The wife of notorious burglary suspect Louis Marchetti is facing charges of obstruction of justice after she allegedly lied to Cranston Police officers the night of a tense standoff outside their Normandy Drive house.
Police charged Lanya Dinitto-Marchetti, 41, with obstruction of justice for lying to officers and intentionally leading police in the wrong direction in March — the same night Louis Marchetti led police on a chase after he was reportedly caught after a break-in Scituate.
"We believe she should be held accountable under the law for those actions," Cranston Police Chief Marco Palombo Jr. told WPRI.
Marchetti was arraigned and released after appearing at Kent County court yesterday.
On the night of the incident, Cranston Police chased Marchetti for a short time before he bailed from his vehicle and ran. Police tracked his scent with the help of a police dog to Normandy Drive house.
SWAT Negotiators got Lanya Marchetti and the children out of the house, only to find her husband was not there. He turned himself in the next day after police "began to close in on his possible hideouts," Palombo said.
Marchetti served time for his role as part of the "Golden Nugget" crew in the 1990s that carried out break-ins throughout the state for the mob. He along with 43 other suspects were rounded up and indicted in connection with more than 900 crimes with the majority being break-ins.
He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, 34 to serve, but was released in 2007 into home confinement. He reportedly worked as a contractor in recent years.
Police have not said how exactly Lanya Marchetti misled police on the night her husband fled, but WPRI reported police have a copy of a video that shows them together shortly before she was questioned by police.
Louis Marchetti is currently being held at the ACI pending his burglary trial.
For more coverage of Marchetti's arrest and the SWAT standoff in March, click HERE.