6 November 2021
Colonel Michael J. Winquist
Office of the Chief of Cranston Police
5 Garfield Avenue
Cranston, RI 02920
Dear Colonel Winquist:
I hope this message finds you well. I long for the days of the pre-Trump era where folks who might disagree on a few topics could still find other issues that they could work together on. That seems to be decades ago or it’s just a side effect of the pandemic.
Thank you for being a Police Chief running a Police Department that hardly ever shows up in my mentions. No one thinks you are on the take. Black and Hispanic folks aren’t counseling one another to be “careful whenever you’re over there”. That is a big change from some places.
Why all that is true, there are two reasons why you will be the center of attention, community wise, over the next 12 months or so. An organization known as the ILO Group is stealing $2 million from Rhode Island citizens as we speak. Their President lives in Cranston. Secondly, one particular candidate for Secretary of State has nefarious goals in mind. The person pulling their strings lives in your community.
Your reaction to all this may just be, “Well Bobby, that’s cool and all, but as long as you don’t break the law, do what you have to do and we can be left out of it”. Many Police Chiefs have said exactly that to me numerous times over the years. On the other hand, some other chiefs have been more in line with, “Well Bobby, you have a right to free speech and all, but, we like to control the streets so if you’re planning anything, a heads up would be more than appreciated”. I am just trying to see where you come down on this particular question. Yes, it could be in the middle.
For the record, I am not a big fan of protests. Holding up signs and yelling at buildings is a total waste of time. What do I like?? Soft but legal confrontation. I know you want an example.
There used to be this total racist type, well – based on the sex workers he invested in that wasn’t true but everybody has to energize their base somehow, who served on the Oneida County Legislature. He was always running his mouth about “illegals and refugees and drugs coming over the border.” Even though he was one of those types, all his favorite bodegas where he would buy his snacks were refugee owned.
One particular Wednesday, while he was taking his normal break between the end of the Republican Legislative Caucus and the actual County Legislature meeting, he began his stroll away from the County Building down to Bleecker Street where the Bodegas tend to have a more exotic origin.
We had people every 150 feet or so. Some were in alleys, some were parked in cars, some were having conversations. On his way back, every ten seconds or so, someone would pop out of “thin air” with a message. The message was totally legal but you could tell the effect was rattling. We also got the vote on the issue we wanted. No need to break the law whatsoever.
One of the things I demand of my volunteers is a background check. I know I have talked to other Rhode Island Chiefs about this over the years. In the Newport 2009-2012 era, there was this one guy who loved public protests at City Hall and the Police Station. Only problem was every time his crew showed up, somebody would get arrested for a failure to appear or a straight probation violation. Week after week he got embarrassed like that and he never ran paperwork on anybody. I find that sloppy and highly unacceptable.
I would love to tell you that everyone is going to maintain their composure. Sadly that would be a lie due to Rep. Amore running for Secretary of State. Why is that??
Ever notice that when Republicans lose a race, sometimes now even when they win, they ask for an “audit”?? That’s because they’re not really interested in the race. They want to learn how machines work and get a free look at the files. Why do they have to do this?? Not only is their base shrinking daily, due to deaths from COVID and old age, but what is remaining is not exactly bright.
The same is true for Mattiello’s crowd. Mattiello put up Amore to run so Mattiello could have all the records. All of Amore’s future hires will be Mattiello surrogates trying to hold on to the idea that the Democratic Party can turn its back on women and minorities. 70% of the Party is tired of this and does not believe Mattiello and his crooks, like the ILO Group it’s a thieving organization, should have said access. Whenever Rep. Amore say this race is about his personal goals you just have to laugh.
Therefore, there is reason to poke around where former Speaker Mattiello roams. He has a tendency to be sloppy. The spillover will make it hard for Rep. Amore to run an undistracted campaign.
While we are doing all this, ff you think someone’s behavior is approaching the line but has not crossed it yet, please do not hesitate to ask for a sit down. You will find out even when I get arrested, I behave rather nicely. That is how I was taught. It is in everyone’s interest to make sure even when disagreements reach fever pitch that the law is followed.
This is making me long for that pre-Trump world even more. Back in 2013, when I first got to Utica, because the Southern Strategy hadn’t taken effect there as a result of the Elefante crime family’s efforts, I used to caucus with the Republicans. We just got along better and had financial conservatism in common. That could never happen today.
One last thing. That God awful Cyberstalking Statute is on the books. We almost tossed it when I forced Rep. Serpa to ask a Trump supporter, talking about showing no respect for the Party you supposedly belong to, to lie to the West Warwick Police on he behalf. We were almost there with our Motion to Dismiss at the ready but the folks in West Warwick knew that they had a loser of a case on their hands, started with the racist Trump supporter, and dropped the issue. I still have time to decide whether I will sue or not.
I am not saying it will be your community for sure, but somebody has to arrest me for cyberstalking so we can crush the poorly written statute in the courts and make an example out of some Trump supporter. Your Solicitor Chris Millea immediately comes to mind. He hates women. He secretly supports Trump. He was part of Team Mattiello. His social media is a mess. He defends pedophiles. Even though he is constantly in the company of pedophiles and defending them, he always has a referee/coach role.
You have to wonder with so many red flags who would trust their kids around him, kinda like that Priest in Providence this past week, but some do. If we decide to get him riled up to the point he uses an Unconstitutional statute to squelch protected speech, please do not take it personally. It is about him and certainly not you. Anything that spills over from anything Mattiello related will also stain Mr. Millea.
Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
In Hoc Signo,
Robert T. Oliveira
Warwick, RI
401-391-6402
Quahogs United 