PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 25 (UPI) -- The fabled political career of Providence, R.I., Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci appeared near an end Tuesday with his conviction on a federal racketeering conspiracy charge.
But the charismatic mayor's not going without a fight.
"I will continue to fight to preserve my innocence and to tell the people of Providence I have been a mayor in their best interest," Cianci said Monday night at a City Hall press conference.
Cianci, 61, the longest-serving big city mayor in the nation, is generally credited with turning a mob-dominated, financially troubled city into a "renaissance city" featuring a downtown shopping mall, new riverfront parks and new hotels, drawing tourists from around the world.
Earlier Monday after nine days of deliberations, a federal jury found Cianci guilty of one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organization Act.
The jury, however, acquitted him of 11 other charges, including extortion, bribery, mail fraud and racketeering.
Two co-defendants were also convicted of racketeering conspiracy as well as a number of lesser charges.
Immediately following the conviction, Gov. Lincoln Almond again called on Cianci to step down, saying the "capital city cannot stand this type of corruption -- enough is enough."
"At this point, I have no intention of stepping down," a defiant Cianci said at the press conference.
Rhode Island Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse issued a statement late Monday saying Cianci could stay in office until he is sentenced.
In the last year of his sixth four-year term, Cianci has until 4 p.m. Wednesday to file for re-election. If his conviction is upheld, he would be prevented from running for a seventh term, Whitehouse said.
U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres set sentencing for Sept. 6. Cianci faces up to 20 years in prison.
Torres, meanwhile, also said he would rule by July 3 on a motion to overturn the conviction.
Co-defendants Frank F. Corrente, Cianci's top aide, and tow-truck operator Richard Autiello were also convicted of racketeering conspiracy and other charges involving bribery, contracts and jobs.
While the jury of eight men and four women failed to convict Cianci of any specific acts of corruption, it apparently believed that he had to know that others at City Hall were committing corrupt acts.
Monday's convictions brought to six the number of past and present city officials found guilty of charges stemming from an investigation into a City Hall criminal enterprise the FBI in 1999 dubbed "Operation Plunder Dome." Three businessmen were also convicted.
The government said Providence, under Cianci, was a "city for sale."
The conviction was just the latest chapter in Cianci's storied career as Providence's mayor for 21 of the past 27 years.
Cianci was first elected mayor in 1974. In the early 1980s, he survived a federal corruption probe that resulted in 22 convictions in city government.
However, he was forced to resign in 1984 when convicted of beating his estranged wife's boyfriend with a fireplace log.
For the following five years Cianci put his bombastic style to good use as a popular radio talk-show host. When his probation period ended in 1990, Cianci ran and won a tight three-way race.
He even launched his own spaghetti sauce and olive oil.
(Reported by Dave Haskell in Boston)
