RI Charges Walter A. Potenza with Assault

In a recent Providence Journal article, Chef Walter A. Potenza was charged with a minor assault in relation to the complaint by a student of "kicking" her and "inappropriate" conduct on the part of the chef, who is also a teacher at the Providence Career and Technical Academy.

Even a minor assault in the State of Rhode Island requires the assistance of a reputable and reliable criminal defense attorney. The full article follows below.

R.I. News Digest: Well-known local chef accused of assault
June 16, 2010

Well-known local chef accused of assault

A popular chef and restaurant owner turned himself into the police Tuesday after a 16-year-old student at the Providence Career and Technical Academy accused him of kicking her in the behind during a culinary class.

Maj. Thomas Oates III said Walter Potenza, 56, kicked the student, Cassandra M. Torres, of Providence, on May 26, while they were in class. She told the police that after kicking her “for no reason,” Potenza followed up with what Oates called an “inappropriate sexual remark.”

Oates said the police were not informed of the alleged incident until June 9 when they began their investigation. Potenza was arraigned Monday on a single count of assault and was released on personal recognizance.

Potenza, who opened the Sunflower Café and La Locanda del Coccio restaurants in Providence in 1994, opened Chef Walter’s Aquaviva Eurobistro in 1999. In addition to having a cable TV show and running cooking schools in Italy and Providence, he runs Walter’s Ristorante d’Italia on Federal Hill.

A woman who answered the phone at the restaurant Tuesday evening said Potenza would have no comment.

The police say Torres told them that Potenza had conducted himself in a “very unprofessional way” over the past several months, and she wanted him removed from the school.

Providence School Department spokesman Kim Rose said Tuesday that as soon as the department heard about the allegations last week, Potenza was put on paid administrative leave from his post as a teacher at the school.

RICHARD C. DUJARDIN
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