Journal file photo
Caramadre
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Cranston philanthropist Joseph Caramadre argues he should be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas to defrauding dying people because he was beset by depression exacerbated by his wife's distress and had poor legal representation.
Caramadre says he has suffered depression for 20-plus years as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder manifested by "his intense need to declare his innocence," court papers show.
He faults lawyers, Anthony Traini and Michael Lepizzera, for failing to effectively cross-examine witnesses who testified before he pleaded guilty four days into trial. He accused Traini of urging him to plead despite his protests of innocence.
Caramadre and Raymour Radhakrishnan pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy in an investment scheme that used dying people's identities to buy accounts investors profited from after the people died.