Broken Dream: Pawtucket Man Lost Home to Tax Sale Weeks Before His Death From Cancer, Wife on Chemo
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
“Arthur J. Barrette, 69, passed away December 4, 2018. He was the beloved husband of Sherrill (Jones) Barrette,” read his obituary.
Before his death, while Barrette battled with a form of blood cancer, the City of Pawtucket had auctioned off the couple's home.
Barrette and his wife were hard workers and had owned their home at 26 Coyle Avenue for decades.
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From Having No Mortgage -- to Paying Rent
They had no mortgage on the house, and while they were both ill, they failed to pay the Pawtucket real estate taxes. It was a fateful error.
That opened the door for “the parasites” as the Barrettes’ daughter Cathy Conley calls them.
Conley was referring to the group of “investors” who show up at the city auctions — for nonpayment of taxes, water bills, fire and sewer district fees and secure the property.
“My parents didn’t know that they had a year to redeem their home (after the auction). My sister and I had no idea about the issue,” said Conley.
Enter Fernando Cunha, the Providence lawyer who seems to be tied to so many of Rhode Island's properties in distress. The politically connected Cunha is a central figure in Sylvia Rivera losing her home. GoLocal unveiled earlier how she lost her home over failing to pay $1,500 water bill to the Pawtucket Water Supply Board.
As Barrette was dying, Cunha began sending letters to negotiate a rent payment for the sick couple to stay in their home. “Please be advised that this office represents Brown Reality, RIGP, which is the new owner of the property wherein you reside," wrote Cunha.
The letter continued, “If you wish to remain in the property as a tenant the rent for the single-family house will be $950 per month starting November 1. ” The letter was dated October 25, less than a week before the deadline for rent payment.
Cunha sent another letter to the Barrettes just days before Arthur’s death that the "debris in the backyard needed to be cleaned up" - the letter from Cunha was dated November 27 and Barrette died on December 4.
"I hate to say it but it like there is a conspiracy between the cretins and the city officials. I am educated and after my parents lost my home it took me hours to recreate what happened and understand what took place. It is stacked against anyone who is sick or having financial problems," said Conley. She and her sister have offered to have her mother move in with one of their families, but she wants to stay in "her house."
Cunha, Big Donor, Ties to the Powerful
Cunha was once a business associate of Vincent “Buddy” Cianci and is a major political donor in Rhode Island. He has donated to Governor Gina Raimondo, then-Providence Mayor David Cicilline, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, House Majority Leader Joe Shekarchi, and then-Providence Mayor Angel Taveras. In total, Cunha has made more than $16,000 in political contributions.
As Congressman, Cicilline has also received $3,900 in campaign contributions from Cunha.
Today, Arthur Barrette’s widow sends to Cunha a monthly rent check, to the new owners of her home. According to Conley, the monthly rent is $900 — nearly 90% of her mother’s income from social security.
Cunha says he does not have an ownership interest in the property. “I do not own the property. I only represent the owners,” said Cunha in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Pawtucket tax assessors’ data listed the ownership moving from the Barrettes to Brown Reality RIGP, and then to Fernando Cunha and Karoyle Trustee. According to the Pawtucket listing, Cunha paid $1.
Today, the house once owned by the Barrette is assessed by Pawtucket at $166,500.
The real estate marketing firm Zillow estimates the value of the property at $246,629, but that is of little concern now to Sherrill Barrette — she just has to pay the rent.
“A lifelong resident of the Blackstone Valley area, he was a self-employed Drain Layer, and owned and operated Art's Rooter Service of Pawtucket for forty years, retiring in 2011,” Arthur Barrette's obituary read.
