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Rhode Island
Time to take next step in making RI’s bail system more fair | Opinion
Crime families in Rhode Island
A look back at some Rhode Island and New England mobsters.
Journal Staff
Katie Mulvaney’s article “Well-known bondsman is rebuked by RI judge” (News, Feb. 7) may have been shocking to many, but it was no surprise to those who work in the criminal justice system.
The facts of this case are troubling. Rather than post the bail money he collected from the defendant’s family ‒ which would be returned to them after the defendant appeared in court and the case was closed ‒ the bondsman attempted to pocket a portion of it as a nonrefundable fee.
And while no criminal wrongdoing has been reported thus far (indeed, the quasi-judicial officer caught up in this unfortunate incident, attorney/bail commissioner Frank Saccocia, appears to have acted appropriately by promptly reporting the incident), a serious violation of court rules appears to have taken place.
By way of background, both bail commissioners and bondsmen fill essential roles in our criminal justice system. The former serve as quasi-judicial officers, appointed by the chief judge of the District Court. They are empowered to set personal recognizance or security bail, or, in more serious matters, hold a defendant without bail until the next court day. This is done during non-business hours at the police station in a proceeding referred to as a “special arraignment.” The latter ‒ the bondsmen ‒ are private business entities who, for a nonrefundable fee, post property to ensure a defendant’s release. (This bondsmen arrangement is different from the situation where a defendant or their family posts the full value of the bail themselves.)
Thus, the cost of bail falls hardest upon those least able to bear it: the indigent and poor. Those unable to post bail without the assistance of a bondsman are forced to pay money that will never be recovered ‒ a system that is inconsistent with the idea of the presumption of innocence. Indeed, studies show that monetary conditions of bail often lead to a wealth-based detention gap, with the poor suffering additional collateral consequences ‒ such as the loss of housing, employment and education ‒ as they linger in detention facilities.
The pervasive infiltration of money in our criminal justice system invites abuse, leading to situations like the one discussed in Ms. Mulvaney’s article. For example, even when a defendant can post the full amount of bail at a special arraignment, they still must remit a nonrefundable fee. Requiring a defendant to pay an extra fee for judicial services and due process is, at best, unseemly and, at worst, unfair.
Rhode Island “bail law” is composed of an interrelated mesh of state constitutional provisions, statutes, and court decisions and rules. Compared to other states, Rhode Island’s laws certainly have some redeeming qualities. For example, release on personal recognizance ‒ a practice that is consistent with the presumption of innocence ‒ is favored in most cases, especially the less serious ones. Moreover, the courts’ websites contain forms that require judges to explain why personal recognizance is not appropriate before setting monetary conditions of bail; although it appears that this obligation is most often honored in the breach.
Over the last several years, the General Assembly and judiciary have made tremendous progress in reforming the court cost system. The days when people were detained for failure to pay such costs are, thankfully, over. More recently, the courts have improved the ways that restitution is collected and the system is now more efficient.
Therefore, the time is ripe to take the next step: a comprehensive evaluation of our bail system.
Each year dozens of bills are considered by the General Assembly on this topic. A special task force, composed of a variety of criminal justice stakeholders, should be formed to study and make recommendations for improvements to a system that ‒ while at times good ‒ could certainly be made better.
Michael A. DiLauro is owner and manager of The Just Criminal Justice Group.
On Friday, May 1, Bravo posted a mid-season preview to YouTube, giving fans a glimpse at the drama still to come during the franchise’s first season in the Ocean State.
Which ‘Real Housewives of Rhode Island’ stars want to do Season 2?
Reporter Paul Edward Parker asks cast members of the “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” if they’re up for another season of the Bravo TV show.
Paul Edward Parker
Enjoying “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” so far? Buckle up – it’s about to get even juicier.
On Friday, May 1, Bravo posted a mid-season preview to YouTube, giving fans a glimpse at the drama still to come during the franchise’s first season in the Ocean State. As expected, the season will continue to follow major developing plotlines, including the fallout from Rulla Pontarelli’s reported husband’s affair and the strained relationship between Rosie DiMare and Kelsey Swanson.
However, the trailer also hints that the season will take some unexpected twists and turns, with new arguments rising between friendly cast members and personal issues coming to a head for many of the women.
Here’s a sneak peek at the rest of Season 1 of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.”
What happened in ‘The Real Housewives of Rhode Island’ mid-season preview?
According to the mid-season preview, the rest of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” Season 1 will include many more fights between the cast members. Swanson and DiMare’s screaming matches will continue, with the trailer showing DiMare telling Swanson “Everyone in f***ing Rhode Island knows you f*** married men.”
Surprisingly, disagreements will also rise between LizMcGraw and Alicia Carmody, as well as McGraw and Jo-Ellen Tiberi. McGraw is shown telling Tiberi to get out of her face, with Tiberi storming after her yelling “what did I do?”
Meanwhile, Ashley Iaconetti will continue to struggle under the financial and emotional burden of Audrey’s, with her and husband Jared Haibon discussing their decision to renew the lease or not. After her breakup, Swanson will have to decide if her new man is worth giving up her financial comfort, while Tiberi will finally have a tough conversation with her mother.
As for Pontarelli, it seems that Tiberi will make good on her episode five promise of finding concrete proof of Brian Pontarelli’s reported affair, with multiple housewives discussing video proof in the trailer. After Pontarelli reveals to the group that Brian was arrested for tracking her, the trailer ends with the question looming over everyone’s heads: “Rulla, what are you gonna do?”.
How to watch ‘The Real Housewives of Rhode Island’
Want to see how all the drama unfolds? “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” will air every Sunday at 9 p.m. on Bravo.
Watch ‘The Real Housewives of Rhode Island’ on Peacock
Episodes will be available for next-day streaming each Monday on Peacock.
Local News
A West Warwick resident captured video of the white-robed figure wandering around town early Monday morning.
Police in Rhode Island say they’ve confirmed that videos of a person walking around a town in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood were part of a hoax for social media, not the work of an organized group.
Social media videos appeared to show the person walking around West Warwick while dressed in white robes and a pointed hood. The incident happened on Main Street at around 2 a.m. Monday, according to West Warwick police.
Detectives have since learned that the event was a stunt orchestrated by two brothers “to generate attention on social media and in the news,” police said on Facebook. The perpetrators admitted their involvement to police and “provided conclusive evidence” that they were the only ones responsible for the hoax.
The individuals “explicitly denounced” affiliation with hate groups, and police said that the investigation has yielded “no evidence to suggest otherwise.” For now, the investigation has been closed.
“The West Warwick Police Department would like to thank members of the community who came forward with information,” police said. “Thorough investigations such as this often rely on community involvement, and we appreciate the public’s cooperation and assistance.”
Video captured by Ryan Fitzgerald showed the hooded figure wandering around the Arctic Gazebo before heading down the street. Fitzgerald told The Boston Globe that he thought the person was “just messing around” but noted that it was indicative of broader issues.
“There’s a lot of undisclosed racism that goes on here. I hear about it all the time,” Fitzgerald told the Globe. “So it wouldn’t be shocking to me if it wasn’t a prank, and it wasn’t a hoax, and it was really somebody that really was about that kind of life.”
Rhode Island House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi visited Newport on April 27 as the keynote speaker at a panel discussion about the need to develop more housing on Aquidneck Island.
Shekarchi was joined by Middletown Town Administrator Shawn Brown, Raytheon government relations and site executive Tim DelGuidice, and NOAA relocation project manager Matthew Hill.
On an island where the largest employers are Naval Station Newport and the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and over 20,000 people work in defense-related jobs, the need for workforce housing is a particularly acute component of the crisis. A report published by the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce said Newport and the surrounding region need to build 6,000 to 9,000 housing units to keep up with workforce demand.
NOAA broke ground in 2024 at the future home of its Marine Operations Center-Atlantic base on a five-acre site on Naval Station Newport, and the $150 million project is scheduled to be completed in 2027. Hill said upwards of 250 federal employees and their families will be relocating to Rhode Island after their current base in Norfolk, Virginia, is closed and NOAA’s new facility at Naval Station Newport is completed.
“That provides justification for these developers to go out and secure funds,” said Hill. “You have 250 people coming here for certain, with stable incomes, so these developments can start to move forward.”
Shekarchi spoke about the adaptive reuse bill signed into law by the state legislature three years ago, which was intended to make it easier for municipalities to convert old hospitals, factories and schools into housing.
“There’s a lot of municipal land, a lot of municipal buildings that could be converted into housing, that for whatever reason has been resisted by local communities,” he said.
The Oliphant and Green End proposals voted down by the Middletown Town Council in 2024 would have been such adaptive reuse projects. Shekarchi did not explicitly mention those proposals, but he suggested the Newport Jai Alai site, which he described as “desolate” in its current state, could be ideal for mixed-use commercial and residential development.
“There is so much opposition in all of our communities,” Rep. Michelle McGaw told Newport This Week. “I don’t think people recognize that it’s their children, it’s their grandchildren, people who grew up here and want to stay here and raise their families here but cannot afford to do so.”
“We’re not only looking at people at 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI); there is a huge gap between what people are earning and what they can afford.”
Rhode Island AMI is approximately $112,000. So, a one-person household earning about $65,000, 80 precent AMI, would qualify for affordable housing.
DelGuidice said Raytheon’s workforce, especially its younger employees, would benefit from new development on the island.
“In five years, I’d love to see that we’ve closed that gap of 9,000 units, and we’ve got more of our employees able to live closer to work and not have a 45-minute or hour-long commute,” he said.
Stressing Aquidneck Island’s need for housing across all income levels, Brown highlighted Middletown’s approach of purchasing 6.2 acres of land in order to develop 36 middle-income housing units across the street from town hall. However, he said 36 planned new homes is a fraction of the island’s collective need, and he highlighted the importance of the island’s municipalities, the Navy, and private industry cooperatively maintaining and improving the island’s infrastructure in order to be able to build new housing developments.
He pointed to Middletown and Newport’s cooperative efforts on wastewater management as an example of the unseen infrastructure work necessary to maintain and expand the island’s housing supply. He cited shared island infrastructure as a critical area where state support is necessary in order to create new housing stock.
“We’re land-restricted, and we have a lot of conservation easements on Aquidneck Island, which is another challenge,” Brown said. “It is going to be these areas that are either infilled or redeveloped. That is where additional housing is going to come from, and we are going to need that wastewater management capacity in order to do a lot of these developments.”
“The speakers today were very strong on the fact that we need all kinds of housing, not just higher income or middle income,” Rep. Lauren Carson told Newport This Week following the meeting. “We really need to address the broader issues here. I have confidence that policymakers, myself, the speaker and city leaders across the island know what has to happen.”
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