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Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Boston Globe
Providence police chief denies helping ICE arrest alleged drug trafficker
Perez said police did not know why Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up Related : Advertisement Social media video circulated on Sunday and Monday shows Providence police cruisers on the scene of the crash, and also standing on the stoop of a home next to ICE officers who are putting a man in handcuffs. It prompted alarm, including from Advertisement 'There were half a dozen Providence police officers in uniform near the individual who was detained,' Morales said. 'When it comes to trying to maintain public safety on the road and in a public street, that's a whole different story than actively being with the ICE officer.' 'The ICE agent is the one responsible for enforcing immigration law,' he added. Perez said police were on scene only because they received a call about multiple motor vehicle accidents. He said the report came in from the ICE agent, who called dispatch to report the crash. 'Our officers remained on the scene of ensure the safety of residents and to maintain order,' Perez said. Asked why officers stood by the ICE agents on the stoop as they made their arrest, Perez said officers only knocked on the door of the home in an effort to evacuate anyone who wanted to leave, as ICE was about to use force to enter the house to get the suspect, who had run inside after the crash. He said a woman who lives there asked Providence officers to help her and her children evacuate. But moments later, Mendoza Meza came out and voluntarily surrendered. 'We were not involved in a violent raid,' Perez said. That's not our job." He said he had no information about why the man was being pursued in the first place. A police report says the call about the crash came in from a 'government worker who wishes to be unnamed.' The crash report does not name the ICE agent, and does not attribute fault to any party, though it notes that the driver of the Toyota left the scene. Advertisement ICE criticized officials for failing to detain Mendoza Meza on their behalf in the first place. Covington said the agency issued a detainer against Mendoza Meza with the Adult Correctional Institutions on Aug. 24, 2023, but Mendoza Meza was released on bond in 2024, prompting ICE to locate him in the city. Covington said Mendoza Meza, 27, is a 'Honduran national and known member of MS-13,' and in the country illegally. It was not immediately clear if Meza had a lawyer or if he was still detained Monday night. The incident comes as fears remain high about immigration raids and arrests in the community. The Providence City Council recently Providence police do not cooperate with ICE on civil immigration enforcement, nor do they hold suspects who are wanted on administrative detainers alone. But city police will cooperate if they arrest someone for a crime and that person is wanted by ICE on a criminal warrant. Perez said no such requests have come through this year. Perez said this was the first time since Trump took office in January that Providence police ended up at the scene of an ICE raid. He said the local officers 'did not participate in or assist with any enforcement actions carried out by ICE.' 'We do not enforce federal immigration law, nor do we collaborate with ICE in its operations,' Perez said. 'When we respond to these locations, our number one priority is the safety of all involved.' Steph Machado can be reached at
Boston Globe
04-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
In third week of strike at R.I. psych hospital, Butler posts job ads to replace striking nurses
Related : Striking employees who have been permanently replaced will not be able to return to work once the strike ends. Instead, those employees will be placed on a 'preferential hire list,' said Marran, and would be able to return once a position becomes available. Advertisement This is Care New England's latest move to attempt to bring employees back to work amid the ongoing strike. The hospital system terminated workers' health insurance effective this month, forcing hundreds to sign up for free or low-cost health insurance through the state insurance marketplace. Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Mary Marran's claims of heartfelt concern for Butler Hospital employees are perverse in light of her decision to replace dedicated frontline staff — some of whom have served the hospital since graduating high school — with out-of-state, temporary workers,' said Jesse Martin, the executive vice president of SEIU 1199 New England, the union that represents these workers. Martin also called the moves by the hospital 'immoral' and 'illegal in light of the hospital's unfair labor practices.' The union filed claims of unfair labor practices against Butler on May 12. Advertisement Jesse Martin, the executive vice president of SEIU 1199 NE, yells into a microphone to the crowd. Lane Turner/Globe Staff If the subject of the strike is to have the employer concede some economic concession — such as higher wages, shorter hours, or better working conditions — striking workers cannot be discharged, but they can be replaced by their employer under certain circumstances, 'Stripping Butler employees of their job security and healthcare benefits is not how you build a better hospital,' said Martin. Dan Camp, who works in the behavioral call intake center, said he has been working at Butler since he was a teenager. 'There is no Butler without the dedicated staff who have devoted their lives to this institution,' said Camp. 'Mary Marran and Michael Wagner [Care New England's chief executive] need to return to the bargaining table and settle this contract fairly.' Niki Anthony, a registered nurse and member of the union's negotiating committee, said Care New England's representatives were delaying negotiations and not negotiating in good faith. She marched to Wagner's office last week to demand leaders settle a fair contract. 'Enough is enough,' said Anthony. 'It's time to get this contract done.' Dr. Michael Wagner is the president and chief executive at Care New England, the state's second largest hospital system. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The strike, Advertisement Butler Hospital has spent millions on The union is seeking increases in pay and staffing levels, and wants concerns over a rise in workplace violence addressed. Plus, while current staff have pensions, the hospital wants new hires to have contribution plans for retirement, which are similar to 401(k)s. Both sides' positions on how to handle those issues remain far apart. Marran said in a statement that the union has not been prepared for negotiation sessions, and has focused on 'internal union matters.' When asked for further details, Marran said the union wanted more access to the hospital, including additional opportunities to meet with newly hired employees beyond the current contractually-provided time available during new hire orientation. 'The union focused on additional access to new hires, rather than core issues important to employees like wages, retirement, and insurance,' said Marran. Union leaders also claimed Butler's negotiating team did not respond to a proposed non-discrimination proposal that included protection for non-English speakers. Butler's leaders have not responded to the workers' workplace violence committee proposal either, union leaders said. Alexa Gagosz can be reached at
Boston Globe
16-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Previously deported Guatemalan man detained in Providence after allegedly assaulting ICE officer
Tamup-Tamup, who was illegally in the United States at the time of his arrest, faces a charge of assault, resisting, and impeding a law enforcement officer in the performance of official duties, prosecutors said. Advertisement Officials allege Tamup-Tamup 'struggled with an ICE deportation officer and Homeland Security Investigations agents as they attempted to apprehend him as authorized by a Warrant for Arrest of Alien.' Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up 'A Homeland Security Investigations agent suffered serious injury during the encounter,' prosecutors said. Tamup-Tamup was first arrested on April 19 and charged with driving under the influence, after his car hit another vehicle, according to prosecutors, who said his 'fingerprints matched ICE fingerprint records associated with a person flagged as being in the United States illegally.' He was arraigned and released, officials said. Then on April 30, ICE deportation officers and Homeland Security Investigations agents stopped a vehicle Tamup-Tamup was driving in Providence, prosecutors said. 'After he refused to exit, the law enforcement agents guided him out of the vehicle,' officials said. 'While the agents attempted to place [Tamup-Tamup] in handcuffs, he resisted, threw his upper body and shoulders against the agents, flailed his arms, and broke an agent's hold. During the encounter, one of the agents fell to the ground and suffered a serious leg injury.' Advertisement Tamup-Tamup fled the scene as agents attended to their injured colleague, prosecutors said. The agent's condition was unknown on Friday. On Thursday, he was located at a Providence residence and arrested, officials said. Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Boston Globe
09-05-2025
- Boston Globe
R.I. man sentenced to life in prison for 2020 murder of his girlfriend
Advertisement 'Perpetrators of domestic abuse seek to exert control over their victims, and will go to extreme measures to keep it,' Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement. 'All too often, this violent behavior escalates and ends with victims losing their lives, as was the case here. While nothing can bring Kristine back to her family, I hope this life sentence gives them some sense of peace knowing that justice was served.' Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up According to prosecutors, Ohler was found unresponsive in Colebut's Pawtucket home after authorities responded to a 911 call for a medical emergency there in the early morning of Feb. 17, 2020. Ohler had visible injuries to her face, and officers began CPR on her at the residence before she was brought to Miriam Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, officials said. Advertisement 'Officers detained the defendant at the scene,' prosecutors said. 'He later admitted that he argued with Kristine while intoxicated. Neighbors also reported hearing arguing coming from the defendant's residence earlier in the night.' The incident was a violation of a 2020 'no contact order' between Colebut and Ohler that was issued after 'an incident of physical violence,' prosecutors said. 'Domestic violence gravely impacts our community, and I am grateful to see this perpetrator be held accountable for his actions,' Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said in a statement. Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Boston Globe
02-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Cranston man who assaulted 12-year-old R.I. girl, then tried to have her killed, sentenced to 35 years in state prison
Cardente was also ordered to have no contact with the girl, to register as a sex offender, to attend sex offender counseling, and to be subject to community supervision, officials said. Advertisement 'This defendant deserves every bit of the lengthy sentence he received for his terrible crimes,' Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement. 'While nothing can undo the pain caused, the young victim in this case demonstrated incredible courage by telling her story in her exceptional victim impact statement. She is an inspiration for victims everywhere.' Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up An attorney listed for Cardente did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday morning. Cardente previously pleaded guilty in US District Court in Providence in March, after Related : Advertisement A sentencing hearing in that case is set for June 5, records show. At that time, a judge will decide whether Cardente will serve the federal and state sentences concurrently or consecutively, according to a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office. Federal prosecutors said Cardente, who had already been convicted for child molestation in 2014, first messaged the girl in December 2021 through the social media app, Snapchat. The two arranged to meet alongside a wooded area next to the middle school in Burrillville, R.I., according to Police Chief Stephen Lynch. Court records say Cardente picked up the girl there in his vehicle on Dec. 10, 2021. In signing the federal plea agreement, Cardente acknowledged he drove the girl to several places in Warwick and sexually assaulted her several times that day. After the girl was reported missing by her family, she was found by police on the side of Jefferson Boulevard late that night after Cardente learned authorities were looking for the two of them and left her there, according to Lynch. Cardente told police the two were Snapchat 'friends' that summer, according to the plea agreement, which includes facts of the case agreed on by Cardente and prosecutors. He told the girl he was 17 years old – despite being 27 at the time – and he was well aware she was only 12, authorities said. Then in February 2022, while he was incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, he asked a person over the phone to kill the girl in exchange for $200 cash and $1,500 worth of tattoo equipment, according to the plea agreement. Advertisement 'I need her to end up dead, she's a witness, she needs to go,' Cardente said during the call. He also provided the girl's home address, according to the agreement. 'It ain't gonna bother me. I'm gonna go to sleep at night, so I'm gonna be fine with it,' he said, according to the agreement. 'I just need it done …. I just need it done before I get indicted,' Cardente added. Unbeknownst to him, Cardente was actually speaking to an undercover law enforcement officer. A federal grand jury returned an indictment against him months later in September 2022. He was indicted in state court in August 2023. Material from a previous Globe story was used in this report. Christopher Gavin can be reached at
