Yes....this really happened!
pata...@my-deja.com
A jury awards the money to convicted felon Robert A. Barbato, who
claimed he was permanently injured when a car tapped the bumper of his
wife's Mercedes-Benz.
By W. ZACHARY MALINOWSKI
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- A reputed mob associate from Cranston has won nearly
$500,000 from a lawsuit in which he claimed to have suffered permanent
injuries in a 1993 fender-bender with a retired minister from New
Jersey.
On Dec. 12, a Superior Court jury awarded $258,635, plus interest, to
Robert A. Barbato, a twice-convicted felon. Among the matters in
dispute during the 10-day trial were Barbato's alleged injuries, where
the accident occurred, when it happened and what the weather was that
day.
One fact about the accident was never in dispute, according to court
records: the impact was not enough to awaken Barbato, who was asleep in
the passenger's seat of the Mercedes-Benz, which was owned by Barbato's
wife, Maria.
The parties in the case are declining to discuss it. Barbato's lawyers,
William A. Gosz, of Providence, and Thomas A. Tarro III, of Warwick,
did not return phone calls.
The minister, the Rev. John F. Stephenson Jr. of Bridgewater, N.J.,
referred all questions to his lawyer, John W. Kershaw, of Providence,
who also declined comment.
The judgment is the latest in a series of good fortune that Barbato has
experienced in Rhode Island courts.
In 1996, a jury in federal court acquitted Barbato and three other men
on charges they conspired to defraud the government of thousands of
dollars in taxes through a multimillion-dollar land deal in North
Providence.
In 1984, Barbato was indicted on federal racketeering and extortion
charges, but a jury deadlocked and the government dropped the case.
Barbato has two felony convictions, including one for defrauding an
insurance company for staging a phony car accident. But those
convictions were not introduced at the latest trial: Barbato had taken
advantage of a state law that allows convicted felons to get their
criminal records erased 10 years after the sentence has been served.
The jury also never heard that Barbato and his brother, Donald Barbato,
ran the now-defunct Montecello's clothing store in North Providence,
which had long been suspected by the state police as a meeting place
for top underworld figures.
The jury also never learned that John H. Petrarca, who appraised the
damage to Mrs. Barbato's 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL, and who testified
on Barbato's behalf, is a twice-convicted felon and former vice
president of a Providence auto body shop that was frequented by
mobsters.
The judge in the case, Stephen P. Nugent, ruled that Petrarca's
criminal history was too long ago to be relevant to the Barbato case.
COURT RECORDS show that the case began more than seven years ago -- in
July 1993.
There is no police report of the accident -- police were never called --
so no one is certain when it took place. Court records show that it
may have occurred on July 12, July 13, July 15, or July 19.
Barbato and his wife, Maria, were heading home to Cranston after
spending the afternoon at Sakonnet Vineyards, in Little Compton. Mrs.
Barbato was driving the Mercedes-Benz sedan while her husband was
asleep in the passenger's seat.
The Barbatos and their lawyers maintain that the car was northbound on
Route 136 near Gooding Avenue in Bristol. According to Mrs. Barbato,
her car was stopped at a traffic light when it was bumped from behind
by a 1986 Volvo station wagon driven by Mr. Stephenson.
Mrs. Barbato was startled. She looked into her rear view mirror and saw
Mr. Stephenson's Volvo, which was up against her car's rear bumper. She
awoke her husband, who was asleep in a reclining position: an exhibit
at the trial used to recreate the accident showed that Barbato was
lying almost flat on his back.
According to a report in the court file, Barbato got out of the car and
looked at the damage.
"The vehicles were a few feet apart and it was raining very hard. Mrs.
Barbato saw her husband motioning with his arm to the other driver.
When Mr. Barbato got back in the car, he told her, 'I got his plate and
that's it,' " according to court records.
The Barbatos both were wearing seat belts.
THE STEPHENSONS have a different recollection, according to depositions
in the court file.
After spending time in Newport, they were heading home to New Jersey.
Mr. Stephenson, a retired Presbyterian minister who suffers from
rheumatoid arthritis, said he was driving north on Route 114 -- not 136
as the Barbatos contended -- when he was blinded by the strong
sunlight. He asked his wife to attach clip-on sunglasses to his
glasses. She did and handed the glasses back.
Mr. Stephenson said he saw the Barbatos' Mercedes-Benz stopped at a
traffic light ahead of him. He pulled up about five feet behind the
car. Stephenson realized that the clip-on sunglasses were improperly
attached; he tried to adjust them.
"While his attention was focused on the glasses, his foot eased
unintentionally up on the brake pedal," said a report in the court
file.
The Stephenson vehicle rolled forward and struck the rear bumper of the
Barbato Mercedes."
Mr. Stephenson said he saw Barbato climb out of the car and check his
bumper. He said that Barbato gestured to him. "Rev. Stephenson
interpreted the gesture as meaning, 'forget it, and drive off.' "
Mr. Stephenson said he waited for the Barbatos to drive off and he
followed behind them. Once they reached Route 195, the Stephensons
passed the Barbatos and headed home. Mr. Stephenson said the Barbatos
never gestured for them to pull over.
Once the Stephensons arrived in New Jersey, they got a call from
Providence Auto Body seeking information on their car insurance
company. The insurer, CNA insurance, which has since been taken over by
Allstate Corp., sent an adjuster to the body shop. The adjuster said
the Barbatos' Mercedes-Benz had $652.75 in damages.
However, John H. Petrarca of Providence Auto Body, reached a different
conclusion: he estimated the damages at a minimum of $4,424.98.
Records show that in 1980, Petrarca pleaded guilty to a federal charge
of failing to pay enough in federal income taxes in 1972 and 1973. In
1982, he pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge of possessing a
weapon -- a 357-Magnum -- after being convicted of a felony.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Petrarca was vice president of Dean Auto Body,
700 North Main St., Providence, identified by the state police as a
hangout for members of the Patriarca crime family. The 357-Magnum was
seized at the body shop.
Marc H. Richman, president of an engineering and legal evidence firm in
Providence, investigated the accident for the law firm defending Rev.
Stephenson. He concluded that the minister's Volvo was traveling "no
more than 1.5 miles per hour."
THREE YEARS after the accident, in June 1996, Barbato sued Mr.
Stephenson, claiming that the accident caused him "serious and severe"
injuries that left him incapacitated and unable to work.
During the trial, which lasted 10 days, doctors for the Barbato and for
Mr. Stephenson had sharply contrasting views of Barbato's injuries.
Dr. Peter Pizzarello, of Providence, examined and scheduled physical
therapy for Barbato about 60 times between July 1993 and January 1994,
records show. Pizzarello concluded that Barbato suffers from lower back
pain, bilateral leg pain, right hip pain and a tear near a protrusion
on his disc, records show.
Pizzarello testified for Barbato.
Barbato, according to court records, said that the injuries forced him
to stop working at Montecello's, his family's clothing business, on
Mineral Spring Avenue, in North Providence. He said that he worked
there in shipping and receiving from 1968 until the accident.
By February 1997, he estimated that he had lost more than $147,600 in
income.
Doctors testifying for Mr. Stephenson reached a different conclusion.
Dr. Thomas F. Morgan, of Providence, attributed Barbato's tear near his
disc to a degenerative condition -- not trauma sustained in the
accident. He also testified that the injuries to his back and shoulder
should not preclude Barbato from working.
Dr. Louis A. Fuchs was more blunt. At the trial the defense played a
videotaped deposition of Fuchs that was recorded on June 1, 1999. He
said that Barbato was six-feet tall and weighed an estimated 300
pounds.
"I would say he's morbidly obese," Fuchs said.
He also testified that he "could not find any causal relationship
whatsoever," between the accident and Barbato's physical condition.
The six-person jury deliberated six hours and sided with Barbato. It
awarded him $258,635 for personal injuries. The interest on the award,
$230,263, brought the total to $488,898.
Maria Barbato was awarded $2,212 for damage to her car. Interest
brought the total award to $4,181.
Allstate Corp. is responsible for making the payment.
Donald Lemieux Jr., of Lincoln, who served as the jury foreman, said he
felt that the case presented by Barbato's lawyers was convincing.
"It was just the evidence in the case," Lemieux said. "I don't really
have much to say about it. I just felt (Barbato) deserved to get
something."
ROBERT BARBATO is well-known to the authorities in Rhode Island.
In 1972, he received a seven-month prison sentence for making false
statements in an application for federal mortgage insurance.
In 1975, he received a five-year suspended sentence for defrauding an
insurance company by staging a phony car accident.
During the 1980s, he was constantly under the watchful eye of the state
police.
Brian Andrews, retired state police detective commander, said that some
of the top mobsters in New England were in and out of Montecello's, the
store run by Barbato and his brother, Donald Barbato.
Among the regulars were Raymond J. "Junior" Patriarca, Nicholas Bianco,
Rocco Argenti, Edward Lato and Anthony "The Saint" St. Laurent.
"We referred to it as a crime palace for organized crime," said
Andrews. "We had that place under surveillance sometimes every day for
months."
Andrews said that the state police also made an unsuccessful attempt to
install a hidden recording device in the business.
Barbato also surfaced in the impeachment hearing for Joseph A.
Bevilacqua, the late chief justice of the state Supreme Court, who
resigned in the midst of impeachment hearings in 1986. The hearings,
before the House, investigated Bevilacqua's association with convicted
criminals and mobsters.
Barbato provided testimony to investigators saying that he made
arrangements for Bevilacqua to use rooms at the Alpine Motel, in
Smithfield. Bevilacqua was accused of having an adulterous affair with
a woman at the motel.
Bevilacqua's son-in-law is William A. Gosz, one of the lawyers who
represented Barbato in the lawsuit against Mr. Stephenson.
The Barbatos played a role in the state credit union crisis that began
in 1991, about two years before the accident.
The special commission that investigated the crisis found that the
brothers had "drained" more than $2 million from the Rhode Island
Central Credit Union in a complicated series of transactions that
enabled them to buy a $200,000 Rolls Royce convertible and $60,000
worth of Boston Red Sox baseball tickets. They were never convicted of
any crime.
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/