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4.5.2001 00:22
Mark Patinkin
Cianci, under fire,
remains a tireless
Providence promoter
I got to the mayor's office at 9:30 a.m., the morning after his indictment, expecting a place under siege. It turned out to be quite calm. Staffers came in and out, talking about lead paint, gang initiatives, business as usual.
Was Mayor Cianci available?
I was politely told his first event was a noon speech at the Marriott Hotel.
Any chance of seeing him before that?
The press secretary said she would try her best.
But an hour went by, and then two, and nothing happened, and it was clear this day would run on Vincent Cianci's schedule.
I arrived at the Marriott just before 12. Twenty reporters were in a tight crowd full of TV cameras.
A man next to me stared at them. He appeared to be from out of town.
"That's all for the mayor?" he asked.
Yes.
"Don't they get to see him very often?"
I told him Mayor Cianci had been indicted the day before by the federal government on 30 counts of corruption.
The man gave a surprised laugh.
I asked where he was from.
"Worcester," he said. This doesn't happen in Worcester."
He headed toward a waiting car.
"But Providence is a better city than Worcester," he said. "I'll tell you that."
A moment later, a black Ford Explorer pulled up. It was the mayor. He climbed out and was soon ringed by lenses and microphones. He smiled, and stopped. There was none of the impatience public figures usually have under attack.
"Why do I feel like I'm surrounded?" Cianci said.
The questions began.
What did he do last night after his press conference?
Had dinner on Federal Hill, watched the news at his home in the Biltmore Hotel and went to sleep. And yes, he slept fine. And it's a beautiful day, he said, isn't it? The sun was out, the city looked great, and he launched into his plans for Providence in a way that made you wonder whether the press was corralling him or the other way around.
As soon as he was done, the reporters unloaded more hardballs.
Can an indicted mayor serve effectively?
He pointed out that new hotels were going up, and so was a Botanical Garden, and he can't hide under a rock, he's got to oversee those and 100 other things.
At that, he strode into the Marriott lobby, still surrounded by a swarm, cameramen backpedaling in front of him.
The event was an awards luncheon for nonprofit volunteers. There were hundreds attending. The mayor worked the room, sat at the appropriate table, glanced at the emcee and made a "let's go" gesture.
When the applause died down, he told the crowd he was glad the media had come to cover so worthy an event as volunteer awards. "I had to go through a lot of trouble to get them here," he said.
Cianci is seldom more alive than behind a microphone. He spoke like an evangelist of Providence's changes, adding that what makes a great city aren't ice rinks and new hotels, but caring for one another. His speech ranged from the census to racial profiling to the backgrounds of the luncheon's honorees, most of whom he knew personally.
As I listened, it occurred to me that these indictments, if proved, could mean the end for him. They could mean disgrace, and prison itself. It would be hard enough under such pressure to function in some quiet office, but to do so in public? On a podium?
It made me think back to when he was a talk-show host after resigning the mayoralty for assaulting his ex-wife's boyfriend. I watched him one day. During commercials, he got up and paced, almost like a caged creature. He continued pacing even as the commercials ended, and it seemed he would miss his cue, but at the last moment, he swept over, sat at the mike and continued the show. It was as if he needed to live on the edge.
"I wish I could stay," Cianci told the audience, "but I have a busy afternoon," -- laughter -- "a busy week and maybe a busy year."
He worked tables as he left.
"Stay for lunch," someone said.
"I'm too fat," he answered.
In the corridor, he was again circled by reporters.
Might he resign?
This is his city, the mayor said -- his people. He's shared their wakes, funerals, bar mitzvahs. It's where he belongs.
Then he was outside, saying he was late for his next appointment. He got into the back of the black Explorer. The reporters crowded around the open door, and Buddy Cianci launched into another sermon on the promise of his city.
I glanced at my watch. It had been less than 24 hours since he was indicted, and the mayor was back at what he'd done almost every day for the 10 and more years before this -- talking up Providence, and talking some more.
He made no effort to close the door.
Mark Patinkin can be reached at mpatinkin@projo.com.
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