Questions Raised About Joe Bevilacqua, Jr. Working With Children at Tennis Facility
Tuesday, May 09, 2017
Convicted felon and disbarred lawyer — Joe Bevilacqua, Jr. — is now managing one of Rhode Island’s premier tennis facilities and working with both children and adults, GoLocalProv has learned.
What makes the former high profile attorney’s new vocation of concern to some is that in the early 2000s, he was tied to a disturbing case involving his relationship with a 16-year-old girl from East Greenwich. That story made national news because of lurid details about Bevilacqua’s alleged behavior, and because Bevilacqua's father was the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The father resign as Chief Justice amidst an impeachment trial for his ties to organized crime in 1986. The senior Bevilacqua died in 1989.
Starting In 2002, Bevilacqua, Jr. allegedly manipulated and seduced the 16-year-old girl into a sexual relationship and introduced her to cocaine — he was 52-years-old at the time when the relationship began.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn 2004, the Calenda family of East Greenwich accused Bevilacqua of hooking their teenage daughter on cocaine and having an ongoing sexual relationship with her for more than a year, and filed complaints with the Rhode Island Disciplinary Board and notified the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Family. He had represented the Calenda daughter in two legal matters as the relationship began.
When notified of Bevilacqua’s new vocation as the manager of Centre Court indoor tennis facility in East Providence that features program for children, Courtney Calenda, the-then 16-year-old spoke out about her experience fifteen years earlier.
“Bevilacqua had this incredible ability to charm you. Even though I was only 16 I knew something was wrong. He found ways to lower your fear levels,” said Courtney Calenda, now 31-years-old. “There were moments that he would transform in front of me. One time he wore this red velour bathrobe and the gold chains around his neck. You could see the creepy old man.”
The tennis facility, located on the Barrington line, offers programs and hosts teams for a range of youth ages. According to Centre Court’s website, the facility offers United States Tennis Association (USTA) programs for children under 10 and up. Centre Court’s Facebook page contains photos of hundreds of children.
“Legally he can work (there). Perfect environment for him to feed his appetite - it is the perfect environment for him to look at young girls in tennis outfits. A perfect environment to create a trust with a young person and take advantage of it,” said Calenda.
Calenda and her family filed a thirty-plus page complaint detailing Bevilacqua’s alleged manipulation, stating that he took her to bars, hotel rooms and plied her with drugs and alcohol. At the time of the Calenda’s complaint, Bevilacqua denied the claims. But materials secured by GoLocal show personal letters from Bevilacqua to Calenda.
“In one way I survive and in another way it is heart breaking and something that I deal with on a daily basis. I don’t want him to take any more time from me. And make sure someone else doesn’t have to go through it,” said Calenda.
“If I can be victimized. Anyone can be victimized.”
Bevilacqua's History
By the time the Calenda sought to have Bevilacqua sanctioned by the state, he had been disbarred for his role in leaking a tape tied to the Plunder Dome case involving Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, against a court order, to the WJAR-10's investigative reporter Jim Taricani. According to the New York Times, Taricani was fined $85,000. He was also sentenced to six-month home confinement.
Three years later Bevilacqua was convicted for corruption — in a case tied to now-U.S. Congressman David Cicilline’s brother John. At the time of the indictment of Bevilacqua and Cicilline, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued a press statement in 2007. “A license to practice law and knowledge of the law does not allow you to break the law,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Stansbury. “DEA pursues investigations to expose and bring to justice all who participate or aid in drug trafficking - from street dealing to the offices of corrupt lawyers. As these attorneys have learned, you can go from being a member of the Bar to being behind bars.”
According to the Boston office of the DEA:
The Indictment alleges that in December 2002, BEVILACQUA and CICILLINE began representing a couple who were charged with drug trafficking in Massachusetts federal district court. The couple were facing minimum sentences of 10 years’ imprisonment unless they were willing and able to cooperate with the government in the prosecution of others. The Indictment alleges that BEVILACQUA, CICILLINE, and GIRALDO told the couple that for a large sum of money, GIRALDO would provide information and cooperation that the couple could falsely pass off to the government as their own. The Indictment alleges that the couple paid BEVILACQUA and GIRALDO a total of $100,000, mostly in cash, in exchange for this promise of third-party cooperation. The Indictment alleges that, after receiving the money, BEVILACQUA, CICILLINE, and GIRALDO began pressuring the couple to plead guilty, telling them that only by pleading guilty could they take advantage of GIRALDO’s third-party information and cooperation.
Ultimately, Bevilacqua served 18 months in federal prison.
David Curtin Disciplinary Counsel for the State Supreme Court told GoLocalProv in an interview on Monday that Bevilacqua's 2005 disbarrment was de facto the legal "death penalty." The disbarrment was tied to the Plunder Dome illegal release of the tape, but stated that the Calenda complaint would be admissible and would be adjudicated by the Board if Bevilacqua were to seek reinstatement of his license.
Repeated efforts to reach Bevilacqua at the Centre Court and by email were unsuccessful.
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