10-Count Indictment in Poisoning, Larceny Scheme Targeting Gay Men

BOSTON, May 9, 2016—A man whom prosecutors say adopted a fictitious persona as a wealthy European émigré has been indicted for a scheme in which he allegedly drugged gay men at their homes and made off with expensive clothing, jewelry, and artwork, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans said.

The Suffolk County Grand Jury late Friday returned indictments charging RICCARDO D’ORSAINVILLE (D.O.B. 5/17/65), currently a resident of Norwood but previously of Boston, with one count of kidnapping and three counts each of poisoning, larceny over $250, and receiving stolen property. The indictments supersede a pending Boston Municipal Court case in which he was charged with one count of larceny over $250 after his arrest by Boston Police in February.

“These indictments are the result of an investigative partnership by Boston Police and Suffolk prosecutors,” Conley said. “A key component of that partnership is respect and compassion: No matter who you are, no matter what happened, you can count on us to help and treat you with the dignity you deserve. When victims come forward and witnesses share information, we build better, stronger cases.”

“This case was particularly troubling to me due to the circumstances involved in these incidents,” Evans said. “I would like to acknowledge the great work of my detectives and prosecutors from the DA’s office who worked very hard to get justice for these victims.”

D’Orsainville is accused of orchestrating rendezvous with at least three men who took him to their Boston homes and drank alcohol with him, only to pass out. The victims disclosed symptoms that were not consistent with typical alcohol consumption. When they awoke, they realized that thousands of dollars’ worth of their property was missing. The stolen items range from a tuxedo and designer neckties to rare and expensive paintings and sculptures. In one case, the victim woke to find his hands tied behind his back.

D’Orsainville is not charged with assaulting the victims.

The charged offenses transpired between March and April of 2013. The three known victims disclosed the incidents to Boston Police. In two cases, the victims reported meeting the man in a bar; in one case, the victim and perpetrator met online. In all three cases, investigators say, the perpetrator affected an accent and presented as a sharply-dressed man.

In the course of their investigation, Boston Police reached out to media serving the LGBTQ community to raise awareness of the apparent spree. The perpetrator remained unidentified until last year, however, when one of the victims mentioned his case to an acquaintance.

This acquaintance, police and prosecutors say, recognized the assailant’s description as matching that of D’Orsainville, whom the acquaintance knew had been convicted in federal court of defrauding the Boston Veterans Affairs Research Institute, Inc. This in turn led to a photo identification and investigators’ first break in the case.

Boston Police detectives obtained a search warrant for D’Orsainville’s home and recovered items stolen from each of the victims’ homes after they had been drugged: their clothing hung in his closet and their artwork hung on his walls. Amid a grand jury investigation led by the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit, D’Orsainville was arrested and charged with one count of larceny in the Boston Municipal Court. He has been held on $250,000 since his arraignment there in February.

D’Orsainville is represented by attorney Frank Fernandez. His case is scheduled to return to the BMC on June 16; his arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court has not yet been scheduled.

 

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.