Cleaning Person Arrested for Stealing iPads from Town Hall

Portsmouth Police have arrested a Central Falls man for allegedly stealing eight iPads and a charging station from Portsmouth Town Hall last week.

Portsmouth Police Lt. A.J. Bucci said that Francisco Herrera, 38, of 61 Shawmut Ave., Apt. 3, was arrested by Central Falls Police on Tuesday to cap an investigation that began the day after the iPads disappeared on Aug. 25.

Police said Herrera became a suspect after an investigation that showed he was working in Town Hall at the time of the theft.

Pawtucket police helped Portsmouth locate six of the iPads from a pawn shop in their city, Bucci said.

Herrera was arraigned in Second Division District Court on Wednesday on a felony larceny charge along with charges of possession of stolen goods filed by Pawtucket police.

The incident remains under investigation.

The Portsmouth Town Council is paying TNT Cleaning Services of Assonet, Mass., $20,800 to clean Town Hall for one year.

In a June 1 memo, Acting Finance Director Fung Chan said that the company was established in 2002 and “among their references and current clients are several governmental and educational facilities, including the RI State Division of Purchasing facility.”

A woman who responded to a reporter’s inquiry at TNT Cleaning Services Wednesday afternoon declined comment.