09:25 AM EST on Friday, December 3, 2004

TRACY BRETON

Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr., a lawyer who represented Joseph A. Pannone, one of the Operation Plunder Dome defendants, has admitted under oath that he was the source of a secret FBI videotape given to Jim Taricani. Taricani, a veteran investigative reporter for Channel 10, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for criminal contempt and faces up to six months in federal prison for defying a court order to divulge his source to a special prosecutor.

These are the circustances surrounding how Taricani came to obtain the tape from Bevilacqua and what led to Bevilacqua's coming forward to identify himself as the reporter's source, according to Bevilacqua's testimony and court papers filed by special prosecutor Marc DeSisto:

Nov. 11, 1999: Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr., as a lawyer for Pannone, receives audio and video tapes made by the FBI as part of its investigation of Providence City Hall corruption, including the videotape that Taricani would later air that shows a top City Hall official, Frank E. Corrente, accepting a cash bribe.

Aug. 7, 2000: Bevilacqua gets more audio and video tapes from prosecutors, including another copy of the Corrente videotape.

Aug. 8, 2000: Bevilacqua agrees to a "protective order" issued by Senior U.S. District Judge Ronald R. Lagueux that barred members of the prosecution and defense teams from disseminating any of the secret FBI tapes. Lagueux entered the order to ensure that all defendants in the Operation Plunder Dome case receive a fair trial.

Sept. 29, 2000: Pannone, after pleading guilty, begins serving a five-year federal prison term; in the ensuing months, Bevilacqua withdraws as Pannone's lawyer. A Bevilacqua associate becomes Pannone's lawyer and handles the case after Pannone is charged in a new indictment with more corruption-related offenses.

Nov. 2000 to Dec. 2000: Taricani comes by Bevilacqua's law office, and noting that Bevilacqua is no longer involved in representing Pannone, asks for a copy of the videotapes that were the subject of Lagueux's order. Bevilacqua gives Taricani several of the secret FBI tapes and says he does not ask for anonymity but that Taricani promised to keep his identity secret.

Feb. 1, 2001: Taricani broadcasts the tape of Corrente taking a $1,000 cash bribe from undercover informant Antonio Freitas, who is posing as a corrupt businessman.

May 31, 2001: Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres appoints Marc DeSisto as a special prosecutor to find out who illegally leaked the tape to Taricani. The judge says the U.S. Attorney's office cannot conduct the investigation because members of the prosecution team are potential sources of the leak.

Feb. 6, 2002: Bevilacqua denies in a deposition conducted by DeSisto that he is Taricani's source.

March 21, 2002: At DeSisto's request, Bevilacqua signs a waiver of confidentiality that would release a reporter from a pledge of confidentiality.

May 2002 to June 2002: Bevilacqua says he tells Taricani he signed the waiver and that Taricani should come forward and admit that Bevilacqua was his source.

July 15, 2002: Taricani is shown the Bevilacqua waiver at a deposition conducted by DeSisto but refuses to answer the special prosecutor's questions regarding who leaked him the tape.

Nov. 18, 2004: Taricani tells FBI Agent W. Dennis Aiken about his source's waiver, who passes the information on to U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente. Corrente immediately notifies DeSisto of the conversation between Aiken and Taricani. DeSisto, just before Taricani's criminal contempt trial begins, confronts Taricani and asks him to confirm that Bevilacqua was his source. Taricani, after consulting with his lawyers, persists in his refusal to identify his source. Taricani says his source wants to remain secret and may have been coerced into signing the waiver. Bevilacqua says he again tells Taricani to come forward and identify him. Judge Torres convicts Taricani of criminal contempt in a trial that lasts less than one hour.

Nov. 24, 2004: Bevilacqua testifies that he provided the Corrente videotape to Taricani. He tells DeSisto that the reason he had previously denied being the source was because he had given his word to Taricani that he would not identify himself.

Nov. 30, 2004: Taricani, through his lawyers, confirms Bevilacqua is the source and says he will submit an affidavit attesting to that.