A sweeping federal indictment has not slowed the mayor of the state's
largest city.
Last year, he appeared in federal court and entered not guilty pleas to
a bevy of corruption-related charges. Afterward, he stood on the
courthouse steps as supporters cheered and hoisted placards.
"Let me state once again, here and now, I am innocent of these charges,"
the mayor said.
"I've been betrayed by people who I trusted. Their lies threaten my
career, my family, my work as mayor, my reputation. Their actions sicken
and anger me for what it's done to my family and friends in the city."
The mayor, who has been in office for more than a decade, has refused to
resign, despite a plea from the governor that it would be best. With a
uniformed police officer as his driver, he has continued to make daily
appearances. In the past week, he attended the City Council meeting,
appointed new commissioners to city posts, appeared at the grand opening
of a drug rehabilitation clinic and lobbied the state capital for more
money.
"The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," he said last
month. "If you see me in a fight with a grizzly bear, help the bear."
THE MAYOR is not Vincent A. Cianci Jr.
This is the story of Joseph P. Ganim, mayor of Bridgeport, Conn., who is
the target of a federal investigation dubbed Operation Hardball.
Ganim and Cianci are among three mayors in New England, and six across
the nation, that are currently under indictment on federal criminal
charges. All of them have proclaimed their innocence and vowed to fight
the government that is seeking to send them to prison.
Here is a look at the accused:
Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, a Democrat, of Bridgeport, Conn., was indicted
Oct. 31, 2001, on 24 counts. He is charged with receiving or arranging
to receive more than $425,000 in bribes, including more than $200,000 in
cash and a variety of gratuities and services.
The initial focus of the investigation was the $71-million development
of Harbor Yard, home of a 5,000-seat minor league baseball stadium and a
10,000-seat hockey rink. The indictment alleges that he cashed in on
that project and several others, including the privatization of the
city's wastewater treatment system. He is scheduled to stand trial on
Jan. 2, 2003.
Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., an Independent, of Providence, and five
others were indicted April 2, 2001, on 30 counts. They have been charged
with racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, mail fraud and witness
tampering. The indictment alleges that Cianci and his co-defendants took
more than $1.5 million during the 1990s -- extorting campaign
contributions for leases, contracts, jobs, promotions and other
benefits. Jury selection is scheduled for the week of April 15.
Mayor Philip A. Giordano, a Republican, of Waterbury, Conn., was jailed
on July 26, 2001, and later charged in a 14-count indictment with
violating the civil rights of two girls -- ages 9 and 11 -- by forcing
them to engage in sex acts. Federal prosecutors say Giordano conspired
with a prostitute to gain access to the girls. The prostitute, who is
the mother of one of the girls and an aunt to the other, also has been
charged.
Mayor Martin G. Barnes, a Democrat, of Paterson, N.J., was charged on
Jan. 24, 2002, in a 40-count indictment that accuses him of accepting
bribes, including cash, vacations and a swimming pool complete with a
waterfall, in exchange for bribes from contractors doing business with
the city.
Mayor David W. Moore, nonpartisan, of Beaumont, Texas, was indicted
March 7, 2002, on 16 counts of bribery, wire fraud and money laundering.
He is accused of taking about $25,000 in bribes from a San Antonio
businessman.
Town President Betty Loren-Maltese, a Republican, of Cicero, Ill., and
nine others were indicted on June 15, 2001. They were charged with
stealing $10 million in taxpayer money and spending it on a horse farm
and golf course. Federal prosecutors said the criminal enterprise has
connections to organized crime. The town president serves the same role
as the mayor in other cities.
THAT'S THE LIST: six mayors all under federal investigation for
corruption. But the most striking similarities are between the mayors of
Providence and Bridgeport. It's as if the two men were reading from the
same playbook.
Cianci takes credit for the revival of Providence and gets high marks
from the public for his accomplishments. A Brown University poll
conducted late last year found that 61 percent of 413 registered voters
in Providence thought Cianci was doing an excellent or good job.
Ganim is just as popular.
In October, a few weeks before his indictment, a survey of 306
registered voters found that 57 percent had a "high opinion" of him, and
85 percent believed he should get credit for reviving the city.
Cianci gets rave reviews from national publications such as The New York
Times, Us and Travel & Leisure. Ganim has been recognized by Newsweek
magazine as one of the "25 mayors to watch."
Cianci takes an active role with the U.S. Conference of Mayors,
appearing at conference seminars to talk about how he reenergized
Providence.
Ganim is also active, leading a group of urban mayors who have sued gun
manufacturers, saying that the weapons were responsible for violence in
their cities.
There's more.
Cianci attacked Gov. Lincoln C. Almond for failing to bring the New
England Patriots to Providence, and he took a shot at the governor when
he said the city would be better served if he resigned.
"That's about the first thing he's done in a year," said Cianci on a
syndicated radio show. "He doesn't show up too much."
Ganim blasted Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland for failing to lure the
Patriots to Connecticut and running up a deficit. He said his children
would learn more from "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck" at Disney World
than attending the governor's State of the State address.
After David C. Ead, former vice-chairman of the tax board, pleaded
guilty to charges he delivered a $5,000 bribe to the mayor, Cianci fired
right back.
"These are one man's allegations to save his own neck," Cianci said.
"He'd say anything about anybody."
In Bridgeport, after members of Ganim's inner circle pleaded guilty to
federal charges and began cooperating with the authorities, the mayor
declared:
"They are lying to save their own ass."
THE TWO MAYORS do know each other. It is not known whether they
regularly talk to each other.
Cianci did travel to Bridgeport in 1998 to speak at the annual dinner of
the Bridgeport Regional Business Council. He told the crowd of more than
400 at the Holiday Inn that there were similarities between Providence
and Bridgeport: population, a vanishing industrial base and rivers.
"To change the image of the city you have got to have a safe city,"
Cianci said. "You have to reduce taxes and provide an atmosphere where
people can be creative."
In 2000, a group of Bridgeport city officials and business leaders
toured Providence and met Cianci. It's unclear whether Ganim made the
trip.
Cianci declined to be interviewed for this story. Ganim didn't want to
talk either.
Elaine Carvalho, who works for Ganim as a property appraiser in
Bridgeport City Hall, didn't have any such inhibitions. She gushed about
Ganim, a former altar boy and devout Catholic with strong family ties.
"He is a very caring individual," she said. "He has a special place in
his heart for elderly people."
Carvalho, who once served as Ganim's fundraising coordinator, said she
remembered the time that the mayor saw a low-paid city clerical worker
at a $250 fundraiser. He told Carvalho to give her money back and invite
her to a $50 fundraiser.
"He isn't really greedy," she said. "He's someone who has a heart," a
man who ends phone conversations with "God bless you."
Joseph Gresko, spokesman for Ganim, said the mayor will continue to run
the city while he fights the criminal charges. He said that the response
to Ganim at public appearances has been "overwhelmingly positive."
Gresko said that Ganim and members of his administration know about
Cianci's upcoming trial.
"Now that everything is coming to a head, we'll be watching just like
everybody else," he said.
