![]() "I do hope I would get credit for the time I already served," he cracked. Sometimes, the judge said, a full sentence is needed to teach a lesson.Ĭianci, he declared, would have to serve the full 64 months.īuddy seemed to roll with it - and even made a joke. He was sorry for past mistakes and sorry, too, for any scars left on the city he loved. When it was Cianci’s turn, he spoke humbly. Despite his changed appearance, the old Buddy was still there. The prosecutor, Richard Rose, said Cianci had overseen a “reign of corruption.”īuddy slightly rolled his eyes and audibly groaned. He was 64 and appealing for a reduction by closed-circuit television.Īs his lawyer made his pitch, Cianci seemed calm, but twirled a pen so fast it was a blur. It was June 19, 2005, and he’d already served 2½ years at Fort Dix, half his sentence for corruption. Buddy was without his toupée, had lost weight and aged a bit. I was in a special Providence federal courthouse room when inmate number 05000-070 appeared on a TV screen.Īt first, I didn’t recognize him. The trial aside, he was where he loved to be, at the center of things.ĪCT 3 SCENE 2: IN PRISON. His freedom was at stake.īut he was still smiling and I realized why. Ten minutes later, as he emerged, I expected a grimmer mood. I followed him up the stairs as he traded stories with building staff, then disappeared into a conference room. ![]() ![]() Some construction workers called out: "Good luck, Buddy." The courthouse was 300 yards away, down Kennedy Plaza. The trial, he said, will take only 22 or so hours a week, and he works 80, so there’s plenty of time to be mayor. It got me asking how he compartmentalizes so well. He remembered from making the rounds for team photos that I was a coach. He was talking about Little League Opening Day. "You going to be there Saturday?" he asked me. I snuck in and approached, sure I’d be shooed away. TV cameras were outside the Biltmore, where Buddy huddled over breakfast with his attorney, Richard Egbert. It was the morning of April 20, 2002, Day 2 of the United States vs. I had never seen a defendant so calm, or upbeat. Trinity Rep did a great job staging its version of Mike Stanton’s book “The Prince of Providence.” But it's hard to fit Buddy into two acts, so today, here is Act 3 - some real scenes I witnessed from his later life, beginning where the play ends, at his last trial.
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