Vincent Cianci, Jr
Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, Jr. (born April 30, 1941 in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island) served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, and he was indicted in April 2001 on federal charges of racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and mail fraud. Several other Providence city officials were also indicted. Cianci was revered by the residents of Providence and credited with the revitalizing the city's economy and image. Rather than maintaining a low profile after the indictment, Cianci went out of his way to poke fun at the investigation, code-named "Operation Plunder Dome." After being convicted on a single count of racketeering, Cianci was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison. After some legal wrangling, Cianci's lawyers managed to have Cianci sent to prison closer to Rhode Island, and Cianci is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He is scheduled to be released in December of 2007. Was a friend of President Gerald Ford. Television Animator/Producer Seth MacFarlane parodied Cianci in the now Fox Television series Family Guy by naming a fictional school after him. The book The Prince of Providence by Mike Stanton details his life, from childhood, to mob-busting prosecutor, to mayor, to organized crime. Cianci, though a political independent by the time of his indictment, was a former Republican and his unpopularity after his trial touched the Republicans as well, helping to sweep the openly homosexual Democratic candidate for Mayor, David Cicilline, into office in a landslide in 2002.
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