Outgoing U.S. Attorney joins law firm

PROVIDENCE — On July 1, outgoing U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente will join Burns & Levinson LLP, a Boston law firm wanting to expand its practice in Rhode Island.

Corrente, 52, announced last week that he would leave his federal post on Friday, but declined to detail which firm he would join. The firm announced his hiring Tuesday.

“His addition gives us the ability to better serve the Rhode Island business community, and will enable us to establish a niche in the white-collar crime area that is somewhat unique to a full-service law firm,” said Sean Coffey, a partner in the Rhode Island office and member of the firm’s executive committee.

During his four-year tenure as U.S. Attorney, Corrente led Operation Dollar Bill, the investigation that landed former North Providence Sen. John A. Celona and House Majority Leader Gerard M. Martineau, D-Woonsocket, in federal prison for selling their offices. Ex-Roger Williams Medical Center President Robert A. Urciuoli, too, was convicted of mail fraud in a case under appeal.

Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse in May recommended Peter F. Neronha, an assistant U.S. Attorney here since 2002 and a former state prosecutor, to succeed Corrente. President Obama has not yet made a nomination for the seat.

— Katie Mulvaney

United Way of Rhode Island hands out grants

PROVIDENCE — United Way of Rhode Island has distributed more than $11.4 million among 38 social- and human-service programs.

The grants, to be paid over a three-year period, will benefit agencies that specialize in safety-net services, affordable housing, immigrant services, improving job skills, early childcare and after-school programs.

In Providence, Crossroads Rhode Island received $150,000, and Amos House was awarded $130,000. House of Hope Community Development, in Warwick, received nearly $66,000.

In all, 128 agencies had filed applications for grants totaling $42 million, according to Anthony Maione, United Way president and CEO.

“What makes this process difficult is that the need in today’s economy far surpasses the dollars we have to give,” said Armeather Gibbs, the organization’s chief operating officer. “United Way ... had to make some very difficult choices, and they had to reject some really good proposals.”

The grants complement United Way’s efforts to reduce homelessness, expand the stock of affordable housing, improve and expand early care, increase wages for workers, and offer services for those most in need, Maione said.

— Paul Davis