News Release
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island
January 22, 2008
U.S. Attorney Corrente announces intent to retry Urciuoli, Driscoll
United States Attorney Robert Clark Corrente announced today that his office intends to retry the case of U.S. v. Robert Urciuoli and Frances Driscoll, two former hospital officials accused of corruptly employing a state senator to advance the hospital’s agenda. On January 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed the convictions over the issue of how broadly to define “official acts” of a state legislator.
U.S. Attorney Corrente released this statement.
We have reviewed carefully the Court of Appeals’ opinion in these cases. The court vacated the convictions because it believed that the instructions to the jury on honest services mail fraud permitted the jury to convict for conduct relating to the issue of rescue runs to Roger Williams Medical Center. Although the court stated it was “fairly debatable,” it held that this conduct did not violate the federal honest services law. At the same time, however, the court held that Mr. Urciuoli could be prosecuted for using former Senator Celona to coerce health insurers into settlements with Roger Williams Medical Center. Moreover, as the court noted, the defendants did not challenge the convictions as they related to using former Senator Celona “to promote or block legislation to favor Roger Williams.”
We believe that the central allegations of the indictment remain essentially unaffected and that they remain well-founded. Accordingly, we will retry the case against both Mr. Urciuoli and Ms. Driscoll. We will consult with the District Court and with counsel about scheduling, and we will be ready to go as soon as the court can accommodate us.
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First Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis M. Matos and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan tried the case before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres, and will be the prosecution team for the retrial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald C. Lockhart argued the case on appeal before the First Circuit.
Contact: 401-709-5032 Thomas.connell@usdoj.gov