Providence parking enforcement officer charged with stealing from meter
PROVIDENCE, R.I. October 19 2018 A veteran parking enforcement officer is facing a criminal charge for allegedly stealing coins from a meter, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré.
Frances Holt, who has worked for the city since 1989, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on a single misdemeanor charge of embezzlement/wrongful conversion by a municipal employee under $100.
A Providence Police report says someone anonymously submitted a video of Holt allegedly tampering with kiosk #29, a multi-space parking meter on Blackstone Street near the hospitals.
The report says Holt was suspended from her job two days later, on October 12. The case was turned over to detectives, who are still investigating but the report says “it is unknown how long or how much money was taken from this or other machines.”
Holt’s attorney, James Lepore, waived the case up to Superior Court at her arraignment Wednesday. She was released on her own recognizance. Lepore declined to comment on her behalf.
The city’s parking enforcement officers are members of Local 1033, the municipal employees’ union. Ron Coia, the union’s business manager, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WPRI
