Pagano

The Cranston firefighter killed in a neighborhood dispute Sunday afternoon died from a single gunshot to the torso, according to autopsy results released yesterday.

The state medical examiner’s office reported that the bullet tore through Lt. James A. Pagano’s aorta, pancreas and liver. News of the autopsy came as the family finalized funeral arrangements for later in the week.

The Paganos will hold a wake tomorrow from 4 to 8 p.m. at Nardolillo Funeral Home in Cranston, with a funeral Mass Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Mark Catholic Church, which the lieutenant attended as a boy.

A burial will follow at St. Ann’s Cemetery.

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Guestbook: View the obituary, send wishes to James Pagano's family

Gallery: More photos from the scene of the shooting

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Medical Examiner: Firefighter died of one shot

Trivial disputes often spark fatal confrontations

A Cranston firefighter is fatally shot during his son's birthday party; police charge his next-door neighbor

Alleged shooter Nicholas Gianquitti served briefly on Providence force

Lt. James A. Pagano's life was full with family and old friends

PDF: Read Adriana Pagano's May 30, 2006 complaint

PDF: Read Gianquitti's May 4, 2006 complaint

More coverage of this Cranston shooting

“We’ll have our firefighters in dress uniform,” said Cranston Fire Chief James B. Gumbley. “We want to have a solemn and dignified remembrance.”

Police Chief Col. Stephen C. McGrath said the autopsy results are “useful information” as the department continues its investigation into the murder.

But he declined to speculate on what they might reveal about the precise location and nature of the shooting.

McGrath said Nicholas Gianquitti, 40, a former Providence police officer, had words with children attending a birthday party for Pagano’s son when their tennis ball rolled onto his lawn or struck his car.

The children reported the incident to their parents and Pagano, 44, approached his neighbor shortly after.

A physical confrontation followed and Gianquitti allegedly shot Pagano in the torso with a .38-caliber handgun.

On Monday morning, a District Court judge ordered Gianquitti held without bail on charges of murder.

The fatal encounter Sunday was not the first sign of tension between the former police officer and the Paganos, who live at 10 Daisy Court.

On May 4, 2006, Gianquitti went to police headquarters and “stated that his neighbor’s kids from 9 and 10 Daisy Ct play baseball in their yard with a hardball,” according to the report.

“The ball repeatedly lands in his yard,” the report continued. “He just wanted to have a report on file in case the baseball damaged his residence or vehicle in the future.”

The police dispatched an officer to 9 and 10 Daisy Court that afternoon to speak with the parents of the children but were unable to make contact, according to the report.

On May 30, Pagano’s wife Adriana, made her own trip to headquarters, reporting “that Nicholas appears to watch the kids through his window which she feels is somewhat strange.”

She reported that, on one occasion, Gianquitti, of 16 Daisy Court, picked up a ball that landed in his yard and took it inside, rather than give it back to the children.

Gianquitti’s wife, she said, came home later and gave the ball to the children.

Adriana, the report concluded, ”just wanted a report on file” registering her concern about Gianquitti’s “strange activity.”

Paul L. Valletta Jr., president of Local 1363 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said firefighters from Cranston and around the state will walk through the wake just before it opens to the public at 4 p.m. tomorrow.

The Rhode Island Professional Firefighters Pipes & Drums Corps will play “Amazing Grace,” among other songs, at the funeral service Friday.

Pagano is the first active-duty Cranston firefighter to die since Peter D’Abrosca, who died in 1983 after stopping at the scene of a car accident in Warwick on his way to work.

D’Abrosca was electrocuted after touching a vehicle that had struck a utility pole.

The Pagano family is accepting donations for his children’s college education. Checks can be made out to The Lt. James A. Pagano Children’s Fund, c/o the Cranston Municipal Employees Credit Union, 1615 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, RI 02920.

dscharfe@projo.com