5 Big News Stories in Rhode Island This Week

Man Who Police Say Sparked Newport Wedding Melee Drops Name of Top Politician

Prior to the Newport wedding melee breaking out, an incident took place at The Newport Landing Restaurant between Barrington resident David Onik and the staff of The Landing.

Staff at the restaurant called Newport Police.

When the Newport Police arrived early in the morning on September 10 at Bowen’s Wharf, they detained David Onik — he ultimately would be charged with disorderly conduct.

He is a business partner in a pet food company with Marc and David Perlman, the owners of Ocean State Job Lot. The company is named Priority Pet Products. Marc Perlman, the CEO of Job Lot, also serves as President of Priority Food Products. David Onik is the Treasurer of the pet company.

A newly released body cam video secured by GoLocal through an Access to Public Records Act request recorded David Onik and his wife, Rachel Onik, telling the police that they were going to call David Onik's father — a prominent businessman — as well as call former Congressman David Cicilline.

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Ed Brady Continues to Fight to Use Public Funding for His Park Theatre

Entrepreneur Ed Brady and his business partner Jeff Quinlan took over the historic theater in Cranston two years ago and the ride has been a bumpy one.

Brady and Quinlan have opened upward of a dozen restaurants over the years and closed a few, too.

The corporation they control, Park Avenue Theater Realty, LLC, purchased the historic structure in 2021 for $3 million. According to City records, the City of Cranston assesses the property at $3,411,500.

Recently, the two had sought funding via the state's education initiative —  Learn365RI funding — to turn the Theater into a site for after-school learning.

For Brady and Quinlan, despite a near-endless number of events and promotions, the battle to rehab and market the theater has been difficult. The Park has housed boxing events, comedy acts, and mini-concerts. But, there have also been closures and cancelations for maintenance. READ MORE

Washington Trust Settles With Dept. of Justice for $9M Over Redlining Minority Neighborhoods in RI

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced on Wednesday that Washington Trust Company — the oldest community bank in the nation, has agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island.

Redlining is an illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing credit services to individuals living in communities of color because of the race, color, or national origin of residents in those communities, according to the Department of Justice.

“Everyone who pursues the American dream has the right to expect to be treated equally and with dignity, regardless of their race, their background, or zip code. When communities are denied access to fair lending, families are denied the opportunity to build stability and financial success,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. “I am pleased that, as a result of the hard work of attorneys in my office and the Department’s Civil Rights Division, Washington Trust has agreed to take targeted and extensive measures to make meaningful lending services available for all Rhode Islanders, regardless of race or background.”

Washington Trust Denies the Government's Claims

“This settlement should send a strong message to banks regarding the Justice Department’s firm commitment to combat modern-day redlining and ensure that all lenders are providing equal access to home loan opportunities to communities of color,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This resolution will provide critical relief to impacted Black and Hispanic communities, enabling them to buy a home, keep their home or access the equity in their home. Ending redlining and providing relief to communities of color impacted by this unlawful practice is a necessary step in ongoing efforts to reduce racial wealth and homeownership gaps across our country.”

In June of this year and while under investigation, Washington Trust announced, “…Bank has recently enhanced its RI Community Lending Program by adding two new solutions for potential homeowners in the Ocean State. In addition to the Bank’s “I Luv RI Community Lending Program,” Washington Trust now offers the “Buyer’s Advantage Program” and the “Home OpportunityTM Program.”

5 Years Violations

The complaint alleges, from 2016 through at least 2021, Washington Trust failed to provide mortgage lending services to majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island. The complaint alleges that despite expansion across the state of Rhode Island, Washington Trust has never opened a branch in a majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhood. The complaint alleges that Washington Trust relied on mortgage loan officers working out of only majority-white areas as the primary source for generating loan applications, and Washington Trust failed to train or incentivize its lending staff or conduct outreach, marketing, and advertising of its mortgage services to compensate for its lack of branches and presence in majority-Black and Hispanic areas. The complaint further alleges that, compared to Washington Trust, over the same six-year period, other banks received nearly four times as many loan applications each year in majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island. The complaint also alleges that, even when Washington Trust generated loan applications from majority-Black and Hispanic areas, the applicants themselves were disproportionately white.   

Restaurant Group in Newport to Pay Over $570K in Back Wages & Damages in Federal Lawsuit

In August of 2022, GoLocalProv.com was first to report that a top restaurant group in Newport, Rhode Island, was sued by the federal government for multiple federal wage violation charges. 

As GoLocal reported, Stoneacre Brasserie, Stoneacre Garden, and Stoneacre Tapas along with owners Christopher Bender and David Crowell were the defendants in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by then-United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.

Now, they have asked the court to approve a motion that would require them to pay over $571,000 to employees and in penalties. 

In the motion to approve the consent order filed on Wednesday in federal court, the defendants have agreed to pay $11,419 in civil penalties - $283,016.01 in back wages and $270,519.19 liquidated damages to employees. 

The defendants are also ordered to pay 1% per annum interest on any unpaid balance. 

As part of their defense, the owners had admitted they kept tips while serving and bartending in the establishments they owned.

According to court documents, over 80 employees are due back wages and liquidated damages — ranging from $56.62 to $56,365 per employee. 

PC Basketball NIL Group to Pay In Excess of $1M in Payments to Players

If you see fancy and expensive cars driving around the Providence College (PC) campus this year, there is a good chance they belong to men’s basketball team players.  PC Athletic Director Steve Napolillo has told GoLocal the combined revenue paid to the men’s basketball team from name, image, and likeness (NIL) money will exceed $1 million this year.  This money is in addition to the $83,000 annual scholarships players receive.

PC basketball players are making money because they are on the basketball team.  However, the school is not paying them.  An independent third party is.  Six months after payments for NIL to college athletes became legal, supporters of Providence College Athletics established an independent organization whose mission is to raise money and funnel it to athletes.  It is called the Friar Family Collective (Collective), https://friarfamilynil.com/.

An illustrative example is if a basketball player gives a five-minute speech at a corporate event, the Collective will deposit a $10,000 check into his bank account.  The Collective will ensure that there is a picture of the player at the event for the compliance file.  The Collective will also help the player with documentation for taxes.

In only the second year of its existence, NIL money has already ramped up to astounding levels. Providence has exceeded the million-dollar level even though the school may have walked away from some recruits.  Napolillo stated, “If a recruit’s biggest concern is the size of their check, we tell them PC is not for you.”  Napolillo continued: “We have built something special here at PC, and we have done it in the right way.  We have all the elements in place to have a successful program.”

Napolillo also admits PC could not field a competitive team without players receiving substantial NIL money.

Here is how it is supposed to work.  Colleges and Universities cannot guarantee or promise a recruit how much they will receive in NIL money.  The NCAA prohibits those conversations and firm commitments.  Coaches can tell a recruit what the Collective has done for other players with similar skills.  Projected stars have received a particular range.  Role players have received a lower amount.     

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BONUS: 

Gov. McKee and Infante-Green Spar Over Failure to Turn Over Documents

Governor Dan McKee and Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green are sparring over who is responsible for failing to respond to an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request filed by GoLocal in August 2023.

A GoLocal request for documents is tied to the $70 million contract awarded by the Providence Public School Department -- the contract has been the subject of an ongoing investigation by the news site. 

Specifically, GoLocal requested from the state:

Please provide copies of any communication between Rhode Island Department of Education and employees of the Providence School Department regarding the Facilities Contract since January 1, 2023. This should include, but not be limited to emails or text messages.

On Tuesday, August 29, before GoLocal filed a lawsuit against RIDE and McKee in a phone call with GoLocal24’s CEO and co-founder Josh Fenton, legal counsel for the Rhode Island Department of Education said, “This is a screw-up by the Governor’s office. We are not responsible. We are not an executive branch agency.”

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