Massachusetts lawyer accused of bringing synthetic cannabis into an RI prison. What we know.

PROVIDENCE – Federal authorities are accusing a Massachusetts lawyer of trying to smuggle synthetic cannabis to two men being held at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility.

Federal prosecutors charged Theresa M. DiJoseph, 50, of Woburn, Massachusetts, with conspiracy to commit drug trafficking; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; providing a prohibited object to an inmate; and making a false statement after her arrest Tuesday morning.

Also charged were Hanasa Stedford, 21, of Hamden, Connecticut, as well as Shawn D. Hart, 46, and Samuel Douglas, 26, both Wyatt detainees, for allegedly conspiring to commit drug trafficking and providing a prohibited object to an inmate.

Hart is awaiting trial on drug and firearm offenses charged in the District of Massachusetts, and Douglas is awaiting sentencing in U.S. District Court in New Haven after pleading guilty in April to a charge of racketeering conspiracy for his role in a what authorities describe as a violent street gang.

`This feeling, when does it go away?'

According to court documents, DiJoseph on July 9, 2023, used her credentials as a lawyer to meet with Hart. While attorneys typically meet with their clients in a room with a plexiglass separation, DiJoseph and Hart met in a room without the plexiglass.

Correctional officers alleged in a report after the visit that DiJoseph was acting suspiciously and monitoring a correctional officer’s movements.

A review by Wyatt of text messages between DiJoseph and Hart on a Wyatt-issued tablet showed DiJoseph sent Hart personal photos of herself and screenshots showing sports-betting transactions that she appeared to have made on Hart’s behalf, authorities alleged. She was temporarily prohibited from contact visits with Hart, but was allowed to resume visits in November.

In an affidavit in support of DiJoseph’s arrest, authorities said that Douglas arranged for his girlfriend, Stedford, to deliver paper soaked in synthetic cannabinoids to DiJoseph outside Wyatt before a December visit. Surveillance footage shows Stedford handing DiJoseph a manila envelope as the two were parked on Blackstone Street outside the prison.

DiJoseph then entered the Central Falls prison to visit Hart. A corrections officer searching DiJoseph’s possessions flagged 10 pages of paper in her possession as suspicious after consulting with a supervisor, the affidavit said.

DiJoseph told the officer that she had just taken the pages off her printer, authorities said. The officer seized the pages which were an odd color and refused to let DiJoseph into the prison. The page later tested positive for cannabinoids, they alleged.

According to the affidavit, DiJoseph responded “`Okay I understand, but how long does this last? This feeling, when does it go away? I cannot drive like this.’” The correctional officer who also handled the papers had to receive medical attention.

In text shortly after, DiJoseph wrote Hart that she couldn’t even drive, the affidavit said.

“`No visits terminated permanently. They found papers with drugs on them?? I feel so so light headed and messed up,’” DiJoseph wrote. Hart responded: “`CO had to leave post too because he handled them !!!’”

During questioning by federal authorities in May, DiJoseph told investigators that she had gone to a Staples store before visiting Wyatt to print some materials and she believed the paperwork was added to her files when she was at the store, the affidavit said. When pressed, however, she could not recall which Staples she had visited and did not have a receipt.

She expressed concern about her job as a public defender working with Department of Children & Families cases in Massachusetts, she said.

When will they be in court?

DiJoseph was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond after an appearance Tuesday before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond. Her lawyer, William J. Murphy, could not make the proceedings, but Kensley Barrett filled in.

Stedford was expected to appear before Almond Tuesday afternoon. She is being represented by Mary June Ciresi.

Hart and Douglas will make court appearances at a later date. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julianne Klein and Peter I. Roklan.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Lawyer accused of bringing drugs into a Rhode Island prison