PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Notorious banking crisis figure Joseph Mollicone appeared in court Wednesday to check up on his restitution payments to Rhode Island taxpayers after failing to cover the full installments last year. Mollicone, 81, is currently paying $70 a month toward a $12 million tab he owes the state following his conviction for embezzling millions of dollars from the Heritage Loan and Investment Co., a Federal Hill bank Mollicone ran. His theft helped trigger the banking crisis in the early 1990's, which locked out thousands of Rhode Island depositors from accessing their money and sent a shockwave through the state's economy. Providence Superior Court Magistrate Gina Lopes ordered Mollicone on Wednesday to continue to make his restitution payments and scheduled another review for April 16. Lopes last year determined Mollicone violated the conditions of his probation and revoked all of his good-time credits for failing to make the required monthly payments. The order means Mollicone will now be on probation through July 2033. He was supposed to be out from under probation this past September. Lopes at that time also reduced his required monthly restitution payments from $270 to $70, slowing to a trickle his rate of repaying taxpayers. Mollicone has previously claimed financial hardship. He and his attorney declined to comment after the hearing. Mollicone went on the run in 1990 when he learned of a criminal investigation into his actions, triggering an international manhunt. He eventually returned 17 months later to face charges, after living under a fake identity in Utah. In 1993, a jury convicted Mollicone on 26 criminal offenses, including embezzlement and fraud. A judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison. He served 10 years before being released on parole in 2002. Investigators blamed Mollicone’s institution for igniting the crisis that brought down the R.I. Share & Deposit Indemnity Corp, also known as RISDIC. On Jan. 1, 1991, within an hour of taking office, newly inaugurated Gov. Bruce Sundlun ordered 45 banks closed, leaving hundreds of thousands of depositors locked out of their own money, sparking panic and protests. Tim White ([email protected]) is Target 12 managing editor and chief investigative reporter and host of Newsmakers for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.