Jul 27, 2007 3:09 pm US/Eastern
Cianci Released From Federal Custody
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ―
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Cianci made a brief public appearance after he was released in May.
CBS
Former Providence Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci was released from federal custody Friday and celebrated his freedom by having lunch at a restaurant in the city's Italian neighborhood.
Cianci ate at the Old Canteen restaurant in Federal Hill with five other men Friday afternoon, 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.
"He feels wonderful," Turchetta said after leaving his uncle at the old-style Italian restaurant. He would not be specific when asked about Cianci's plans for the rest of the day, saying only that Friday would be "business as usual."
A reporter for The Associated Press was turned away at the restaurant's door.
Cianci was convicted in 2002 of a single count of racketeering conspiracy after more than two decades as mayor. 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.
Cianci arrived at the Barnstable (Mass.) Sheriff's Office about 10:30 a.m. Friday, and staff there removed his bracelet, Sheriff James Cummings said. The Barnstable sheriff handles monitoring of federal home confinement sentences in southeastern New England.
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.
Cianci has kept quiet since his release from prison and has not spoken publicly about what he plans to do for a living. But Mansolillo said he 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, Mansolillo said.
Cianci's recent low profile is in marked contrast to the celebrity status he enjoyed as mayor. He unabashedly touted the city's virtues and its downtown renaissance, promoting Providence as a regular guest on Don Imus' radio show and appearing at everything from neighborhood barbecues to art openings -- events other big-city mayors would have dismissed as too minor.
But his legacy is tainted by 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.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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