[RI] Sgt Ciresi, accused of wife assault, sent to prison on other crimes

...he allegedly slapped his former wife, Lisa Ciresi, at her parent’s house at 36 Spicer St. during an altercation over the impending sale of their house on South Locust Avenue...

Officer sent to ACI for 20 years
Providence Journal, RI - May 29, 2008
By Richard C. Dujardin rdujardi@projo.com
Friday, May 30, 2008
[Excerpt] Suspended North Providence police Sgt. Michael Ciresi was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison for his role in the burglaries of houses in Pawtucket and North Providence and in an assortment of other crimes in 2004. Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause said a civilized society cannot afford corruption in its law enforcement agencies as he sentenced Ciresi to 45 years with 20 to serve. Krause rejected a request by Ciresi’s new lawyer, Richard Corley, that Ciresi, 41, be permitted to remain on home confinement while his convictions are appealed to the state Supreme Court. He had been on home confinement since his conviction in February on eight felonies and one misdemeanor... In a three-week trial that included testimony from ex-convicts, crime victims and drug informants, prosecutors Matthew Dawson and Alan Goulart argued that Ciresi was a “dirty cop” who used his position to benefit himself financially... State police Lt. David Palmer, North Providence’s acting police chief, said the judge was right to hold police officers to a higher standard. He said that under the Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights, Ciresi remains suspended without pay but will remain a member of the department until his appeals have been exhausted. [Full article here]

From last year:

Suspended officer charged with assaulting his ex-wife
The Providence Journal
By Richard C. Dujardin
Friday, May 18, 2007
[Excerpt] Sgt. Michael Ciresi, a North Providence police sergeant who is awaiting trial on charges of receiving stolen goods and obstructing justice, has been charged with assaulting his ex-wife. Deputy Chief Paul Marino said the 39-year-old officer was arrested on domestic assault charges around 8 p.m. Tuesday after he allegedly slapped his former wife, Lisa Ciresi, at her parent’s house at 36 Spicer St. during an altercation over the impending sale of their house on South Locust Avenue. Ciresi, a son of former Town Solicitor Robert Ciresi, acknowledged to the police on Tuesday that he had been arguing with his wife, but insisted that she hit him in the face twice before, on the third attempt, he put his arm up to protect himself, causing her to move her arm up and hit herself in the face. Lisa Ciresi and her parents, Judith and Steven Rothwell, offered a different version, saying she slapped him only after he backed her into a corner while pointing and yelling into her face. Although the police took Lisa Ciresi into custody, she was not charged with assault; the attorney general’s office determined she was acting in self defense... Ciresi was held overnight Tuesday on the domestic assault charge. On Wednesday, District Court Judge Michael Higgins released him on $1,000 cash bail. He is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on the domestic assault charge on May 31, with a trial set for June 13... [Full article here]