DEFENSE RESTS Colonel John Whiting completed two days of testimony Tuesday in his trial on charges of stealing $714 from a stripper's purse during Tropical Storm Irene in August, 2011. Pool photo by Steve Szydlowski / The Providence Journal

Police Chief found guilty of stealing from a stripper

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Posted: 7/3/2012 12:54:23 PM
Updated: 7/3/2012 4:00:43 PM

After a three week long trial, North Providence Police Chief John Whiting Tuesday was found guilty of larceny and soliciting a police officer to receive stolen goods.

Judge Daniel Procaccini announced his verdict after a lengthy review of the evidence. Whiting had waived his right to trial by jury at the beginning of the proceedings.

Whiting was convicted of one count of larceny over $500 for taking $714 from the purse of former stripper Justina Cardoso after a low–speed car chase during Tropical Storm Irene in August, 2011, and a second count of soliciting police. According to Pawtucket Police Officer John Brown, Whiting gave Brown the $714 and told him to do what he wanted with it, suggesting that he take it to Las Vegas.

Proccacini said Whiting posed no threat to the community, continuing the suspended chief's bail until his sentencing on September 14.

Whitiing was Police Chief in North Providence for three years, after serving as a member of the Pawtucket Police department for 29 years. He is currently suspended from his job without pay.

WPRO Legal Analyst Lou Pulner told WPRO's Dan Yorke Show that it is unlikely that Whiting will serve any jail time. "When you have an unblemished record like he does and he has given all these years to law enforcement, jail is just not in the equation," said Pulner. Pulner said it is likely that Whiting will get a suspended sentence of probation.

Attorney General Peter Kilmartin applauded prosecutor Mark Trovato and said that it is a difficult day for law enforcement when an officer is convicted of a crime. “It is disheartening for someone with a lifelong career in law enforcement – someone with what, up until that August morning, could be considered an exemplary career – to be marred by a criminal act.  However, it is our responsibility as prosecutors, and the responsibility of police officers, to apply the law evenly, without fear or favor, to all those who break the law.  It is then, and only then, that we can protect the confidence the public has instilled in our criminal justice system," said Kilmartin.

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