Property Manager Hit With 10 Fraud Counts

Starting in Sept. 2009, Anthony Piccirilli advertised his company, Property Masters, on Craigslist. 

Property owners responded to the ad, and shortly, Piccirilli was showing apartments and making deals to split first-month rent payments in exchange for replacing garage doors and making repairs.

By February of 2010, police said, Piccirilli had defrauded a total of $12,850 while representing himself as a property manager.

In what Major Robert W. Ryan of Cranston Police called a "substantial fraud case," Piccirilli, 52, of 2415 Tower Hill Road in North Kingstown, now faces 10 felony counts of unlawful appropriation and larceny among other charges after being arrested today.

Police said Piccirilli was picked up on several warrant including four Cranston warrants by North Kingstown Police, Ryan said.

The investigation began on Sept. 25, 2009, when a potential renter told police he was shown a house on Everbloom Drive by Piccirilli. Piccirilli said he was was the property manager and took a $200 cash deposit to hold the property while a rental application was processed.

Several days passed and the renter was unable to reach Piccirilli to close the deal.

Police contacted the property owner who said he employed Piccirilli after responding to an ad on craigslist and had never seen an application from the prospective renter, nor had he seen any deposit.

A second fraud complaint was filed on Oct. 1 after the same property owner said another individual had rented the property there and gave Piccirilli an $800 deposit. It was agreed that the first-month's rent would be split and Piccirilli would replace the garage door in lieu of giving the $800 to the owner. The work never happened and police issued two warrants for his arrest, but Piccirilli could not be found, police said.

Still at large, Piccirilli came to the attention of police once again on Feb. 2. This time, he was representing a property on Main Street. Much like the Everbloom incident, Piccirilli agreed to manage the property and make several repairs. Through the month of February, he took seven checks to make repairs including the replacement of kitchen cabinets, new plumbing, siding, painting, a new garage door and to dig a trench in the back yard for underground utilities.

None of the work was completed and the tenant gave Piccirilli a security deposit and a portion of the first month's rent. Again, Piccirilli disappeared and took a total of $11,350.

On Feb. 4, police began investigating another fraud incident on Cranston Street. In this case, Piccirilli told a prospective renter than a $500 deposit had to be made up front to hold the property with an understanding that the renter had the first right of refusal and could get the deposit back if not interested. When that in fact happened, Piccirilli once again was impossible to reach. 

Piccirilli faces a total of ten felonies and two misdemeanors: nine felony counts of unlawful appropriation, one count of felony larceny, one misdemeanor charge of unlawful appropriation and one misdemeanor count of obtaining money under false pretenses. 

He was arraigned in Kent County District Court and bail was set at $19,000 with surety for the Cranston charges. He continued to be held to answer charges in a similar case out of East Providence.