PROVIDENCE OFFICER CHARGED IN THEFTS FROM DRUG BUYERS

Two Men Say That In Separate Incidents They Were Planning To Buy Drugs When
A Uniformed Patrolman Confronted Them And Took Their Money.

PROVIDENCE -- A Providence police officer is in jail for allegedly working
with two suspected drug dealers to rob drug buyers while he was on duty in
Silver Lake.

Patrolman Robert Autieri, 30, a six-year veteran, is being held without
bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions on two counts of first-degree
robbery and two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery, all felonies. He
faces up to life in prison if convicted of the robbery charges and up to 10
years for conspiracy.

Described by his co-workers as a quiet person, Autieri came under scrutiny
when the two alleged drug buyers complained he'd robbed them of money and a
gun. The allegations stunned his fellow officers, some of whom filtered
into the auditorium at the Providence Public Safety Complex to hear
yesterday's announcement of Autieri's arrest.

"This is a sad day for the Providence Police Department," said Deputy Chief
Andrew Rosenzweig. "Honest and hard-working officers of the department
should not be tainted by acts of one individual. Our department will not
allow the badge to be tarnished."

Autieri was living and working in Silver Lake. He'd had no disciplinary
problems and an "unremarkable" work record, Rosenzweig said. That ended
with two incidents in two days early this month. An affidavit filed in
District Court described the three-week investigation by police and the
attorney general's office.

The first complaint came Jan. 5, when Scott Kepner, 22, whose hometown was
not available, told detectives in the internal affairs bureau that a
uniformed officer robbed him of $18,000 cash.

Kepner said he'd arranged to buy six pounds of marijuana from his longtime
drug-dealing contact "Sammy," whom the police identified as Samuel
Martinez, 28, of Wallace Street. Kepner said Martinez directed him to
Simmons Street and told him to wait for his phone call. While Kepner waited
in a car with an unidentified associate, he saw another man walking with a
duffle bag. A police cruiser immediately drove up with its lights flashing,
Kepner told detectives. The officer drew his gun and ordered Kepner and his
associate out of the car, the detectives were told. The police officer took
the $18,000 cash from the car and drove away with the man carrying the
duffle bag, the affidavit said. The police said they believed that man was
Jason Tanner, 25, formerly of Providence, now of North Bay Village, Fla.

Kepner went to the police station that night to complain, and he picked out
Autieri from a crowd of officers ending their 3 to 11 p.m. shift. Autieri
told the investigators Kepner had been buying drugs in Silver Lake that
night. But Autieri hadn't written a report about it, according to the
affidavit. In fact, he'd answered and responded to only one call during his
eight-hour shift, the affidavit said.

Kepner also told the police that Martinez had previously given him the name
of a police officer he could use in case he was ever stopped. Kepner had
written down the name as "Rob Oteery" and the notations "Silver Lake" and
"cop." As the police were investigating, another person came forward a few
days later. Nelson Corga, 27, of Tiverton, said a uniformed officer had
stolen a handgun and thousands in cash from his car on Jan. 3. Corga said
he'd arranged to buy about $6,000 worth of marijuana from Tanner. Tanner
directed Corga and an associate to Simmons Street, where Tanner went to get
the drugs.

As Tanner returned, a police cruiser drove up. Tanner and Corga were put in
the cruiser as the officer searched the car. The officer then released
Corga and his associate, and the officer drove off with Tanner. The
handgun, the drug money and extra cash were gone, Corga told investigators.
The police said other witnesses identified Autieri as the officer making
stops on Simmons Street both nights. Those stops don't appear in any police
reports. Although Autieri allegedly drove off with Tanner, no one was
arrested. "There is no record of Autieri making any arrests on either of
those evenings," the affidavit said.

Autieri was suspended with pay when the allegations surfaced. He was
suspended without pay when he was criminally charged. Martinez and Tanner,
childhood acquaintances, were arrested in Miami, Fla., last week and
charged with first-degree robbery and conspiracy to deliver marijuana.
Neither Kepner nor Corga have been charged, the police said. Autieri
surrended to Providence officers at his parents' house on Wednesday and
spent the night in a cell at the police station until his arraignment in
District Court yesterday morning.

He entered the courtroom in handcuffs and spoke softly before Chief Judge
Albert E. DeRobbio. He will be held until a bail hearing on Feb. 12.
Because he's a police officer, Autieri is being isolated from the other
inmates at the ACI, said Department of Corrections spokesman Al Bucci.
Autieri's lawyer, Stephen Famiglietti, said Autieri told him he'd stopped
the cars for suspected drug dealing. He searched the cars, but seized
nothing, Famiglietti said.

"My client says there never was any money," Famiglietti said. "What he
expected to find were drugs. He didn't find any evidence. He had no choice
but to let them go."

The police acknowledge that neither money nor the gun were recovered. They
didn't comment on a relationship between the officer and the two alleged
conspirators, although Tanner's telephone number appears more than a dozen
times on Autieri's cell-phone records during the officer's shift on Jan. 3
and Jan. 5. Famiglietti said one of the two conspirators was an informant
for Autieri. After reading the affidavit yesterday, the lawyer was solemn.
"The charges are serious and, if true, outrageous," he said.