PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A former Cranston lawyer who admitted stealing $2.5 million from homeowners and new home buyers says he is unable to fulfill a condition of his sentence that requires him to perform community service related to the law.
Pasquale A. Scavitti III, 51, says he has not been able to find any public service opportunities speaking to or writing for his former colleagues in the Rhode Island Bar Association. He asks in court papers that his volunteer work with the Roman Catholic Diocese satisfy the community service requirement imposed by a federal judge.
In December 2009, U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith sentenced Scavitti to 3 ½ years in prison for wire fraud and ordered him to pay $2.5 million in restitution. Scavitti diverted the money to cover personal and office expenses, including his own mortgage payments, and gambling.
Smith also imposed five years of supervised release. The judge ordered Scavitti to perform 200 hours of community service each year with a preference given to "activities involving: speaking with members of the bar; writing an article for the Bar Journal; speaking to the Young Lawyers Division and to youth groups about the defendant's actions and consequences." Scavitti was freed from prison in May 2012.
Scavitti, through his lawyer Scott A. Lutes, asserts that since his release he has been unable to find any public service options associated with the Rhode Island Bar Association "despite considerable effort."
Federal prosecutors are seeking a hearing on Scavitti's request to modify his release terms. They fault Scavitti for not documenting his efforts to find public service in the legal community.
Scavitti's lack of compliance could be viewed as violation of his supervised release, Sullivan wrote. "However, if after a good faith effort compliance was not possible, a modification may be appropriate."