.

Nevertheless, the weather service warns, the combination of high temperatures and high humidity will increase the chances of heat exhaustion and or heat stroke with any outdoor activities, especially in the advisory area.

So, it sure sounds like beach weather -- and there are plenty to choose from. As of today, 118 beaches around the state were open to swimming. For up-to-the-minute information on Rhode Island beach closures, call the Department of Health's beach closures hotline at (401) 222-2751.

To get the latest weather conditions and forecasts, go to projo.com's weather page.
For an Ocean State beach guide and map, plus more ideas on late-summer fun, visit projo.com's Summer Guide.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 6:53 PM | Comment

DOT to check 3 overpasses on Rte. 295 on weekend

Traffic may be pared down at times to one lane along parts of Route 295 in Cumberland and Lincoln this weekend while the state Department of Transportation inspects three overpasses.

State DOT spokeswoman Dana Nolfe said today that the department anticipates few, if any, delays during the work, which will happen from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

“We generally find that Route 295’s weekend capacity is less than weekdays,” said Nolfe. “We are not anticipating heavy delays.”

The work is being done to prevent a repeat of the Monday collapse that damaged three cars driving under the overpass at Exit 10. Department officials say a 20-foot long, 4-inch wide piece of “decorative,” as opposed to “structural,” concrete broke off from the overpass and fell into the highway during mid-afternoon traffic.

Three cars were damaged after they drove over chunks of concrete in the roadway, but no car was hit directly by the falling concrete and no one was hurt in the incident.

This weekend, state DOT inspectors will examine the Old River Road overpass in Lincoln and the Diamond Hill Road overpass in Cumberland -- the two overpasses immediately north and south of the Mendon Road overpass.

Both of the bridge spans were part of a 1965 contract that saw the construction of the Mendon Road overpass, said Nolfe.

The Route 146 overpass (at Exit 9 of Route 295) will also get an inspection, though it was not built under that construction contract.

“Since we were going to be in the same proximity, we thought we might as well look at it,” said Nolfe.

-- Journal staff writer Philip Marcelo

State DOT crews are tentatively scheduled to work on the northbound and southbound side of Diamond Hill Road overpass and the northbound side of Old River Road overpass on Saturday, she said.

Work will continue if needed on Sunday, and crews will continue on to the southbound side of Old River Road overpass and both sides of the Route 146 overpass.

Nolfe said the state DOT completed maintenance work at the Mendon Road overpass on Wednesday, removing more pieces of the decorative concrete in the area of the bridge near the grassy median (crews on Monday cleared loose concrete from the parts of the overpass that spanned the highway and determined that the overpass was structurally sound).

“The bridges are over 40 years old,” she said. “The decorative concrete has outlived its useful life. We are checking to see that other bridges of the same era and same location and that are experiencing the same impacts -- the weather changes and road salt -- are good.”

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:03 PM | Comment

Update: Drive-by shooting in Providence wounds two

PROVIDENCE -- A white minivan rolled down Bellevue Avenue in the West End, and someone in the vehicle flashed the peace sign to two men sitting on the front porch of a house.

A few minutes later, the minivan returned, and this time, a passenger began firing a gun. The two men on the porch were wounded but not seriously.

This incident, according to the police, occurred at about 11 p.m. yesterday at 66 Bellevue. Shot once in the leg was Saran Mam, 42, of 97 Wesleyan Ave., Elmwood, and shot once in the hand was Bunnara Nara Chao, 20, of 140 Bridgham St., in the West End.

All told, four to five shots were fired. Chao told the police that he knows the driver of the minivan as Shorty.

Maj. Stephen Campbell said detectives are aggressively investigating the incident.

In an unrelated shooting, the police Thursday night arrested a 16-year-old Smith Hill youth and charged him with conspiracy to commit felony assault. The charge stems from the shooting of Alexander Reigosa, 34, of 51 Wayne St., Smith Hill, who was shot Tuesday night after an argument with another youth behind a house on Chalkstone Avenue.

Campbell said the 16-year-old youth, who did not fire the round that struck Reigosa in the face, was ordered held at the Rhode Island Training School. Reigosa is recovering in the hospital.

-- Journal staff writer Gregory Smith

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:50 PM | Comment

Cranston man nabbed; drugs, weapons seized

A Cranston man has been charged with possession of explosives, cocaine and a firearm.

Thomas Giannini, 49, of 446 Laurel Hill Ave., was arrested about 4 p.m. yesterday by members of the Rhode Island State Police/FBI High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the state police said in a news release today.

Giannini is charged with possession of cocaine one ounce to one kilo, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance, and possession of explosives.

Edward Gelsomino, age 46, of 85 Silver Spring Ave., East Providence was also arrested and charged with possession of cocaine.

The arrests came after the task team used a search warrant at Giannini’s Laurel Hill Avenue residence, the news release said. The raid followed a five-month investigation into Giannini’s alleged drug activities.

Seized from the home were 11 guns -- including rifles, semi-automatic weapons, revolvers and shotguns -- four ounces of cocaine, two hand grenade simulators and fireworks. Police said they also seized $2,837 in cash and a 2007 Cadillac CTS.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Giannini was arraigned by a justice of the peace at state police headquarters and ordered held without bail at the ACI Intake Center. He was slated for formal arraignment in Kent County District Court today.

Gelsomino was arraigned by a justice of the peace and released on $1,000 personal recognizance.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:47 PM | Comment

Security operation at Providence train station / Photo

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Herman Kinds, of Mansfield, Mass., reads a paper while waiting for a train as federal TSA agents, Amtrak police and Providence police stand by in the Providence Amtrak Station today.

PROVIDENCE -- Federal Transportation Security Administration personnel, a police bomb squad, state police and others were carrying out a security operation at the train station today aimed at deterring terrorism or similar threats to a public transportation hub.

Known as a VIPR -- Visible Intermodal Protection and Response -- it falls under the security administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

There was "no credible threat" that had the personnel on scene today, said Joseph Salter, the region's federal security director with the TSA.

The exercise at the train station was one of several this year in different locations around the state.

Another was done earlier today at the Providence-to-Newport ferry station, and others have been conducted in such places as Point Judith, Salter said.

He said they are not simply drills, explaining that "the concept is basically to upset any thought anybody might have to come into a transportation venue" and threaten it and dissuade them from causing harm.

Messages were broadcast in the train station to let people know there there was no credible threat this afternoon. None of the people sitting or standing around the circular central area on the station's ground level seemed anxious. Many read books or magazines as they might any other day.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Others participating in the exercise were from the federal Air Marshal Service and behavioral detection officers from the Transportation Security Administration.

While there were many personnel in different uniforms carrying out their duties, Salter said such operations can also involve people who are in plain clothes.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:41 PM | Comment

Tiverton teachers' union seeks compulsory mediation

TIVERTON -- The union representing some 200 public school teachers here has requested compulsory mediation from the state Department of Labor and Training to force members of the School Committee to the bargaining table.

In the meantime, teachers plan to show up as scheduled for orientations on Monday and Tuesday and the first day of classes Wednesday, according to Patrick Crowley, deputy executive director of the National Education Association-Rhode Island, the state affiliate of the Tiverton Education Association.

Crowley said the pace of contract talks has been slowed by the fact that the School Committee’s chief negotiator, Schools Supt. William J. Rearick, does not have the authority to reach a tentative agreement.

Instead, Rearick must pass along the union’s proposals for a response from the School Committee, whose members have not participated in negotiations, Crowley said.

State law provides for compulsory mediation to resolve outstanding issues in any teachers’ contract which has not been renegotiated 10 days after the last day of school in the final year of the agreement.

In compulsory mediation, the Department of Labor and Training is “empowered to compel the attendance of all the parties to any and all meetings it deems necessary until the dispute is resolved,” according to department spokeswoman Laura Hart.

She said the mediation process will move forward but could offer no additional details today. The union request was received yesterday, Hart said.

-- Journal staff writer Gina Macris

Crowley, meanwhile, said that the union fully understands the fiscal restraints faced by the School Committee as a result of new property tax relief legislation and the legislature’s level-funding of state aid to local schools.

The union has proposed a shift from traditional health insurance that Crowley said would save the school district a significant amount of money, although he was not prepared today to release any figures.

He said the change would involve a high-deductible plan coupled with a health savings account.

The union hand-delivered its latest counterproposal last Tuesday night to Denise deMedeiros, president of the School Committee, and other committee members, while they were touring the newly-constructed Walter E. Ranger Elementary School on North Brayton Road, Crowley said.

An executive session of the School Committee has been scheduled for tomorrow morning to consider the union’s offer.

Posted by Andrea Panciera at 4:15 PM | Comment

Traffic alert: Boat on Route 195 east causing backup

SOMERSET, Mass. -- If you're planning to head east on Route 195 through this community at this hour, expect a big traffic backup -- and a boat in the road that's causing it.

The state police said there's been a motor vehicle accident involving a vehicle that was towing the boat, which is now in the road. There were no injuries reported.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Jack Perry

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:10 PM | Comment

Update: 'Operation Hook a Crook' snags 28

Twenty-eight people have been indicted on cocaine, Oxycodone, marijuana and other drug charges after a five-month wiretap investigation called "Operation Hook a Crook" -- a title drawn from the last name of one of the accused.

A statewide grand jury handed up the indictments Wednesday naming the suspects on 63 counts, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office announced this morning. The investigation, which concluded in February, was led by Cranston police and involved the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and police from Providence, Coventry, East Providence, Pawtucket, Warwick, and West Warwick.

The indictment follows arrests announced in February of 22 suspects, which has since grown to the 28.

The indictment details charges ranging from cocaine possession with intent to deliver, possession with intent to deliver such drugs as the painkillers Oxycodone and Hyrdrocodone, marijuana possession, marijuana distribution near a school, and criminal solicitation by one person of another to deliver cocaine.

Alleged to be the top dealers and suppliers are: Anthony L. Crook, 31, 17 Maxim St., Apt. #3, Cranston; Joseph E. Duhamel, 24, 94 Briggs St., Cranston; Alexandre Fidalgo, 33, 159 Indiana Ave., 3rd floor, Providence; and Miguel Ruiz, 33, 121 Whittier Ave., Providence.

Crook is charged with 16 counts, Duhamel with 20 counts, Fidalgo with 8 counts, and Ruiz with 10 counts.

In February, the police said the investigation began in September and that in December court permission allowed investigators to tap cell phones of alleged drug dealers. According to one estimate, authorities listened to more than 10,000 hours of conversations, monitored phone-sent text messages and wireless computer communications.

The authorities also showed a fleet of seized cars, trucks and motorcycles -- including a BMW, a Hummer and a Mercedes -- that the police said were seized through the investigation.

"This is what they do with their money -- buy fancy cars and other bling," Lynch, the attorney general, said in February. "Well, that bling bling is soon going to be replaced by the clang clang of prison bars around them."

All 28 defendants will be arraigned in Providence County Superior Court on Sept. 5.

Read the full news release here.

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

The 24 others indicted on one or more of the charges are:

* Robert J. Benedetti, 34,108 Danielson Pike, Foster, charged with 3 counts.

* Michael Boghosian, 25, no address given, charged with 3 counts.

* Thomas Cardente, 19, 107 Earl St.,West Warwick, charged with 5 counts.

* Anthony V. Ciampanelli, 28, 185 Crescent Ave., Cranston, charged with 1 count.

* Tanya Colaluca, 26, 1735 Main St., West Warwick, charged with 6 counts.

* Janine Dansereau, 46, 91 Leading St., Johnston, charged with 3 counts.

* William J. Gaynor, 24, 86 Oak Hill Drive, Cranston, charged with 2 counts.

* Matthew Guerriero, 24, 33 Beacon St., Johnston, charged with 2 counts.

* Erika Key Middleton, also known as Erika Key, 28, with a last known address of 7 Jade Road, Coventry, charged with 1 count.

* Gary W. LaRoche, 50, 34 Forsythia Lane, Cranston, charged with 1 count.

* Joanne LaRoche, 48, 34 Forsythia Lane, Cranston, charged with 1 count.

* John A. MacAndrew, 28, of 465 Audubon St., Johnston, 1 count.

* Sean P. Mahoney, 35, 1216-A Main St., Coventry, charged with 1 count.

* Franco Marraffino, also known as Franco Marafino, 31, 349 Greenville Ave., charged with 1 count.

* Eugene R. Matera, 46, 102 Old Oak Road, Cranston, charged with 3 counts.

* Joseph J. Moreid, 36, 14 Greenview Road, Cranston, charged with 1 count

* Victor Otero, 28, charged with 1 count.

* Konstantinos Revis, 27, 203 Pleasant View Ave., Smithfield, charged with 1 count.

* Daniel A. Robles, 36, 14 Harriet St., Providence, charged with 4 counts.

* Frank J. Russo, 25, 152 Pippin Orchard Road, Cranston, charged with 1 count.

* David P. Scungio, 44, 330 Cherry Hill Road, 1st Floor, Johnston, charged with 1 count.

* Anthony M. Sivo, 22, 34 Vigilant St., Cranston, charged with 5 counts.

* May A. Tomassi, 41, 90 Oakside St., Warwick, charged with 2 counts.

* Matthew Zaccagnini, 30, 13 Elm St., North Providence, charged with 1 count.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:33 PM | Comment

Update: Attleboro officer on leave after shooting suspect

ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- A man shot in the arm by police after he allegedly tried to run them down in a stolen car remains at the Rhode Island Hospital emergency room this afternoon, and a police officer has been placed on leave.

Attleboro police have secured a warrant for the arrest of John Peters, 44, of Milford, Mass. Once he is released from the hospital, he is expected to be arrested and held by local authorities until he can be arraigned and returned to Massachusetts.

Peters faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a stolen vehicle, as well as a host of driving violations stemming from the incident early this morning.

Officer Gilbert Bechtel, 37, a nine-year veteran of the Attleboro police force with five years patrol experience was placed on paid leave during an investigation.

“Preliminary findings lead us to believe he did follow departmental procedure,” Lt. Scott Killough said.

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson

Just before 12:30 this morning, police say Peters was speeding on West Street near Clifton Street.

Officers said they followed the vehicle and tried to stop it on Peck Street, when the driver drove at two cruisers.

The officers were not hit, and followed the vehicle, a 2007 Jeep Cherokee with stolen registration and plates, for about three miles, where it turned onto a dead end at East Street.

When the officer got out of his car to arrest the suspect, the car accelerated, turned around, and headed for the officer, who shot at the suspect, striking him once in the arm, the police said.

Peters' passenger, Joyce Sumpter, 45, also of Milford, was arraigned today on stolen vehicle charges. She was released on personal recognizance

Correction: Joyce Sumpter's name was spelled incorrectly in an earlier post.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 3:21 PM | Comment

An inferno of a rematch: Downtown roller derby

The Sakonnet River Roller Rats and the Mob Squad face off during a scrimmage a few years ago at the Bank of America Skating Center. Journal archive photo / Connie Grosch

PROVIDENCE -- In its second outdoor bout of the summer, Providence Roller Derby tonight will present Derby Inferno, pitting last year's local champions, the Old Money Honeys of Newport, against the Providence Mob Squad.

Last time these two teams met, the competition was fierce and a derby record was set when five overtime jams were needed to break a tie, according to the league Web site, providencerollerderby.com.

The league was established by Brown alumna Sarah "Doom" Kingan in 2004, who returned from a Tucson internship with a love of all things derby. Skaters trained for more than a year before two teams were created -- the Mob Squad and the Sakonnet River Roller Rats. The league has since added a third team, the Old Money Honeys, and an all-star travel team, the Rhode Island Riveters.

The roller derby leagues, at least 90 nationwide, are all female and mostly compete on flat tracks.

It all takes place tonight at the Bank of America Skating Center in Kennedy Plaza, downtown Providence.
Doors open at 7 and the inferno starts heating up at 8.

Check the schedule

Read the rosters

For more information, contact Anna WrecksYa at annawrecksya@gmail.com

Posted by maria caporizzo at 3:00 PM | Comment

Tests negative for West Nile, EEE

Tests results from more than 100 mosquito samples across the state are in -- all were negative for both West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

The Department of Environmental management -- which conducted the tests -- said that despite the negative tests results, both diseases are firmly established in the region.

People should take precautions, DEM said, such as removing anything in their yard that holds standing water, which mosquitoes are attracted to, using mosquito netting and bug repellent.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:59 PM | Comment

Former tax clerk pleads not guilty in grocery scam

NEWPORT — A former clerk in the Newport tax collector’s office and her husband both pleaded not guilty today in District Court to charges of shoplifting from a local supermarket.

Mary E. Zalewski, 55, of 34 Hall Ave., Middletown, and her husband, Donald, who works at Naval Station Newport, were each released on $1,000 personal recognizance on one count each of misdemeanor shoplifting.

The pair had been arrested Aug. 5 at Shaw’s Supermarket in Middletown after allegedly stealing $150 worth of groceries by misusing a self-checkout aisle, according to the police.

The Zalewskis are scheduled to appear next in court on Sept. 21 for a pre-trial conference.

Mary Zalewski, who had worked more than nine years as a clerk in the tax collector’s office, was reassigned by the city to another part of the Finance Department following her arrest.

— Meaghan Wims

Posted by Peter Phipps at 2:25 PM | Comment

Update: 4 teens killed in Conn. crash

BRISTOL, Conn. -- Four teens heading home after a night of swimming with friends were killed when their sports car crossed into oncoming traffic and struck another car late yesterday, the police said.

Three of the teens died at the scene. The 19-year-old driver died as medics rushed him to a nearby hospital, the police said today.

One of the three people in the other car also was critically injured.

-- Read the full Associated Press story

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:18 PM | Comment

Chairman of Mass. tribe seeking casino resigns

BOSTON -- The chairman of the tribe seeking to build a $1 billion casino in Massachusetts stepped down from his daily duties today after a published report revealed he was a convicted rapist and had lied to Congress about his military service during Vietnam.

Glenn Marshall, of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, issued a statement acknowledging he let misstatements about his service stand. The statement said nothing about the rape conviction. He said he was giving up day-to-day duties to "deal with the mental and physical issues I'm facing."

The Cape Cod Times, citing its own archives and court records, reported that Marshall was convicted in 1981 of raping a 22-year-old visitor to the Cape. Marshall was accused of sexually assaulting the woman in a secluded spot in West Barnstable after offering to drive her from a party to her sister's house.

-- Read the full Associated Press story.

Posted by Jack Perry at 2:14 PM | Comment

Fish and Wildlife Service searches Warwick home

WARWICK -- Details surrounding the mysterious search of a Warwick house yesterday remain murky today.

Federal agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spent close to 12 hours riffling through a Greenwood Avenue home confiscating dozens of items, most of them concealed in boxes and drawers, which were loaded into a storage truck.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Fish and Wildlife said agents were “serving a federal search warrant” on a federal investigation. She refused to give details about the nature of the search, citing a sealed warrant, and the need to "protect the integrity of the investigation," which is continuing.

-- Journal staff writer Cynthia Needham

The state Department of Environmental Management assisted in the effort, but spokeswoman Stephanie Powell declined to discuss the raid because it was a federal investigation.

The occupants of the house – said to be a couple -- were present at the time of the search, and neighbors said they stayed in their Greenwood Avenue home after the agents left last night. There is conflicting information about the exact street address.

By this morning, the local rumor mill was churning as neighbors speculated about what exactly had been removed from the ranch-style house and whether the presence of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife meant there were animals involved.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:52 PM | Comment

28 indicted on drug charges after 5-month probe

Twenty-eight people have been named in a massive indictment on cocaine, Oxycodone, marijuana and other drug charges after a five-month wiretap investigation called "Operation Hook a Crook."

The Statewide Grand Jury handed up the indictments Wednesday naming the suspects on 63 counts, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office announced this morning. The investigation ended in February and was led by Cranston police. It also involved the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and police from Providence, Coventry, East Providence, Pawtucket, Warwick and West Warwick.

The accused will be arraigned in Providence County Superior Court on Sept. 5.

Details of the charges were not immediately available. Some of the accused face only a few of the wide range of drug charges while others face many counts.

Generally, the indictment details charges ranging from cocaine possession with intent to deliver, possess with intent to deliver such drugs as the painkillers Oxycodone and Hyrdrocodone, marijuana possession, marijuana distribution near a school, and criminal solicitation by one person of another to deliver cocaine.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

The accused on one or more of the charges are:

* Robert J. Benedetti, 34,108 Danielson Pike, Foster, charged with 3 counts.

* Michael Boghosian, 25, no address given, charged with 3 counts.

* Thomas Cardente, 19, 107 Earl St.,West Warwick, charged with 5 counts.

* Anthony V. Ciampanelli, 28, 185 Crescent Ave., Cranston, charged with 1 count.

* Tanya Colaluca, 26, 1735 Main St., West Warwick, charged with 6 counts.

* Anthony L. Crook, 31, 17 Maxim St., apt. #3, Cranston, charged with 16 counts.

* Janine Dansereau, 46, 91 Leading St., Johnston, charged with 3 counts.

* Joseph E. Duhamel, 24, 94 Briggs St., Apt., Cranston, charged with 20 counts.

* Alexandre Fidalgo, 33, 159 Indiana Ave., 3rd Floor, Providence, charged with 8 counts.