12/06/2002

By JACK PERRY
projo.com staff writer

FORT DIX, N.J. / Updated 2 p.m. -- More than 200 miles away from the city he knows so well, former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. began his prison sentence this morning by reporting to the wrong gate.

As a result, the man known to all as "Buddy" managed to avoid a pack of reporters waiting by the prison's front entrance. But his driver later insisted that the dodge was the unintentional result of their bewilderment when confronted by the sprawling, brick complex.

Either way, the military police and prison officials at Fort Dix, N.J., knew what to do with Cianci when he arrived at the main gate of the military facility at 11:30 this morning.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl NOT THE BILTMORE: Snow today softens the sharp edges of barbed wire fencing surrounding the prison at Fort Dix, N.J.

The military police contacted prison officials, who sent a van to pick up Cianci, according to Bob Lovell, the friend and former Providence police officer who drove Cianci to prison in a maroon van.

Lovell, who confirmed Cianci's arrival to reporters at his request, described Cianci as "sad, but resigned" yet in a "serene" mood as he began serving his 5-year, 4-month sentence for federal racketeering conspiracy.

Cianci, 61, the city's longest-serving mayor, left Providence shortly after noon yesterday in the midst of a snowstorm to ensure he made the 200-mile trip before noon today, as required. By this morning, the prison grounds were covered in 10 inches of snow.

Cianci's new home is more than 200 miles away from his former residence. But it may seem a world away from the comforts of a first-class hotel and the culture and fine dining available in Rhode Island's state capital, whose streets Cianci was accustomed to roam in a chauffeur-drive black limousine.

Classified as low-level security, Fort Dix has some 4,500 inmates. Most are assigned to 12-man rooms. Two lines of fencing and razor wire surround the prison.

During the ride to New Jersey, Lovell said Cianci talked a lot about family and reflected "on the past."

As he entered prison today, Lovell said Cianci, normally seen in suit and tie, was wearing blue jeans and a denim jacket.

Lovell also said that the mayor arrived with his well-known toupee intact, along with books and cigarettes -- the latter two of which he was not allowed to bring into the prison.

After leaving the Biltmore yesterday, where Cianci had made his home for the past two years in the Presidential Suite penthouse, Lovell said the pair drove to a nearby Marriott Hotel and had a "nice dinner" of a hamburger and chicken wings last night.

Before leaving yesterday, Cianci told reporters, "I leave with a heavy heart, but with a sense of accomplishment."

He hoped people would "reflect on the positive" when they remembered his 19 intermittent years as mayor, spanning four decades, then added: "No one's perfect. I certainly am not."

Cianci was convicted in June on the federal racketeering conspiracy charge. In September, he was sentenced to serve 5 years and 4 months in federal prison. Cianci has maintained his innocence and is appealing the conviction. Unless the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns Cianci's conviction in the next year or two, he must serve at least 4 years, 6 months and 12 days of his sentence.

Like all inmates, Cianci will be expected to work inside prison will have to surrender his hairpiece. Hairpieces are forbidden in the prison because they can be used as disguises.

Cianci was originally sentenced to serve his time in a federal prison in Lisbon, Ohio, but his transfer to a prison closer to home in New Jersey was approved last week after U.S. Reps. James R. Langevin and Patrick Kennedy lobbied the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Cianci's behalf.

Cianci has had a busy couple of weeks preparing for his incarceration. He said he has established a trust to benefit his daughter and grandchildren if he should die in prison.

He has also appeared on the Today show and is scheduled to appear on 60 Minutes Sunday night.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski and The Associated Press