By Steve Klamkin, WPRO News
A former police chief convicted of stealing cash from a stripper’s pocketbook, was sent to prison Tuesday, after his appeal was rejected by Rhode Island’s highest court.
Former North Providence Police Chief John Whiting was sentenced in Superior Court in Providence to serve six months of a five-year term at the Adult Correctional Institution by Judge Daniel Procaccini, after the state Supreme Court May 27 denied his appeal on larceny and criminal solicitation charges, stemming from an incident in August, 2011.
In a jury-waived trial in September, 2012, Judge Procaccini convicted Whiting of stealing $714 from the pocketbook of a stripper who had been involved in an auto accident during stormy weather as Hurricane Irene came ashore.
Whiting gave the cash to another officer who responded to the scene, telling him to spend it in a Connecticut casino.
“Good luck to you, Mister Whiting. You take care,” said the judge, as he imposed the sentence and left the bench. Moments later, court sheriffs applied handcuffs and escorted Whiting from the courtroom to begin serving his sentence, which includes a no-contact order, along with orders that he participate in anger management counseling and a mental health evaluation at the ACI.
The judge also set a July 7 hearing on a defense motion for a reduction in Whiting’s sentence.
John Reilly recently became Whiting’s attorney. Along with the motion to reduce or modify Whiting’s sentence, he filed several papers with the court, including medical records that the judge sealed at his request.
Whiting had served an otherwise exemplary career with the Pawtucket police, rising to the rank of major, before becoming the North Providence chief.
