RI Immigration and Post Conviction Relief

RI Criminal Defense Attorney MacDonald reports case results for Immigration client in RI Post Conviction Relief case.

FACTS:
Client was ready to apply to end his conditional resident status (via the I-751) and become a permanent resident when he realized that the domestic assault he pled to last year was an issue.

RESULTS:
After consulting with attorney John MacDonald, post-conviction relief was filed and granted. The plea was vacated and amended to a non-removable offense.

Client is now able to successfully file the I-751 and terminate his conditional residence.

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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

US District Court Guilty Plea Entered in Criminal Trial for RI Based Organized Crime Suspects

Rhode Island Mother and Son Plead Guilty to Interstate Extortion Related to Organized Crime

by: USDOJ: Justice News
Aug 25th, 2010

WASHINGTON – Dorothy St. Laurent, 71, of Johnston, R.I., and her son Anthony St. Laurent Jr., 44, of Cranston, R.I., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to interstate extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act. The wife and son of Anthony St. Laurent Sr., a person identified by law enforcement as a member of organized crime, were charged in a federal complaint in February 2010 with extorting payments from bookmakers in the Taunton, Mass., area on behalf of Anthony St. Laurent Sr.

The guilty pleas were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Peter F. Neronha and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office. The pleas were entered before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith.

According to information presented at the plea hearing, beginning at least as early as 1988 and continuing through early February 2009, Dorothy St. Laurent and Anthony St. Laurent Jr. conspired with each other and others to extort “protection” payments from a group of illegal bookmakers operating in and around Taunton.

The government’s evidence includes a number of conversations recorded by the FBI in late 2008 and early 2009 that capture Dorothy St. Laurent and Anthony St. Laurent Jr. in conversation with a cooperating witness as they discuss efforts to maintain the extortion scheme, which, at that time, was generating $4,100 in cash collected by Dorothy St. Laurent every two weeks. The plea agreement stipulates that the defendants extorted in excess of $800,000 and less than $1.5 million.

Dorothy St. Laurent served as the primary collection agent of the cash payments provided by the bookmakers while Anthony St. Laurent Jr.’s role was to both threaten violence and on at least one occasion, to engage in actual violence to enforce continued payment.

Dorothy and Anthony St. Laurent Jr. are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10, 2010. Anthony St. Laurent Sr. is detained awaiting trial on a charge of solicitation to commit murder-for-hire and on this matter.

Trial Attorney Scott Lawson of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section is prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland. The matter was investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of Rhode Island State Police and the Providence Police Department.

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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

New RI Immigration Law Will Copy Arizona

RI Immigration Lawyer MacDonald found the following article regarding a scheduled change to the RI Immigration laws that would follow the new Arizona Immigration laws. The AZ laws have been shot-down by a Federal Court following the filing of a lawsuit by the Obama administration. The full article concerning these precedent setting and landmark decisions in Immigration law follows below.

Nearly Half of United States Considering Arizona-Style Immigration Legislation

August 19, 2010
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer


(CNSNews.com) – Twenty-two states are now in the process of drafting or seeking to pass legislation similar to Arizona’s law against illegal immigration. This is occurring despite the fact that the Obama administration has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona law and a federal judge has ruled against portions of that law – a ruling that is now being appealed.

Next month, two Rhode Island state lawmakers, a Democrat and a Republican, will travel to Arizona to speak with Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, local sheriffs, and other officials about how to better craft their own bipartisan immigration bill for Rhode Island, which already has been enforcing some federal immigration laws.

Meanwhile, 11 Republican state lawmakers from Colorado traveled to Arizona this week to meet with officials there on how to craft legislation for the Mile High state.

In addition, Alabama House Republicans announced this week that they would seek to “push an illegal immigration bill similar to the recently approved Arizona law.” This law would “create a new criminal trespass statute that allows local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants for simply setting foot in Alabama,” said Alabama’s House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard.

In Florida, proposed legislation against illegal immigration has been retooled to address some concerns raised by a federal judge who blocked the bill, though it would still allow Florida state police to enforce immigration law.

In all, there are 22 states considering copycat legislation from the Arizona law against illegal immigration, according to the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC), a group that advocates for stricter immigration enforcement.


The law prohibits racial profiling and gives state residents the right to sue local agencies for not complying with the state law.

In the lawsuit challenging the Arizona law, the Obama administration said the United States should not have a “patchwork” of 50 different immigration laws. In late July, U.S. District Judge Susna Bolton ruled against most of the major elements of the Arizona law, halting their implementation. That ruling is now in the appeals process.

“We do not expand on federal law,” Florida state Rep. William Snyder, sponsor of the bill in his state, told CNSNews.com. “We do not change penalties. The goal is not to create a new immigration framework at the state level.”

Snyder, the chairman of the Florida House Criminal Justice Committee, said his staff attorneys have taken the decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton into consideration in re-crafting their bill for the next state legislative session.

Snyder said the office of state Attorney General Bill McCollum has reviewed the legislation, as has committee attorneys, and they believe it will withstand a potential legal challenge from the Obama administration.

McCollum, a GOP candidate for governor, supports the legislation. However, Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned-Independent candidate for U.S. Senate, opposes the proposal.


In Rhode Island, a bill that was introduced late in the session last year, and thus never reached a vote, is expected to be reintroduced in the 2011 session. Its two lead co-sponsors hope to have a bipartisan bill that will withstand a legal challenge after they meet with Arizona officials.

“It exactly mirrors the Arizona law,” Rhode Island state Rep. Peter Palumbo, a Democrat, told CNSNews.com. “We will tweak the bill.”

Palumbo will be going to Arizona with Rhode Island state Rep. Joseph Trillo, a Republican.

Their legislation would essentially codify an existing executive order signed in 2008 by Gov. Donald Carcieri, a Republican, mandating immigration checks on all new state workers and ordering state police to assist federal immigration officials.

This is Carcieri’s final year in office, so Palumbo said it is important to put the force of law behind what has already been Rhode Island policy. State troopers report illegal immigrants they encounter for speeding and other offenses to the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Because of the executive order, corruption was discovered in the Department of Motor Vehicles, with drivers licenses being sold to illegal aliens, Palumbo said.

In New Jersey, state Rep. Allison Little McHose, a Republican, introduced a series of proposals that focused primarily on requiring employers to verify the legality of workers, and preventing state benefits from going to illegal aliens.

“New Jersey continues to be a sanctuary state for illegals because they know they can come to the state and receive many free benefits, like medical care,” McHose said in a statement. “The benefits may be free for those receiving them, but not the rest of the public because these costs are borne by the taxpayers.”

Other states with proposals that mirror the Arizona law are Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

“We are very pleased to announce 22 states are now following Arizona’s lead to pass versions of a law that has the support of 60 percent to 81 percent of Americans according to polls,” said ALIPAC President William Gheen in a statement. “State and federal candidates are rushing to display their support for Arizona’s law and immigration enforcement. We will not stop until all American states are protected from this invasion as mandated by the Constitution of the United States.”


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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

Child Pornography Ring in RI 17 Arrested

RI Criminal Defense Attorney John MacDonald reposts an article from the Providence Journal regarding the arrest of 17 suspects in connection with a child pornography ring in RI after a statewide sweep across the Internet. The full article follows below.

17 arrested in child porn raids

August 19, 2010
By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer


PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Seventeen Rhode Islanders, including a co-owner of a popular reptile store and a city maintenance manager, face charges of possession of child pornography after state, federal and local law-enforcement agencies executed search warrants across the state early Wednesday.

“Today’s sweep ... had one objective: to protect children,” U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha said at an afternoon news conference.

The arrests came after an undercover online investigation by a state police task force aimed at fighting Internet crimes against children, in conjunction with state and federal prosecutors.

Dubbed Operation Safe Child, the months-long probe identified 20 Rhode Island residences involved in actively obtaining and sharing pornographic images involving children, according to the state police.

The state police targeted the users exchanging the highest volume of child pornography using a software program that searched peer-to-peer, or file-sharing, networks, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said. Investigators then secured downloads, often of images involving young children and even infants, from the suspects by persuading them over the Internet to share a pornographic file, according to the state police.

The police got search warrants for the residences based on the downloads and retrieved thousands of photographs and videos featuring child pornography. More than 70 authorities executed the warrants Wednesday morning.

“These images are so vile and disgusting,” Lynch said at a news conference late Wednesday.

It appears at this point that no Rhode Island children were featured in the images, state police Col. Brendan P. Doherty said. But investigators will continue looking at pursuing possible child-pornography manufacturing and trafficking charges, said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Boston office.

Neronha noted that the detectives had to view very disturbing images in the course of the investigation. “It takes a toll on police and prosecutors to work this,” he said.

Those facing a charge of possession of child pornography include Shawn Fay, 39, of 1023 Danielson Pike, North Scituate, a co-owner of Regal Reptiles in Providence and Little League coach, and Miguel Escobedo, 38, a maintenance manager for the City of Providence, state police Capt. David Neill said.

Two juveniles were also arrested.

Kyle Martin, 22, of 31 Willis Drive, Cumberland, was charged with possession of steroids and does not face a child-pornography charge.

With the exception of Girard Proux, 43, of 522 York Ave., Pawtucket, all of the adults arrested were released on $5,000 personal recognizance after arraignment or appearances before a bail commissioner. Proux was released on $5,000 bail with surety.

The state police Internet Crimes Against Children task force is funded by a U.S. Department of Justice grant. It’s made up of state police detectives as well as detectives from the Providence, West Warwick and Coventry police departments and an ICE agent. Other agencies to participate in Wednesday’s raids were ICE, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Services, and probation and parole officials. Child protective services workers from the state Department of Children, Youth and Families and the Children’s Advocacy Center also assisted.

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY RAIDS
Arrested in Operation Safe Child

Michael Wallace, 24, of 24 Marion Ave., Pascoag

Alan Alarcon, 18, of 75 Commodore St., Providence

Robert MacGregor, 48, of 522 York Ave., Unit 3, Pawtucket

Girard Proux, 43, of 522 York Ave., Unit 3, Pawtucket

George Dubuque III, 21, of 3521 Post Rd., Wakefield

Jeffrey Earl, 22, of 364 Curtis Corner Rd., Unit B25, Peace Dale

Paul Hutchinson, 27, of 21 Allen Ave., Barrington

Joshua Page, 18, of 8 Swinburne St., Jamestown

Kyle Bannister, 19, 142 Kenyon Hill Trail, Richmond

Michael Woodard, 19, of 127 Murray Ave., North Kingstown

Jason Biondi, 35, of 84 Fales St., Apt. 206, Central Falls

Jason Demelo, 33, of 24 Delaware Ave., Warwick

Cory Bergeron, 19, of 10 Clark Mill Rd., Coventry

Shawn Fay, 39, of 1023 Danielson Pike, North Scituate

Miguel Escobedo, 38, of 208 Early St., Providence

Two 17-year-old juveniles, of Pascoag and West Warwick, not named because of their age

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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

RI Judge Issues Gag Order in RI Custody Case

RI Criminal Lawyer MacDonald found this article regarding the issuance of a family court order preventing the parties from discussing the details of a RI custody case. These orders are sometimes issued where the confidentiality of a minor child is at risk. Violation of this order would place the parties in Contempt of Court.

Judge bars RI mother from talking about custody case

By LYNN ARDITI
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Family Court judge has forbidden a woman from talking about her custody case with anyone, including the media, or posting anything about the matter on any blogs or other sites on the Internet.

The woman, Faith Torres, has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union about the gag order, but declined comment for fear of violating it.

"This court order is a blatant violation of the First Amendment,'' Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU's Rhode Island affiliate, said. "If she believes she is being treated unfairly, or if she just wishes to make people aware of her case, she should be able to do so free of a court-ordered gag rule.''

The Judge's order is so broadly worded, Brown said, that "Ms. Torres faces contempt of court charges if she discusses the case with her mother..."

By law, someone who violates a court order and is charged with contempt of court can face imprisonment.

Family Court Judge Debra DiSegna issued the gag order -- which applies not only to Torres but also her lawyers -- on July 29 at the request of the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Judge DiSegna was on vacation this week and could not be reached for comment. Neither Acting Family Court Chief Judge Haiganush R. Bedrosian nor Associate Judge Karen Lynch Bernard, who was filling in for DiSegna and signed the Torres order on Friday, responded to requests for comment.

Joanne H. Lehrer, the DCYF director's chief of staff, said Friday that she could not discuss specifics of the case. However, Lehrer said, it's not unusual for the agency's lawyers, particularly in custody cases involving domestic disputes, to draft such "broad brush" orders and ask the judges to enforce them to "protect the confidentiality of the child."

The gag order issued by Judge DiSegna in the Torres case is contained in paragraph 4 of a one and a-half page ruling that details the conditions under which Torres is allowed supervised visitation with her oldest child. It states:

"All parties to this action, including the Plaintiff and Defendant, and all counsel are restrained and enjoined from discussing any of the within court proceedings and related matters involving the children with any third party, including but not limited to members of the media, postings on blog, and/or the internet."

Torres said at the time that her lawyer objected to the order but the judge overruled her.


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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

RI Defendant in Shooting Crime Over a Cigarette Sentenced to 10 Years

A 25 year old RI man, Marques Wilson, was sentenced this week by Judge Charles H. Pelton for shooting a RI man in the chest over a cigarette. 

The victim is a 41 year old man who was sitting in his vehicle having a cigarette in the parking lot of the Genesis Medical Center in Davenport while waiting for his son, who was being treated in the hospital for an injury.

Wilson walked up to the victim and asked him for a cigarette. When the victim replied that he did not have another to share, Wilson tried to forcibly remove him from the vehicle, ultimately pulling out a gun and shooting him in the chest before fleeing the scene in a group of three vehicles that were later apprehended in Moline after a police chase.

The victims injuries, a gunshot wound to the mid-torso, were serious enough that he spent 6 days in the hospital and has not yet returned to work.

Wilson maintained that it was not proven that he was the actual shooter in the crime although the evidence proved differently, however the victim himself could not identify Wilson as the person who attacked him. The accused's mother also spoke out after the hearing stating that there was another person involved and that her son was innocent of the charges against him.

The second suspect, Johnny D. Angel IV, also of Rock Island, is scheduled for trial on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm on August 30, 2010 in the Rock Island County Circuit Court.

In the course of his trial, Wilson insisted that his other convictions for violent behavior not be taken into account for the charge involved in the shooting. Two weeks after the hospital shooting however, he stomped, kicked and punched a Liberian refugee, and along with another juvenile, stole a bike from the man. He was sentenced 24 months conditional discharge for pleading guilty to theft regarding the incident.

Judge Pelton and the jury had the option to sentence Wilson to up to 20 years in prison for the shooting crime. The fact that he only received 10 years was a testament to the fact that the Judge and jury in the matter felt he was young enough to change.


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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

Providence City Worker Charged with Dealing Drugs

A recent article concerning a Providence City worker and a drug dealing charge sparked interest from RI Criminal Drug Defense Lawyer John MacDonald.

The full article is posted below.

City worker accused of dealing Rx drugs

Prov. worker suspended earlier this month

Aug 11, 2010

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - An inspector with the Providence Department of Inspection and Standards was arraigned this afternoon on charges that he was dealing the prescription painkiller oxycodone.

Ara Giragosian, 35, of Providence pleaded not guilty to four counts including conspiracy, possession with the intent to distribute and distribution.

Giragosian was suspended without pay by the city Aug. 2, according to Inspection and Standards Director Shelia McGauvran. She said the suspension will remain in effect pending the outcome of the charges.

Public records show Giragosian started with the city in 1996, getting the $41,000-a-year inspector's job in 2008.

Giragosian's attorney, Edward Roy, told Target 12 he is unsure if the allegations against his client include dealing oxycodone while on the clock with the city. But he said Giragosian, who was joined in court by his girlfriend, is a good father to his children and disputes the charges.

Court records show federal Drug Enforcement Administration investigators arrested Giragosian in April while in possession of the drug. Records show the DEA monitored him for several months and accuse him of dealing oxycodone on at least two occasions.

Even though Giragosian was arrested in April, it wasn't until he was indicted by a federal grand jury in August that city officials learned of the charges, leading to his suspension.

Giragosian faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count if found guilty.

Federal Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond released Giragosian on $25,000 unsecured bond until his trial in November.


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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

URI Rape Trial Comes to a Close

Via the Associated Press article below, RI Criminal Defense Lawyer John MacDonald notes the outcome of a high-profile sexual assault case that was decided by a jury last week.

2 URI students acquitted of sexual assault

The Associated Press
July 29, 2010, 3:49PM

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Two former University of Rhode Island students have been found not guilty of raping another student in a campus dorm almost two years ago.

The jury returned its verdict Thursday after about an hour and half of deliberations.

Jurors rejected the prosecution's case that Yaw Peprah (yah pep-RAH') of Lincoln and Estifanos Gizaw (eh-stuh-FAHN'-ohs GEE'-zaw) of Houston, Texas, had used "force and coercion" to rape a freshman student after a party involving alcohol and marijuana.

Peprah's lawyer suggested in closing arguments that the woman who accused the men did so because of embarrassment over having sex with them at the party. Attorney Roy Fowler said she did not call for help or attempt to leave the dorm suite.

Fowler had said earlier that a university judicial board cleared the men.



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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.

New Probation Violation Reform Laws Now in Effect in RI

June 12, 2010 marked the day when new probation violation laws went into effect here in Rhode Island. 

The bill, sponsored by Senators Perry, Levesque C, Miller, Metts and Sosnowski, and Representative David Segal, makes it illegal to keep someone in prison for violating probation for a crime that they were never proven of committing.

The law was changed because, in addition to two other states in the US, RI had the worst probation violation law in existence. The previous law stated that a person who was charged with any crime, whether proven guilty or not, would be in violation of their probation for any past crimes for which they had already been convicted and sentenced. This law, in effect, had the capability to send people back to prison on the violation of their probation to serve out any suspended sentence, whether they were guilty of the allegations of the second charged crime or not.

The lunacy of this law played out in courtrooms where individuals would plead to lesser offenses, whether they were guilty or not. The reason behind this being that the defense of innocence to the crime that caused the violation in the first place, was not something that would keep them from having to return to prison for the violation itself.

The new law requires that any violations that are based upon a new charge for which the defendant has not been adjudged guilty (or acquitted or dismissed) within a reasonable amount of time, must be dismissed.

This is a tremendous leap in the criminal justice system for this State. In the past, RI had the unenviable position of being the worst state in the country regarding probation violation laws. Defendants were adjudged at the lowest standard of proof, and hearings were held at a time when mounting an adequate defense was all but impossible.

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If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Criminal Defense, Divorce, or Immigration Law in RI contact Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer John E. MacDonald at 401-421-1440.

To learn more about The Law Office of John MacDonald, please visit his website at AggressiveLegalServices.com.