Law and Order

The Bully and the Protector

By Justin Katz | January 25, 2011 |

There’s no question that technology creates all sorts of challenges and that cyberbullying is among them. Just think of the malice that would have been required to do something similar in the past: Nailing nasty fliers around town took a lot more effort than posting a Facebook page, indicating a greater pathology. Yet, the effect…

When Enforcement Profits the Government

By Justin Katz | December 22, 2010 |

There must be enforcement mechanisms behind just laws and regulations, of course, but I’d say that it’s healthy to be concerned about continued movement in this direction: That sum [of $425,000] is Rhode Island’s share of $21 million that Dannon agreed to pay to satisfy allegations and demands for money damages by the attorneys general…

Keeping Murder in the Family

By Justin Katz | September 12, 2010 |

Ancient mythology proves that parricide isn’t anything new. Lizzie Borden proves that it isn’t new to our region. But Joel Beaulieu’s alleged patricide and attempted matricide in Tiverton has come mere months after the sentencing of James Soares across the bay in Warren for the same crime, and a mere two years after the act…

The Randomness of a Night Out

By Justin Katz | August 21, 2010 |

I don’t know why, and I didn’t know in what category to place this entry, but this story stood out in the news, this week: Prosecutors said a Massachusetts man angry after an argument with another bar customer broke a mug that sent shards of glass into the neck of bystander, causing him to bleed…

Bomb Scares in Suburbia

By Justin Katz | July 16, 2010 |

I’ve no doubt that there were policies and protocols in play, but I’d really like to know whether, in the near-decade since 9/11, there have been any instances in which this sort of heavy response has actually prevented anything: At 9:03 Thursday morning the call came in to 911 from a Pocasset Cemetery worker. He…

State Senator Christopher Maselli (D-Johnston) Indicted for Bank Fraud

By Carroll Andrew Morse | June 18, 2010 |

From Amanda Milkovits of the Projo 7-to-7 blog…State Sen. Christopher B. Maselli, D-Johnston, was federally indicted Thursday on seven counts of bank fraud. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha confirmed the indictment Friday morning.

When Bureaucrats Fill in the Gaps

By Justin Katz | May 24, 2010 |

Experience in Rhode Island has left me much more sensitive to this dynamic: In section after section of the massive 1,560-page Senate bill, lawmakers leave much of the details for the regulators to figure out. These are the bank and market overseers — the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the…

Connecting the Dots: The PPD Drug Ring

By Marc Comtois | March 9, 2010 |

It’s been a few days since the main players were divulged, so–based on information gathered in various stories–here is an attempt to show the links between the known players in the Providence PD drug ring and others. These links aren’t to be inferred as an accusation against those not charged, but they are interesting in…

Cicilline’s Drug Test Head Fake

By Marc Comtois | March 9, 2010 |

In a press conference yesterday, Providence Mayor David Cicilline announced the implementation of a random drug-testing policy for the Providence police department. How does a random drug test policy help find drug-dealing cops? While one member of the PPD was a user, the rest weren’t (as far as I know, based on what’s been reported).…

Moving Money Around in Different Ways

By Justin Katz | November 18, 2009 |

This quote from John Derbyshire’s book, We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism, which I found via a review by Kyle Smith, in National Review, gave us opportunity for discussion and encouragement ’round the construction site: American parents are now all resigned to beggaring themselves in order to purchase college diplomas for their offspring, so that…