Ex-R.I. Mayor Cianci A Free Man
Former Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci was released from federal custody Friday, having served his time for a racketeering conspiracy conviction that forced him to resign in disgrace from the job he held for two decades.
Cianci celebrated at an old-style Italian restaurant in the Federal Hill neighborhood with about five other men, including his lawyer, Charles Mansolillo, and his nephew, Brad Turchetta. He was not wearing his trademark toupee, and was mostly bald, except for close-cropped hair around the sides and top.
Cianci left the restaurant without commenting shortly after 3:30 p.m., then got into a silver sports car and was driven away.
"He knows the interest is there," Mansolillo told a throng of reporters and news cameras waiting outside the restaurant. "He just believes the world can wait."
Cianci dined on haddock with a side of broccoli rabe and shared stories about life in prison, especially the difference between jail food and fine Italian fare, Mansolillo said.
"The dining event today was a special event for him," he said. "He really hasn't enjoyed a restaurant dining experience for four and a half years."
Cianci was convicted in 2002 in a sweeping criminal case that depicted his administration as rife with corruption, where bribes were exchanged for jobs and a pay-to-play culture ran unchecked.
He served more than four years in the federal prison at Fort Dix, N.J., and was released to a halfway house in May. He moved to home confinement at his nephew's house in East Greenwich last month and was required to wear an electronic ankle monitoring bracelet.
Staff at the Barnstable (Mass.) Sheriff's Office, which handles monitoring of federal home confinement sentences in southeastern New England, removed the ankle bracelet Friday morning, Sheriff James Cummings said.
Cianci was first elected as a Republican in 1974 but was forced out 10 years later after he pleaded no contest to brutally assaulting a man he believed was having an affair with his estranged wife. He went on to become a successful radio talk show host and was re-elected in 1990 as an independent, serving as mayor until his sentencing.
Mansolillo said Cianci has been in contact with radio stations about resuming his role as a talk-show host, a job he returned to shortly before he went to prison. He also has spoken with literary agents about a book deal, the lawyer said.