Taricani

Channel 10 investigative reporter Jim Taricani, who refused to reveal the source of an Operation Plunder Dome surveillance tape, speaks to the press after his conviction on Thursday, Nov. 18. Channel 12's Jack White reports on the sentencing View the report: Plunder Dome source revealed View Jack White's report from the scene the day of Taricani's conviction

The contempt case of Jim Taricani, investigative reporter for Channel 10, the NBC affiliate in Providence, who refused to reveal the source of a FBI surveillance tape from its Operation Plunder Dome probe into corruption at Providence City Hall, has garnered widespread attention amid other judicial efforts to expose reporters' confidential sources. On Dec. 1, the source of the tape was revealed to be Providence lawyer Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr. And on Dec. 9, Taricani was sentenced to six months' home confinement on his criminal contempt conviction. Interact Survey: Fair or not? React to Taricani's sentencing Survey: React to the Taricani tape revelation Multimedia Video: View the tape, later entered in evidence at trial Related links Dec. 10, 2004: Transcript of Judge Torres's remarks regarding "five myths" he says emerged from the case Dec. 1, 2004: Special prosecutor's response to the Taricani sentencing memorandum, revealing his source Dec. 1, 2004: Taricani's response to tape source Joseph A. Bevilacqua's contentions Chronology of the Taricani case / Taricani's bio / Taricani's post-conviction statement

04/07/2005

Judge shortens Taricani's time in confinement
PROVIDENCE -- Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani will be freed from his sentence of home confinement Saturday morning.

02/26/2005

Taxpayers get bill for Taricani prosecution
PROVIDENCE -- The final cost to taxpayers of prosecuting reporter Jim Taricani for criminal contempt is more than $150,000.

12/22/2004

Taricani won't appeal punishment
PROVIDENCE -- Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani, who was sentenced to six months of home confinement for defying a federal court order, will not appeal his conviction and punishment.

12/10/2004 Taricani sentenced to home confinement PROVIDENCE -- After a dramatic, daylong hearing, a federal judge yesterday sentenced Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani to six months of probation, on home confinement, for defying a court order to reveal who illegally gave him a secret FBI...

'Media hype' distorted issues, judge says
PROVIDENCE -- The case of Jim Taricani has drawn national attention as a defining moment for the First Amendment and freedom of the press. But it is much more than that, Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres said yesterday.

Conditions of confinement intended to mirror prison
PROVIDENCE -- Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres wants to make Jim Taricani's two-story Colonial in North Kingstown as much like a federal prison as possible.

From Paris trip to Cianci trial, the memories flowed freely
They'll always have Paris.

12/09/2004

Taricani gets 6 months' home confinement
PROVIDENCE -- Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani was sentenced today to six months' home confinement for refusing to tell a special prosecutor who gave him a secret FBI videotape from the Operation Plunder Dome investigation into corruption at Providence City Hall. The judge cited the reporter's health and his good citizenship in deciding not to send him to prison.

Taricani's health could weigh heavily in sentencing
PROVIDENCE -- Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres will have to weigh whether sending reporter Jim Taricani to prison will imperil his health.

Stakes high as Taricani is due to be sentenced
PROVIDENCE -- A big Rhode Island moment is set to unfold in federal court this morning, as Jim Taricani, a familiar face for years as an investigative reporter for Channel 10, is scheduled to be sentenced for refusing to disclose the source of a secret FBI videotape.

M. Charles Bakst: Waiting to see if Judge Torres finally gets it
The eyes of Rhode Island and the nation will be on U.S. District Court today, where Chief Judge Ernest Torres is to sentence Channel 10 newsman Jim Taricani for doing his job.

12/08/2004 Prosecutor: Taricani should repay government for probe costs Posted 2:34 p.m. PROVIDENCE -- Claiming that Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani cost the government more than $100,000 by refusing to identify the source of a secret Plunder Dome videotape, a special prosecutor has asked a judge to order the newsman to repay the government.

Taricani lawyers oppose paying for his prosecution
PROVIDENCE -- Lawyers for Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani yesterday argued that a judge can make Taricani pay the government's legal bills only as an alternative to putting him in prison or otherwise punishing him.

12/07/2004 Taricani files rebuttal to Bevilacqua's version of events PROVIDENCE -- In a sworn affidavit filed with the federal judge who will sentence him on Thursday, television reporter Jim Taricani yesterday disputed the version of events given by lawyer Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr., who gave him a secret FBI...

TV reporter preparing for prison, but hopes judge will show mercy
CRANSTON -- Jim Taricani is scared about the prospect of going to prison. A heart transplant recipient, he's worried that prison doctors won't be able to manage his many medical problems and that his safety could be at risk.

12/05/2004

Taricani still faces threat of prison sentence
PROVIDENCE -- Even though his source has been revealed, television reporter Jim Taricani is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for criminal contempt for defying a court order to reveal who gave him a secret FBI videotape that was part of the...

Joel Rawson: Our freedom to report is under attack
From a speech given Nov. 11 at the Yankee Quill Award banquet in Cambridge.

12/04/2004

Taricani prosecutor to subpoena Bevilacqua
PROVIDENCE -- Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr., a defense lawyer in the Plunder Dome corruption case who was the source of a secret FBI videotape given to Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani, is being subpoenaed to testify at Taricani's sentencing hearing,...

Taricani case spurs drive for shield law for reporters in Mass.
BOSTON (AP) -- A Boston lawyer is spearheading a movement to pass a reporter's shield law in Massachusetts, prompted by cases across the country of reporters being held in contempt and jailed for refusing to reveal their confidential sources.

12/03/2004

Judge raises possibility of Taricani paying for probe
PROVIDENCE -- A judge yesterday ordered lawyers to weigh in on whether Channel 10's Jim Taricani should pay legal bills that the government incurred in trying to figure out who gave the reporter a secret FBI videotape.

Lawyer Bevilacqua no stranger to controversy In a profession where reputations are made by the company you keep, Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr. has lived on the edge.

12/02/2004 Bevilacqua source of Taricani tape PROVIDENCE -- Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr., a defense lawyer in the Plunder Dome corruption case, was the source of a secret FBI videotape given to Jim Taricani, the television reporter who faces sentencing next week for criminal contempt.

M. Charles Bakst: Taricani saga: Bevilacqua story hard to accept
Your head may be spinning as you try to follow developments in the case of Channel 10 newsman Jim Taricani. Talk about legal snarls!

12/01/2004 Court papers: Lawyer Bevilacqua is source of Taricani tape Updated 6:14 p.m. PROVIDENCE -- The special prosecutor in Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani's contempt case today revealed the source of an FBI tape given to Taricani -- lawyer Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr., who represented ex-city tax official Joseph A. Pannone in the Operation Plunder Dome case.

12/01/2004
Letters to judge show support for Taricani
PROVIDENCE -- Nine Rhode Islanders, including a lawyer for one of the defendants convicted in the Operation Plunder Dome corruption case, have written letters to the chief judge of the U.S. District Court here on behalf of Channel 10 investigative ...

Prosecution costs exceed $100,000 in Taricani case
PROVIDENCE -- The lawyers who are prosecuting reporter Jim Taricani for his refusal to disclose who leaked to him a secret FBI videotape have billed the government more than $100,000 to date for work they have done in connection with the case.

11/20/2004
Conn. senator pushes journalism shield law
WASHINGTON -- Spurred by the case of Rhode Island newsman Jim Taricani and other judicial efforts to expose reporters' confidential sources, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd proposed a journalism shield law yesterday that would cover the federal court.

11/19/2004 Taricani found guilty of contempt PROVIDENCE -- Jim Taricani, an investigative reporter for Channel 10, was found guilty of criminal contempt yesterday for refusing to reveal the source of an undercover videotape that showed a City Hall official accepting a cash bribe.

11/18/2004 Worried, but ready to 'tough this out' Jim Taricani learned about journalism on the streets of Providence in the 1970s -- in the bars and mob joints, the police haunts and courthouses, riding around in beat-up cars on stakeouts in his dungarees and moccasins and modishly long hair.

Torres feels bound to fulfill his duty PROVIDENCE -- Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres is on the verge of sending Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani to prison, and he said he finds that prospect "very unpalatable."

A&E channel revives the Plunder Dome saga Saturday night Just in case you've been nostalgic for the Plunder Dome saga, cable channel A&E takes you back Saturday night as City Confidential devotes an episode to the FBI investigation and subsequent trial that landed former Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. behind.

More recent coverage of the case ...