PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A backhoe unearthed dirt and sand Tuesday on property associated with a Providence man who is accused of having New England Mafia ties, while an FBI spokeswoman confirmed that federal agents are working in the same vicinity.
The focus of activity was just off Woodward Road, behind a building that’s among a handful of old mill buildings at the intersection of Woodward and Branch Avenue.
The complex encompasses 725 Branch Ave., a converted mill building, where FBI agents recovered 1,400 marijuana plants this past August.
During that raid, the 69-year-old owner of 725 Branch, also the owner of a company named Branch Realty, was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to an FBI affidavit in support of William Ricci’s arrest warrant, an informant reported that Ricci “is a long standing New England La Cosa Nostra (NELCN) associate.”
During the day of the raid, investigators seized marijuana plants, about $14,000 and a .22 caliber firearm and ammunition, according to a news release.
On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the agency’s Boston office, Kristen Setera, confirmed that FBI investigators had been working in the area of Branch Avenue and Woodward, but she declined to characterize their work, aside from saying the efforts are part of an ongoing investigation.
Setera would not answer questions regarding any connection between the digging and the Ricci case.


http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160329/fbi-police-dig-behind-providence-building