Warwick man accused of stealing Department of Transportation backhoe

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Warwick man is accused of stealing a Department of Transportation backhoe earlier this year.

Attorney General Peter Neronha said Thursday Peter Dambruoso was charged on May 17 with one count of possession of a stolen vehicle and one count of driving without a valid license.

On Jan. 3, Rhode Island State Police said Dambruoso stole a 1998 John Deer backhoe from a building in Johnston. The next day, a Providence Department of Public Works worker saw the 59-year-old operating the backhoe on Earnest Street in Providence.

The worker, said Neronha, confronted Dambruoso, asking him why he was driving the construction equipment late at night. The suspect claimed he was a state employee.

Neronha said Dambruoso then drove away in the backhoe and the witness followed him. Providence police were called and stopped him a short time later.

Dambruoso described stealing the backhoe to police, saying he took it from a Department of Transportation facility in Johnston and then drove it to the State House to park it there for a few days before moving it again to the DPW building, where he was confronted by the worker.

The Warwick man is scheduled to face a Providence Superior Court judge in August.