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October 11, 2007

Tonight: What to watch before the playoffs

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin gets some video of his own during today's workout at Fenway Park. His subject: Catcher Doug Mirabelli.

Before you hunker down to watch the Red Sox take on the Indians in the playoffs tomorrow night, you could:

Catch The Fabulous Thunderbirds, who will play rhythm and blues this evening at Newport Blues Cafe, 286 Thames St., Newport. Call (401) 841-5510, www.newportblues.com. 9 p.m. $30.

Check out out Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers, who play blues at Chan's Restaurant, 267 Main St., Woonsocket. Call 401-765-1900. Shows at 8 and 10 p.m. $15 early show; $10 late show; $18 both shows. (He's recorded a mean instrumental version of "Who Knows" by Jimi Hendrix from Hendrix's brief Band of Gypsys era.)

As for tomorrow, what to do instead of watching the Red Sox? Which doesn't seem likely in these parts.

Could be a tough night to be in a band -- unless you got tapped to play "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Fenway.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:55 PM | Comment

2 more arrests in DMV fake-license case

Two more people have been arrested, and 19 others are still wanted, for allegedly getting valid Rhode Island driver's licenses falsified by two clerks at the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

The clerks had sent the licenses to dozens of illegal immigrants and suspected drug dealers who’d paid middlemen between $2,500 to $3,000 apiece in order to conceal their identity with a valid driver's license, according to the state police.

Some of the “customers” have since been rearrested on drug charges in various states -- where their true identity was revealed by fingerprints -- but others are on the run.

As the state police search for the suspects, they are still trying to determine how the licenses were used – whether in financial transactions, to buy guns, or exchanged in different state for another valid license. In several cases, the licenses were used by people who’d been deported and illegally reentered, or who were wanted on drug warrants.

Anastacio Segura, 34, who also uses Martinez as his surname, was caught at a work site in Boston last night with a fake Rhode Island license, said state police Capt. Stephen Lynch. He’d already been deported to Mexico, but had illegally reentered the country, Lynch said.

Daniel Liranzo, 41, was arrested this morning in New York City with a falsified Rhode Island license, Lynch said. Now, both Liranzo and Segura are being held for deportation.

-- Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:38 PM | Comment

Man accused of cyberstalking pleads not guilty

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- A cable access cameraman has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge that he cyberstalked a former public access TV host by posting a threatening video on the Web site YouTube.

Daniel R. Davidson, of Richmond, allegedly posted the video in May and was arrested last week.

The video's title included the name of former public access host Marilyn Sheldon, and state police say it featured images of the man convicted nine years ago in Florida of killing her son. A voice on the video said, "Remember me, get ready to die, you did a bad thing.''

Davidson was released on $5,000 personal recognizance.

A call to a lawyer listed as Davidson's attorney was not immediately returned.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:32 PM | Comment

City of Pawtucket faces wrongful-death claim

PAWTUCKET -- The family of the woman who died waiting for a Fire Department rescue truck has put city officials on notice it intends to file a wrongful death claim.

In legal papers, Stephen M. Rappoport, the lawyer for the family of Maria G. Carvalho, charged that the city, through its employees, two rookie fire dispatchers, displayed “gross, willful, or wanton negligence,” failing to send an ambulance until Mrs. Carvalho bled to death

Despite three 911 calls, Rappoport said, the rescue truck wasn’t dispatched for at least 20 minutes. “By the time Maria G. Carvalho received the help that was requested, it was far too late and she bled to death before emergency personnel arrived.”

The notice of claim comes as city officials brace themselves for a lawsuit from the Carvalhos, who said in interviews they were bewildered by the delay they encountered getting a rescue truck the morning of Sept. 20, when Mrs. Carvalho, a 53-year-old kidney patient, began to bleed from a shunt, or bypass, inserted so she could undergo dialysis treatment.

The notice of claim was filed more than a week ago, after it was reported that the two fire dispatchers on duty at the time of the incident -- Sean P. Mooney and Christopher A. Jeffrey -- had been fired by the administration of Mayor James E. Doyle.

-- Journal staff writer John Castellucci

The notice of claim doesn’t specify how much the Carvalhos will be seeking in damages. “Obviously, it’s in its preliminary stages. There’s certainly a lot of information and facts that could be gathered,” Rappoport, a lawyer with the East Providence firm Rappoport, DeGiovanni and Caslowitz, said over the telephone today.

He said the notice of claim was a procedural step to let the city know that the Carvalhos intend to pursue legal action.

Doyle administration officials declined to comment on the wrongful death case, citing an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office that they said is just about done.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:04 PM | Comment

BIF-3: Mark Cuban wants to buy Cubs -- and Verizon

Journal photos / Sheila Lennon
Mark Cuban prepares to leave Providence after an appearance at the Business Innovation Factory’s BIF-3 Collaborative Innovation Summit at Trinity Rep this afternoon.

PROVIDENCE -- First, Mark Cuban wants you to call 1-800-VOTE-411 to vote for him on Dancing with the Stars.

The billionaire entrepreneur says he's been practicing his waltz and has lost 27 lbs.

After that, Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter Mossberg got to ask him some questions at the second day of the Business Innovation Factory summit.

Mark Cuban stretches his legs as Walter Mossberg interviews him.

Here's what emerged:

Why would you want to buy the Cubs?
Cuban: "It's an iconic team. I think sports and digital media haven't been linked as strongly as they need to be. If you can pick up an iconic brand like the Cubs, there's opportunity."

It's not a sure thing yet, add Cuban, who does own the Dallas Mavericks.

"All I've been able to do is say I'm interested and go through the qualification process and we'll go on from there."

On the early days: Mossberg said, "You were one of the great innovators, coming up with a great idea -- video -- and selling it for a bunch of money. (Broadcast.com) These folks are interested in how."

Cuban: "I look at myself as a consumer. When I started Micro Solutions in 1982, I was selling PCs... the success factor was understanding the application of tech to business.

"In 1983 I got in touch with Novell Shared Data systems, and said at some point we're going to want to link all these PCs together.

The rest is history."

Is video on the Web a destination or just a data type?
Cuban: "A data type. If you're not putting your video on YouTube, you're stupid because they're giving it to you for free. Bits are bits."

On broadband:
Mossberg: In France you can get 100 megabytes broadband speed. Why not here?

Cuban said: "Public companies want a return. Innovation has stagnated because of (the demand for) earnings per share. You're going to see more companies go private that need to make significant investments in order to compete.

"...to me the flinch point is 100 megabytes throughput to the home. Verizon, or anybody who uses fiber can do it.

"...If I could buy one company, it would be Verizon."

On HDTV: "There are more hi-def channels but not a lot of hi-def content. Seventy percent of men will turn to high-def channels no matter what's on." (Mossberg added he'll watch shows on hi-def he doesn't even like.)

3-D is coming back in a big way. More than 1,000 theaters will be 3-D enabled in the next few months. "No more paper glasses."

On Google's future:"Google is completely dependent on that PC. That's a bet I'm not willing to make."

On the digital future: "The greatest opportunity is a new operating system."

After which he listed the flaws of all the current ones.

The takeaway: "Sweat equity overcomes the need for capital every time."

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 5:43 PM | Comment

Carcieri appoints Brown U. official to urban task force

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri has appointed Warren Simmons, the director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, to chair a new task force that will try to figure out how to build a successful urban school system.

Carcieri made the announcement during a speech today before a group of business leaders attending the annual economic outlook breakfast, sponsored by Sullivan & Company at The Hope Club.

Carcieri underscored something that Rhode Island Education Commissioner Peter McWalters has been saying for many years: there are two Rhode Islands, the haves and the have-nots.

Students from suburban and rural schools are performing as well as their middle-class peers around the country, with an average of 75 percent of elementary and middle school children reading at proficiency.

But those figures drop dramatically in urban school districts, where only 40 percent of students are reading at grade level.

“The big issue is the disparity between the urban schools and the non-urbans,” Carcieri said. “If we can’t get all of our youngsters (to graduate) with the skills they need, we’re all in big trouble.”

While there are pockets of excellence in urban school districts, the high-performing schools aren’t sharing what they know with their colleagues.

According to Simmons, one of the greatest problems is that each school district exists in a vacuum: public schools aren’t talking to charter schools; city schools aren’t talking to suburban schools and innovative schools like the Metropolitan Regional Career & Technical Center aren’t sharing what they know with everyone else.

“We have to break down those boundaries,” Simmons said. “We need to create a new vision for our urban education system. In Rhode Island, we have a fractured vision and a fractured system.”

-- Journal staff writer Linda Borg

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:55 PM | Comment

Feuding sisters unlikely to settle fight over their mother

PROVIDENCE -- It doesn’t look like there will be a settlement anytime soon in the battle between two feuding sisters over the future of their mother, Laurette Borduas Eifrig, a former school teacher whose affairs are now being handled by a court-appointed guardian.

Eifrig’s lawyer, Richard A. Boren, told Superior Court Judge Alice B. Gibney today that he was “shocked’’ by an accounting submitted this week by Eifrig’s Virginia daughter, Francine Ardito, who formerly had power of attorney for her mother and was co-trustee of her trust.

He said the accounting shows that Ardito transferred close to $350,000 from her mother’s trust accounts in Virginia to bank accounts in her own name and then used thousands of dollars of that money to pay a Virginia lawyer to sue her mother as part of an attempt to reassert control over her mother’s finances.

Ardito, who lives in Virginia, and her older sister, Suzette Gebhard, the former head of the Rhode Island League of Women Voters who resides in Warren, have been involved in a bitter tug of war over where their mother should live and who should have control of her money. In May 2006, Gebhard moved her mother from Reston, Va., to live with her in her home and then refused to let anyone visit her.

Gibney determined that neither sister was fit to be guardian for their mother because of the acrimony between them. She appointed a lawyer, Paula M. Cuculo, to fill that role.

Eifrig, who will celebrate her 91st birthday next week, currently resides at Capitol Ridge, an assisted-living facility on Smith Street. She is blind and suffers with dementia. Ardito is currently barred by the court from visiting her.

Over the last year and a half, the legal fight between her two daughters has cost Eifrig almost $200,000 in lawyer and guardian fees and, according to her guardian, much anxiety.

In court today, Boren told Gibney that during the past month, Ardito has dropped the lawsuits she had brought against her mother and Cuculo in Virginia in an attempt to reassert her position of authority over her mother’s money and residence.

-- Journal staff writer Tracy Breton

Cuculo has received over $250,000 of the money that Ardito took from the trusts and most of the rest of the money has been accounted for, according to representations made in court today. Among the fees that Gibney has approved being paid from Eifrig’s trust is the $60,000-plus charged by Rhode Island lawyer Janet Mastronardi, who was hired by Ardito in her unsuccessful bid to become her mother’s guardian.

But Boren said today that Ardito -- without court authorization -- may have used up to $21,000 of her mother’s money to sue her mother in Virginia. He told the court he wants to see copies of the checks Ardito has written since her mother’s arrival in Rhode Island.

“I just don’t trust the numbers,” he said of the accounting that Ardito furnished to him this week.

Boren told the court that over the past year and a half, Ardito has repeatedly minimized how much money her mother has.

In the first accounting she offered to the court on Aug. 24 -- less than two months ago -- he said, Ardito claimed there was $500,733 in her mother’s trust.

She said in that her mother forgets about money she’s spent and “details. She verbally told me what her assets were and I believed it. Much later, when I roughly added up her assets, I realized they were less than she had said. I have never heard the figure $735,000 until now,” Ardito wrote -- a reference to what Boren claimed Eifrig was claiming she had in savings.

In the most recent accounting, provided to Boren by Ardito through her Virginia lawyer on Monday, Ardito asserted that her mother has $745,085.59 in her trust.
Boren zeroed in on the contradiction in today’s hearing -- which Ardito chose not to attend.

“There’s a $245,000 difference” between what she accounted for in August and what she says is there now, he told the judge. It’s clear, he said, that “she did not intend to let anyone know of that additional $245,000” and would not have revealed without his pressing for it.

James Philip Head, Ardito’s Virginia lawyer, said today he would have no comment on Boren’s remarks.

“I can see where he’s going with this,” he added.

Gibney asked how much time Boren would need to continue his investigation of Eifrig’s unaccounted for money. He asked to have three weeks. The judge continued the matter until Nov. 1 – at which time, Boren says, he is going to press his motion that Ardito be held in contempt.

During today’s hearing, Boren told the judge that Ardito has offered to repay her mother $5,000 of the money she spent on her Viginia attorney -- but that she wants a $1,900 deduction because she thinks her mother should pick up the tab for trips she, her daughter and her mother’s sister made to Rhode Island to visit her.

Boren said that he thinks Ardito actually used much more than $5,000 of her mother’s money to pay her Virginia attorney -- so may owe substantially more than that in restitution, perhaps as much as $21,000 based on the accounting she submitted this week.

Gibney said she would not approve the $1,900 that Ardito was seeking from her mother for the visits to see her. “You don’t owe her anything,” she told Boren and Cuculo.

Cuculo told the judge that Ardito’s actions have been very disturbing to her.

“I think she owes us,” she told the judge.

Before adjourning the hearing, Gibney told the lawyers, “I think we all need to think about what Step 2 will be if there is no explanation” from Ardito regarding the gaps in her accounting.

“I’ll ask for your input,” she said.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:44 PM | Comment

Rocky Point Park signs go on auction tomorrow

Going once, going twice -- signs from the former Rocky Point Park.

Palladium and Windjammer, Midway and Shore Dinner Hall signs from the amusement park will be some of the things auctioned tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the second annual Stage Door Soiree Live Auction, a benefit for Trinity Repertory's education programs.

Also being auctioned:

* Three nights' stay at Dromoland Castle, which sits amid 410 acres in Ireland. Two complimentary days on a golf course are included.

* A Chicago theater tour -- and two tickets to the Oprah Winfrey Show.

* A trip to New York City, including to see August: Osage County at the Steppenwold Theatre and to have dinner with an actress from the production, Amy Morton.

Yeah, yeah, that's all great, a Rhode Islander might say, but back to those Rocky Point signs. Get a look at the signs and the rest of the stuff being auctioned here.

Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline and Channel 12 WPRI news anchor Karen Adams are the "special celebrity auctioneers" for the event at the Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire St., Providence.

Tickets are $100 per person, available at the door.

For information, call (401) 521-1100, extension 237

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:38 PM | Comment

Rhode Islanders' dream: A new license plate option

Rhode Islanders' affinity for license plates of the low-numbered variety has been documented. But befitting a place called the Ocean State, Save the Bay announced today an "environmental education license plate" is on the way.

A ceremony unveiling the license plate will be Monday at 4 p.m. at the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club, 1 Moeller Place, Pawtucket.

A news release makes no mention of what the plate will look like.

Senate Majority Leader Teresa Paiva Weed is slated to speak at the ceremony/news conference and other officials are expected to attend.

Your Turn: What would you like to see on the Save The Bay license plate?

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:02 PM | Comment

Update: Former TSA worker sentenced to 3 months

A former baggage screener convicted of lying to the federal government on a security questionnaire was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to three months incarceration and three years of supervised release.

Judge Ernest C. Torres also recommended to the Bureau of Prisons that John Riccio, 63, of North Kingstown, be incarcerated at “an institution with a mental health treatment program,” and that the treatment continue after three months as a condition of his release.

Riccio worked for the Transportation Security Administration at T.F. Green Airport, checking luggage for weapons or contraband.

In May, jury found Riccio guilty of concealing a prior job he had with Wal-Mart for which he was collecting total disability payments in the wake of an alleged on-the-job injury.

When TSA investigators questioned Riccio, he denied ever having received disability payments from his previous employer, Thomas Connell, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said.

Riccio is currently out on bail; he must report to his designated institution on or before Nov. 9.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 3:00 PM | Comment

Labor leaders mum on details of Carcieri meeting

PROVIDENCE -- A group of organized labor leaders met with Governor Carcieri behind closed doors for roughly an hour today.

They emerged from the governor's office at around 1 p.m. largely silent about the content of the discussion, which focused on Carcieri's plan to cut state spending by $200 million by reducing the state's workforce and cutting existing benefits for those who keep their jobs.

It was a "very cordial meeting," according to Robert A. Walsh, Jr., executive director of the National Education Association in Rhode Island, declining to discuss the specifics. "We agreed we would let him tell the story on Monday."

The governor plans to hold a press conference Monday to disclose the details of his plan.

The leaders said they were pleased that the governor had invited them to sit down. Union representatives said they were largely caught off guard when the governor disclosed his $200-million cost-cutting plan at a dinner for business leaders last week.

"I think it was a courtesy to us to tell us what the plans are," said Marcia Reback, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals.

Asked whether the meeting may have improved relations between organized labor and the Republican governor, Reback said, "I think the future is going to have to speak for itself."

-- Steve Peoples, Journal State House Bureau

Also in attendance were Dennis Grilli, executive director of Council 94, the largest state employees union; AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer George Nee; Lucie Burdick, president of Local 580, the Rhode Island Alliance of Social Service Employees.

The governor did not leave his office immediately after the meeting.

This morning, a report commissed by the governor's office was released on the impact of at how much it would cost to freeze the state's pension system to new employees as of July 1, 2008.

It found that moving the state retirement system to a "defined contribution" would cost the state at least $151.5 million next year but lead to substantial savings in the long term, according to a study commissioned by the governor's office.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:41 PM | Comment

$200,000 PowerBall winners see strength in numbers

A $200,000 PowerBall prize has been sliced up by a group of 10 people who came into the state lottery office yesterday to claim it, Rhode Island Lottery announced today.

After divvying the prize money, and with taxes taken out, each person got $13,600, according to a news release.

The group of people work at a Massachusetts company and claimed the prized from the PowerBall drawing of Wednesday last week.

The group has been playing PowerBall together for about two years, save for one person who joined three weeks ago. Rhode Island Lottery's news release said the group credited the new member with being their "good luck charm."

Each person typically puts in $2 for each PowerBall drawing.

The ticket was bought at the Cumberland Farms, 302 North Main St., in Slatersville.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:58 PM | Comment

Virtual help for students at Providence Public Library

Tutoring is going online at the Providence Public Library.

Students now have real-time access to live tutors online to help with their math, science, social studies or English school work.

Tutors from Tutor.com will be online Sunday through Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m. to help students – in English and Spanish – from the 4th to 12th grade and introductory college courses.

To use the free service, students need a valid Providence Library card number. They can log-on from the library or their home computer.

Libraries across the state are also partnering with the online service; check with your local library to find out if virtual tutoring is available.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:14 PM | Comment

Changes at Channel 6 after sale

PROVIDENCE -- The general manager and news director of WLNE-TV have been replaced and veteran anchor Walter Cryan has retired as new owners try to revive the station's flagging newscasts, a station spokesman said today.

The ABC affiliate has been a perennial loser in the news ratings in Providence, lagging behind WJAR and WPRI.

Providence-based Global Broadcasting announced in the spring it would buy WLNE from Irvine, Calif.-based Freedom Communications. That deal closed Tuesday, station spokesman Jason Nye said.

"Their main goal is in improving the news product," he said.

-- The Associated Press

The new owners hired Stephen Doerr in the dual role as general manager and news director. Doerr, 46, replaces General Manager Roland T. Adeszko and News Director Edwin Hart, Nye said.

Doerr most recently worked at the Dallas-based media consulting firm Audience Research and Development. Before that he was senior vice president of news programming and creative development for NBC in New York, a position he left in 2002, Nye said. He also has worked at KXAS in Dallas and WWRC in Washington.

Cryan retired Friday, Nye said. He came out of a four-year retirement in 2004 to take over the evening anchor spot at WLNE. Before that he was an anchor for 35 years at WPRI.

Correction: An ealrier version of this report incorrectly described Doerr's most recent job.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:59 AM | Comment

Pension change: Short-term cost, long-term savings

PROVIDENCE -- Moving the state retirement system to a "defined contribution" would cost the state at least $151.5 million next year but lead to substantial savings in the long term, according to a study commissioned by the governor's office.

The state retirement board briefly discussed the study this morning, but members largely deferred comment to Governor Carcieri's office.

Both the governor and House Speaker William J. Murphy have endorsed a plan that would end the practice of lifetime pensions for all new employees. Murphy recently said he'd like to see a shift from the "defined benefit" system to a "defined contribution system," similar to a 401(k), enacted as soon as the coming legislative session.

The study was produced by the retirement board's actuary, Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company of Texas. It looks specifically at how much it would cost to freeze the pension system to new employees as of July 1, 2008.

With fewer employees paying into the state pension fund, there would be fewer dollars helping to cover pensions for existing employees and the state's unfunded liability. The change would require the state to pay an additional $151.5 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2008, to make up the shortfall.

And it would cost taxpayers more than $520 million over the current system through 2015, according to the study. The projected costs do not take into account any potential state match for the 401(k) system.

However, the state would begin to see savings in 2016 under a defined contribution system, according to the study. Those savings would increase substantially from 2016 to 2029.

State budget officer Rosemary Gallogly said the study is an important first step in deciding whether or not to make a change. "We knew it wasn't going to be a slam dunk. We knew it wasn't going to be easy," she said this morning of the short-term costs.

The next step is to analyze some alternative proposals that the study suggested, but did not explore in detail. One option referenced this morning by State Treasurer Frank Caprio, for example, would allow the state to take out pension obligation bonds to help cover the short-term costs.

-- Steve Peoples, Journal State House Bureau

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:52 AM | Comment

Take a walk on the IWay

Hopefully it will be the only time you’ll be walking across the interstate.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation today announced it’s giving residents a chance to walk across the IWay ramp that will soon connect Interstate-95 north to Interstate-195 East.

Rain or shine, the half-mile walk is set for Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon. RIDOT officials will be on hand to explain how they hope the ramp will affect traffic and routes.

“The Department felt it was important to organize this event to let the public see the Iway,” RIDOT Director Jerome F. Williams said in a statement today. “This is a significant change to our interstate highway and this will be the only chance anyone will have to walk on this roadway before it opens.”

A shuttle bus will bring visitors from satellite parking lots to the IWay. For more information, visit the DOT's IWay Web site.
For directions and parking, click below

DIRECTIONS TO SATELLITE PARKING LOCATIONS:

North lot: From I-95 North, take Exit 23 (state offices). At the end of the ramp, go straight through the traffic signal. Two access roads to the right lead to large parking lots adjacent to the Department of Administration, the Department of Health, and RIDOT buildings. Additional parking will be available in the lot on the east side of the State House, accessible off Smith Street. Get shuttle on the north side Smith Street, adjacent to the RIDOT building.

South lot: From I-95 North or South, take Exit 18 (Thurbers Avenue) and follow signs to Allens Avenue (U.S. 1). Take a right onto Allens Avenue south and follow approximately 1 mile to Harborside Boulevard. Take a left onto Harborside Boulevard. In about one-third of a mile, take a left onto Shipyard Street. Parking is available on the left in Lot C and on the right in the commuter lot (Lot F). Get shuttle at bus turnaround north of Lot C.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:51 AM | Comment

Man charged for not registering as sex offender

A man who moved to Woonsocket from Massachusetts in March is the first in Rhode Island to be charged under a 2006 federal law for failing to register as a sex offender when he moved, the U.S. Attorney's office announced today.

Michael DiTomasso, 34, failed to register after moving from Milford, Mass., in March, U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente's office said in a news release.

DiTomasso, who is required to register under federal law, traveled interstate and failed to register his new address. The charge was brought under a section of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act known as Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and requires sex offenders who move from one state to another to register their new address.

U.S. Marshals arrested DiTomasso in Milford, Mass., on Oct. 4. According to an affidavit, DiTomasso registered as a sex offender in 1997 with an address in Milford, as required by Massachusetts law. In March 2007, eight months after passage of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, DiTomasso moved to a Woonsocket apartment but failed to register with Woonsocket police or notify Milford Police of his new address.

On March 27, a Woonsocket police officer found DiTomasso at his new address and told him that he should register with Woonsocket Police within a week. On April 4, after DiTomasso had note registered, Woonsocket police arrested him. Milford Police charged him with failing to update his registration.

The U.S. Marshal’s Office in Providence investigated, resulting in the Oct. 4 complaint and the indictment returned yesterday.

If convicted, DiTomasso faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

DiTomasso has been in federal custody since his arrest last week.

He is slated for arraignment tomorrow in U.S. District Court, Providence.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney at 11:40 AM | Comment

Guglietta selected for top Traffic Tribunal post

The chief legal counsel for the state House of Representatives has been appointed chief magistrate of the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams announced today that he will appoint William R. Guglietta, of Cranston, to the new Traffic Tribunal position.

The 46-year-old Guglietta is also a part-time Cranston Municipal Court judge and a former assistant attorney general.

Guglietta is one of five people who applied for the position. They were publicly interviewed last month by a three-member committee, then again by Chief Justice Williams.

“Bill Guglietta shares my vision for and believes strongly in access to justice and user-friendly courts,” Williams said in a statement today, “especially in our Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal, which sees over 100,000 citizens a year.”

The General Assembly decided this year to give the Traffic Tribunal its own chief judicial officer in the form of a chief magistrate. The salary for the position will be $132,062.

The appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the state Senate.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:23 AM | Comment

R.I. nonviolence advocate blogs from Northern Ireland

Teny Gross, director of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence in Providence, will blog in projo.com's Guest Blog during his trip to Northern Ireland to train residents in nonviolence.

Gross and others from the institute are working with adults and children in a sectarian area of Belfast that has suffered from poverty and violence.

Gross, a former Israeli soldier, runs a streetworkers program in Providence that counsels people in nonviolence and has helped the police reduce violent crimes, Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman has said.

Although violence has decreased in Northern Ireland, Gross's hosts at the Forthspring Inter Community Group say sectarianism and polarization continue as problems.

Forthspring says the group's mission is to promote nonviolence and build relationships of trust and understanding in the community.

"Within communities such as ours, where Protestants and Catholics live separately, people rarely come into contact with each other and Forthspring therefore provides a much needed safe and welcoming environment where people of both communities can meet," Forthspring says on its Web site.

Gross headed to Ireland Oct. 5 and plans to stay until Oct. 20.

(Technical difficulties prevented Gross's first entries from arriving sooner, but projo.com will begin publishing them today.)

To see Gross's blog, follow this link.

Posted by Jack Perry at 9:44 AM | Comment

Former Trudeau worker to be arraigned in rape case

A former employee of a center for developmentally disabled people is scheduled to be arraigned today in Superior Court, Warwick, to face charges that he repeatedly raped a client.

Prosecutors say Robert E. Bellow, 67, of North Kingstown, sexually assaulted a 41-year–old woman who was a client at the J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center.

Bellow faces more than a dozen charges of sexual assault for incidents that prosecutors say occurred between June 2006 and March 2007. A grand jury issued a secret indictment last month.

Bellow worked for Trudeau as a direct-support professional. Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the attorney general, likened the job to a home health aide - someone who cooks and cleans and administers medication to the adults at the center.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:40 AM | Comment

Former baggage screener faces sentencing today

A former baggage screener convicted of lying to the federal government on a security questionnaire is set to be sentenced today.

John Riccio, of North Kingstown, checked luggage at T. F. Green Airport for weapons and contraband.

In May, a jury found Riccio guilty of concealing a prior job he had with Wal-Mart for which he was collecting total disability payments in the wake of an alleged on-the-job injury.

When Transportation Security Administration investigators questioned Riccio, he denied ever having received disability payments from his previous employer, Thomas Connell, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said.

Riccio is scheduled for a 9:15 sentencing in U.S. District Court this morning with Senior District Judge Ernest C. Torres.

The maximum penalty for making a false statement to a federal official is five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:26 AM | Comment

Masquerade for food on parade

The Renaissance city is coming to life this morning.

A colorfully clad group walking through the city in over-the-top period clothing is trying to spread the word about a masquerade ball fundraiser this weekend.

The group, ProVisions United, works with the hospitality, entertainment and marketing industries to raise money for local charities.

The group’s founder, John Tarrats, wearing a medieval-esque crown of gold leaves, said ProVisions works with Amos House, Crossroads, Meals on Wheels and other local organizations to provide money and food to at-risk populations.

Local restaurants and hospitality businesses, such as the Providence Biltmore hotel, where the ball will be held, have been generous partners, Tarrats said.

“I think that speaks volumes about the caring community in our state.”

The Gods and Goddesses Masquerade Ball will be held Sunday, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Biltmore’s Grand Ballroom.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:41 AM | Comment

Carcieri to discuss new graduation requirements

PROVIDENCE -- Governor Carcieri plans to speak today at a Providence club about new standards for earning a high school diploma. Under the changes, students must complete 20 courses in English, math, science, social studies and other subjects.

They must also demonstrate proficiency in statewide tests for English and math and complete a portfolio that demonstrates what they've learned.

Until now, graduation requirements have been set by local school districts.

-- The Associated Press

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment

Foggy and drizzly / Photo

Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Two fisherman took to the the rocks at Oakland Beach, Warwick, to try their luck today in the early-morning drizzle.

Today's looking foggy and wet with cloudy skies, areas of drizzle and rain expected after 3 p.m. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high near 61.

Expect more rain and maybe thunderstorms overnight with a low temperature in the low 50s.

Tomorrow we can expect even more rain early, then clear, partly sunny skies with a high in the low 60s and wind gusts up to 30 mph.

For more weather and regular updates, see projo.com/weather.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 7:01 AM | Comment

Today's front page

Today's front page features a story about the arrest of two Division of Motor Vehicles workers for allegedly falsifying dozens of Rhode Island drivers licenses for illegal immigrants and people involved in drug dealing. And the five-part series on fishing concludes.

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

Posted by Jack Perry at 7:00 AM | Comment