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PROVIDENCE – The correctional officers’ union is bringing up the 2010 arrest of Wayne Salisbury as they ramp up their fight to keep McKee’s pick to run the state Department of Corrections out of the job.
The charge – obtaining money under false pretenses – was later dismissed.
Richard Ferruccio, president of the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, said: “Rhode Islanders deserve to have governmental leaders they can trust to do the job they’re appointed to do. It is disheartening that Governor McKee has chosen to appoint a leader to the Department of Corrections who was charged with a felony for stealing from his employer.”
In addition, Ferruccio:
The union urged members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject McKee’s nomination and called for a national search “for a qualified leader who doesn’t carry the baggage of a felony arrest.”
McKee remained solid in his support for Salisbury, who has served as the interim director for 16 months.
“As acting director with over three decades of experience in corrections, Wayne Salisbury has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to manage challenges in the field of corrections, from assembling a task force dedicated to recidivism reduction, to renewing the department’s focus on staff development and succession planning,” spokeswoman Olivia DaRocha said in a statement.
“We appreciate the Brotherhood of Correctional Officers’ concerns,” she continued. “DOC leaders have and will continue to work with their membership and the advocacy community to identify and implement best practices in areas such as officer safety and recruitment, as well as inmate discipline and education.”
Salisbury also stood by his record.
“As it has been previously reported, the 2015 unsubstantiated charge involving Interim Director Salisbury was dismissed,” corrections spokesman J.R. Ventura said in a statement. “Interim Director Salisbury remains focused on leading the Department of Corrections by advocating for its staff and positioning those in its custody for success upon reentry to the community.”
Ventura also noted that a 2012 settlement was reached without a finding of fault in another lawsuit involving the 2008 death of Chinese detainee Hiu Lui “Jason” Ng while in the custody of immigration officials at Wyatt Detention Center.
A federal judge approved a multimillion-dollar settlement on behalf of Ng’s family. Salisbury was one of over two dozen parties named a defendant in that case.
Salisbury began as a corrections officer at the publicly owned and privately run Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in 1993 and rose to the rank of warden.
He was fired as warden in 2007, but rehired later that year under new management. He was fired again in February 2010.
In April 2015, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office dismissed a charge against Salisbury alleging that he had obtained money under false pretenses by falsifying the amount of unused vacation time he was owed at Wyatt and collecting more than $16,456 from the jail.
Prosecutors dismissed the single felony count in “the interest of justice,” a filing noted. Witnesses had provided new information that “may impact the ability of the state to sustain its burden” of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The filing noted that Salisbury had been compliant with his bail terms since his arrest in 2010 and had paid restitution.
The Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation, which operates Wyatt, voted unanimously to “permanently terminate” Salisbury and his wife, Tammy L. Novo, the jail’s top financial administrator.
The correctional officers’ union noted in its statement that Novo was the CFO at the Wyatt when these payments to Salisbury were made.
A 2009 report by Michael V. Fair, a former corrections commissioner in Massachusetts, was highly critical of the jail’s management team and its relationship with its board of directors.
The report detailed that Salisbury reworked the jail’s organizational chart by placing the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Corporation under him instead of having Novo, his wife, report to the board “as an equal to the warden as it was originally established by the board.”
“This one act, implemented by the warden without the benefit of discussion or approval from the board, has placed the warden in a position with much more authority and power than the board ever conferred on him,” the report said.
The report stated that the CFO previously “noted that she took a risk by withholding her responses thereby delaying the issuance of the audit report. She was aware that the audit report was to be a `Going Concern’ and that she wanted to avoid such an opinion.”
Local News
A Rhode Island husband and wife in their 50s were identified as the two people killed in a Swansea car crash Friday night.
Carlolyn Carcasi, 54, and James Carcasi, 53, of Bristol, Rhode Island, were killed in the Feb. 27 crash, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release Monday.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Route 136 and Route 6 in Swansea, Quinn’s office said.
Police in Cranston, Rhode Island identified the driver who allegedly hit the couple as Demitri Sousa, 28. Sousa allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island nearly four hours before the crash, Cranston police said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said previously.
The couple was driving southbound on Route 136 when the Sousa crashed into the side of a Subaru Ascent. Both cars had “catastrophic damage,” and the Subaru was engulfed in flames, Swansea fire and police officials said.
Both occupants of the Subaru were declared dead at the scene, Swansea officials said.
Sousa was transported to a local hospital, where he is being treated for serious injuries. He is expected to live and will be held in Cranston police custody until he is medically cleared, police said Sunday.
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CRANSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday.
The event was held at the Cranston Public Library at 9 a.m.
Reed and other leaders of WFRI hosted a panel discussion with women leaders in environmental and agricultural advocacy, education, community resilience, housing, finance, workforce development, and more, officials said.
Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed celebrated Women’s History Month in Cranston with a panel discussion on Monday. (WJAR)
“Women have played a critical role in this process, most often without any recognition,” Reed said. “Today’s panel brings together an extraordinary group of women who are addressing the challenged of sustainability from various angles and I want to thank you all for your great efforts.”
The panelists highlighted their experiences, shared insights and tips on lifting up women’s voices, provided strategies for sparking change and more.
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According to officials, some of the panelists included Executive Director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council Nessa Richman, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at Rhode Island College Kim Bright, Newport Housing Authority Executive Director Rhonda Mitchell and more.
Local News
A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.
Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.
The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.
That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said.
When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.
First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.
The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.
Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.
Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.
Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.
The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.
“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.
Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.
Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.
“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.
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