Johnston Judge, 4 Others Steal Guns, Sports Cards From Dead Cranston Man's Estate: AG

CRANSTON, RI — A Johnston probate judge and four others were indicted Wednesday after state prosecutors said they stole valuable sports cards and gun collection from the estate of a dead Cranston man.

The indictment charged Judge Priscilla Facha DiMaio, 65, Sylvia Santilli, 71, Luke Baughman, 37, Jillian Chatelle, 32, and James Connors, 69, with various crimes in connection to stealing from the estate of the late James Barbieri. Prosecutors said the estate included collections of sports cards with an estimated value of more than $1 million and guns worth more than $100,000.

According to prosecutors, Barbieri died on April 26, 2021, at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence and did so without a will. During the final days of his life, Barbieri was sedated and intubated. Two days before his death, prosecutors said Santilli, a close friend of Barbieri, began to remove items from his home without lawful claim or authority to do so.

On the day Barbieri died, prosecutors said Santilli, her daughter Chatelle, and Chatelle’s boyfriend Baughman, went online to look up the market rates for sports cards contained in Barbieri’s collection.

The following day, the three co-defendants stole the sports cards and other items from the estate, prosecutors said. They later sold a portion of the collection, sought more buyers, and brought the goods to a storage unit for later sale, according to prosecutors.

Separately, prosecutors said Connors, the owner of Jim’s Firearm Repair and Sales in Johnston, received and eventually sold guns stolen from Barbieri’s estate. In response to a probate court subpoena, Connors knowingly submitted a false accounting and receipts of the guns sold and their approximate value, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said Connors sold several firearms for more than the value he reported to the Cranston Probate Court.

Additionally, DiMaio filed with the Cranston Probate Court an Application for Approval of fiduciary’s and attorney’s fees for work that she claimed to have performed for the Barbieri estate for services on the following dates: May 8, May 9, May 12, May 15, and May 21, 2021. Prosecutors said these claims are false.

The five co-defendants faced the following charges:

Santilli

• Entering a dwelling to commit larceny
• Two counts of larceny over $1,500
• Obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500
• Conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses
• Attempting to obtain money under false pretenses
• Conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses
• Conspiracy to commit larceny.

Baughman

• Receiving stolen goods over $1,500
• Conspiracy to receive stolen goods
• Obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500
• Conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses
• Attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500
• Conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses
• Larceny over $1,500
• Conspiracy to commit larceny.

Chatelle

• Receiving stolen goods over $1,500
• Conspiracy to receive stolen goods
• Obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500
• Conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses
• Attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500
• Conspiracy to attempt to obtain money under false pretenses.

DiMaio

• Attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500
• Providing a false document to a public official.

Connors

• Attempting to obtain money under false pretenses over $1,500
• Unlawful appropriation over $1,000
• Three counts of providing a false document to a public official.

The indictment was unsealed Thursday, at the arraignments of Santilli, Chatelle, and Connors in Providence Superior Court. Baughman and DiMaio are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday and Wednesday.

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