Joseph Almeida
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Joseph S. Almeida, Jr. (born September 23, 1957) is a
Cape Verdean American Cape Verdean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans whose ancestors were Demographics of Cape Verde, Cape Verdean. In 2010, the American Community Survey stated that there were 95,003 Americans living in the US with Cape Verdean ancestors. ...
politician who served as the
Rhode Island State Representative The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected ...
for the 12th District from 2015 to 2021. He is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
.


Biography

Almeida was born on September 23, 1957, in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended high school at the La Salle Academy, graduating in 1975, and majored with a Bachelor of Arts from the
Roger Williams College Roger Williams University (RWU) is a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams. The school enrolls over 5,000 students and employs over 480 academic staf ...
in 1990. He is married and has 5 children. In September 1997, Almeida retired as a Providence police officer.


Political career

Almeida was a financial strategist and owned a bar prior to being first elected a Rhode Island State Representative, on November 3, 1998. Almeida kept his seat in the general assembly until September 14, 2010, when he lost to Leo Medina in the general election. Almeida was elected again in November 2012 and returned to represent District 12. During his second term in office, Almeida was elected as the majority leader for the Democratic party on March 25, 2014. Following his arrest in 2015, Almeida resigned from his position as party leader.


Arrest

On February 10, 2015, Almeida was arrested and charged by Rhode Island State Police for misappropriating $6,122 in campaign funds for personal use. Almeida pleaded no contes

In a court hearing in May 2015, Almeida was given a $1,000 fine and a year on probation.


Personal life


Lawsuit

On September 16, 1996, Almeida's wife Denise Welsey died at the
Rhode Island Hospital Rhode Island Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital located in the Upper South Providence neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the largest academic medical center in the region, affiliated with Brown University since 1959. As a ...
from a pulmonary embolism. After his wife's death, Almeida filed a wrongful death claim against the hospital. The lawsuit was brought to trial in May 2003 and ended with a financial settlement of an estimated $200,000.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Joseph 1957 births Living people 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Roger Williams University alumni Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island American politicians of Cape Verdean descent African-American state legislators in Rhode Island La Salle Academy alumni Rhode Island politicians convicted of crimes