Providence, R.I.  — A lawyer for a former Rhode Island police chief is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn his 2012 larceny conviction in the theft of $714 from a stripper.

The Providence Journal reports that attorney John Reilly argued the North Providence police chief John Whiting should have been charged with a misdemeanor, not a felony because of the amount of money involved.

Whiting was convicted of stopping the dancer's car and stealing from her during a tropical storm in August 2011 after someone in the car flashed an obscene gesture. He also was convicted of solicitation to receive stolen goods for trying to persuade a Pawtucket police officer to take the stolen cash and keep it.

Whiting, who is free pending his appeal, attended Wednesday's hearing.