06/24/2002

By DAVID McPHERSON
projo.com staff writer

PROVIDENCE / Updated 7 p.m. -- Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr.'s reign as mayor of Providence is now in doubt after a federal jury convicted him today on one count of racketeering conspiracy while acquitting him on 11 other charges in his federal corruption trial.

After 10 weeks in court, more than 60 hours of deliberations and a brief jurors' deadlock, the verdict against Cianci was returned in two stages this afternoon.

It was a verdict that did not come easily -- and the case still may not be over.

As he adjourned court for the day, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres left open the door to setting aside the racketeering conspiracy verdicts against Cianci and his two co-defendants, former mayoral aide Frank E. Corrente and businessman Richard Autiello and Corrente's solo racketeering conviction. Cianci and Autiello had been acquitted of that charge.

"I now have to deal with some difficult legal issues," Torres told the 12 jurors before excusing them late this afternoon.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy AFTER THE VERDICT: Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. waves to spectators, as has been his habit throughout the trial, after he leaves federal court in downtown Providence this afternoon in the wake of the jury's verdict.

Earlier in the trial, Torres had not acted on previous defense motions for acquittal. He said this afternoon he will now review that request and gave lawyers until a week from today to submit memos on whether there was sufficient evidence to convict Cianci, Corrente and Autiello of racketeering conspiracy.

Torres asked the lawyers in their memos to address what constitutes an enterprise under the federal racketeering law. He called the law "quite unclear" on that issue. "The court's now on the hot seat," Torres acknowledged.

The judge said he waited until after the jury's verdict partly because it preserves the prosecution's right to appeal his decision if he sets aside the racketeering and racketeering conspiracy charges.

The judge said he will hold a hearing on whether he should set aside the racketeering and racketeering-conspiracy convictions on Wednesday, July 3. In the meantime, he set sentencing for Sept. 6.

Torres did set aside today the jury's conviction of Corrente on one count of extortion conspiracy relating to a bid by star government witness Antonio R. Freitas to win a School Department lease.

Cianci vows to continue his fight

At a press conference early this evening, Cianci vowed to continue his legal fight to prove his innocence on the single conviction. But he evaded questions on whether he will step aside as mayor or even file for re-election by a Wednesday deadline.

"I have no intention of stepping down at this point," Cianci said, because it is what the law allows.

He referred questions on whether he would file for re-election to his lawyer, Richard M. Egbert, who stood by his side at the crowded press conference in the mayor's office at City Hall.

Cianci said he would review his legal standing with Egbert: "Until that time, I will keep every option open."

The mayor began the press conference in a somber mood. But after referring some questions to Egbert, he began to smile.

And his quick wit surfaced as he fielded a reporter's question about an infamous remark he had made on the day the FBI raided City Hall and its Operation Plunder Dome became public -- that the jury would "find no stains on this jacket."

"That stain hasn't stuck on the jacket yet, has it?" Cianci replied, emphasizing he was found not guilty on all but one charge.

As he wrapped up his appearance after about 15 minutes, Cianci said, " This is not a day we're going to talk about politics. We're going to talk about the justice system."

Next stop for Cianci: A speaking appearance at the city's Central High School graduation tonight.

Twists in the road

The jury first announced its verdicts against Cianci and his two-cofendants around 1 p.m.

Cianci, 61, was acquitted of nine other charges against him, including racketeering, which alleged specific acts such as bribery in return for a city job to reduction of estate taxes.

Corrente and Autiello were also found guilty of racketeering conspiracy.

Corrente was also convicted on the second racketeering charge, while Autiello and Cianci were acquitted on that charge.

At first, the jury declared itself deadlocked on two counts related to allegations that Cianci had delayed a building request by the exclusive University Club in exchange for a membership.

That apparently wasn't good enough for Torres, who sent the jury back for more deliberations on those charges.

Shortly before 2:55 p.m., Torres announced that the jury had reached a verdict on the two remaining charges of extortion and mail fraud against Cianci.

At about 3:30 p.m., it was announced that the jury had returned a verdict of not guilty on the two University Club charges against the major and a related charge included in the racketeering count.

As the initial verdict was read, Cianci was expressionless, occasionally donning a pair of reading glasses as he stared at some papers on the defense table.

AP photo / Joe Giblin BEFORE THE PRESS: Cianci, at right, with his lawyer, Richard M. Egbert, field questions from the press early this evening from Cianci's office in City Hall.

After Torres adjourned court today, Cianci left the courthouse without speaking to the press and the public who had gathered outside. Egbert, his lawyer, refused to comment at that time, citing a gag order instituted by the judge which Egbert said still applied because the case of Cianci's chief of staff on Operation Plunder Dome charges is now under way.

The prosecution team also refused to comment today, citing the gag order.

Jurors had little to say about the verdict as they headed home late this afternoon.

"There was a lot of evidence you had to take into consideration," juror John Viera of Pawtucket said.

Other jurors indicated the jury had decided as a group to refrain from public comment.

Tallying the impact

The two racketeering counts were the most significant of the 26 facing the nation's longest-serving active mayor and his two co-defendants.

The conspiracy charge accused the three of planning to run a criminal enterprise that encompassed City Hall departments, the mayor's campaign organization and bribes in exchange for city favors.

The second count asked the jury to find each of the defendants guilty or not guilty in several specific cases. That charge, based on the federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations law, required that jurors find that a defendant had enged in two more "predicate" acts of racketeering within a 10-year period.

The maximum penalty for both racketeering conspiracy and racketeering is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross profit or proceeds from the offense. The conspiracy charge also requires forfeiture of property derived from the offense.

City Hall officials have said they believe Cianci can remain in office until all appeals are exhausted. He has said he planned on seeking a fourth consecutive term in November.

At a 3 p.m. press conference this afternoon, Governor Almond suggested the mayor should step down.

"I think the time has come to say the capital city cannot stand this type of corruption. Enough is enough," the former U.S. attorney said.

In a press release issued shortly after 4 p.m., state Atty. Gen. Sheldon Whitehouse said that, in the opinion of his office, Cianci remains legally in office until he is suspended from the post, which would happen immediately after sentencing.

Whitehouse said the opinion was based on a review of the state constitution, state law and the city of Providence's charter.

City Council President John Lombardi supported Whitehouse's opinion that Cianci legally may remain in office until his sentencing Sept. 6 and refused to say whether he believes Cianci should resign for the good of the city.

"That's a decision he has to make," Lombardi said.

If Cianci steps aside, Lombardi would take over as mayor in the short term. "I'm ready, willing and able," said Lombardi, who said he will take a look now at whether he should enter the race for mayor.

In total, the jury found Cianci guilty on only one of 12 counts against him; Corrente, guilty on seven of 16; and Autiello, guilty on three of seven counts. The judge's decision to set aside one of the Corrente convictions left him convicted on six counts.

Among the highlights:

* Corrente and Autiello were found guilty of conspiracy to solicit bribes in the form of campaign contributions from the Providence City Towing Association.

* Corrente was found guilty of two counts of attempted extortion regarding two $1,000 payoffs by Freitas, who was working undercover for the FBI, and caught on surveillance tapes.

* Autiello was found guilty of federal bribery conspiracy in connection with a $5,000 from Mary Maggiacomo in a bid to win her son a spot on the Providence police force.

* Corrente was found guilty of one count of extortion conspiracy in what was described as the "pay to get paid" scheme in which Freitas paid to receive payment for work he had done for the city.

Shuffling cases

The verdicts on each of the counts in the federal corruption trial of Cianci, Corrente, and Autiello started to be announced just before 1 p.m.

The word that a verdict had been reached came about 12:20 p.m., shortly after jurors sent a note to Torres.

The long-awaited action came about 3 1/2 hours after the start of the ninth day of deliberations and 10 weeks since the start of the trial of Cianci, Corrente and Autiello on federal racketeering, extortion, bribery and mail fraud charges.

It will also conclude the case as a second trial stemming from the Operation Plunder Dome probe into City Hall corruption gets under way.

The federal bribery case against Cianci chief of staff Artin H. Coloian began before 10 a.m. in the same federal courthouse on Kennedy Plaza, before the same judge and with the same prosecuting lawyers.

The Coloian case was being heard in the same courtroom as the Cianci trial, while the Cianci jurors were moved this morning into a new location on another floor of the courthouse.

It had been explained last week that the Coloian case would have to be interrupted when the Cianci verdict came in. The Cianci jury, defendants, lawyers and all other parties in the case would then have to be moved back into that courtroom for the reading of the verdict.

At mid-afternoon, Torres excused jurors for the day in the Coloian trial.

A defining trial

The trial of Cianci and his two co-defendants was a case that lawyers in their closing arguments said would define the image of Providence.

In addition to finding the defendants guilty or not guilty, the jury would decide: Is Providence truly a Renaissance city, bright with new development and activity, or a city dark with corruption?

It was a case that continued to pit the personal popularity of Cianci -- the country's longest-serving active mayor -- against evidence presented by the prosecution. Even as formal and informal polls gave the government case the edge, the majority of voters still felt the mayor was a strong leader doing a good job.

And it was a case that caught the national eye, from Cianci's familiar banter with radio talkshow host Don Imus to more formal coverage by The New York Times.

The jury started its deliberations the afternoon of Wednesday, June 12, after seven weeks of testimony featuring scores of undercover surveillance tapes, testimony by city employees and a three-hour explanation of the charges by the judge.

Ultimately, Cianci, Corrente and Autiello faced 26 charges of racketeering, extortion, bribery, mail fraud and conspiracy, whittled down from a 29-count federal indictment since the start of the trial in mid-April.

The case concluded with none of the defendants taking the stand in their own defense.

Racketeering charges against a fourth defendant, businessman Edward Voccola, were thrown out by Torres, who said the government had not presented enough evidence to prove he was part of a criminal enterprise operating out of City Hall.

-- With reports from the Associated Press