Latest news with #Providence-based
Boston Globe
6 hours ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
JPMorgan, Citizens duke it out over First Republic's old customer base
JPMorgan typically wields the Chase brand for its retail operations, but not for this venture. Instead, the signs out front say 'J.P. Morgan.' 'We're testing a new model, leveraging ... the JPMorgan brand,' said Stevie Baron, head of affluent banking at New York-based JPMorgan. 'This is an opportunity to take the JPMorgan brand to focus more up market [though] we've got inspiration from First Republic.' The personalized banking services are available to customers with at least $750,000 of deposits and investable assets parked with the bank. The freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that First Republic used to offer have been replaced by squares of Dylan's chocolate. (JPMorgan also has a previously established private banking arm for much wealthier individuals, but does not have a retail presence specifically for that group.) Advertisement JPMorgan's rollout comes as Citizens Financial Group steps up its efforts to cater to wealthy customers through its own relatively new Citizens Private Bank. Citizens was among the bidders for the failed First Republic in 2023, but lost to JPMorgan. However, at least 150 bankers from First Republic left later that year to help Citizens launch its private bank, including Susan deTray, a California-based executive who leads Citizens Private Bank. Advertisement 'We welcome all competition,' Baron said. 'We feel very good about our hand and our ability to serve this client base.' Last year, Citizens reopened a former First Republic branch in the Back Bay to serve as its first private banking office in Boston. (The chocolate chip cookies stayed on the menu there.) Offering a range of banking services to wealthy clients through Citizens Private Bank has turned a profit more quickly than chief executive Bruce Van Saun expected. The private bank, Van Saun said in an April interview, broke even in August, and now has four branches across the US with more on the way. The Providence-based company is opening its Private Bank branches in many of the same markets as JPMorgan; they have been a magnet for money, with nearly $9 billion in deposits and $5 billion in assets under management as of the end of March. The goal, Van Saun said, is to create a 'First Republic 2.0.' 'We're running a little ahead of what we projected,' Van Saun said. 'I think there's a void in the market where First Republic played and Silicon Valley [Bank] played. I think you win with talent. So a lot of the customers of those banks recognize that the personal level of service that the bankers offer was second to none, and Citizens is going to occupy that space.' This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene. Advertisement Jon Chesto can be reached at
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Following months of private talks, potential compromise emerges in casino smoking ban debate
A lit cigarette rests in an ashtray by a slot machine at Bally's Twin River Lincoln in 2023. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Early 2027 could be when Rhode Island's two casinos finally go smoke free under a compromise brokered by the Senate's new majority leader. Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone, a Providence Democrat, told Rhode Island Current Thursday that legislation will likely come before the Senate Committee on Labor and Gaming next week. The long-awaited proposal ends a loophole that has allowed Bally's Lincoln and Tiverton casinos to avoid the state's indoor smoking ban. 'This took a lot of time meeting with Bally's and the union representing the people there,' Ciccone said in an interview But Patti Doyle, a Bally's spokesperson, said it's not a done deal. 'Conversations between Bally's and other stakeholders are ongoing,' Doyle said in an email. Ciccone has long opposed banning smoking at the two casinos, saying he believes it would cost visitors, and revenue. He initially sought to negotiate an agreement between the Providence-based casino giant and its union workers to expand existing non-smoking areas at the Lincoln facility. But union officials opposed any deals that kept smoke inside, Ciccone said. Rhode Island AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley said in an interview Thursday that workers were willing to find common ground, but their goal was always to get smoking out of the state's two casinos. 'It's not good for them, it's not good for the customers, it's not good for the state,' Crowley said. So Ciccone instead focused on what Bally's could stomach in the effort to end smoking. That led to his last-minute filing of a bill, submitted on May 23, to raise the cap on marketing reimbursements the company receives from the Rhode Island Lottery — a measure the Senate approved 32-4 on Tuesday despite objections from state regulators. While seemingly unrelated to the smoking debate, the marketing measure intends to help Bally's offset any revenue losses from a smoking ban. The company has projected an annual loss of $20 million, Doyle previously said. Should the revised legislation be approved by the General Assembly, Ciccone said the ban would take effect January 2027. The original companion bills introduced by Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski and Rep. Teresa Tanzi, both South Kingstown Democrats, called for smoking inside the state's casinos to cease immediately upon the governor's signature. Sosnowski did not immediately respond to request for comment. Tanzi questioned why the Senate would consider allowing employees to work within the smoke for an additional 18 months. 'These workers deserve to have a smoke-free environment now,' she said in an interview. 'I look forward to understanding the justification of the 18-month delay.' But Crowley called Ciccone's proposed date 'a big win' for Bally's workers, who have spent years urging lawmakers to end smoking at casinos. The proposal was among the top legislative priorities this year for the AFL-CIO, which commissioned a poll in February suggesting nearly 7 in 10 survey respondents 'strongly' or 'somewhat' supported a smoking ban. Legislative leaders also appear on board. Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is one of 10 co-sponsors listed on the latest edition of Tanzi's bill, which has the backing of 55 of the chamber's 75 members. Senate President Valarie Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, has stated she personally supports a smoking ban. New compromise struck on the smoking ban comes a day after the Senate voted 30-3 in support of Ciccone's bill to open Rhode Island's online sports betting industry to new vendors, ending International Game Technology (IGT) PLC's five-year monopoly over the state's digital sportsbook. Democratic Sens. Dawn Euer of Newport, Tiara Mack of Providence, and Linda Ujifusa of Portsmouth voted against the legislation. The bill as approved in a revised form bars the Rhode Island Lottery from extending IGT's contract beyond Jan. 31, 2026, even though the company's deal to operate the Sportsbook RI app runs through November of that year. Ciccone said Thursday that the change was made to align with the Lottery's plans to issue a request for information on expansion in the first quarter of 2026. A Lottery-commissioned report by Spectrum Gaming Group recommended adding four to six new online sports betting vendors, but only if the state makes itself more attractive to popular companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. Spectrum found that companies may not be interested in expanding to Rhode Island due to its 51% tax on operators' revenues — tied with New York and New Hampshire for the steepest in the country. Lottery Director Mark Furcolo wrote to the Senate Committee on Gaming and Labor on April 30 that the legislation could violate regulators' constitutional authority to renew gaming contracts. Furcolo also had concerns with the economic feasibility of expanding to five vendors. 'The bill now addresses our primary concerns but does not eliminate the constitutional issue raised in the letter,' Paul Grimaldi, a spokesperson for the Lottery, said in an email Thursday. Ciccone's bill now heads to the House for consideration. Companion legislation sponsored by Rep. Matthew Dawson, an East Providence Democrat, remains held for further study following its initial May 1 hearing before the House Committee on Finance. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shelter beds at risk in R.I. if state doesn't fill housing budget gap, advocates warn
Mia Negron, 2, sits atop her father Luis' shoulders at a State House rally on May 27, 2025. The family became unhoused when Mia was an infant in 2023. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Luis Negron stood in the State House rotunda Tuesday afternoon among a crowd of 250 with his 2-year-old daughter Mia atop his shoulders holding a sign that said 'shelter was my lifeline.' Negron said that two years ago he, his partner, and then 3-month old daughter were evicted from their apartment and had to sleep in their car. 'We didn't know what to do,' he said in an interview inside the State House. They eventually connected with the Providence-based social service organization Amos House which got them into a shelter. Now his family lives in permanent supportive housing. Advocates fear Rhode Island's unhoused community could lose such critical lifelines if lawmakers fail to address a $17.8 million budget shortfall for homelessness services as they finalize the fiscal 2026 budget. Which is why Negron and his family were at the State House Tuesday afternoon, joining others in urging state leaders to fill that gap. 'Unfortunately, there's not enough money for everything that has to happen in our state,' Eileen Hayes, CEO of the Providence social service organization Amos House, told the crowd. 'But people whose lives are at risk should not be the ones that have to forfeit their needs.' Federal pandemic money has allowed Rhode Island to more than double its number of shelter beds since 2020, but with that funding now gone, advocates fear as many as 926 beds could be lost statewide. 'We need shelter beds to stay open while we build affordable housing for all,' Hayes said. According to the state, advocates' projections rely on outdated numbers. Rhode Island Department of Housing spokesperson Emily Marshall pointed to a request for proposals for homeless service providers issued by the state on May 7 which 'anticipates provider savings' which would reduce the number of beds that may have to come offline should the state not plug the department's budget. Marshall did not immediately provide an estimate on how many shelter beds the state would have to reduce. 'We remain committed to maintaining emergency shelter access within available funding while strategically investing in long-term solutions like affordable and permanent supportive housing,' Marshall said in an email Tuesday. The state's shelter dashboard notes a total of 1,514 beds available across the entire state, with 181 unused as of May 23. Advocates are urging state lawmakers to consider new taxes to help cover provider costs, including a tax on second homes, a higher real estate conveyance tax on property sales over $800,000, and increased income contributions from the state's highest earners. They are also calling on the General Assembly to approve Gov. Dan McKee's budget proposal to fund shelter beds by extending the state's 5% hotel tax to include short-term rental homes. McKee's recommended fiscal year 2026 budget calls on the state to eliminate the exemption whole-home short-term rentals have from the state's 5% hotel tax starting Jan. 1, 2026. The governor projects an annual revenue of roughly $5 million. Advocates supported a similar proposal McKee introduced as a budget amendment in 2024, but the General Assembly ultimately replaced it with its own $46 million plan which relied on remaining pandemic relief aid. The governor's plan also faced competition from municipalities that have historically received a quarter of the revenue from the state's hotel tax. Municipal interests are again vying for that expanded share of the fiscal pie. Legislation introduced by Sen. Matthew LaMountain, a Warwick Democrat, would maintain that existing split to towns, if McKee's proposal is approved. Rep. Lauren Carson, a Newport Democrat who chairs a legislative panel studying short-term rentals, has again proposed returning all of the revenue generated by a hotel tax on short-term rental houses exclusively for municipal infrastructure. 'If we don't have infrastructure and the stormwater not running and toilets not working, then the tourists ain't coming,' she said in an interview. And the potential tax revenue could always go toward funding homeless services, Carson said, it would just be up to the municipalities rather than the state. 'Newport is perfectly qualified to make decisions on homeless shelters and how to assist homeless people,' she said. Keeping housing decisions local is a preference of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, whose executive director said a cookie-cutter approach will not work with each municipality. 'Not one of my 39 communities are all the same, they're all unique,' Randy Rossi, executive director of the league, said in an interview. 'What Burrillville might need, Westerly may need something completely different.' Kimberly Simmons, executive director for the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, said she would prefer any potential revenue from the tax expansion end up in state coffers. 'The state has the ability to get it out evenly,' Simmons said in an interview. Carson's bill was heard before the House Committee on Finance on May 13 where it was held for further study, as is standard procedure for an initial vetting by a legislative panel. Companion legislation sponsored by Sen. Victoria Gu, a Westerly Democrat, was held by the Senate Committee on Finance on March 4. House Speaker K. Joseph Sheakrchi has not taken any official stance, but said he will continue to prioritize addressing homelessness in the final budget. 'In recent years, the General Assembly has gone above and beyond the Governor's budget requests for homeless assistance,' he said in a statement. 'Despite an extremely challenging budget year, homelessness will remain a priority of the legislature.' At least 2,442 unhoused people across Rhode Island were counted when volunteers conducted an annual survey in late January 2024 — up 35% from the 2023 count. The coalition conducted the annual Point-In-Time count for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this year on Jan. 28, but results aren't expected to be released until some time in the summer. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shelter beds at risk in R.I. if state doesn't fill housing budget gap, advocates warn
Mia Negron, 2, sits atop her father Luis' shoulders at a State House rally on May 27, 2025. The family became unhoused when Mia was an infant in 2023. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Luis Negron stood in the State House rotunda Tuesday afternoon among a crowd of 250 with his 2-year-old daughter Mia atop his shoulders holding a sign that said 'shelter was my lifeline.' Negron said that two years ago he, his partner, and then 3-month old daughter were evicted from their apartment and had to sleep in their car. 'We didn't know what to do,' he said in an interview inside the State House. They eventually connected with the Providence-based social service organization Amos House which got them into a shelter. Now his family lives in permanent supportive housing. Advocates fear Rhode Island's unhoused community could lose such critical lifelines if lawmakers fail to address a $17.8 million budget shortfall for homelessness services as they finalize the fiscal 2026 budget. Which is why Negron and his family were at the State House Tuesday afternoon, joining others in urging state leaders to fill that gap. 'Unfortunately, there's not enough money for everything that has to happen in our state,' Eileen Hayes, CEO of the Providence social service organization Amos House, told the crowd. 'But people whose lives are at risk should not be the ones that have to forfeit their needs.' Federal pandemic money has allowed Rhode Island to more than double its number of shelter beds since 2020, but with that funding now gone, advocates fear as many as 926 beds could be lost statewide. 'We need shelter beds to stay open while we build affordable housing for all,' Hayes said. According to the state, advocates' projections rely on outdated numbers. Rhode Island Department of Housing spokesperson Emily Marshall pointed to a request for proposals for homeless service providers issued by the state on May 7 which 'anticipates provider savings' which would reduce the number of beds that may have to come offline should the state not plug the department's budget. Marshall did not immediately provide an estimate on how many shelter beds the state would have to reduce. 'We remain committed to maintaining emergency shelter access within available funding while strategically investing in long-term solutions like affordable and permanent supportive housing,' Marshall said in an email Tuesday. The state's shelter dashboard notes a total of 1,514 beds available across the entire state, with 181 unused as of May 23. Advocates are urging state lawmakers to consider new taxes to help cover provider costs, including a tax on second homes, a higher real estate conveyance tax on property sales over $800,000, and increased income contributions from the state's highest earners. They are also calling on the General Assembly to approve Gov. Dan McKee's budget proposal to fund shelter beds by extending the state's 5% hotel tax to include short-term rental homes. McKee's recommended fiscal year 2026 budget calls on the state to eliminate the exemption whole-home short-term rentals have from the state's 5% hotel tax starting Jan. 1, 2026. The governor projects an annual revenue of roughly $5 million. Advocates supported a similar proposal McKee introduced as a budget amendment in 2024, but the General Assembly ultimately replaced it with its own $46 million plan which relied on remaining pandemic relief aid. The governor's plan also faced competition from municipalities that have historically received a quarter of the revenue from the state's hotel tax. Municipal interests are again vying for that expanded share of the fiscal pie. Legislation introduced by Sen. Matthew LaMountain, a Warwick Democrat, would maintain that existing split to towns, if McKee's proposal is approved. Rep. Lauren Carson, a Newport Democrat who chairs a legislative panel studying short-term rentals, has again proposed returning all of the revenue generated by a hotel tax on short-term rental houses exclusively for municipal infrastructure. 'If we don't have infrastructure and the stormwater not running and toilets not working, then the tourists ain't coming,' she said in an interview. And the potential tax revenue could always go toward funding homeless services, Carson said, it would just be up to the municipalities rather than the state. 'Newport is perfectly qualified to make decisions on homeless shelters and how to assist homeless people,' she said. Keeping housing decisions local is a preference of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, whose executive director said a cookie-cutter approach will not work with each municipality. 'Not one of my 39 communities are all the same, they're all unique,' Randy Rossi, executive director of the league, said in an interview. 'What Burrillville might need, Westerly may need something completely different.' Kimberly Simmons, executive director for the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, said she would prefer any potential revenue from the tax expansion end up in state coffers. 'The state has the ability to get it out evenly,' Simmons said in an interview. Carson's bill was heard before the House Committee on Finance on May 13 where it was held for further study, as is standard procedure for an initial vetting by a legislative panel. Companion legislation sponsored by Sen. Victoria Gu, a Westerly Democrat, was held by the Senate Committee on Finance on March 4. House Speaker K. Joseph Sheakrchi has not taken any official stance, but said he will continue to prioritize addressing homelessness in the final budget. 'In recent years, the General Assembly has gone above and beyond the Governor's budget requests for homeless assistance,' he said in a statement. 'Despite an extremely challenging budget year, homelessness will remain a priority of the legislature.' At least 2,442 unhoused people across Rhode Island were counted when volunteers conducted an annual survey in late January 2024 — up 35% from the 2023 count. The coalition conducted the annual Point-In-Time count for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this year on Jan. 28, but results aren't expected to be released until some time in the summer. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
FBI says elaborate scheme in RI was worth millions and spanned several states
It was 2021 and the market for precious metals was hot, drawing attention to catalytic converters on cars, trucks and SUVs. Catalytic converters render engine-exhaust pollutants into carbon dioxide and water vapor. The "catalyst" for the conversion itself, which happens through a chemical reaction, is a precious metal such as platinum, palladium or rhodium. The average scrap price for converters ranged from $300 to $1,500 for a period in 2020 and 2021, according to an FBI affidavit. The ease of stripping the parts from cars and SUVs, as well as the difficulty of tracing stolen converters back to vehicles they were removed from, was another incentive for lawbreakers. Filed in U.S. District Court, Providence, the 36-page affidavit accuses three men of participating in an elaborate conspiracy to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars through the theft and sale of catalytic converters. "Thieves began to target vehicles for not only their rims and tires, but also for their catalytic converters," says the detail-rich FBI record. The affidavit also charts the role of a Providence-based company in the local trade for the converters – or "cats." Cranston police noticed the extensive and frequent catalytic converter theft in early 2022. Investigators identified a ring of thieves they believed was responsible for stealing more than 7,000 converters, estimated at a total value of more than $2.4 million, across New England, the FBI says. GPS data gathered by investigators shows that a particular rented Volkswagen Golf traveled from the location of one theft to another, six different locations altogether in Providence and Warwick in 2022, the FBI says. Also, the timing of the June 22 visits to the locations fell within the time frame of thefts, according to the affidavit. The GPS data also showed that the same Volkswagen had parked outside a Providence business, identified in the affidavit only as Company 1. That business is Accurate Converter, which purchases used auto parts. And a surveillance photo from inside the business shows one of the three men who now faces charges, 27-year-old Luis Aceituno, standing at a table alongside an array of converters, according to the affidavit. Aceituno is also standing next to an open garage door near the rear end of a gray Volkswagen Golf, which he got out of, the FBI says. Records kept at the business reflect the purchase of 12 converters and a payment of $4,675 at 3:05 p.m. on the afternoon of June 22. Aceituno is listed as the recipient of the payment, the FBI says. The sequence is one of several transactions presented in the affidavit, which also says Aceituno sold about 898 converters for $233,665 in 2022 and 1,230 converters for $466,070 in 2022. Investigators found that he sold 2128 catalytic converters to the unnamed Providence company and received a total of $699,735, the FBI says. Just days after the episode with the Volkswagen Golf in late June 2022, Gov. Dan McKee took action with help from the Rhode Island General Assembly that would merit reference in the affidavit compiled by FBI Special Agent Lise B. George. The new law required catalytic converter buyers to obtain either vehicle identification numbers or copies of registrations for the vehicles from which the converters were removed. It also mandated that buyers obtain a digital image of each seller's photo identification. In the meantime, the Cranston investigators realized that Aceituno and others were working extensively outside Rhode Island, Cranston's police chief, Col. Michael J. Winquist, recalled on April 29. "It became readily apparent that it was all throughout New England, and we needed to switch to federal jurisdiction," Winquist said. The FBI entered the probe in February 2023. A major focus for investigators early on was Accurate Converter, which is in a plaza off Branch Avenue adjacent to Interstate 95. While the company is not identified by name in the affidavit, the property where it had been operating is shown in pictures in the file. The business was also the site of a raid soon after the FBI entered the fray. Years before, the conspirators had come to know "Company 1" as an outfit that bought converters without scrutinizing the people who were selling them, the FBI says. The company's employees, the FBI says, had purchased the parts without requiring photo identification or requiring documentation regarding the particular vehicles that the converters had been removed from. This had changed by early 2023, and employees started to adhere to the new law, according to witnesses cited by the FBI. The catalytic converter thieves could not provide the necessary documentation for the stolen converters, the FBI says. In an email, the CEO of Accurate Converter, George Lucas, declined to comment on the situation, saying the company does not believe it would be appropriate "in light of the pending court case against the three defendants." In recent days, Aceituno and two other men accused in the conspiracy were charged in federal court. Aceituno faces counts of interstate transportation of stolen property in excess of $5,000, conspiracy to commit that same offense, and willfully subscribing to a false or fraudulent tax return, statement or other document. Aceituno was released on personal recognizance after he made his initial appearance. Another co-defendant was released to home detention with GPS monitoring, and a third defendant in the case has already been detained in an unrelated matter. Catalytic converter thefts once took place on a daily basis in Cranston, but now such thefts are a rare occurrence. Editor's note: This story has been updated to add additional information. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: FBI investigation into catalytic converter thefts worth $2.4 million
