Police Arrest Second Suspect Accused of Posing as Gloria Gemma Volunteer

The second suspect wanted for allegedly collecting donations from visitors at St. Mary’s Feast last weekend at a fake Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation tent has been arrested.

Cranston Police Chief Col. Michael J. Winquist said that police received multiple tips about the identity of the suspect, who has been identified as Matthew Murphy, 30, of North Kingstown, after his picture was distributed on social media.

Murphy turned himself in to police on Sunday night and will be held overnight for arraignment on Monday, Winquist said.

Alan Ponte, 46, was arrested at the scene after an employee from the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation saw the booth that Ponte and Murphy had set up and called police.

Murphy had left by the time police arrived, Winquist said.

Police said the men had made a homemade sign using the Gloria Gemma Foundation logo. They also had pink bags to give away and actually gave false information about cancer, officials from the charity said.

The men had collected over $200.

“The power of social media in criminal investigations is undeniable. Within hours of the suspect’s photo being released on Facebook and traditional media outlets, members of the public stepped up and were responsible for identifying this suspect,” Winquist said. “The Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Research Foundation is a well respected charitable organization and it is unfortunate that if the allegations are sustained, these individuals have taken advantage of not only the dedicated people who run the foundation, but also those who have been affected by breast cancer and relied upon on their resources.”

The foundation said in a statement on its Facebook page that they wanted to express thanks to the Cranston Police Department and the St. Mary’s Feast Committee for their cooperation.

“We hold the St. Mary’s Feast Committee completely harmless and want to express our apologies to them for any disruption caused, at their event, by the arrest of this alleged impostor. We also hope that anyone at the feast who received information from these individuals will call us so we may provide you with credible resources,” the statement read.