Under Cianci’s watch, the city was transformed into a arts and culture hub.
Advertisement
Paolino says according to initial plans mourners will be able to pay their respects to Cianci Feb. 6-7.
April 25, 1984: Cianci resigns as mayor. Paolino says, “He gave his heart to Providence”.
Faced with the possibility of a Cianci return to office, several Democratic candidates dropped out to consolidate support behind Elorza, a political newcomer. “I think everybody in this state’s politics is corrupt to begin with, but that’s the way of the world”, one Providence resident told me in 2014.
Mattiello added he was mindful of what he described as Cianci’s footnote and said it was something for everyone to learn from. This year, the infamous former mayor is not just on the ballot for a second comeback, he’s leading in the polls. We join his friends and family in their sorrow at this hard time. His brand was “anti-corruption” and clean government-he defeated the barfly incumbent, Democrat Joseph Doorley, and when he was still a prosecutor, Cianci even went after Raymond Patriarca, the don of the New England mafia. During Cianci’s second tenure it grew by 8 percent. She lives in Providence.
Vowing to move the city and himself forward, he became a tireless promoter of Providence’s potential.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Daniel McKee expressed condolences, saying Cianci loved Providence, and oversaw its renaissance in the 1990s.
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza ordered flags at Providence City Hall to be flown at half-staff as arrangements are made to recognize his memory.
Cianci was loved and reviled in a city that, like America, has been rocked by financial troubles and shaped by demographic change.
Cianci was the city’s longest-serving mayor.
Buddy Cianci in 2014.
CIANCI: Remember, when I ran for mayor, I didn’t get all the Italian vote. More transactional than ideological, Cianci ran as a Republican because it made the most electoral sense. He did not release the cause.
A fixture in Rhode Island politics since he first became mayor of Providence in 1975, Cianci is famous-or infamous-in the rest of the country for two incidents, which between then sum up the toupee-wearing thug’s style of personal and public corruption and brutality. The buddy of Providence was 74. A hospital spokeswoman said he died Thursday morning.
Mr. Cianci presided over the resurrection of Providence from a decaying, Industrial-age relic to a 21st-century boomtown with…
His first stint in City Hall ended in 1984 with his resignation after he pleaded no contest to charges of hitting a contractor with a hot fire poker – after accusing him of sleeping with his estranged wife.
But Cianci’s term was cut short when he was convicted on a count of federal racketeering conspiracy (RICO) in 2001 and sentenced to 5 years in federal prison.
Soon after, he lost his strength, fell back onto a padded bench, and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. The death was tied to complications relating to Cianci’s battle with Cancer.
A clearly frail Cianci returned to City Hall in November for the unveiling of his official portrait.
The controversial figure was forced from office twice due to felonies.
Advertisement
Both times, 20 years apart, ousted him from office.
