Convicted Murderer Arrested For Pot Operation in Johnston

Nearly three decades after he was convicted of murdering a 13-year-old boy, a Rhode Island man was arrested last week for allegedly running an illegal marijuana operation.

Gerald Mastracchio, 52, of 420 Woodward Rd., North Providence, was arrested Thursday. State Police said he ran the operation out of a home at 122 Putnam Pike in Johnston. Police seized 28 plants, packing materials, and scales. Mastracchio had a valid medical marijuana card, but police said the amount of pot in his possession exceeded what’s allowed by law.

Police also arrested 53-year-old Joseph Ziroli, who authorities said lives at 122 Putnam Pike. He was charged with marijuana possession.

Matracchio was convicted of murdering 13-year-old Richard Valente in 1979. Authorities said he beat Valente in the head with a baseball bat and tossed the boy from the Jamestown Bridge into Narragansett Bay, where he drowned. Matracchio was sentenced to life in prison but his conviction was overturned in 1997, according to the Providence Journal. He was released from prison in 2010. He went back after violating his parole and was released again in 2012.

A judge on Friday ordered Matracchio held without bail pending a court hearing Aug. 7.

Ziroli was arraigned and released on $1,000 bail.

State Police said they anticipated they will file more charges.

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