PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The $714 in strip club and other earnings that police say were stolen from a Rhode Island woman by the North Providence police chief have been returned, an attorney said Monday.
Defense attorney John R. Grasso said the stolen money belonging to Justina Cardoso, 21, was recently returned. An affidavit shows the money is Cardoso’s earnings from a man who paid her for her “company” and from working as a stripper at the Satin Doll.
Col. John J. Whiting, 57, of North Attleboro, Mass., is accused of stealing the money from Cardoso following a police chase on Aug. 28. Police say Whiting confessed to Pawtucket police Officer John Brown that he took the money from a Coach pocketbook after Cardoso’s SUV crashed. Whiting told investigators he began chasing the SUV after he thought someone inside threw a bottle at his unmarked police SUV.
Grasso said the chase is still under investigation. He said no criminal charges or traffic violations have been brought against Cardoso in that matter. A man only identified as “Kevin” was driving Cardoso’s SUV when the chase began, an affidavit said.
Cardoso was due in Providence Superior Court on Monday for a bail violation hearing, but it was postponed until Oct. 17. Cardoso is undergoing substance abuse treatment, Grasso said. She did not appear in court. Grasso also said he is working on getting her SUV returned from state police.
Grasso said he doesn’t think Cardoso still works at the Satin Doll. No one answered the phone at the club.
A bail review hearing for Whiting has been scheduled in Sixth District Court for Oct. 12, but he is not required to attend. Whiting is free on personal recognizance on the condition he pay $10,000 if he misses a court date. He is charged with larceny over $500 and two counts of solicitation of obstruction of justice. Whiting has yet to enter a plea. North Providence MayorCharles A. Lombardi has suspended him without pay.
Cardoso is accused of violating her bail in a blackmail, extortion and conspiracy case. She also faces separate drug charges in Sixth District Court. She has yet to be arraigned in the drug case.
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