Friday, June 06, 2008

Ch. 12: plea in the works for Cicilline's brother

WPRI-TV's Tim White broke this news last night:

The Target 12 Investigators have learned a plea deal is in the works in a case against the brother of Providence Mayor David Cicilline.

John M. Cicilline and three others were charged last year with obstructing justice and making false statements. The U-S Attorney's office in Boston says the case alleges Cicilline and disbarred Rhode Island attorney Joseph Bevilacqua, Jr., conceived a scheme to set-up a drug deal so their clients could get a lighter sentence.

A criminal trial at federal court in Boston is scheduled for Monday.

But an attorney for one of the defendants, Juan Giraldo, tells Target 12, the government has offered the four defendants in the case, a plea deal.

"There is discussion to put all these things to rest to possibly get a favorable result," says attorney William White. "But I'm not aware of a defendant accepting anything."

Cicilline and Bevilacqua were law partners when they represented John and Jacqueline Mendonca of Massachusetts in a drug trafficking case.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the scheme required the Mendoncas to pay Cicilline and Bevilacqua one-hundred thousand dollars. In return, their legal assistants would set-up drug deals that the Mendoncas could then share with federal investigators for a lighter sentence.

According to documents filed in federal court last week, the government plans on playing several conversations between the attorney's and the Mendoncas, who were wearing a wire.

White tells Target 12, it's unclear if the deal with prosecutors has to be taken by all the defendants in the case.