Here Comes the Old Boss, Same as the New boss . . .
The ProJo story about Buddy Cianci cutting off his probation bracelet kind of reminds me of a song by the Who, Won't Get Fooled Again, but I may have reversed the lyrics somewhat.
I was talking to a City Councilor recently, yeah, one of Providence's, about the recent riot in Billy Taylor Park and about how it really only happened because Councilman Kevin Jackson (who operates in Ward 3 as if it is his own little fiefdom, where he can do as he pleases because he is in tight with David Cicilline, the Mayor of Providence) and, yeah, the Councilperson, a long time veteran, says Jackson was able to pull an illegal permit just a few days before the event and not notify the police department or anyone, as required, because Jackson is a relic from the Cianci administration and still does things the way they were done then, a little tit for tat, votes for favors, you get the drift. In other words, he throws his weight around as a friend of the Mayor.
* Sieg Heil, Herr Jackson, Sieg Heil!
Does Jackson realize how widely he is despised by the new, prevailing demographic in Mt. Hope?
Jackson thinks that the City Ordinances do not apply to him, which is why he authorized the Park to be used without a Parks Permit, without the required insurance binder, without the required entertainment license for live, amplified music, and he allowed a major street (Camp St.) to be closed illegally, resulting in a riot that still has Mt. Hope shaking and in which the entire Police Department's 3 -11 shift had to respond to, leaving the rest of the City unprotected and the neighborhood shaken and vandalized.
That is also why he steadfastly refuses to take any responsibility for the riot that set Mt. hope back ten years. He thinks that he can stonewall and that it will go away, be forgotten. He and Lt. Campbell think that we have moved beyond it. Oh, they wish! Are they bosom buddies or what?
But the truth is out. By his documented actions, year after year, by pulling illegal permits for African American events in Billy Taylor Park that invariably end up in violence and by pandering to and protecting African American drug dealers in Mt. Hope by political pressure on the Police Department to go lax on law enforcement in Mt. Hope, Jackson has set up the Mt. Hope community and the Police Department for failure and for racial conflict, while he comes out looking like a hero to the African American community in Mt. Hope and delivers the vote to whomever is running and also insures his place in the current political firmament. The truth is out!
The Councilperson made the point that Jackson still operates the same way under Cicilline that he did under the corrupt Cianci administration in which the law was routinely ignored, so, not much has changed.
Both Alix Ogden, Head of the Parks Department, and Bernard Levy, DPW Traffic Engineer, are Cicilline hires, and they are rightfully afraid of political hari-kari by opposing a friend of David's when he asks for an illegal permit. After all Ward 3 is Jackson's Little Kingdom, and he is the Mayor's friend and earliest supporter in his bid for Mayor besides their other common interests.
Ogden and Levy do not want to lose their jobs.
Not much has changed. New boss, same old, same old! Shit!
Weren't we supposed to get a new, enlightened way of doing things under the Cicilline administration? Transparency?
We all know that Jackson is a panderer, a pander-bear and that David panders to Jackson, and so what does that make Cicilline: no better than Cianci?
Hello, New Boss. You ain't no better than Buddy.
Don't count on my vote: for anything. Ever.
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* Sieg Heil is a German phrase, which literally means "Hail [to] Victory." During the Nazi era, it was a common chant at political rallies.
Saying the phrase in Germany today is a criminal offense punishable by up to three years of prison (StGB, section 86a). The same is true for expressions that might be mistaken for "Sieg Heil". Usage for art, teaching and science purposes is exempt from punishment.
I use the term here in a contemptuous, satirical manner to condemn the way Councilman Jackson manipulates race against race in Mt. Hope much the same way race was manipulated against race in 1930's Germany.
Of course some argue the German contention that they never intended the dire consequences that resulted from the Nazi political manipulations, but history well documents how setting race against race ends up in disaster. It starts small and grows from there.
Posted at 01:13 AM | Community | Comments (0)
Man's Head Grazes Bullet on Pleasant St.
A man's head grazed a bullet causing chaos in Mt. Hope Sunday night down around 61 Pleasant St. and at 747 N. Main St. The bullet, a straight A student, who was only out trying to support his family, ran directly to Councilman Jackson claiming harassment and profiling when his casing was found at the scene. They planted it, he told the Councilman.
You think I'm joking? Read all about it in the ProJo article Bullet grazes man's head at this link or continue reading below the fold.
Of course I adapted the spin you'll probably hear when the incident is discussed at the next MHNA meeting. At the last meeting I remember asking, "Why do we live in a neighborhood where we have to worry about getting shot?" and Mr. Watson, without missing a beat, responded, "Because that's the kind of neighborhood it is."
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Bullet grazes man’s head, SUV strikes parked car
01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 24, 2007
By Gregory Smith
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — Detectives are still trying to sort out what happened at about 1 a.m. Sunday in Mount Hope when a parked car was struck by
another vehicle and an East Providence man was grazed in the head by a bullet.
Although there are discrepancies in the statements of those involved, the police said they have concluded that Justin T. Potter, 26, of 226 Juniper St., East Providence, was shot in the head as he drove or rode in a rented GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle, that the SUV struck a parked car in the vicinity of 61 Pleasant St., Mount Hope, and that the SUV later smashed into an office building at 747 North Main St.
Potter told the police that he was shot at on Gano Street in Fox Point, but detectives theorize that the shooting occurred in the vicinity of 61 Pleasant. No shell casings were recovered from that area, however.
“We’re still looking to speak further with the victim on this,” Detective Capt. Hugh T. Clements Jr. said yesterday. Officers were dispatched to 61 Pleasant, near McCann Place, for a report of gunshots, and witnesses said they had heard six to eight shots. But the shooter had not been seen. Officers found glass in the street and noticed that a parked car owned by Carol Robinson, 31, of 127 Suffolk St., Wanskuck, had been damaged by another vehicle.
They then learned that a maroon SUV matching Robinson’s description of the second vehicle had pushed in a wall at the offices of Rhode Island Court Reporting on North Main Street, about 3½ blocks from 61 Pleasant. The police had the unattended SUV — a slug was lodged in its tailgate — towed away as evidence.
A call then came from Rhode Island Hospital, where Potter was being treated for a minor gunshot wound.
gsmith@projo.com
Posted at 10:11 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Moby Dick: A Review
On Deck
Action, stage right
I attended a performance of the Mixed Magic Theatre’s production of Moby Dick: Then and Now Friday night at the Wickford Town Beach. Live theater on the beach with sails in the sunset and a calm surf serenading the theater goers. An incongruous, peaceful scene for this jarring setting of Melville’s great novel Moby Dick adapted for the stage by the Mixed Magic Theatre’s Ricardo Pitts-Riley.
Pitts-Riley’s production, Moby Dick: Then and Now contains a play within a play where the crew of the good ship Pequod is juxtaposed with the crew of an inner city gang of minority youth doing battle with their own Great White.
The young actors playing the inner city gang put in a phenomenal performance. In fact all the actors put in strong performances. The action moves back and forth between the crew of the whaling ship and the young gang crew.
Ostensibly a symbol of cocaine, heroin, and the drug culture, the sub-text of the Great White these young gang members hunt for revenge could also be read as "White Culture", which holds out the promise of wealth, status, fame and fortune, and the American Dream, only to pull it back just out of reach time and time again as their own narrow outlook and the moneyed, corporate interests co-opt their culture and keep them on the outside looking in.
Nowhere is this made more clear than the scene where the youngsters are stranded downtown (while havoc is being wreaked in their Hood by a rival gang) and various hucksters come on to them: a lawyer, a white rapper celeb, a shoe company exec, a police chief whose wife is a social worker, who all join in, in a chorus of something like “There’s big money in this Great White biz.”
Of course it is a mistake to characterize the predominant culture as White (as in race) when the predominant culture (the world over) has no color: the predominant culture is economic: the color of money.
Yet the point is well taken. A powerful message read both ways.
Mixed Magic Theater remains an under-recognized, under-appreciated local treasure. I learned about this theatre troupe by accident: a carpenter I work with in my business has a second life as a thespian. He likes to go by the moniker “Jim Dawg”, but I just know him as Jimmy. He appeared as an extra in Armistead and productions of TV shows like The Brotherhood, and he is a member of the actors union. But it was as a member of Mixed Magic Theatre, under the tutelage of Pitts-Riley, that he blossomed into an actor.
Last summer I watched their production of Shakespeare’s
The Taming of the Shrew, in Pawtucket -- it was wonderful.
Mixed Magic Theater is a non-profit arts organization well deserving of any grant money they receive: if you don’t believe me, go see these wonderful kids and their mentors act their coal black and lily white asses off.
Before you shell out $15 for that next, must have CD, think twice, and send that money to the Mixed Magic Theatre.
I’d like to bring the Mixed Magic Theatre’s production of Moby Dick: Then and Now to Billy Taylor Park courtesy of the Greater Camp Concerned Citizens. It’s time for a little community theatre. To do so we will need donations, for I will not ask them to perform for us for free. It costs money for lighting, staging, and other production costs.
We will be in touch for donations. Anyone interested in helping bring this about contact me through the website
JohnTwomey
Posted at 12:54 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Another Point of View
It is interesting to me to read that some of the people at this meeting heard what Cheryl said differently than I did. What I heard her say was that she talks to some people that we don't. My understanding was that some of these people have the opinion that the conditions in Mt. Hope help to keep the neighborhood affordable for their families by scaring away some of the more affluent. My understanding was that she was sharing another point of view with the attendees.
My understanding of Kevin Jackson nodding in agreement was that he has heard the same things himself. I do not for one minute believe that either Kevin Jackson or Cheryl Taylor promote illegal activities. One of the important principals of nonviolence is to attack the forces of evil not the people doing evil. It is clear to me that there are some issues that do need to be addressed in Mt. Hope.
I am glad that we are talking about the city council money that comes into our neighborhood and where it goes. We need affordable housing for all and gainful employment for our neighbors. Perhaps if we devote some energy in that direction we will all be rewarded with a community that is pleased with all its neighbors.
-Lisa Niebels
Posted at 11:48 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Lily White Asses
It’s all here, verbatim.
I believe the July 16, MHNA Meeting was an eye-opener for all who attended.
We already received a great, general recap of the meeting which is quite accurate, but I’m hoping that many people who attended have vivid recollections that they will be able to share in detail on this website.
I want to list a few of the moments that stood out for me.
Lilly White Asses
I recall vividly the moment when Cheryl Taylor, MHNA Board Member, referred to all the Mt. Hope residents in the audience who are Caucasian as “your lily white asses”, and told everyone that the drug dealers aren’t going anywhere, that in fact the drug dealers will keep plying their trade, essentially, in hope that it will drive the new (read, white) residents out of Mt. Hope. This was a sad moment. But what an eye-opener it must have been for many at the meeting.
Actually, I admire Cheryl for her brutal honesty. She told us how she feels. She said what many think but would hesitate to say for reasons of political correctness. When asked if she appreciated the many good things the new residents have brought to Mt. Hope, cleaner streets, renovated houses, less crime, she basically replied that she didn’t care about that, that she was fine with the neighborhood the way it was, drug dealing and all, that she did not want change.
But can you imagine the repercussions if during the meeting a Caucasian had referred to African American residents of Mt. Hope as “your black asses” or even “your brown bottoms”? I think we all know what would have ensued.
A young girl from the Center for Non-violence Scolding and Reprimanding Craig
I witnessed a conversation after the meeting where a young woman from Teny Gross’s Center for Non-Violence attempted to alternately scold, rebuke, reprimand, and criticize Craig for his exchange with Cheryl Taylor when he asked her exactly how she felt about the neighborhood and the changes that are happening.
These people from Teny Gross’s organization (and Mr. Gross himself) are so full of themselves that it makes me ill. I consider them nothing but outside agitators, ill informed about the history of Mt. Hope and ill informed about what is going on in Mt. Hope today. And in the height of arrogance, attempting to push their ultra-liberal agenda down our throats. How condescending!
I won’t soon forget the gasp that issued from the Teny Gross disciples from his cult when I had the audacity to say that his comment about how neighborhoods change based on the presence of drug dealers which was based on a quote from an anonymous real estate agent in Boston was not even valid. They actually gasped, turned around and looked at me with mouths wide open. Talk about brainwashing.
I won’t soon forget how at the previous meeting Mr. Gross dropped the fact that he was in the Israeli Army, that he studied at Harvard, and that he condescendingly lectured someone who dared to put forth an idea that did not jive with his ultra-liberal agenda.
It’s just an opinion, my opinion, that non-violence is a great thing, a superb goal, but that in this day and age it’s kind of like pissing into a strong wind.
Here’s a suggestion: since Mr. Gross is an Israeli army veteran, and superbly educated at Harvard, maybe he should take his non-violent philosophy over to the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has raged for years – compared to that working in Mt. Hope is simply child’s play. That is where he is needed. But he's not there.
Liberal Welfare
I resent just a little having the liberal agenda shoved down my throat by liberal welfare recipients like the Ann-Marie Redys of the Learning Center, the MHNA, and the Teny Grosses of the world. Understand that they are in the business of collecting grant money from the federal government to run their organizations and to pay their salaries. It is in their self-interest to perpetuate the liberal myth of the poor-victim that needs the great white father figure to ride to the rescue. They are in business, self-employed, but paid with my tax dollars. They are self gratifiers with huge egos who have only their own self-interest at heart. Deep down inside, for them, I believe it is all about them. Suffice it to say, I don't like them.
That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.
Content Rich Meeting
So much content from this meeting, text and sub-text. If anyone wishes to share their thoughts, recollections, and impressions from the meeting click on this link: July 16, Meeting or use the comments tab below.
I did record the meeting on a digital recorder which I downloaded to my computer hoping to be able to upload it to the site or download it to CDs for anyone to access. Unfortunately, I nearly crashed the site trying. The only way to share it is to provide the recorder to anyone who wishes to download it to their computer, and I can make arrangements for anyone who wishes to do this. Just get in touch through the website.
John Twomey
Posted at 11:44 PM | Community | Comments (4)
Notes from July 16, MHNA Meeting
Notes from the Mount Hope Community Meeting – July 16th 2007
Next meeting will be Monday, August 20th at 6:30pm.
Notable Attendees
Ray Watson – President of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association
Kevin Jackson – City Councilman
Captain Campbell – Providence Police Department
Patrolman William Dickey
John Twomey – Mount Hope Community Web Site
Irene Twomey – Greater Camp Concerned Citizens
Meeting lasted from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.
Overview - What should these meetings be about?
1. Ray Watson set out to ask the community what we would like to discuss and what we would like to hear.
2. The entire meeting focused on what we hope to accomplish in our once-a-month meetings with the police officers.
3. The broad tone left many with a sense of frustration, especially those who wanted to talk about specific incidents and action items.
4. However, detailing an agenda of how to proceed on a go forward basis should prove to be constructive and fruitful. Often these meetings degenerate into chaotic shouting matches with no resolution. Having a detailed agenda, especially the agenda we decided on (below) can be an excellent tool to communicate exactly the types of concerns the residents have.
5. The agenda going forward will include the following updates:
a. The police officers will report on the following-
i. What are they doing to reach out to the community and what events have they attended, or plan to attend to help further the goal of "Community Policing"
ii. What are some of the crime statistics and hotspots in the neighborhood?
iii. What should we as community members be doing? Be made aware of? How can we help?
b. Political Update. Kevin Jackson was asked to provide a political update.
i. What is the city doing to help Mount Hope?
ii. What programs is the city investing in where our citizens can get involved?
iii. What are our political leaders doing to help our city?
c. Community Feedback
i. The residents will be able ask specific questions to the police.
ii. The residents will have an opportunity to air grievances.
Turnout
1. Captain Campbell was very impressed with the turnout on Monday. It was more than double the previous meeting.
2. Increased turn out will only strengthen the cause.
3. Lt. Schiavulli and Sgt Steve were on vacation and not able to attend
4. Greater police participation should be expected now that the community has begun to respond.
5. Thanks to all the residents who were able to attend and let’s do whatever we can to expand our numbers for the next meeting!!!!
Tone of the Meeting
1. Ray Watson began the meeting talking about the relationship the community has with the police. He referred to "a contentious relationship with the community and the police."
2. Mr. Watson was soon to realize, based on the comments of the majority of the community residents in attendance, that the relationship the community has with the police is not the issue bringing them to the meeting. The issue bringing the residents to the meeting was the relationship between law-abiding citizens and those who choose not to abide by the law.
3. Many of the most vocal residents who were looking for more law enforcement where African Americans. This is an important note and one that should be recognized by the leaders in the community.
4. This, the third such meeting, was very well organized and civil. Mr. Watson did an excellent job maintaining flow, allowing all people to speak, and ensuring the tone was civil and respectful.
5. The main detractor from group consensus was Cheryl Taylor. Ms. Taylor referred to the newer residents as "Lilly White Asses" and also said, "I know the drug dealers in Mount Hope and I don’t care. They don’t bother me." She also admitted to being afraid of white people because they complain, as well as saying the drug dealers in the neighborhood are okay as long they keep the white folks from moving in. What’s most disturbing about her comments is that Ms. Taylor is a long time board member on the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association and was sitting right next to Council Jackson who was nodding his head in affirmation.
Going Forward
1. It is very important as many residents as possible come to meetings and be vocal. Please do what you can attend!!!!!
2. Again, the next meeting is August 20th at 6:30pm.
3. Specific Issues will be discussed in the next meeting.
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Special thanks to the Anonymous Attendee who took the time to type up these excellent and detailed meeting notes and submitted them to the blog.
Posted at 07:50 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Mt. Hope Community Meeting Notes for Tuesday, June 16th
An Anonymous Attendee submitted these meeting notes from the June 16th meeting at the MHNA. I'd like to thank that person for submitting the post: it is a thorough and well written report.
The next meeting will be held on Monday, July 16th from 6:30pm – 8:00pm, at the MHNA, 199 Camp Street.
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Community Meeting, Mount Hope, Notes from Tuesday, June 16th
The next meeting will be held on Monday, July 16th from 6:30pm – 8:00pm
The plan is to meet every third Monday of the month from 6:30pm-8:00 going forward. Showing up late is acceptable.
The overall tone of the meeting was a little chaotic, but constructive.
Notable attendees included the following:
Ray Watson – Mount Hope Neighborhood Association President
Lt. David Schiavulli – Providence Police Dept
Major Fitzgerald – Providence Police Dept
Sgt. Steve
Patrolmen Brian and Dave
Teny Gross – Executive Director for the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence
Councilman Kevin Jackson
John Twomey from www.mthope-eastside.com
Discussion topics;
What is the definition of "Community Policing?" The below definition
was provided by Ray Watson and was generally agreed upon and accepted. The definition is credited to Chief Dean Esserman from the winter of 2005. For the full interview with the Chief - Chief's Interview
- Community policing is essentially about breaking down the anonymity of the police officer. It relates to the idea of reducing fear. If we want to create a fearless environment, we must first ensure that people are not afraid of the police. Too often, seeing a uniform makes people feel uneasy. If they get to know the person in the uniform, that fear goes away.
-To foster the relationship between police and citizens, community policing calls for decentralized, neighborhood-based police agencies, in which local officers are permanently assigned to communities. This model allows police officers to get to know the neighborhood and the neighborhood to get to know them. Both sides of the badge become more at ease with each other.
-Ideally, community policing results in two things. First, crime and fear will decline. Second, partnerships, mutual trust, and respect will develop between the police and the rest of the community. In practice, community policing is hard to do effectively. On the one hand, if are super crime fighters, but alienate the community, you have failed. Conversely, you can be loved and embraced by the community, but not bring down crime and then have also failed. In Providence, we try not to crash onto either shore.
The Changing Face of Mount Hope
-Some members of the community tried to say the problems were due to an influx of new residents and implied the new residents had fewer rights than the residents with 30 plus years or multiple generation connections to the neighborhood. They asked why things need to change and why behaviors, like John Paris' boats and front yard junkyard, that were acceptable before should be deemed unacceptable now.
-Others objected stating a house is no less a persons home no matter how long they have lived in the neighborhood and a resident is no less than full member of the community. Also, because laws and ordinances were ignored for years is not an excuse to continue ignoring them in the future.
-Counter points were that the community feels that white people are displacing minority families.
-More counter points ridiculed the idea of a larger organized movement to displace minority families.
-This issue will take much time resolve and the answers are less clear than the problems.
Turnout
– Lt. David Schiavulli said he was disheartened by the turnout of the residents. Especially the residents who were very vocal in the first meeting.
- Representatives at the meeting conveyed to the Lt. that the 4pm Tuesday meeting was difficult for people with jobs to attend. The result was that the next meeting – Monday July 16th – will be held at 6:30pm.
Teny Gross
– Executive Director for the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence
- A very interesting speaker was Teny Gross. He’s an Israeli who spent the required 3 years in the Israeli Army kicking down the doors of the Palestinians. He moved to the United States when he went to Harvard (and he did say he went to Harvard about 6 times). He worked in Boston targeting inner city violence and is now trying to help here in Providence. He’s trying to tackle this issue from a systemic viewpoint.
-His points were pushing the "soft approach." Looking to help the neighborhood as an effort to help ourselves. Such as volunteering at the community/recreation centers. Getting involved in local politics to stress the need for funding for programs to give the troubled members of the community a place to learn and grow.
- This approach is not for everyone, especially some of us who work 60-70 hours a week, but it’s worth investigating.
Racism
-There was definitely talk if racism and overreacting police officers but I think the police officers handled themselves incredibly well and I commend them for both their patience and politeness during the entire meeting.
Council Kevin Jackson
-Councilman Jackson was oddly quiet throughout the meeting except for one story about he was riding with the Chief of Police. He said they were riding together when a call came in about kids smoking pot a Billy Taylor Park. When they got to the park one of the officers was already there playing basketball with the kids and there was no pot smoking around. What Councilman Jackson was trying to communicate with this story, and more importantly, how it enriched the conversation in the room is truly elusive. It appeared he was trying to say that many of calls received by the police are false alarms and asked if that were true. Again, how this was constructive is confusing. This was clearly not a demonstration of leadership.
Posted at 01:12 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Some Art if You Will?
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.
Fox Point Rendezvous
Under the Red Sky
A Fallen Lily
Ulysses & Sterling: A Cat and Dog Show
Sinead Says, Hey . . .
I Do Not Want What I Cannot Have.
Desk
Desk (Process 1)
Desk (Process 2)
Desk (Process 3)
Desk (Process 4)
Desk (Process 5)
Desk (Process 6)
Help yourself: all images not copyrighted by John Michael Twomey.
Posted at 02:30 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Now this is Great Police Work!
Hats off! Hip hip hooray!!!! Thank you Lt. Verdi and the Providence Police Department.
Every significant drug bust in Providence affects the drug business in Mt. Hope, but this one, just blocks away from Mt. Hope, I think will put a significant damper on the supply of drugs available to Mt. Hope dealers. At least one can hope.
So, hats off to Lt. Verdi, of the NOCD, Providence Police Department, and to all the officers involved, for orchestrating this incredible operation that closed down a large drug dealing operation.
Read about by it clicking this ProJo link, and if you have to register, it only takes a minute and it’s free. Or read the entire article below.
But first check out this Organizational Chart
You won't often read this from my pen, but Good job ProJo!
Police halt cocaine scheme
03:11 PM EDT on Thursday, July 12, 2007
By Amanda Milkovits
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — The chief executive officer of what the police called the largest street-level drug-dealing operation in the city is allegedly a pregnant mother who drives a Porsche Cayenne SUV — while on welfare.
The police say that Joanna “Rosa” Gonzalez, a 28-year-old mother of two in Wanskuck, was employing dozens of people including her mother, her sister, their boyfriends, and their children in a crack-cocaine enterprise that covered the city from the North End to the West Side.
The operation was run as efficiently as if Gonzalez had taken a page out of a business-management textbook — so lucrative, the police said, that she and several other welfare recipients working for her drove expensive luxury cars and made thousands of dollars. It was a family business, said Lt. Thomas Verdi, head of the Providence police narcotics unit, where even the young children were involved as lookouts and drug runners with drugs stashed in their backpacks for delivery.
But the business closed last week, when the police locked up 17 people, charging Gonzalez, her family and other alleged top managers under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. The Providence police and Drug Enforcement Agency announced the outcome of “Operation Rosa” yesterday.
Gonzalez, who is 8½ months pregnant, is being held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions, along with her alleged drug supplier,
“enforcer,” “banker,” “managers” and “distributors,” said Assistant Attorney General Bethany Macktaz. Her two children, ages 9 and 12, are now in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families. “It’s just sickening,” Verdi said yesterday. “[Gonzalez] was pretty much grooming them to do what she does.”
The detectives who ran the 18-month investigation say the case is ongoing. Twelve people are wanted in connection with the sting, including Gonzalez’s 26-year-old sister, Evelyn. The investigators are also following the drug supply and have traced one source to San Diego, Calif., said Brian Crowell, assistant special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Providence field office.
The operation was bringing in 2 to 3 kilos of cocaine every one to two weeks, Crowell said, which was cut, cooked and packaged for sale on the street at about $30 to $32 per gram. The proceeds came to about $9,000 a week, Verdi said, although that was a conservative estimate.
The police searched five residences and four bank accounts, seizing $52,000 and a loaded .32-caliber pistol that was stolen.
They also seized vehicles worth a total of $300,000 that were owned by some of the drug operators claiming welfare checks, according to Providence Detective Sgt. Patrick McNulty.
That included Gonzalez, who had a Porsche, 2002 Kawasaki motorcycle and Nissan Maxima, McNulty said. Her alleged “banker,” Virgen Chadheen, 40, who the police said was on welfare, had a Cadillac Escalade. Her alleged “supplier,” John Delarosa, 33, whose wife receives state assistance, had a Mazda MPV and a Mercedes S550. And police said welfare recipient Henry Grullon, 36, an alleged business “associate” and boyfriend of Gonzalez’s sister, owned a Lincoln Navigator, BMW 745i, Suzuki and Honda motorcycles — and a rundown Chrysler minivan.
Related link
See an organizational chart of the alleged operation provided by law-enforcement officials
This investigation began when undercover Providence detectives made a few simple drug buys on the street. Then they learned that the road led to Gonzalez, Verdi said, and the police and DEA detectives began targeting her to dismantle her organization. They obtained a Superior Court order in April authorizing wire interceptions.
Over 74 days of daily wiretaps, from 8 to 1 a.m., the police intercepted more than 20,000 phone calls and monitored more than 2,000 drug sales totaling about $100,000, Verdi said. And the investigators learned about how the business was run.
The police say Gonzalez was an organized entrepreneur. She kept ledgers and records, and her “banker” handled the money, Verdi said. Everyone had a job and a shift, and an hourly wage. Some made crack in their homes, and the distributors arranged product deliveries. Her boyfriend, Michael “Ice” Taylor, was the “enforcer,” the police said.
When customers called, the distributors would meet them in public spots along main roads, Verdi said. One popular spot was near a Sunoco gas station on Broadway, where 722 drug deliveries had been made since April, he said.
As the police detectives listened in on the calls, what they heard mirrored the mundane issues within any company. The business ran from 8 a.m. to midnight, with day and night shifts, seven days a week, said Providence police Detective Peter Conley. There were half-hour lunch breaks and time off, he said. Some of the distributors grumbled that they weren’t making enough money (the police said the dealers were making $32 an hour, some as much as $40) — and they were invited to work all the overtime they wanted, he said.
The business closed last Thursday night, when the police moved in.
Gonzalez, of 49 Anchor St. and 78 Clym St., her mother, Evelyn “Diamond” Caraballo, 46, of 102 Berkshire St., her live-in boyfriend, Taylor, 22, her alleged supplier, Delarosa, of 61 Ridgeway Ave., and Chadheen, of 91 Pocasset Ave., are all charged under RICO statutes.
Gonzalez and Taylor are also charged with possession of over one ounce to one kilo of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver, and conspiracy. Delarosa was also charged with unlawful delivery of cocaine and possession of over one ounce to one kilo; he’d previously served time in federal prison for drug trafficking.
Myrna Vazquez, 20, of 26 Bodell Ave., is charged with three counts each of unlawful delivery of cocaine and conspiracy. Grullon, of 135 Terrance Ave., Cranston, is charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin and soliciting another to commit a felony.
Anthony D. Chadheen, 29, of 91 Pocasset Ave., is charged with possession of a stolen firearm. Anthony Brunetti, 41, Xiomara Guitard, 24, Paul Neri, 47, Donna Parsons, 45, Christina Wordell, 22, Thomas Mallozzi, 30, Lori Calderone, 42, and David Romano, 49, all of Providence, are all charged with soliciting another to commit a felony. Angel Lasanta, 42, of Providence, was arrested for unlawful delivery of cocaine and conspiracy.
All 17 have been arraigned and are being held without bail on the drug charges, while some are also probation or bail violators, said Macktaz. Their cases will go to Superior Court for hearings July 20 and 23, she said.
Twelve people are still wanted on drug charges: Estrellita Carabello, 35, of Central Falls, and Providence residents Edward Babbitt, 39, April Burns, 33, Stephanie Bassett, 24, Tanya Rivera, 28, Evelyn Gonzalez, 26, Tamara Chenard, 45, Dennis Delvecchio, 36, Louise Vigeant, 38, Robert Antonelli, 46, Christopher Riccio, 46, and Lisa Rotondo, 42.
CORRECTION: The name of Louise Vigeant was incorrectly spelled in a previous version of this story.
amilkovi@projo.com
Posted at 07:15 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Are the Tigers the New Yankees?
Are the Tigers the New Yankees?
Hello, Mt. Hope contingent of RedSox Nation. Halfway through the season, the All Star Break behind us, the dog days of summer ahead, it is time to once again assess the health of the Nation and the state of our team, our very special Boys of Summer.
Going into the break the Sox got swept in a 3 game series in Detroit, and it seems to me that Jim Leyland (arguably the best manager in baseball) and his Tigers made a statement, and that statement was: the Tigers are the new Yankees!
Jim Leyland, Manager, Detroit Tigers
Let’s look at these Tigers and see what kind of teeth they have. Detroit stands 52 – 34 atop the American League Central. The tigers sent 6 guys to the All Star Game.
At the halfway mark, the heart of the Tigers batting order features Magglio Ordonez, batting a league leading .367, with 13 homers, and 70 rbi’s: Carlos Guillen batting .325, with 14, homers and 67, rbi’s: and Gary Sheffield batting .303, with14, homers and 58, rbi’s: add in Placido Polanco batting .335, with an astounding 111 hits at the break with the rest of the order, and the Tigers carry an incredible Team Batting Average of .290 into the second half of the season.
The Tigers pitching staff is once again looking good after suffering through some serious injury time off in the first half. Only two of their pitchers, Verlander, 10 -3, and Bonderman, 9 -1, two possible 20 game winners, have pitched 100 innings. Kenny Rodgers is now back, and they have some youg’uns stepping up into their roles.
The Tigers may indeed be the New Yankees, and the Red Sox may well be meeting these toothy tigers in the post season.
Excuse me, now, while I go check out the state of RedSox Nation.
Stay tuned. I’ll be back shortly.
Posted at 07:53 PM | The Arts | Comments (0)
Kevin Jackson the Enabler -- Redux
This post first appeared in December of 2006: check the archives.
History does indeed repeat itself: who was it said that those who fail to learn from history's mistakes are doomed to repeat them?
Can you connect the dots to complete the picture of how the June 10, Riot in Billy Taylor Park came about through Kevin Jackson?
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Kevin Jackson the Enabler (first posted in December, 2006)
It has long been the worst kept secret in Mt. Hope that Councilman Kevin Jackson is the greatest enabler of drug dealing in Mt. Hope.
Without K.J., drug dealing would have disappeared long ago. He may as well stand down at the Crossroads, the corner of Camp & Cypress, and pedal drugs himself for all he has done to enable the drug dealers in Mt. Hope.
He leans on the police to go easy, to not enforce the law in Mt. Hope. He never hesitates to play the race card and to accuse the police of racial profiling. The drug dealers know of his liberal, knee-jerk leanings and run to him with stories of racist police action whenever a minority drug dealer is arrested for selling drugs on the streets of Mt. Hope.
That is the main reason why the police seem to be hamstrung in Mt. Hope. They are loath to take on a City Councilman when he opposes them enforcing the law. Who wishes to commit political suicide?
How would you like to be the District 8 Commander and have the Ward Councilman tell you to "leave them alone"?
He crows about being one of the first, avid supporters of our new mayor. How complicit is Mayor Ciciline for going along to get along?
We, the law abiding, property tax paying citizens of Mt. Hope pay for these politicians pandering to the scum who deal drugs on Mt. Hope streets.
For what?
Because the drug dealers are minorities?
You guessed it.
If Kevin Jackson opposed drug dealing in Mt. Hope, and actively represented the property owners in Mt. Hope, as well as all the law abiding, market-priced renters, family's, and working people in Mt. Hope, drug dealers would not be controlling the streets in Mt. Hope. In fact drug dealing would have long ago ceased to exist in Mt. Hope.
It is a shame that Jackson usually runs unopposed and that people do not realize what destruction he has wreaked on Mt. hope through his pandering.
The Summit is also victim to his pandering for Mt. Hope exports crime to the Summit neighborhood. Yet he wins them over with money for landscaping and "bump outs".
What a joke!!!
No more fear!
Even if you are a policeman, hamstrung and frustrated by the situation, or just a citizen,
VOICE YOUR OPINION HERE,
YOU WILL BE KEPT ANONYMOUS!
Posted at 11:20 PM | Community | Comments (1)
Deja Vu All Over Again
The post re-printed below, The Billy Taylor Park Event of September 23rd, first appeared last September, the 24th, 2006, after the Hector event in BTP turned violent and at least 10 police officers, if I recall correctly, had to come and quell the violence, which culminated in front of my house when a young woman wielding a hammer attacked several people.
We are in the process of pulling a copy of the permit and the resulting police report for this event for our legal action.
What would you bet that the permit was illegal and that it was pulled by Kevin Jackson?
Can you draw a parallel to the June 10, 2007, riot in Billy Taylor Park precipitated by Councilman Kevin Jackson pulling an illegal permit for another violent event?
How many more times?
Coming soon, I will repost my post, Kevin Jackson, the Enabler, from 12/17/06.Check the site's archives from September 06, and December 06, to verify that history does indeed repeat itself.
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The Billy Taylor Park Event of September 23rd. (First posted on 09/024/06
If you are aware of what has been going on in Mt. Hope for many years, with the violence brought on by the embedded drug culture in Mt. Hope's African American Community and the City of Providence's refusal to enforce the drug laws, you will get a kick out of this ProJo article, or a laugh, or else you will get further infuriated.
The event, which was ostensibly against violence, wreaked violent havoc on the neighbors adjacent to Billy Taylor Park.
The community police were at a loss to cope.
They did not want to upset the "community", read, "minority" per political pressure!
What??????
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"It's like deja vu all over again." Yogi Berra.
Posted at 12:06 AM | Community | Comments (0)
The Next Secret Meeting
The next secret meeting won't be so secret.
The meeting will be held at 6:30pm, Monday, July 16, at 199 Camp Street at the MHNA.
These meetings were supposedly set up to address the events of the June 10 riot in Billy Taylor Park, where city workers from the DPW were assaulted and 4 policemen were also assaulted and sustained minor injuries, Camp St. was closed illegally, and improper permits were used or proper permits were not pulled to use the park. Drugs and alcohol were in wide use and the streets around the park were used by drug dealers to ply their trade.
At the meeting I attended, the 2nd, none of the above concerns were addressed. The debate was framed by a decidedly left wing, liberal, Socialistic/Marxist approach to the community's problems, blaming the ills Mt. Hope suffers from on society, framing law breakers as victims, and framing new residents as the problem, even claiming that new residents have driven out long time Mt. Hope residents.
At the first meeting I heard that the Police were verbally attacked for their response to the incident. I heard that the people who support effective policing, the people who oppose drug dealing in Mt. Hope were under-represented as none of us were told about the meeting.
We were also under-represented at the 2nd meeting.
If the people who wish to live a peaceful life in Mt. Hope, free from drug dealing, vandalism, litter, and undue noise, do not speak up at these meetings the police and politicians will only hear the voices of those people who want no law enforcement in Mt.Hope. Those people who want no law enforcement may be few, but they are loud and obnoxious.
I have a copy of the Police Report, #2007-00068036, copies of the DPW guidelines and permit application, as well as those from the Parks Department, if anyone wishes to reference this material. Click the link below or use the comments tab if you wish to obtain copies.
We're still looking for comments from those who attended the last meeting who may be able to share their experience in writing.
Here's the contact link Mt. Hope Community Website/Blog or use the comments tab, below this post.
Posted at 06:31 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Yankee Doodle Dandy
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
Yankee Doodle do or die.
A real live nephew of my unlce Sam,
I was born on the 4th of July.
I've got a yankee doodle sweetheart,
she's my Yankee Doodle joy.
Yankee doodle came to London,
just to ride the ponies.
Say, I am a Yankee Doodle Boy.
A Troop of Highly Irregulars
Fath'r and I went down to camp,
Along with Captain Goodin',
And there we saw the men and boys
As thick as hasty pudding.
Yankee Doodle, keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy;
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy!
From Out of the Fog
Mummers from Philly
Happy 4th of July
* All photos from Cranston's Gaspee Day Parade.
Posted at 12:42 PM | Community | Comments (0)
Free Herb!
Free Herb? No, it's not some guy illegally detained and it's not something you smoke: it's the aromatic kind that you use to flavor sauces, meats, salad dressings, mayonnaise, etcetera.
Garden Herbs
Our garden has provided copious amounts of fresh herbs this summer, much more than we could ever use, specifically Italian Oregano, Greek Oregano, French Tarragon, Chives, and Marjoram. The dry stuff in jars cannot compare to garden fresh herbs.
If anyone who is into cooking wants to pick some of these herbs to take home just click on this link Free Fresh Herbs or use the comments tab below this post.
We'll make arrangements for you to come by and pick some herbs.
John
Posted at 10:51 PM | Community | Comments (1)
Poem of the Month
For years I’ve been working on a little book of poems about drinking, called Drinking Songs. I’ve written a number of poems for this book, but I may never finish, because I feel as if I may never know enough about the subject. So, I’m still engaged in active research.
This one poem, Let us go to drinking wine, was inspired by two other poems, one by Raymond Carver, about Alexander the Great, and the other by a Chinese poet whose name I can’t recall, about using your time wisely while young. But I wonder, are all these poems really about drinking or is drinking just an excuse for a poem, a jumping off point. Whatever.
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Let us go to drinking wine
“Alexander drank his fill and passed out.
He had to be carried to his tent. He had
to be lifted, to be put into his bed.”
Raymond Carver, Wine
I recall a poem, though I don’t recall the poet,
But I know he was a Chinese sage,
And a wise sage he must have been,
For I recall thus his poem:
─While you’re young and have wine,
Use it to get drunk:
There’ll be no second helpings
When you get to the Nine Springs.─
From another poem I remember
Alexander the Great as a wine drunk.
Perhaps the greatest wine drunk ever.
He went through a lot,
Conquering the world and all,
Destroying great cities,
Killing friends and foes alike.
Me, I been through a lot myself,
Though I’m not so great,
I’m just drunk.
And I don’t imagine that when I get to the Nine Springs,
I’ll be asking for any second helpings.
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John Twomey
Posted at 01:26 AM | The Arts | Comments (0)
