A Rhode Island state prison inmate died and another was hospitalized after apparent drug overdoses, the state Department of Corrections announced Tuesday.

John J. Lamantia, 36, died Monday at a medium-security facility at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, the department announced in a news release.

He was serving a 15-month prison sentence for obtaining money under false pretenses and was scheduled for release in July 2006.

While a drug overdose is the suspected cause of death, the medical examiner's office will perform an autopsy, the department said.

Another inmate, Richard F. Garneau, 28, was hospitalized Monday for what also was believed to be a drug overdose, said Kenneth Findlay, an acting spokesman for the department. Garneau's condition was not immediately disclosed.

The Rhode Island State Police and the Corrections Department were investigating the incident, including how the inmates obtained the drugs, Findlay said.