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4.13.2001 00:09
Cianci's lawyer known as smart, dogged, driven
 "He's the guy you don't want to see represent the guy you arrested," says retired state police Capt. Brian Andrews.
BY W. ZACHARY MALINOWSKI
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE
-- The disclosure was vintage Richard M. Egbert.
On Wednesday, Egbert, the Boston lawyer defending Vincent A. Cianci Jr., orchestrated a media blitz whereby he accused the lead FBI agent in the Operation Plunder Dome investigation of intimidating one of the mayor's aides outside City Hall.
"This type of behavior and language by a person in the employ of the Department of Justice should be quickly and forcefully condemned," Egbert wrote.
The tactic worked to perfection. Egbert had managed to turn the criminal case against Cianci upside down by levying troubling accusations against the mayor's accusers. The story dominated newspapers, talk radio and television for hours. Yesterday morning, Don Imus, host of the nationally syndicated
Imus In The Morning
radio show called the FBI agent, W. Dennis Aiken, a "thug."
Egbert, 54, considered by many to be one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the Northeast, has returned to the spotlight in Rhode Island. Over the years, he has defended a wide range of colorful and controversial characters, from disgraced Chief Justice Joseph A. Bevilacqua, ex-Gov. Edward D. DiPrete and the late North Providence Mayor Sal Mancini, to gangsters Frank "Bobo" Marrapese and mob enforcer Gerard T. Ouimette.
Now he is the point man in the defense of Cianci, arguably the most flamboyant political figure in New England, who is under indictment on charges that he ran a criminal enterprise from his office.
"I love the state of Rhode Island and I love practicing law there," Egbert said. "I have really had a lot of fun and professional success there. It's a nice place to be. I can understand why people enjoy living there."
Nobody enjoys waging battle against Egbert. He has been described as a Sherman tank, a bulldog and a tiger. He may be small in stature, but he backs down from no one. He paces the courtroom and grills witnesses in his raspy voice that often turns into a yell.
Mob stool pigeons, FBI agents, prosecutors and strippers all get the same treatment. The witness box should be equipped with a shoulder harness and seat belt for Egbert's legendary cross-examinations.
Retired state police Capt. Brian Andrews, who was commander of the detective division, said that investigators on mob cases often hoped that Egbert wouldn't be part of the defense team.
"He's the guy you don't want to see represent the guy you arrested," Andrews said. "If he is, you better start your homework early on. If you did something wrong, he's going to find out, or he's going to pound you until he finds out."
Frequently, Egbert gets under the skin of the authorities.
Once, a mob client of his, Bobby DeLuca, found a recording device hidden in his car's dashboard. Egbert sent photocopies of the bug to federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies. A sheepish FBI agent stopped by Egbert's office in downtown Boston and retrieved it.
Egbert, who commands more than $500 an hour for his work, is revered in the legal community. He has appeared before the Rhode Island Bar Association and shared his wisdom on the art of cross-examining witnesses.
Even those who have locked horns with him in the courtroom have nothing but respect for his talents.
Lawyer J. Richard Ratcliffe, of Providence, who for several years was the lead prosecutor in the corruption case against DiPrete, said that no one works harder or comes to court better prepared than Egbert.
"He's very smart and he's got a very good memory," Ratcliffe said. "He tries to know everything about the person he is cross-examining."
Ratcliffe said that Egbert is known for getting subpoenas issued against everyone and everything involving cases against his clients. He said that Egbert has subpoenaed the phone records of inmates in prison to find out who they are talking to. Once he gets them, he tracks down the people on the receiving end of the calls.
Generally, Ratcliffe said, Egbert works alone. "He just must work tirelessly," he said.
In the fall of 1998, Egbert's work became the subject of intense media coverage. He made headlines when he accused prosecutors from then-Atty. Gen. Jeffrey B. Pine's office of prosecutorial misconduct for withholding evidence against DiPrete.
Egbert and R. Robert Popeo, another prominent lawyer from Boston, put the prosecution team on trial. It was an unprecedented and extraordinary display in a Rhode Island courtroom.
Their tactics got a Superior Court judge to throw out the case against DiPrete. The state Supreme Court eventually reinstated the charges, and DiPrete pleaded guilty to corruption charges.
Peter A. DiBiase, a criminal defense lawyer in Providence, also speaks glowingly of Egbert. He has worked with him over the years and he marvels at his stamina and talents.
Unlike many successful lawyers, Egbert has shown no signs of slowing down or losing any zip on his fastball.
"He truly amazes me that he keeps getting better and better and better," DiBiase said. "He's better than a lot of people who have a national reputation. He's right up there with anybody in the country in terms of trial and cross-examination skills."
DiBiase and Egbert teamed up to defend Mancini, the longtime mayor of North Providence, against federal corruption charges. He was acquitted of all charges.
Egbert knows how to use the news media for his clients' benefit, but he does not court publicity. He's uncomfortable talking about himself and has turned down offers to be a television analyst on such high-profile cases as the double murder charges against O.J. Simpson.
Egbert declined to comment on Asst. U.S. Attorney Richard W. Rose, the lead prosecutor in the Cianci case. Rose has come under fire this week for showing a secret videotape from the investigation to his sister and friends.
Egbert had worked with Rose when the prosecutor was in private practice and part of the defense team for DiPrete and his son, Dennis L. DiPrete.
The DiPrete case and some of the others have given Egbert a certain celebrity status in Rhode Island that he says he "can do without."
He says it's odd to walk the streets of Providence and see his face staring at him from a newspaper box, or have passersby urge him to keep up the good fight.
"It's small and people pay attention," he said of Rhode Island. "It's no place to go and hide."
And what can Cianci expect from him?
"Everything I've got," Egbert said. "Not only because that's what I give, but partly because he deserves it."
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