PROVIDENCE / Updated 4:35 p.m. -- Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. was
sentenced to five years and four months today on a federal corruption
charge, ending a political era dominated by his colorful, and
controversial, personality.
The shift to a new city leader followed quickly, with City Council
President John Lombardi being sworn in as acting mayor after Cianci's
suspension from the post was officially declared.
The ceremony inside the ornately-carved walls of the City Council
Chamber was held at about 1:15 p.m. -- just over an hour after Chief
U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres handed down Cianci's sentence.
Cianci's sentence also calls for a $100,000 fine and 150 hours of public
service. But he will not have to start his prison term immediately.
While Torres denied his request for bail pending an appeal of his
conviction, he also gave him a chance to appeal the denial of bail.
If such a bail appeal is not granted within 90 days, then Cianci will
have to report to an unidentified federal prison at noon on Friday, Dec.
6.
His co-defendants, former top mayoral aide Frank E. Corrente and tow
business operator Richard Autiello, received lesser sentences than
Cianci although both were convicted on more charges. They were ordered
to report to an as-yet unassigned prison by noon on Friday, Oct. 11.
Torres called it a "sad day" for Cianci and his family as well as the
city of Providence and public employees left under a cloud because of
this case.
"I'm struck between the parallels between this case and the classic
story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There appears to be two very different
Buddy Ciancis that came across," he said.
The first was "a skilled, charismatic political figure," Torres said,
perhaps the most ever to cross the Rhode Island scene.
But Cianci also oversaw an administration rife with corruption, the
judge said, calling that an "egregious" abuse of public trust.
The ruling falls in the mid-range of the recommended sentence of 57 to
71 months, or about 5 to 6 years. It was foreshadowed late this morning
by Torres's denial of requests for either an increase or decrease in the
sentenced recommended by a federal probation panel.
Prosecutors had sought to put Cianci behind bars for 10 years and fine
him $100,000 on his single conviction for racketeering conspiracy --
about double the recommended sentence. Cianci had requested leniency.
But in ruling on the defense request, Torres said it could not be shown
that Cianci's actions had significantly disrupted government, which was
necessary to support such an increase.
In denying the downward departure from the recommendation, Torres said
that although the mayor had done some good deeds, it was also part of
his job to perform such public service. He also noted the irony of
arguing for a decrease in sentence based upon such service, given a
conviction that essentially demonstrated an abuse of the public trust.
Torres then gave Cianci a chance to speak for himself:
"I appreciate the fairness this court has afforded me," Cianci said.
"It's an unfortunate situation. I'm sorry it came to all of this. ... I
never intended to do anything wrong, your honor."
Cianci continued to maintain his innocence, however, and plans to appeal
his conviction.
Lesser sentences for co-defendants Corrente, Autiello
Just before 2:30, co-defendant Corrente was sentenced to 63 months --
just one less than his former boss Cianci and about 3 to 5 years less
than recommended by the federal panel.
Torres said he did not think it was fair to sentence him to more than
Cianci -- even though Corrente was convicted of more charges, including
bribery and extortion -- because he had found that the mayor was the
leader of the criminal enterprise.
Corrente was also fined $75,000 and ordered to report to prison by noon
on Friday, Oct. 11.
His request for bail pending an appeal of his conviction was also denied
by Torres. But the judge did order the federal probation department to
find a prison where Corrente's heart and blood pressure problems could
be properly monitored.
The day wrapped up with the hearing for co-defendant Autiello, who was
sentenced to 46 months and a $50,000 fine. His sentence was also under
the recommended guidelines of 57 to 71 months. He, too, was ordered to
report to prison on Oct. 11 after his bail request was denied.
A morning of suspense
This morning's arguments before Torres only heightened the suspense over
Cianci's sentencing. His two-month trial was high theater, attracting a
crowd of spectators and press each day.
As the mayor headed into court today, the dramatic pull appeared to have
lessened.
By 9:10 a.m. -- twenty minutes before Cianci's sentencing hearing was to
start -- only 26 members of the public had taken advantage of the 100
seats made available to spectators.
Outside the federal courthouse in downtown Providence, however, the
media was staked out, including reporters from Boston TV stations.
"I believe the judge gave me a fair trial, and I believe he will give me
a fair sentence," Cianci told reporters as he arrived at court this
morning.
By noon, however, a larger crowd has gathered outside the federal
courthouse, which was ringed by police officers and yellow security
barriers.
Cianci waved to them as he left the courthouse via its gray front steps.
He then stepped into a car -- no longer the black city-owned limousine
with the No. 1 license plate -- with his lawyer, Richard M. Egbert, for
a short drive down Kennedy Plaza to his residence at the Providence
Biltmore hotel.
There, he stopped for a few minutes to speak to reporters and another,
cheering crowd.
"It was a long, hard morning," Cianci said. But, he added, " I think the
judge was fair, the system was fair and the I think I got a fair
sentence."
He said he was "especially delighted" that Torres had stayed the
execution of his sentence.
Cianci lawyer Egbert began the hearing today by telling Torres that
there's no evidence Cianci led a conspiracy of any sort. Egbert also
argued that he should not be penalized for having been in charge of a
City Hall where others engaged in corruption.
Noting that he was acquitted of several other corruption charges --
including bribes paid for tax breaks and city contracts -- Egbert said:
"There is not a hint of Cianci's involvement in any way by any of the
evidence in this case."
Outside court today, there was one element that had been missing during
the lengthy trial at the same building: The addition of a bomb-sniffing
yellow Labrador dog, which was nosing out the press and nearby garbage
cans.
"It's a bittersweet day for the city of Providence," said Perry
Rosenthal, 35, a cellist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic who waited
outside the courthouse today. "Other politicians need to take note of
what happened to Buddy."
As he prepared to leave office yesterday, Cianci took some
responsibility for the corruption that took place on his watch.
"I've been the one in charge," he told reporters. "I've been the leader,
and I'm the one who's leaving office tomorrow after I'm sentenced."
Cianci, who has served as mayor for 21 years over six terms, added: "I
think that we're leaving the city a much better place."
State law requires Cianci to leave office after being sentenced.
Next on the docket
Cianci and his co-defendants were named in a 97-page corruption
indictment in April 2001 following a four-year FBI investigation of City
Hall corruption that was code-named Operation Plunder Dome.
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.
During the trial, prosecutors cast Cianci as the ringleader in a series
of kickback schemes starting with his return to office in 1991.
Convicted felons boasted on surveillance tapes about their City Hall
connections, and salty tow-truck operators testified they set up straw
donors to illegally contribute to Cianci's campaign fund. Government
witnesses testified that they paid $5,000 bribes to Cianci for jobs with
the city.
On June 24, Cianci was convicted of racketeering conspiracy but
acquitted of 11 other charges.
Corrente and Autiello were also convicted of racketeering conspiracy.
Corrente was also found guilty of racketeering, extortion and bribery.
Autiello was convicted on bribery charges. Sentencing guidelines call
for Corrente to serve 8 to 10 years, and Autiello 57 to 71 months,
approximately 5 to 6 years.
Cianci's next stop
After his sentencing, Cianci returned to the Providence Biltmore hotel,
where he has been living in a penthouse suit since selling his historic
East Side home on Power Street two years ago for $1.1 million.
He stopped first in Davio's, the hotel's restaurant and bar, where he's
often been seen at the end of evening. He was accompanied by Egbert, his
daughter Nicole and his latest chief of staff, Artin Coloian. Coloian
had also been indicted in the wake of the Plunder Dome probe. But he was
found not guilty of accepting a payoff in a separate trial.
From there, Cianci headed to the restaurant Mediterraneo on Federal Hill
for lunch -- the same place he visited after he was found guilty in
June. As he did then, the never-shy Cianci chose a streetside table for
all to see.
-- With reports from Journal staff writers Tom Mooney, Tracy Breton,
W. Zachary Malinowski and Amanda Milkovits and the Associated Press
