Thread: Man charged with conning immigrants arrested in R.I.

Man charged with conning immigrants arrested in R.I.
June 29, 2007

WARWICK, R.I. --A former volunteer research assistant at Yale University accused of defrauding illegal Irish immigrants will be returned to Connecticut to face charges after being arrested at a hotel near T.F. Green Airport, authorities said.

Ralph Cucciniello, 55, of Branford, Conn., waived extradition during a court appearance Friday and will be brought back to Connecticut, sometime within the next week, said Tim Reardon, supervisory inspector for the state's attorney's office in New Haven.

Cucciniello was arrested Thursday and is being held at the state prison in Cranston. He was charged on an arrest warrant issued in Connecticut with one count of rackeeteering and 58 counts of larceny and also faces charges of fraudulently representing himself as an attorney, Reardon said.

Cucciniello was initially arrested on May 1 on charges filed by the Manhattan district attorney's office in New York City and released on his own recognizance. The case was then referred to New Haven, Conn., State's Attorney Michael Dearington, because most of the alleged crimes happened at Yale.

Reardon said he expected that Cucciniello would be arraigned Monday, or possibly Tuesday, in New Haven Superior Court.

Law enforcement officials have said that Cucciniello posed as a lawyer affiliated with Yale and swindled Irish immigrants with promises of helping them gain U.S. citizenship.

Authorities believe that Cucciniello collected millions of dollars from at least 200 illegal immigrants over the past two years and provided nothing in return.

New York officials filed charges involving three alleged victims. Authorities said many of the immigrants live in New York, and Cucciniello is accused of collecting some payments there.

Cucciniello, who has been convicted before for fraud, claimed to work at the Yale Immigration Law Clinic. He promised green cards in return for between $3,000 and $7,000, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office. The Yale Immigration Law Clinic does not exist.

University officials and law enforcement authorities have said that Cucciniello was not a lawyer, but a volunteer research assistant. Yale has suspended Cucciniello's access to all school facilities.

Cucciniello is set to appear in New York Criminal Court in Manhattan on Aug. 15.
© Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connec ... ted_in_ri/

Illegals should not be conned. We know that is wrong. He should have turned the illegals in.

Illegals should not be conned. We know that is wrong. He should have turned the illegals in.