Rhode Island
Chinese billionaire pleads guilty to straw donor scheme in New York and Rhode Island – The Boston Globe
When asked, an attorney for Adams, Vito Pitta, said: âAs the federal government made clear today, the campaign had no knowledge of a straw donor scheme â and no member of the campaign has been charged with or accused of any wrongdoing.”
Qin was previously included on the Forbes list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion from his stake in film and entertainment companies, including the Honk Kong-based SMI Culture. He has been in U.S. custody since his arrest last October on charges of using a fake identification.
A phone call to his attorney was not immediately returned.
Campaign finance records show Qin, who is a Chinese citizen with a U.S. green card, donated $2,000 to Adams in March of 2021. Under the cityâs campaign finance rules, green card-holders can contribute to races and participate in the cityâs generous matching funds program, which caps donations at $2,100.
Nine months after he donated to Adams, federal prosecutors say Qin began working âto find individuals to make more than $10,000 in straw donor contributionsâ to an unnamed New York City candidate.
At least one person donated $1,000 on Qinâs behalf on Dec. 9, according to prosecutors. The following day, Qin spoke with an unnamed co-conspirator, who told him they expected to be able to obtain up to $20,000 in straw donor contributions for the candidate.
Adams, a Democrat, is currently facing a federal investigation for his fundraising practices that prompted the FBI to seize his cell phones last year. Earlier this month, agents raided the homes of one of his top aides, Winnie Greco, as part of an investigation led by the U.S. Attorneyâs Office in Brooklyn.
An investigation by Manhattan prosecutors into an alleged straw donor scheme over the summer resulted in the arrest of six people, who were accused of seeking to divert public money into Adamsâ campaign to gain political favors.
Prosecutors say Qin engaged in similar straw donor schemes to funnel donations to a U.S. representative in New York and a congressional candidate in Rhode Island.
Federal Elections Commission records show Qin donated $2,900 in 2022 to the campaign of Allan Fung, a Republican former mayor who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Rhode Island. Fung didnât respond to messages seeking comment Monday.
Records also show that a man named Jonathan Chau, who provided Adamsâ transition committee with $1,000 on December 9, 2021, gave $5,800 to a committee supporting Fung, and $2,900 to a committee backing Rep. Andrew Garbarino, a Long Island Republican.
Prosecutors said Qin hid his illicit funding efforts from the officials they were intended to benefit, causing them to unknowingly file false campaign reports.
Chau could not be reached for comment. Garbarino did not respond to an emailed request.
As part of the plea deal, Qin also admitted that he filed a false application for lawful permanent residency status in the U.S. 2019 when he claimed to have never used an alias. In fact, prosecutors said, he was provided the alias âMuk Lam Li,â along with accompanying identification documents, by an official in the Chinese government in 2008.
He used that identity to transfer more than $5 million to a U.S. bank account, spending some of it on a luxury apartment in Manhattan, according to prosecutors.
Qin will give up his right to live in the U.S. and be deported as part of his plea deal, prosecutors said.
Rhode Island
Changes in wastewater billing are overdue in RI | Opinion
Richard Burroughs teaches in the Department of Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island. He has served as a member of the board of Save The Bay and as a commissioner for the Narragansett Bay Commission.
The Providence Journal very correctly points out how the health of Narragansett Bay relates to the well-being of the residents around it through its March articles on the quahog. And Rhode Islanders can best benefit from changing the Bay, if they can pay for it. By federal Environmental Protection Agency standards, not all can.
Cleanup requires systems of pipes and tunnels to collect wastewaters and then elaborate machinery to clean and disinfect it prior to discharge to the Bay. A mandated 50% of nitrogen is removed along the way. As the Providence Journal articles explain, if too much nitrogen has been taken out, then there is an associated question of food for the quahogs. Using food-supply logic, less fertilizer and fewer phytoplankton results in a diminishing supply of quahogs — and the livelihoods related to them.
More: What’s a quahog? A quick guide to Rhode Island’s iconic clam.
Cleanup costs also include construction of tunnels, electricity for pumps, maintenance of tanks, additives to assist the process, as well as other expenses.
More importantly, the high costs of wastewater treatment are borne by all households and businesses. Since the fees for the Narragansett Bay Commission customers are for connection and water used, residences with varied incomes will see very different annual bills when measured as a percentage of household income. Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls have areas where the bill reaches as high as 7% of median household income. Other, wealthier, areas in Providence are at 1% or less of household income.
The Environmental Protection Agency has seen this as a weakness for many, many years and has developed and revised national guidance, most recently last month. The EPA indicates bills that are 2% or more of household income are high.
Unfair billing is a serious weakness, but it is not without solutions. The EPA suggests, and many communities in other areas have adopted, customer assistance programs. Among them are lifeline rates, where basic water needs are covered and any excess usage is billed at the standard rate. When this approach was applied in Philadelphia, collections increased as more households could readily pay. These kinds of billing changes are overdue in Rhode Island.
If implemented, costs for continued improvements to Narragansett Bay would not disproportionately fall on those with less ability to pay.
The message about billing is clear. For some, the bills are too high according to EPA guidance. Important future steps to improve the Bay need to be considered not only in terms of water quality but also in terms of billing impacts on people. Now is the time to move forward and set wastewater bills on an equitable level.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island State Police make multiple arrests for outstanding warrants – Newport Dispatch
WEST WARWICK — In a series of arrests, Rhode Island State Police took into custody individuals on outstanding warrants for various offenses, including driving with a suspended license and shoplifting.
At 9:57 a.m., Angela Wilkinson, 48, of West Warwick, was arrested by troopers responding to the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.
Wilkinson had multiple bench warrants for failing to appear for arraignment on charges of driving with a suspended license, a fourth offense, from both the Warwick Police Department and the Coventry Police Department, as well as an affidavit and arrest warrant for shoplifting.
She was processed at the Lincoln Woods Barracks and turned over to the Coventry Police Department.
Later in the day, at 6:45 p.m., Doris Natal, 40, of Central Falls, was arrested following a motor vehicle accident investigation on Route 95 in Providence.
Natal had an active warrant for failing to appear for arraignment on a shoplifting charge from the Warwick Police Department.
She was processed at the Lincoln Woods Barracks and later transported to the Adult Correctional Institution – Women’s Intake Center.
The final arrest of the day occurred at 11:43 p.m. when Jason Depina, 22, also of Central Falls, was stopped on Warrington Street in Providence.
Depina had an active warrant for failing to appear for arraignment on a charge of assault with intent to commit a felony from the Central Falls Police Department.
After processing at the Lincoln Woods Barracks, he was taken to the Adult Correctional Institution – Men’s Intake Center.
Captain David Bassignani, District “A” Commander of the Rhode Island State Police, is available for contact at 401-764-5604 or through the provided email for further inquiries regarding the arrests.
For media inquiries, please contact Captain Bassignani at the Rhode Island State Police.
Rhode Island
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