Cranston Mayoral Candidate Returns $1,000 Donation From Strip Club Owner
GoLocalProv Political Team
Cranston Mayoral Candidate Returns $1,000 Donation From Strip Club Owner
Ferri repeatedly refused to respond to questions about a $1,000 he received from Charles Tapalian, the club owner tied to a case of sex trafficking of the 14-year-old, as GoLocal reported in 2014.
Now, in Ferri’s campaign finance report filed on Tuesday, he has returned the donation.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAgain, he refused to respond to questions.
Donations in Focus
While Ferri returned the Tapalian donation, others continued to fundraise from him.
No one has accepted more donations than Speaker of the House Joe Shekarchi, who has received $8,000 from Tapalian.
That has not been Ferri's only campaign controversy.
GoLocal previously uncovered that Ferri illegally donated money to his campaign and then was forced to return it.
Ferri returned an illegal $5,000 loan after a GoLocal investigation.
GoLocal unveiled the loan and contacted both Ferri and his campaign consultant, Michael Beauregard, about the legal issue via text, phone, and emails.
Neither responded to questions.
The illegal loan was made by Ferri’s wife, Denice Ferri, on June 26 for $5,000.
The limit for campaign donations is $2,000.
In an interview with Richard Thornton, the Director of Campaign Finance for the Rhode Island Board of Elections, Thorton confirmed that Denise Ferri’s “loan” was illegal.
After GoLocal’s outreach to the state, Thornton emailed Ferri and notified him of the illegal donation.
“We reached out to Robert Ferri. His wife signed the check, so the contribution/loan was correctly attributed to her. At our direction, he has already written a check to her from his campaign account for a full ($5,000) refund and is going to the bank today [Thursday/August 1],” said Thornton to GoLocal.
“The refund will appear on his next campaign finance report since the transaction occurs on August 1,” added Thornton.
Ferri had previously lent himself $40,000. Candidates can lend themselves an unlimited amount.
Allegations Against Tapalian in 2014
According to a report in Courthouse News published in 2014:
A Rhode Island strip club forced a 14-year-old girl "to perform illegal commercial sex acts" for five months - and charged her for the privilege, the girl and her mother claim in court.
The Aug. 21 federal lawsuit contains a welter of grim allegations against multiple defendants.
The Jane Doe mother and daughter claim that Troy Footman lured the daughter away from home in March 2013, when she was 14, then imprisoned her for months at the Mary's Motor Lodge in Seekonk, Mass.
Footman is in state prison in Rhode Island, the complaint states.
Mary's Motor Lodge "knew or should have known that plaintiff minor was falsely imprisoned, being sexually and psychologically abused, prostituted and sexually trafficked during the five months that defendant Footman kept plaintiff minor at the motel," and was unjustly enriched by it, according to the lawsuit.
Footman forced Jane to work as a stripper, and Cheaters Gentlemen Club, of Providence, hired her and forced her to perform illegal commercial sex acts for five months, though they knew or should have known that Jane was only 14 years old when they hired her, the Does claim.
They sued Cheaters Inc., Cheaters Holding Corp., and three members of a family who allegedly ran the place: Haig Charles Tapalian, Geraldine A. Tapalian, and David C. Tapalian.
"During her employment as a striptease performer/exotic dancer, defendants Cheaters forced the plaintiff minor, only a 14-year-old female at the time, to perform illegal commercial sex acts," the complaint states.
It continues: "Defendants Cheaters were aware of and/or involved in the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of plaintiff minor until August 2013, when she was finally discovered by authorities and returned to her family in Massachusetts.
"Defendants Cheaters, in addition to illegally employing plaintiff minor, charged plaintiff minor a fee to work each shift as an exotic dancer, refused to pay plaintiff minor adequate wages for hours worked, including overtime pay, required plaintiff minor to share her tips, and subjected plaintiff minor to extreme physical, sexual and emotional abuse."
Haig Charles Tapalian is president of Cheaters Holding Corp.; his last known addresses are in Seekonk, Mass., and Naples, Fla., according to the complaint.
Geraldine Tapalian is president of Cheaters, Inc.; her last known address is in Seekonk.
David C. Tapalian was issued the business license to run Cheaters Gentleman's Club; his business address is in Providence, according to the lawsuit.