RI man charged, helped escaped prisoner

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Warwick man is accused of helping an art dealer after he escaped from federal prison last year. Louis Stein was arrested by federal agents at his home Monday.

He was released on unsecured $50,000 bond on a charge of concealing a prisoner.

Authorities said in an affidavit that the 56-year-old Stein picked up Rocco DeSimone from a gas station in Warwick last March after DeSimone escaped from a prison in New Jersey where he was serving a sentence for tax fraud.

Stein allegedly drove DeSimone to the Boston area and paid for a hotel room. He's also accused of taking him to New York to see an art dealer. Stein's court-appointed attorney didn't return a phone call seeking comment after business hours.

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