By EMMA BARTLETT and RORY SCHULER

Black garbage bags covered the windows from the inside of the mysterious business occupying former Cranston Police Chief Walter R. “Bud” Craddock’s Broad Street property.

The former top cop — and ex-swat team member, training officer, narcotics unit supervisor, attorney and eventual head of the Ocean State’s Department of Motor Vehicles — will not face charges after raids and arrests on the first floor of his Cranston property.

In October 2021, Rhode Island State Police concluded a review of Craddock’s role in the alleged criminal activities occurring inside his rental properties.

“Two of the three law enforcement actions concerned suspected prostitution and one related to a drug investigation,” according to Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

State Police found “no evidence that Craddock had any criminal liability in connection with the activities taking place in the first-floor unit of his building.”

In October 2021, RISP asked Neronha’s Office to review its investigation of Craddock.

“Having reviewed the State Police investigation, this Office concludes that we have not been presented with evidence sufficient to establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, the requisite knowledge by Mr. Craddock of the criminal commercial sexual activity occurring on his property such that a criminal prosecution is possible and warranted,” Neronha wrote in a letter to State Police Superintendent & Director of Public Safety Col. James M. Manni.

“Certainly, the information presented by the State Police to this Office suggests that there were multiple red flags that should have at least given Mr. Craddock pause concerning the nature of the business operated by his first-floor tenant,” Neronha wrote.

He cited several examples: “no official record of a business registered at that location, no massage license displayed inside the unit, no business name on the exterior of the building or door, an interior surveillance camera, and garbage bags taped over the windows.”

“These are not the trappings of a legitimate commercial operation,” Neronha wrote. “Additionally, it appears that this business paid its rent in cash.”

The Attorney General issued a detailed summary of the Office’s review of the case in his letter explaining the decision not to pursue charges against Craddock.

The Rhode Island Republican Party released a statement Monday:

“Although there may not be enough evidence to charge Craddock with a crime, there is certainly enough evidence to show that Craddock had bad judgment and should be fired from his job. Either Craddock knew there was illegal activity going on his property or he should have known there was. Basically, that is what the Attorney General said in his report. The question now is whether McKee will fire Craddock. If McKee does not fire Craddock, then either McKee is a fool who believes Craddock is completely honest or McKee is fine if a member of his administration turned a blind eye to human trafficking.”

The Investigation

In 2020, the department Craddock ran more two decades earlier secured a search warrant for the first floor of his building at 1732 Broad St., which looks almost like a home and was described in Cranston police reports as “run-down,” with “overgrown grass.”

No marquee advertised a business on the first floor. Only a small fluorescent “OPEN” sign was visible from the street.

“Upon entering the premises, investigators saw the main area where there was a massage chair and a reception desk,” according to Neronha’s letter. “There were two rooms which had massage beds, minimal lighting, and curtain panels instead of doors. The windows of these rooms were covered up with trash bags, cardboard, and duct tape.”

Police noted a “fully furnished bedroom, bathroom, closet full of towels and cleaning products, and a kitchen. They located “$3,500 in cash on the premises, together with a ledger containing customer names, dates and times of service, and charges.”

Police found condoms stashed in at least two hiding spots.

“During the execution of the search warrant, police identified the female sex worker, a Chinese national,” according to Neronha. “She was charged with one count of practicing a massage without a license, offered social services, and released. Police attempted to interview her regarding her working conditions, but she declined to cooperate. Police also identified a male patron who claimed he was only there for a massage. He was released at the scene.”

During the pandemic, according to investigators, Craddock started collecting the 1732 Broad St. rent in person.

Craddock told police “that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the rent was paid via direct deposit to his bank account,” but “during the Covid-19 pandemic, he began to personally collect his monthly rent payment from the first-floor tenant.”

Craddock told investigators that he was paid in cash, and he “admitted entering the unit and counting the rent on the kitchen table on several occasions.”

“Notably, Mr. Craddock did not explain why he chose to change his practice and personally collect the rent during the Covid-19 pandemic (common sense would dictate that one would want less, not more, personal interaction during this time),” Neronha wrote.

Craddock, who retired from the Cranston Police Department in 2002, was appointed as Director of the DMV by Governor Gina M. Raimondo in 2015. He and his wife, RI House of Representatives Policy Director Lynne Urbani, purchased 1732 Broad St., Cranston (the property under investigation) in 2016.

“Having reviewed the State Police investigation, this Office concludes that we have not been presented with evidence sufficient to establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, the requisite knowledge by Mr. Craddock of the criminal commercial sexual activity occurring on his property such that a criminal prosecution is possible and warranted,” Neronha said via press release on Monday.

Evidence shows that between 2017 and 2021, there were three separate law enforcement actions that took place at the first-floor unit of property Craddock owned.

In 2017, Cranston Police received multiple complaints regarding suspected prostitution activities taking place at various spas around the city — one of the locations being Therapeutic Spa/Youna Spa at 1732 Broad St.

The location did not possess a license to operate as a spa, and employees did not hold massage therapy licenses, according to Neronha.

Cranston Police and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations conducted a compliance check and charged two women for practicing massage without a license; no evidence shows that Cranston Police notified Craddock about the enforcement action, according to the Attorney General’s press release.

In January 2020, the Rhode Island State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force (HIDTA) conducted an investigation of an illegal marijuana cultivation operation in Central Falls. During this investigation, police surveillance observed one of the targets of the investigation at 1732 Broad St. In February 2020, State Police executed a search warrant at the property’s first floor unit; there is no evidence that State Police notified Craddock about this enforcement action, according to the Attorney General’s press release.

In May and June 2021, Cranston Police investigated multiple massage parlors in the city suspected of engaging in commercial sexual activity after receiving complaints from residents.

On May 30, 2021, an undercover Cranston Police officer entered 1732 Broad St. and requested a half-hour massage. The female employee quoted a price of $40 cash and told the undercover officer that she was paid five dollars a day but was able to keep her tips. She indicated that she worked seven days a week, until late into the night. During the massage, the female employee offered to perform oral sex on the officer in exchange for $140. The officer declined.

Cranston Police contacted Craddock after the execution of the search warrant and advised him of their findings.

On June 17, Gov. Dan McKee had RISP conduct an investigation to determine if Craddock had any knowledge of, or involvement in, the commercial sex operation.

A Police Veteran

“During the interview, Mr. Craddock recounted his background as a 25-year veteran of the Cranston Police Department,” according to the Attorney General’s Office letter to RISP.

While with the Cranston Police, Craddock was a patrol officer, member of the swat team, a training officer, narcotics unit supervisor, Deputy Chief and Chief. He retired from the department in 2002, became a member of the Rhode Island Bar in 2000 and worked in private practice.

Craddock was interviewed and said he believed the first floor was used for a commercial space for a business named “Foot Flex Reflexology.” When asked about the windows being covered with garbage bags, he said he assumed they were meant to keep the light out. Craddock denied any knowledge of the 2017 investigation and was never advised of red flags.

Cranston Police reached out to Cranston’s Building and Zoning Division and the Cranston Fire Department to conduct an inspection of the premises.

“A housing inspector and a member of the fire department’s fire prevention unit responded to the scene,” according to Neronha’s report. “They identified numerous building code and fire safety code violations. They issued separate Notices of Violations to LUC Realty and Mr. Craddock on or about July 22, 2021.”

On June 25, 2021, Cranston Police sent Craddock a letter informing him that his tenant, Youna Foot Reflexology, was illegally offering massages without a license and engaging in prostitution activities,” according to the Attorney General’s Office letter to RISP.

“The letter informed Mr. Craddock that should he allow this, or any other tenant, to operate an illegal business on his property, he may be liable for a nuisance,” Neronha wrote. “The letter also references the fact that Mr. Craddock had taken action to evict the tenant following execution of the search warrant.”

Reasonable Doubt?

State Police also interviewed a tenant of the basement apartment of 1732 Broad St. The tenant told investigators that “he suspected there was prostitution activity taking place in the first floor apartment because a lot of ‘white guys were walking in and out.’”

The tenant said he had not previously reported his suspicions to the Cranston Police Department or to his landlord.

“In this case, there is little doubt that the first-floor unit of 1732 Broad St. constituted a common nuisance based upon its use for commercial sexual activity,” Neronha wrote. “What is lacking, however, is sufficient evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Craddock had actual knowledge that this location was used for this purpose.”

Although the State Police investigation revealed plumes of conspiratorial “smoke,” the lack of solid evidence could not prove the existence of a “fire” in court, according to the Attorney General.

“Putting all this together, regarding the critical issue of whether Mr. Craddock had knowledge of the criminal commercial sexual activity occurring at his building at 1732 Broad St., there is ample smoke,” Neronha wrote. “Applying, however, the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard to these facts, which we as prosecutors must, there is insufficient evidence to establish fire.”

“That Mr. Craddock ‘should have known’ or ‘must have known’ that commercial sex activity was going on at his 1732 Broad St. property is not the standard that this Office must meet,” Neronha wrote to conclude his letter to State Police. “Rather, we must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did know. And on the evidence presented to us by the Rhode Island State Police, that is not possible. There has been no record, witness, or electronic or other surveillance evidence produced that adequately establishes such knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Post-investigation?

According to his biography on the Rhode Island Department of Revenue’s website, Craddock currently supervises operation of the DMV, with duties including: “regulation and enforcement of laws relating to the issuance, suspension and revocation of motor vehicle registration and drivers’ licenses; financial responsibility related to motor vehicle ownership and operation; vehicle safety and emission inspections, and other applicable state laws.”

Besides the Rhode Island Bar, Craddock is also a member of the Florida Bar, the Rhode Island Federal Bar and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.

The former illicit massage parlor at 1732 Broad St. has undergone some renovations since the raid and now has tiny rocks covering the lawn facing Broad. Pieces of young spring grass have started to emerge, poking up through the stones.

A CCAP Child Development Center and playground is directly across the street from the mixed business, residential property at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Broad Street.