Johnston probate judge charged, placed on leave

Mayor: ‘Final determination of employment will be made upon the adjudication of her case’

NEW JUDGES: Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. swore in three judges on his Jan. 9 Inauguration Night: Judge of the Johnston Municipal Court, David aRusso; Frank Manni as Auxiliary Judge; and Priscilla Facha DiMaio, Probate Judge (at right). DiMaio now faces charges and has been placed on leave pending the outcome of her case.

Sun Rise FILE photo by Rory Schuler

By RORY SCHULER

Johnston’s probate judge has been placed on leave, following charges linked to an alleged million-dollar collectible theft from a dead Cranston man’s estate.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and the Rhode Island State Police (RISP) issued a press release Friday announcing charges against five defendants, including Johnston Probate Judge Priscilla Facha DiMaio.

DiMaio’s appointment to the bench was recommended by Johnston Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Jr., and endorsed by a Town Council vote, during his inauguration in January.

Polisena conferred with Johnston Town Council President Robert V. Russo after the charges were made public.

“Priscilla has done an excellent job in her capacity as probate judge,” Polisena wrote via email on Tuesday morning. “Since I don’t appoint judges, the Town Council does, I’ve spoken to Council President Russo and we are both in agreement she’s placed on leave and a final determination of employment will be made upon the adjudication of her case. Just like everyone in the United States, she’s entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.”

DiMaio has been charged with one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500, and one count of providing a false document to a public official.

Meanwhile, cases pending in Johnston Probate Court will be heard by town and school solicitor William Conley Jr., who will fill the bench temporarily.

“Nothing is on hold,” Polisena said Wednesday morning. “Everything will continue as normal. The Town Solicitor will fill in until (an) interim probate judge is appointed by the council, which should be very soon. I think it’s safe to assume the interim probate judge will be Frank Manni, our current auxiliary judge, who fills in anyway when our judges are absent.”

DiMaio and her four fellow defendants have each been charged for their own alleged respective roles in “stealing valuable sports cards and firearms collections” from the estate of James Barbieri, 71, of Cranston, who died without a will on April 26, 2021, at Rhode Island Hospital.

According to Neronha’s office, the statewide grand jury returned sealed indictments on July 26 charging Sylvia Santilli, 71, Luke Baughman, 37, Jillian Chatelle, 32, James Connors, 69, and Judge DiMaio, 65, “with various crimes related to the theft of valuable property from the estate,” which prosecutors say included “collections of sports cards with an estimated value of more than $1 million and firearms worth more than $100,000.”

The prosecution will argue that while Barbieri was sedated and intubated in the hospital, “during the final days of his life,” two days before he took his last breath, Santilli allegedly started taking “items from his home without lawful claim or authority to do so.”

The AG’s office called Santilli “a close friend of Mr. Barbieri.”

Barbieri’s 2021 obituary lists only his late parents and mentions his retirement from tool-making.

“James leaves behind his dear friend, Sylvia Santilli of Johnston, and many other beloved friends,” according to the obituary.

Santilli, a Johnston real estate agent, did not return a call for comment.

Prosecutors allege that on the day Barbieri died, Santilli, her daughter, Chatelle, and Chatelle’s boyfriend, Baughman, searched “market rates for sports cards contained in Mr. Barbieri’s collection” on the internet.

“It is alleged the following day the co-defendants unlawfully removed sports cards and other items from the estate,” according to the AG’s Office. “It is alleged they later sold a portion of the collection, sought buyers for the collection, and transported the goods to a storage unit for later sale.”

Prosecutors will also attempt to prove that Connors, owner of Jim’s Firearm Repair and Sales in Johnston, “received and eventually sold firearms unlawfully removed from Mr. Barbieri’s estate,” according to the press release. “It is alleged that in response to a probate court subpoena, Connors knowingly submitted a false accounting and receipts of the firearms sold and their approximate value. It is alleged that Connors sold multiple firearms for more than the value of firearms that he reported to the Cranston Probate Court.”

That’s when DiMaio allegedly entered the scheme. The AG’s Office alleges Johnston Probate Judge DiMaio filed an Application for Approval of Fiduciary’s and Attorney’s Fees with the Cranston Probate Court “for work that she claimed to have performed for the Barbieri Estate for services on the following dates: May 8, May 9, May 12, May 15, and May 21, 2021.”

“These claims are alleged to be substantially false,” the AG’s Office said in the press release.

The indictment was unsealed on July 27, following the arraignments of Santilli, Chatelle and Connors in Providence Superior Court. All three entered not guilty pleas.

Baughman was scheduled to be arraigned on July 31. He pleaded not guilty.

DiMaio was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, Aug. 2, but online court records from the hearing were unavailable when the Johnston Sun Rise went to press Wednesday afternoon.

DiMaio did not respond to calls for comment by press-time.

According to the AG, Santilli has been charged with one count of entering a dwelling to commit larceny, two counts of larceny over $1,500, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses, and one count of conspiracy to commit larceny.

Baughman has been charged with one count of receiving stolen goods over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to receive stolen goods, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of larceny over $1,500 and one count of conspiracy to commit larceny.

Chatelle has been charged with one count of receiving stolen goods over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to receive stolen goods, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses, one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500, and one count of conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses.

And Connors has been charged with one count of attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500, one count of unlawful appropriation over $1,000, and three counts of providing a false document to a public official.

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Johnston probate judge charged, placed on leave

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Johnston probate judge charged in alleged scheme to steal sports cards from man's estate