John M. Cicilline, 51, brother of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, leaves federal court in Boston yesterday.

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AP / Steven Senne

BOSTON — Once, John M. Cicilline and Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr. were among the most prominent defense lawyers in Rhode Island.

Yesterday, the former law partners from politically connected families learned that they will report to federal prison next month for disgracing the profession that brought them wealth and fame.

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, calling the actions of both lawyers “reprehensible and inexcusable,” ordered Cicilline to serve 18 months in prison, while Bevilacqua, now a twice-convicted felon, received 21 months.

“It is particularly upsetting and tough for the court to sentence someone who is a member of the bar,” Gorton said as Cicilline stood before him. “It is a tragedy. The one you have to blame for that is the one you see in the mirror.”

The criminal case against Cicilline, 51, of Narragansett, and Bevilacqua, 57, of West Warwick, dates to 2002, when federal agents and local police seized more than $1.3 million in cash and nearly five pounds of marijuana from John C. Mendonca and his wife, Jacqueline. They were arrested outside a Motel 6 in Warwick, and they gave the authorities home addresses in Warwick and Fall River.

Once the indictment was unsealed in Boston, the couple retained Cicilline and Bevilacqua as their lawyers. In November 2002, Bevilacqua met Mendonca at the Plymouth (Mass.) County House of Correction, and according to the indictment, “told him that for a payment of several hundred thousand dollars, he … could keep John Mendonca out of jail.”

A month later, Bevilacqua and Juan Giraldo, a legal assistant and interpreter for the lawyers, met with Mendonca and told him that in return for an “up-front” payment of $100,000, they would give the authorities information that could lead to “a large drug bust.” That information, they said, would be attributed to the Mendoncas, with the aim of getting them a reduced sentence.

When Bevilacqua and Giraldo failed to provide the information that the Mendoncas had paid for, Cicilline told the couple that for an additional $50,000 he would make sure that his law partner and interpreter would make good on their promise. They later lied to federal investigators about the arrangement.

Giraldo, who is serving a lengthy federal prison sentence for cocaine trafficking, also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge for his role in the Mendonca case.

In June, Cicilline and Bevilacqua pleaded guilty to felony counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal authorities.

Yesterday, the third-floor courtroom in the sprawling John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse was packed with family members and friends of Cicilline. Among the supporters was his younger brother, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, who sat with his parents and his brother’s three daughters, Brittany, Bianca and Victoria.

Before the sentence was imposed, John Cicilline rose from his seat and addressed the court. With his daughters sobbing in the spectator’s gallery behind him, he apologized to the court and his family for the embarrassment his conviction has brought to them.

Cicilline, his voice breaking, said that his legal woes have forced his father, John F. “Jack” Cicilline, to continue practicing law instead of heading to a leisurely retirement. “It hurts the most that I hurt the people I love the most,” he said. “I apologize to the court and the legal profession I’ve tarnished.”

Gorton speculated that Cicilline must have done plenty of good during his more than two decades of practicing law, as evidenced by the more than 90 letters that were submitted to the court on his behalf. Among the writers were politicians, lawyers, a priest and Central Falls Police Chief Joseph Moran, who wrote, “I would ask that you consider [his] three daughters when you provide the punishment to him. John’s three daughters will be punished, as well, although they have done nothing wrong.”

Gorton refused to honor Cicilline’s request that he be placed in the federal prison at Fort Devens, in Massachusetts, so he could be close to his daughters. He said that the federal Bureau of Prisons is responsible for making the designation.

Gorton also stripped Cicilline of his license to practice law. As recently as last week, Cicilline was seen hustling through the halls of Superior Court in Providence, juggling criminal cases for clients.

Cicilline also was ordered to pay the federal Drug Enforcement Administration $15,000 in restitution, and he was fined $4,000.

After a brief recess, Bevilacqua, the son of Joseph A. Bevilacqua, the late Rhode Island Supreme Court chief justice, was next. He had been convicted in 2005 of perjury and sentenced to prison for 18 months in the Operation Plunder Dome investigation into corruption in Providence City Hall that landed Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. in federal prison for more than four years.

Bevilacqua admitted that he lied about providing a videotape of a bribe to a television reporter who broadcast the footage on the news. The presiding judge had barred anyone associated with the case from leaking evidence.

As a result of the prior conviction, Bevilacqua was ordered to serve three more months in prison than Cicilline.

The court emptied after Cicilline was sentenced. Just a handful of people, including Bevilacqua’s uncle, Robert Bevilacqua, an elderly Providence lawyer, sat through the proceeding.

Bevilacqua also addressed the court, and he seemed to search for a reason why he engaged in criminal conduct. He said that he had “vigorously” defended clients for years, but something, possibly “arrogance, greed or alcohol,” was responsible for his poor judgment.

Gorton did not impose a fine because he said Bevilacqua is destitute. He was disbarred after his conviction in the Plunder Dome case. Both former lawyers were ordered to surrender to a yet-to-be determined prison no later than 2 p.m. on Oct. 21.

bmalinow@projo.com