Moneyball: Cranston Mayoral Candidate Donors - Developers, State House Lobbyists & Strip Club Owner
GoLocalProv Political Team
Moneyball: Cranston Mayoral Candidate Donors - Developers, State House Lobbyists & Strip Club Owner
Fenton-Fung and Hopkins have been sparing over every possible issue — Budlong pool, ethics, development, and more.
Now, Hopkins has taken a significant money lead over Fenton-Fung, according to just-released campaign finance reports.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRobert Ferri has had an ostensibly clearer path on the Democratic side and has been staying out of the fray, while collecting campaign donations to fuel his general election run.
His donors include $1,000 from a strip club owner — a strip club that was the site of the sex trafficking of a 14-year-old girl.
Fenton-Fung Shows Little Momentum
Fenton-Fung netted just an additional $5,000 for the quarter. She entered the second quarter with $155,180.08 and finished the quarter with $160,462.29, between fundraising and spending.
Her donors included State House lobbyist Leonard Lopes ($250) and Andrew Theodore of The Theodore Group — a Republican consultant ($1,000) from Virginia.
Hopkins' donors include numerous so-called “Cranston cronies.” These are former Cranston staffers and politicians tied to everyone from former Governor Ed DiPrete to former Mayor Mike Trafficante.
Norm DeLuca, who served as DiPrete’s chief-of-staff, donated $1,000 and former Cranston City Hall staffer Dennis DeJesus gave $300.
Cranston CEO Brad Dimeo donated $500 and solar developer Mark DePasquale donated $500 to Hopkins.
Providence College communications director Steve Maurano added $150 to Hopkins coffers.
Mega-developers Ronald Picerne and James Procaccianti each donated $1,000.
Hopkins ends the second quarter with $241,767.78 cash on hand.
Ferri ends the quarter with $99,657.02.
Most notable is the $1,000 he received from Charles Tapalian, once the owner of Cheaters in Providence and tied to a case of sex trafficking of a 14-year-old, as GoLocal reported 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 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 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.
Other notable Ferri donors are:
- Raymond Coia, New England Laborers: $250
- Matt Jerzyk, State House Lobbyist and political operative $250
- Former GOP State Rep. Robert Lancia 25 Church $50
- State Senator Josh Miller $500