PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Joseph Morricone, the notorious embezzler and central figure in the Rhode Island banking crisis of the early 1990s, made a very brief court appearance Wednesday to renew his restitution payments to the state.
Morricone is currently paying $70 a month on the $12 million he was ordered to repay.
Last August, Judge Gina Lopez found Morricone in violation of his probation for failing to pay the full amount.
Morricone made monthly payments, but for more than a year, they were far less than the $270 per month he was supposed to be paying.
As a result, Mr. Morricone's probationary period was extended to August, but Mr. Lopez also agreed to reduce the required monthly payments to $70.
In court Wednesday, Lopez said Morricone has been making monthly payments, including the most recent installment last week.
Morricone has paid $53,888 so far, according to the court system.
Morricone, now 81, arrived at the courtroom alone and waited in the hallway for court to begin.
Asked by NBC 10 News if he had any comment on his payment, Morricone said as he left the courtroom: “No, but thank you for your concern.”
Mr. Morricone's theft of approximately $15 million from Heritage Loan & Investment Bank, which he operated in Providence's Federal Hill, led to the collapse of the private insurance company that supported many credit unions in the state. .
Morricone disappeared at the end of 1990.
Newly installed Governor Bruce Sandlan ordered the closure of the affected credit unions and banks (45 of them) in early 1991, creating an unprecedented crisis in the state.
About 300,000 customers had their savings suspended, many for more than a year.
The state borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars to pay them back.
Morricone surrendered in April 1992 after living in Utah under a false identity.
He was convicted in 1993 and sentenced to 30 years in prison and $12 million in restitution.
Mr. Morricone was released from prison in 2002.
Judge Lopez scheduled a new status update in April.
