Human remains found at construction site in Central Falls
CENTRAL FALLS – A construction company working on a building site next to the Family Dollar store on Broad Street found human bones Monday morning, according to police.
Detectives and investigators from the Rhode Island Office of State Medical Examiners determined that the workers had found "skeletal human remains," said Central Falls police detective Maj. Christopher Reed.
Contractors plan to build housing for multiple families at the site, 55 Sheridan St., Reed said.
The site has been a focus of investigation in the past at one time, it was known as the Sportsman's Lounge.
Former Sportsman's Lounge site
In November 1990, U.S. marshals seized both the lounge and a house next door. This was after agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested a man whom they identified as the region's cocaine kingpin.
The defendant, Hector Garcia, owned the three-story apartment house next door to the lounge, agents said. The lounge, they said, was believed to be a gathering place for drug dealers from Maine to New York. A federal judge later sentenced Garcia to nearly five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting.
Garcia was popular in Central Falls, helping to organize and run a summer soccer league for adults that was credited with paying for weddings and college tuitions.
He became known as "La Cura," a nickname meaning "The Priest" or "The Godfather."
On Monday morning, police received a call from the contractor at about 8:45 a.m., Reed said.
The caller reported they had found what they believed were human remains.
Central Falls police requested assistance from the state police to process the scene.
Reed said a forensic excavation of the site continued through the afternoon until it was interrupted by heavy rain. The work would resume Tuesday morning, he said.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Workers digging at Sheridan Street site in Central Falls find remains
