At Monday’s (6/1/09) community meeting hosted by the group Keep Cranston Safe, Mayor Allan Fung announced that the Governor’s Office has agreed to stop the influx of sex offenders to the state run homeless shelter at Harrington Hall beginning on June 15th and that all of the sex offenders housed at the shelter will be moved no later than July 1, 2009. Mayor Fung also stated that in conversations with the Governor’s Press Secretary, Amy Kempe, that Harrington Hall will no longer “reserve” beds for sex offenders and that the shelter will return to it’s original policy of accepting residents on a “first come, first serve” basis.
Also in attendance were State Representatives Nick Mattiello and Peter Palumbo. Representative Mattiello lauded the efforts of the Cranston Police Department, the Cranston state delegation, Mayor Fung and the City Council on the swift and effective actions that were taken to bring an end to this problem. “I feel confident at this point that this problem will be resolved…” While it is still conceivable that the Urban League could bus sex offenders to the shelter earlier to take advantage of the “first come, first serve” policy being put into effect, Rep. Mattiello stated that he believed that if you “remove the profit motive for the Urban League, they will cease busing offenders to Harrington Hall.”
According to Cranston Police Sgt. Kevin Antonucci, 5 of the original 13 sex offenders housed at Harrington Hall have be incarcerated at the ACI in the past few weeks for failing to comply with the regulations and restrictions required of them while staying at Harrington Hall.
The group Keep Cranston Safe can be reached at keepcranstonsafe@cox.net
Kmareka.com 
Attendees included:
Mayor Fung
Sgt. Kevin Antonucci (sp?) on behalf of Capt. Palombo
Major Blakemor
Rep. Nick Mattiello
Rep. Peter Palumbo
Aram Garabedian (former Council President)
City Councilman Anthony Lupino
Glen Hills PTO President
PTO President
Janice Ruggerio (School Committee)
Stephanie Griefer (School Committee)
(Many others that I do not know)
Meeting Notes:
Mayor Fung opened the meeting with the announcement that as of 3:30 on Monday, the Governor’s office agreed to stop the influx of sex offenders to Harrington Hall as of 6/15/09. As of 6/15/09 The Urban League is to begin moving these sex offenders to another location with a completion date of 7/1/09.
It was unclear as to exactly where they would go, the feeling was that they would go back to Prairie Ave as Step 1. Step 2 is Nick Mattiello in discussions with the state to determine a better location. This left the group a bit concerned that these offenders may then be unmonitored.
Nick Mattiello expressed that he is confident this matter will be resolved mostly to our satisfaction. His goal is first to keep his community safe and then work with the state to represent what is best for the state with regards to placement of sex offenders. Nick has the leadership backing within the house to resolve the Harrington Hall issue. Nick’s goal is to have Harrington Hall work as a facility to serve the homeless without placing the community in danger. I believe I received clarification from Nick that if Harrington Hall goes back to the way it was before, strictly a homeless shelter, we may face the possibility that a sex offender would go there but it may be one or two at a time and we would receive notification as we have recently received. The reason the numbers were so large recently is because The Urban League had a financial incentive and political pressure to ship them there. These were not mostly Cranston residents, they were mostly from Providence from what I understand. I’ve been told that in the homeless situation people usually seek shelter where they are from, in which case we would see minimal sex offenders from Cranston seeking residence at Harrington Hall. Mayor Fung mentioned that these men don’t prefer to be in Cranston because there is an increased police and community awareness. Personally, I don’t think it is realistic to expect there to never be any offenders there, but I also don’t want the large numbers which we have seen recently. 1 or 2 is manageable…. 10 is out of control.
Sgt. Antonucci provided an updated list including photos, of 13 sex offenders currently residing at Harrington Hall. (Cranston Police website lists 8). He also mentioned the police dept. is currently investigating 3 non criminal sex offender sightings. He also noted that marked and unmarked patrols are throughout our community. 5 of the original offenders were rearrested and reincarcerated. The Urban League has sent more to make up the difference. I was not clear on the total there now because at least one on the list is one of the original 5 reincarcerated. Most of the group expressed their appreciation for all of the Cranston PD’s efforts.
Someone asked if the circulation desks at the local libraries had photos of these men. Sgt Antonucci will check into that.
Jim Nolan mentioned the state website listing sex offenders is not updated efficiently. This is an issue that needs to be addressed.
It was discussed that families in area schools should receive notification even if they live outside of the 1/4 mi radius. It was mentioned that emailing the list of families in the schools should not be difficult. Janice Ruggieri asked for the radius to be extended and Mayor Fung agreed to look into it.
Suzanne Arena mentioned that the Parks & Rec dept should have visible boards with photos and info on offenders. She also mentioned that RI does not always have their info updated on the registry lists (Familywatchdog).
Peter Palumbo discussed the GPS tracking device his is working to introduce for those offenders to wear while they are disputing the assigned levels. Peter would like to receive community support when this bill goes to Committee. Peter Palumbo will provide a voting list to our group to show which representatives frequently vote against his legislation. Edith Ajello and Rod Driver are two names that were mentioned.
PTO representatives were on hand and asked about circulating information to parents. It appears that flyers can be handed out to families on schools grounds, but not inside the school building. PTO representatives may be willing to incur necessary expenses.
Aram Garabedian mentioned that the RI Supreme Court is often times logical and may side with an issue that threatens the general public’s health, safety and welfare. May be an angle we want to approach.
Michael Grebstein asked whether any of these men were released earlier than their sentence. It appeared that some were released early, either in a probationary or parole situation. I believe everyone agreed that these sentences need to be addressed, including the length of imposed sentences and the time served. Many agree that these men should not be released if they have no home or job to go to.
A follow up meeting will be scheduled in 2-3 weeks.
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Today’s Updates:
The two bills introduced by Sen. Gallo were passed today. A BIG thanks to Suzanne Arena for attending the hearing today to show support for our group. Thanks!!
Two issues Nick and Robin Schutt are following up on:
1 – Ensuring that the state does not enter into a similar contract with House of Hope, otherwise we’re back in the same boat. Nick confirmed he has a meeting with the state next week and he will provide an update after that meeting. He will be requesting an assurance from the state that they do not intend to create a similar situation.
2 – On Channel 10 news this a.m, they mentioned that some of the sex offenders may be grandfathered in..Nick and Robin are both following up.
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Action Items:
* Place calls to the Gov’s office expressing our dissatisfaction with the Harrington Hall situation and thanking him in advance for his swift actions. Should mention that we want assurance that the new agency selected to run Harrington Hall, House of Hope, will not receive a similar agreement to the Urban League agreement. We do not want a repeat of this current situation.
* Janice Ruggieri following up on extending the notification radius
* Support Peter Palumbo when his GPS bill goes to the Senate
* Receive voting list from Peter Palumbo and contact those on the list
* Update flyer to include Gov’s office #’s for everyone to contact. Distribute information to promote awareness and ask others to join us in contacting the Gov’s office
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Projo Article Link:
http://www.projo.com/ri/cranston/content/CRANSTON_SEX_OFFENDERS_06-02-09_NUEIR2H_v81.3cd85b0.html
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Contact Info:
Gov’s Office:
Mail address:
Governor Donald L. Carcieri
Office of the Governor
State House, Room 115
Providence, RI 02903
Phone: (401) 222-2080
Fax: (401) 222-8096
E-Mail:
e-mail Governor Carcieri
Open Door Thursday
Open Door Thursday is an opportunity for citizens of Rhode Island to have access to Governor Carcieri. Open Door Thursday is held on the last Thursday of each month. Appointments are made on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Appointment Line: (401) 222-2080
State Reps
Edith Ajello – rep-ajello@rilin.state.ri.us
Rodney Driver – rep-driver@rilin.state.ri.us
Thanks Everyone!!
TG