I caught this blurb this morning. He's popular in Providence, RI.
http://courantblogs.com/capitol-watch/two-time-convicted-buddy-cianci-running-for-providence-mayor-again/#more-33332Two-Time Convicted Buddy Cianci Running For Providence Mayor Againby Christopher Keating Categorized: Uncategorized Date: June 25, 2014
Everyone seems to have an opinion on Buddy Cianci.
The former Providence power broker was either a corrupt, greedy mayor trying to stuff his own pockets or a misunderstood civic cheerleader who was double-crossed by lying, devious employees in his own administration.
That was the battle back in 2002 when Cianci was placed on trial by federal prosecutors and the FBI in a wide-ranging corruption scandal. He was eventually convicted and sent to prison.
Now, Cianci says he is running again for mayor of Providence – for the third time.
Cianci and two co-defendants were indicted in April 2001 on federal charges that he turned city hall into a hotbed of criminal activity by taking kickbacks often disguised as campaign contributions.
In passionate closing arguments at the time, the prosecution and defense painted different pictures of Cianci, the nation’s longest-serving big-city mayor.
Armed with audio and videotapes that the FBI said depicted bribes and payoffs, federal prosecutor Richard W. Rose ripped into Cianci for his actions over nearly a decade as leader of a city that has won acclaim for its revitalization.
“The evidence in this case has shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the city of Providence, the so-called Renaissance City, was a city for sale,” Rose told the 12-member jury in closing arguments that were covered at the time by The Hartford Courant.
Contending that the city was operated as “a corrupt, criminal enterprise” led by Cianci, the prosecutor said the purpose of the enterprise was “to enrich Cianci personally and politically through bribery, extortion, and mail fraud.”
The case, dubbed Operation Plunder Dome by the FBI, took a dramatic turn when U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres acquitted Cianci of five charges that accused him of shaking down tow-truck operators for campaign donations and of trying to strong-arm a city board member to lie to FBI investigators.
Cianci’s attorney, Richard M. Egbert, reminded the jury of all the tourist attractions and development the mayor has brought to downtown Providence, and said the government’s case was based on the word of liars.
Egbert took dead aim at the key state witness, David C. Ead, the former tax review board vice chairman who testified against Cianci and pleaded guilty to arranging bribes.
“David Ead is a pig — plain and simple,” Egbert told the jury. “A disreputable, corrupt, lying scoundrel.”
The long-awaited trial featured 55 witnesses and more than 1,000 pieces of evidence. Cianci, with two stints as mayor covering 20 of 26 years up until 2002, has spent much of his political life under a cloud. During his first administration, 22 people were convicted of crimes. Six members of his second administration were convicted, and he became the seventh person.
The prosecution charged that Cianci demanded a free, lifetime membership in the exclusive University Club while purposely blocking the organization’s building permits. When Cianci was denied the membership, he ordered an aide to fight against the club’s building request, the prosecution said. The permit was granted only after Cianci received the membership.
