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« Narragansett motorist died from multiple injuries | Today | At RIC, diversity ranges from powwow to origami / Photo » October 4, 2007Judge to reluctant debtor: Pay up or go to jailPROVIDENCE -- A Barrington man, who cracked a Warwick man’s skull in a 1988 brawl, now has 60 days to make payments to the victim and his lawyer or he’ll wind up behind bars. Since a 1992 civil judgment, Paul D. Grieder has paid about $21,000 toward the $1.5 million he owes Michael P. Trainor for an assault outside a Providence nightclub. With interest, the debt totals nearly $5 million. Trainor’s years-long legal battle reached the state Supreme Court earlier this year before bouncing back to Superior Court. Today’s sanctions stem from Grieder’s failure to pay $400 per month during a portion of 2002, when he was found in willful contempt of court. Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Procaccini told Grieder he will send him to the Adult Correctional Institutions for 30 days unless he pays $3,000 to Trainor and $1,000 to Trainor’s lawyer within the next 60 days. “In the words of our Supreme Court, Mr. Grieder now carries the key to his prison cell in his own pocket,” Procaccini said. Grieder, 42, lives with his parents on Linden Road in Barrington. At 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, he lifts weights and works three nights a week as a “floor host” at a Providence strip club. Procaccini described Grieder’s testimony during a previous hearing as “selective, evasive and disturbing,” saying Grieder “offered no explanation, excuse or justification for his total noncompliance with this court order. This court finds his failure to pay is self-imposed.” Procaccini said people pay fines and judgments every day. “Most of these individuals are far more disadvantaged than Mr. Grieder, yet they respect the orders of this Superior Court regarding their payments,” he said. “These sanctions imposed upon defendant Grieder are designed to do nothing more than to command that same respect.” The judge noted Grieder’s lawyer had described him as someone “who muddled along and did not have a great work ethic.” “In this court’s view, that is a gross understatement,” Procaccini said. “This court will not condone defendant Grieder’s callous disregard and disrespect of an order of the Superior Court.” After today’s court hearing, Grieder said, “It just seems that it’s a matter of time before I’m put in jail. I’m without the privilege of wealth. I just can’t satisfy the judgment.” He said he has already borrowed money from family members and friends, so he doesn’t know how he’ll make the payments. “I’ll go to the casino and see what I can do,” he said with a laugh. He added, “I’m not making light of it. My freedom is at stake.” -- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick Grieder said he stopped paying Trainor in the middle of the Supreme Court case because he had to pay attorney’s fees for the successful appeal, and he said, “That case should never have happened.” Grieder’s lawyer, J. Ronald Fishbein, said it was too soon to decide whether Grieder will appeal the ruling. “I can understand the judge’s take on the proceedings of Tuesday,” Fishbein said. But he said Grieder was mistaken when he testified that he was making $300 a week in 2002 and not paying Trainor anything. He said Grieder was not working regularly during that period. “As wacky as he is, I don’t think he lies,” Fishbein said. “He’s a truth teller.” Trainor’s lawyer, Robert M. Brady, called the judge’s ruling appropriate. But, he said, “It’ll be interesting to see if (Grieder) complies with the order or does what he has typically done in the past — take an appeal to delay the process.” Grieder and Trainor had never met before an altercation near the Living Room nightclub on July 22, 1988. Trainor received a fractured skull and a loss of hearing, and after being convicted of felony assault, Grieder received three years’ probation and a suspended prison sentence. Trainor, now a 44-year-old carpenter, did not attend today’s hearing because he would not have been able to hear the proceedings, and a closed-captioning device was unavailable, Brady said. He said Trainor did not want to discuss the ruling with The Journal, but he said Trainor “would see some sense of justice because the court recognizes this guy’s behavior is antisocial, nonconformist.”
“He was a person of no great expectations, no great work ethic,” Fishbein said. “He just bumbled along.” While Grieder has not worked as much as others do, he is now working more than he has in past, Fishbein said. “He has improved his lot in life in his perspective, though hardly by our perspective,” he said. Fishbein said collecting civil judgments can be difficult, and he noted Joseph Mollicone, the state’s most notorious embezzler, has been paying restitution of just $75 per month toward the $12 million looted from the Heritage Loan & Investment Company. By comparison, Grieder has been ordered to pay $400 per month, and Procaccini attempted to double that amount before the Supreme Court overruled him because proper procedures had not been followed for revisiting how much Grieder could pay. In his closing arguments, Brady called the Mollicone reference “offensive,” saying Mollicone “merely stole money” while Grieder “pummeled someone” to the point that it has been difficult for Trainor to do his job and earn money. “In my 30 years of practicing law, I’ve never met a more recalcitrant debtor than Mr. Grieder,” Brady said. “He has no sense of obligation to pay off his debt to society, or to pay off his debt to Mr. Trainor.” Brady said Grieder “tried to beat the system to avoid paying a dime.” While Grieder was found in contempt in 2002, sanctions have been delayed while Grieder unsuccessfully tried to declare bankruptcy and successfully appealed Procaccini’s ruling to the Supreme Court, he said. “He doesn’t like to work,” Brady told the judge. “I’d send him to the ACI. His lifestyle will fit in nicely. They don’t like working either.” -- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick Posted by Andrea Panciera CommentsAnn | October 4, 2007 9:24 PM link Am I missing something? Are we in 15th century England with debtor's prison? He can't pay this ridiculous sum. BTW, what was the victim's role in the brawl? Sounds like this guy has needed better lawyers from the get go. Harvey Wallbanger | October 5, 2007 12:02 AM link Victims might be awarded thousands in restitution for monies that they were deprived of due to crimes such as identity theft but never see a dollar as the perpetrator goes on not only to jail but to continue a life of crime and drugs. Or that Individual is one who lives off society instead of being a contributing member of society. Michael Gadrow | October 5, 2007 6:37 AM link It sounds as though a stint in the ACI would be doing they guy a favor: a free bed, three square meals a day, plenty of time to work out, and at an annual cost to us taxpayers of $37,000 a year. (Do they also have in-room TV, too?) Our system of justice needs a whole lot more than debtor prison: it needs a work farm for deadbeat dads and anyone else who doesn't pay his due or pull his own weight. Just us | October 5, 2007 8:13 AM link Grow up Grieder!! Stand up and be a man. Still living with your parents at your age is more than shamful because you are sponging off of them as well. Pay your debt and grow up. WAH, WAH, WAH Lorraine Costa | October 5, 2007 9:48 AM link This guy owes 5 Million and the judge is going to jail him if he doesn't pay $4,000 in 60 days. What a moron! I suppose I and all other people who come before the court should now hold the court in high esteem. Ed Sullivan | October 5, 2007 11:19 AM link Why is it people only think of the criminal in these cases and not the victim.Wah wah he can't afford to pay this, he don't like to work, he bumbles through life. Why didn't he think of this before he beat someone to the point that he can never hear again or do his job properly or have a completely normal life. Do we just say oh well and sweep him under the rug.Let him take his punishment like a man. Mary | October 5, 2007 12:29 PM link I think the judge did the right thing. This guy works 3 night a week. Get another job or find one that pays better. There is no reason he can't at least be making partial payments to the victims. It seems like he doesnt even care because if we was trying to find a way to pay, he would. Sometimes you gotta suck it up and work extra hours or get another job to do what needs to be done. anonymous | October 5, 2007 2:02 PM link My opinion: Judge Procaccini should be commended for the decision he made. The only disagreement I have is not to wait 60 days ---> in reality, he should have been thrown in jail years ago. Mr Grieder has been given 19 years to pay for his mistakes and chose to avoid proper employment to cover his adult responsibilities !!! What 42 years old is still working part time and living at home with his parents? He needs to put down the weights and add three more days of work like any other responsible adult in society. anonymous | October 6, 2007 3:15 PM link Are you kidding. No mercy. This 42 year old 280 pound weight lifting goon who never matured past 15 years old can rot in jail until he decides to act like an adult and live up to the reprocussions of pummelling an average size man's skull until into the street to the point where it causes permanent hearing loss. Cost schmost. Take my tax dollars that contribute to his incarceration, because I'm proud that some of it funds: JUSTICE. Anon | October 23, 2007 7:53 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. 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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
Sounds like justice to me.