EDITORIAL: Neronha Forgot to Mention the Victims — The Carmona & Bonilla Families

EDITORIAL: Neronha Forgot to Mention the Victims — The Carmona & Bonilla Families

For nearly five years, GoLocal has been trying to raise awareness of the dumping of contaminated soil in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence.

The material was dumped in a lot on Plainfield Street next to homes and businesses.

The most adjacent homeowners — the Carmona and Bonilla families — have been looking for justice since this nightmare began.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Attorney General Peter Neronha did not mention their names at his press conference on Wednesday to announce a settlement with Barletta Heavy Division. He wouldn’t. He has never met them.

In fact, his office hired lawyers to defend the Rhode Island Department of Transportation against the two families’ lawsuits against the RIDOT. Neronha picks and chooses when or if he is going to defend state agencies.

This time, he hired outside counsel to fight the two families.

The Carmonas and Mrs. Bonilla took the brunt of this episode. The pile of material was stacked nearly two stories high. Living in each home were small children. During this episode, each of the properties was home to a pregnant woman.

RIDOT officials tried to force the Carmonas to sign a release and pay them $12,600.

After it was determined that the material was contaminated, neither the Rhode Island Department of Environmentmental Management nor the Department of Health notified the neighbors. They learned about the issues from GoLocal.

It was abusive by RIDOT, but certainly not unexpected by that agency. The Carmonas and Mrs. Bonilla quickly learned about RIDOT’s behavior.

Then, everyone else in the state learned about the agency’s incompetence when the Washington Bridge failed.

The contamination took place in the summer of 2020 and was made public in September of 2020 after GoLocal received a call from James White, the President of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 57.

White had first complained to RIDOT, RIDEM, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies — no one listened. He wrote letters. He made phone calls.

Only, then-Lt. Michael Casey took action and inspected the site. He was later threatened for insubordination.

After weeks, White brought the issue to GoLocal and we began reporting on the state’s inaction, the attempted cover-up by RIDOT, and the failure by so many others.

Contamination in the poorest neighborhood in Providence isn’t sexy. Most people didn’t care. They didn't read the stories. But everyone should.

Everyone should care about crap being dumped next to the Carmona  and Bonilla homes because the next home may be yours. Or it may be that the bridge that you need to travel across fails.

During the course of the past four-plus years, GoLocal has dug into this story. This is no “clickbait.” This is a bad business decision to put this amount of time and energy into taking on some of the most powerful interests for the purposes of uncovering an environmental crime in the poorest census tract.

For years, other news organizations ignored it. WJAR anchor and WPRO host Gene Valicenti provided RIDOT Director Peter Alviti a microphone to attack White and GoLocal.

GoLocal was threatened with lawsuits by the contractor Barletta — the company which has now paid $1.5 million in penalties to the Department of Justice in a non-prosecution agreement, one of their high-ranking employees has pleaded guilty to three counts. On Wednesday, the state struck an agreement that allows Barletta Heavey to pay and get back in the game. Barletta did not admit to any violations and signed a check for $11.5 million. All the criminal charges were dropped.

GoLocal has paid lawyers more than $16,000 for legal services to respond to legal threats by Barletta, and:

- Secured more than 15,000 pages of public Rhode Island and Massachusetts documents via Access to Public Records Requests and the Freedom of Information Act.

- Interviewed more than 80 individuals.

- Visited and talked with the families impacted more than one hundred times.

- Had more than 300 emails and phone calls ignored. 

- Was hung up on more than two dozen times.

- Met sources at coffee shops and diners, in offices and in parking lots — among the many locations. The meetings took place on weekends, as early as 5 AM and as late as 10 PM.

- Spent nearly $2,000 in fees to secure public documents through the Access to Public Records Act.

- Visited the site of the contamination more than 75 times, including in the snow and in temperatures near 100 degrees over four-plus years.

- Followed truckloads of contaminated soil to Clinton, Massachusetts.

- Tracked building materials from the 6/10 construction site to the home of the daughter of one of the Barletta supervisors for installation as a retaining wall at her home. He has subsequently pleaded to federal charges and now state charges.

- Flew drones over the site.

- Took more than 500 photos and videos.

GoLocal uncovered the news and kept it before the public for these years because there were victims.

The Carmona family and Mrs. Bonilla are the real victims of the crime.

Maybe the state can resolve the litigation.

Maybe Neronha could at least have the decency to mention their names.