Former NP councilman gets new lawyer

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The attorney representing a former North Providence town councilman facing corruption charges, has quit.

Mark Dana , a well-known Rhode Island defense attorney notified the court yesterday that he can no longer represent Joseph Burchfield, a former town council president wrapped up in a federal corruption probe.

Dana said he was legally obligated to withdraw as counsel because he learned other individuals involved in the case have been represented by the firm he works for, D’Amico and Burchfield .

“There are people in the superseding indictment, who have testified in the grand jury who have previously represented by the firm or are currently represented by the firm in civil matters,” Dana said.

Dana declined to name the individuals but said they are not defendants in the case and were represented by other lawyers in the firm. One of the partners of the law firm, Jimmy Burchfield , Jr. is Joseph Burchfield's brother.

Burchfield will now be represented by North Kingstown attorney Edward Roy, according to the filing.

Dana said his decision to withdraw as attorney was because he had to, not because of any issue he had with the case against his former client.

“I’ve never represented a defendant where I withdrew because I didn’t like the nature of the case,” Dana said. “I was legally obligated to withdraw.”

*Read Dana's court filing

Burchfield and two other former councilors, John Zambarano and Raymond Douglas, are facing federal corruption charges, accused of accepting cash bribes in exchange for their votes on controversial land deals.

Douglas was also stung with an additional federal extortion charge, accused by FBI agents of running an illegal sports betting operation out of North Providence.

Two others were charged in a second round of indictments last month ; North Providence attorney Robert Ciresi and developer Edward Imondi are accused of being middlemen in the bribery scheme.

The 12-count superseding indictment charged the defendants with conspiracy, extortion and bribery in connection with four separate schemes, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

*Read 12-count indictment

According the U.S. Attorney's Office, the conspiracy includes four alleged extorted bribe attempts, including:

* A $25,000 bribe in exchange for the supermarket development zoning change
* A $75,000 bribe in exchange for a zoning change which would permit residential development at an old mill in the Lymansville section of North Providence (of which $21,000 in cash was delivered).
* The attempted extortion of $3,000 from a bar owner seeking a liquor license (the bribe was not paid).
* The attempted extortion of $5,000 from a restaurant owner seeking an extended hours permit (the bribe was not paid).

Burchfield, Zambarano and Douglas resigned in the wake of the first round of indictments. All defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges in the bribery scheme. Douglas will be arraigned on the extortion charges related to his alleged bookmaking operation on September 13th.