377 years ago Roger Williams founded the city of Providence, RI after being forced to leave Massachusetts Bay Colony. Williams considered a heretic because of his religious opinions was told to leave so he did. His exile brought him south to the western bank of what is now the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay. Williams made a deal with the Wampanoag Nation's chief Massasoit Ousamequin. He named the city Providence meaning divine guidance.
Providence soon became a place for religious dissenters and a haven for those considered outside of society. The city grew slowly at first but in time it became the capital of the new Colony of Rhode Island. Being established on the concept of religious freedom many religions made their first stand in Providence and Rhode Island.
The proximity to Narragansett Bay and a deep water port made Providence into a major shipping spot in the 18th century. Providence became a major player in the triangle trade. In the early par of the 18th century Providence was one of the wealthiest cities in America. The population of Providence was one of the earliest dissenters to English rule of the colonies.
The industrial revolution took hold in Providence and manufacturing of textiles became a mainstay of the city. Jewelry was another of the manufactured goods that brought money into Providence. Gorham Silver based it's operations in the city. Providence became know as the costume jewelry capital of the world with companies like Trifari making some of what today is the most collectable costume jewelry.
Education has also been one of the major business of Providence it is the home of Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence College, Rhode Island College and Johnson and Wales University.
Providence has had its ups and downs. The city itself became very depressed by the 1970's. It was becoming a city of empty factories and rundown mansions from the Victorian era until the 1980's when a rediscovery of sorts occurred. Part of the rediscovery of Providence was brought about by the then mayor Vincent Buddy Cianci. Through a series of grants and bribes Cianci moved a river and started a redevelopment of the downtown and outlying neighborhoods.
Is the city perfect? No, but being 377 years old it is a jewel of architectural history and charm.
There are mayors and then there are MAYORS, Vincent "Buddy" Cianci is one of the latter. Buddy was not once but twice elected mayor of the City of Providence, Rhode Island and he is also one of the most loved and despised figures in Rhode Island politics. Having been elected twice is no big feat but in Buddy's case it is amazing. You see Buddy is a felon. He wasn't a felon the first time he was elected but he was the second time. Cianci's first administration ended in 1984 when he plead guilty to assault and his second administration ended when he was convicted of racketeering.
Buddy Cianci is the child of a doctor and grew up outside of Providence in the city of Cranston, RI. He was sent to Moses Brown, one of the oldest prep schools in the US. Moses Brown is one of the bastions of waspiness and he is Italian, this was a big deal in the 1950's. Needless to say he was the square peg. Cianci went on to eventually get a law degree from Marquette University. When he returned to Rhode Island and passed the bar Cianci was appointed a Special Assistant Attorney General in 1969. In 1973 Buddy became the prosecutor of the Rhode Island Attorney General Department's Anti-Corruption Strike Force. Oh the irony!
In the election year of 1974 Buddy was elected mayor of Providence. He was the first Italian-American and the youngest elected mayor in Providence's history. Until Buddy was elected mayors had always been of Irish descent. Cianci ran on an anti-corruption platform. During the 70's Buddy was a rising star in the national Republican party and spoke at the 1976 Republican convention. He was a serious contender as a Vice Presidential candidate with Gerald Ford. In 1980 Cianci ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Rhode Island.
Then the troubles began. In 1973 Buddy married a woman named Sheila and had a child Nicole. Their marriage was a troubled one. In the 1980's the were separated and Buddy moved into a large one time carriage house on Providence's East Side neighborhood. It was during this period Buddy and a friend had a disagreement with a man Buddy accused of having an affair with Sheila. Buddy plead guilty of assaulting the man with a lit cigarette and an ashtray in Buddy's carriage house home. Cianci resigned from his job as mayor. He went on to become an AM radio talk show host. Buddy's show was extremely popular. It was while hosting on the radio Buddy announced in 1990 he was running for mayor once again. This run for office was once again successful. Buddy Cianci was now the first felon to be elected as mayor of Providence.
During Buddy's second term as mayor Providence entered what is known as its "Renaissance". The faded and dying downtown was revitalized and major construction projects were started. Hotels and a new train station were built and a river was moved creating an new park and city center. While all of this boom was going on there was a darker side. Providence has always been known as a corrupt city from its earliest times. It was corrupt in the 1790's and in the 1990's corruption was reaching its zenith. In 1998 Buddy ran unopposed for another term as mayor and well he won. It was during this time the Feds started seriously looking at Cianci and his cronies. In what was eventually called "Operation Plunder Dome" nine people including Buddy were indicted on federal charges of racketeering, extortion, witness tampering and mail fraud. Buddy being Buddy publicly made fun of all of the charges. That was until all nine of the indicted were convicted of various counts. Buddy himself was charged with 27 charges and in his trail he was acquitted of 26 of them. He was at this time planning to run for another term as mayor. In September of 2002 Buddy was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison.
Buddy has always been a shorter and portly man with a full head of hair. It was when Buddy was imprisoned in New Jersey he was forced to relinquish his beloved toupee. Buddy served his time. He did request an early release but was denied. After his five years in stir Buddy returned to Providence a semi-hero. His popularity had not declined. Cianci went back on the air with his radio show and eventually became a television political analyst. As he is no longer on parole Buddy is technically eligible to run for mayor once again. There has been talk of his running for one of Rhode Island's seats in the US House of Representatives. Buddy seems very happy in Providence living in his luxury condo and riding around town in his chauffeured town car. In popular culture Buddy has his place. There is a book called "The Prince of Providence", "Buddy, The Musical" and "Buddy Cianci Junior High School" on the animated TV show "Family Guy".
Will he run for office again? Never count Buddy Cianci out!
