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Ex-Cop Arrested for the Murder of RI Firefighter

CRANSTON, RI — A firefighter is dead and a former police officer has been arrested in a shooting in Rhode Island, apparently stemming from a neighborhood dispute.

Cranston Fire Chief James Gumbley said Lt. James Pagano was killed Sunday. He was a well-liked and well-respected firefighter since 1991.

Former Providence police Officer Nicholas Gianquitti was arrested and ordered held without bail Monday on a murder charge. The Cranston police chief, Stephen McGrath, said the shooting occurred at Gianquitti’s home on a quiet, dead-end street with children present.

Details of the dispute were not immediately clear.

Gianquitti was on the force in Providence in 1992 and 1993 before he injured his knee and went on disability.

The Department of Health on Tuesday released the results of an autopsy that found James Pagano was shot in the chest, and that his aorta, pancreas and liver were damaged.

Pagano

The 44-year-old Pagano was shot to death Sunday after an apparent dispute with his neighbor, Nicholas Gianquitti, during a children’s birthday party.

Police have not released specifics about the shooting or what led to it.

Gianquitti, a former Providence police officer, is being held without bail after being charged with murder.

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