Vincent Cianci
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Vincent Albert "Buddy" Cianci, Jr. (born April 30, 1941 in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island) served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island from 1974 to 1984 and again from 1991 to 2002. He is the longest-serving mayor of Providence.
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[edit] Political career
Cianci was a well known prosecutor in the State of Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General prior to becoming mayor of Providence. He was first elected mayor of Providence in 1974. Cianci narrowly beat then mayor Joseph Doorley on an anti-corruption campaign. Also helping Cianci win was a revolt by some Democrats who were upset at Doorley's administration. He was the city's first Italian-American mayor, ending a 150 power monopoly held by Yankee WASPs and Irish Democrats. Cianci was also the first Republican mayor of Providence since the Great Depression. Cianci was well known as an extremely charismatic and media-savvy politician. His propensity to attend parades, weddings and public events led to a common joke during his tenure as mayor that Cianci would jump to attend the opening of an envelope. Cianci was revered by many residents of Providence and credited with the revitalizing of the city's economy and image. To term the moniker "Buddy" a nickname is not truly accurate; to many Providence residents, Mayor Cianci was simply "Buddy." In media references to Cianci, his given name is rarely used, and the name "Buddy" is nearly always included, even when his full name is also used.
During his first terms in office, Cianci and his allies on the Providence City Council clashed with the anti-Cianci majority on almost every issue, the budget being the most heated one. Also, Cianci saw himself as a rising star in the national Republican Party, and tried to sell himself as a Senate candidate, pointing out that if the Republican Party was going to survive in the northeast, it would have to get more ethnic voters. Cianci clashed behind the scenes with John Chafee, trying to talk him out his Senate run so he could get the Republican nomination instead. He even ran for governor in 1980, losing out to J. Joseph Garrahy. After this lost, Cianci drifted away from the Republican Party and by 1982 was an Independent.
Cianci resigned from office for the first time in 1984 after pleading no contest to assaulting a man with a lit cigarette, an ashtray and a fireplace log. Cianci claimed that the man had been having an affair with his wife, though both the man and Cianci's then wife said nothing had happened. Cianci spent the next few years as a radio talk show host on Providence AM station 920 WHJJ and as a television commentator. In 1990 he successfully mounted a re-election campaign with the slogan, "He never stopped caring about Providence."
[edit] Operation Plunder Dome
Cianci was indicted in April 2001 on federal criminal charges of racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and mail fraud. Several other Providence city officials were also indicted. Much of the trial was focused around a video tape showing top Cianci aide Frank A. Corrente taking a bribe. Jim Taricani, the reporter who submitted the tape, was sentenced to six months of house arrest for refusing to reveal his sources. Rather than maintaining a low profile after the indictment, Cianci poked fun at the investigation, code-named "Operation Plunder Dome". Nine people (including Cianci) were convicted in the trials. Cianci was acquitted of 11 of 12 charges, including bribery, extortion, and mail fraud. He was, however, found guilty of a single charge of conspiracy (running a corrupt criminal enterprise). Cianci was sentenced to serve five years in federal prison. Between his conviction and the start of his jail term, Cianci resumed his radio career hosting a midday show with Providence radio legend (and current director of communications to Governor Don Carcieri) Steve Kass on AM talk station NewsTalk 630 WPRO. After some legal wrangling, Cianci's lawyers managed to have Cianci sent to prison closer to Rhode Island, and Cianci is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix. In August 2005, Cianci was denied a request for early release. He is scheduled to be released on July 27, 2007, although he is eligible to spend up to 6 months on home confinement.
[edit] Facts
- Cianci was known to be a friend of President Gerald Ford.
- The documentary, BUDDY, <http://buddycianci.com>, directed by Cherry Arnold and narrated by James Woods, is about the life and times of Buddy Cianci.
- The book The Prince of Providence by Mike Stanton (ISBN 0-375-50780-9) details Cianci's life, from childhood, to mob-busting prosecutor, to mayor, to conviction.
- Cianci, though a political independent during the entire period of his tenure during the 1990s, was a former Republican. However, in Providence, the Republican Party has not enjoyed much power since the Depression. Cianci's Italian ethnicity, charisma, and aid from disgruntled machine Democrats led to his victory.
- Cianci was a guest a number of times on the popular radio show hosted by Don Imus where he occasionally upstaged his host.
- On the animated sitcom Family Guy, the junior high school of the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island is named after Cianci.
- His self-promotion included guest appearances as himself on the television show Providence and on his own line of Mayor's Own Marinara Sauce which features his picture prominently on the label.
- Cianci received his high school diploma from Moses Brown School, his undergraduate degree from Fairfield University, and his law degree from Marquette University Law School.
- Busy Bee Construction Co. is run by a man in direct connection to Cianci (Tommy Ricci). The company billed the City for $122,000 in snowplowing, including $59,000 for plowing that they never performed. This irregularity was eventually revealed, as well as a scheme in which Ricci had boosted his snow plow fleet by having a friend in Public Works to falsely declare city dump trucks "junk" and then send them to Busy Bee.
- The Mayor's Own Marinara Sauce, from Buddy, with Buddy on the label boasts that its sales benefit Providence School Children. In true Providence politico fashion the nutrition facts label reads "Serving Size 1/2 cup", Calories 50, Calories from Fat 60
| Preceded by Joseph A. Doorley |
Mayor of Providence 1975–1984 |
Succeeded by Joseph R. Paolino, Jr. |
| Preceded by Joseph R. Paolino, Jr. |
Mayor of Providence 1991–2002 |
Succeeded by David N. Cicilline |
