I’ll always remember the time I caught a glimpse of Buddy Cianci on the news, bantering and joking with reporters in his trademark booming voice. He was telling them that he was planning on quitting smoking and learning Spanish. At first glance, he looked like he was going on a long vacation. It was only by following the TV closely that I realized the fellow was headed for federal prison on racketeering and extortion charges. Wanting to find out more, I picked up a copy of ‘The Prince of Providence’. I was not disappointed. This book and its subject are both riots!

The Prince of Providence: The Rise and Fall of Buddy Cianci, America’s Most Notorious Mayor

• Author: Mike Stanton
• Publisher: Random House (August 5, 2003)
• Formats: Paperback, Kindle

Vincent A. ‘Buddy’ Cianci is among the most colorful, controversial, and notorious personalities to hit the New England political landscape. The story of his outrageous personal and political life is wild, bizarre, and extremely entertaining. It reads more like a screenplay for a Broadway play than a biography. (I read somewhere on the Internet that ‘Buddy Cianci, the musical’ is being made.)

As a young prosecutor, Buddy Cianci would prove his sharp cunning, sending Raymond Patriaca, the Italian Mafia Don, and the ‘unofficial Mayor of Providence’, to Federal prison. Billing himself as the ‘anti-corruption’ candidate, Cianci would make his first political run in Providence as mayor. As the Republican underdog, Cianci would use the infighting of the huge Democratic machine to his advantage and win the election to the mayor’s office.

Thus, in 1974, began the first term of the Prince of Providence, titled Cianci I. The Cianci I Era would see Buddy enjoy two terms as Mayor. Cianci would survive criticism for a badly managed Blizzard aftermath in Providence and criticism for the suicide of a police chief. Playing politics, crafty Cianci would outmaneuver all his rivals and critiques. A prime example of this is a brilliant coup he planned in City Hall, called the ‘Wednesday Night Massacre’.

In 1984, Term Cianci I would come to an abrupt end when Cianci pleaded guilty to assaulting Raymond DeLeo, a contractor whom Cianci suspected of sleeping with his estranged wife. Cianci would thus resign from City Hall in disgrace. Following this, twenty-two of his city workers would be convicted of corruption.

Cianci would use this time off to find himself a new woman and work as the host of a local radio show. At the end of 1990, Cianci would be the mayor of Providence once again, winning a three-way race by a slender margin of 317 votes. This term, Cianci II, would land Cianci in the public eye of the entire country. His fans would praise him for restoring Providence from an industrial wasteland to one of the best little towns in the United States. Providence would surpass even Boston in its reputation for trendy restaurants. Cianci would be regarded by some as the ‘Renaissance Mayor’.

Cianci’s critics, however, would label Providence as a city for sale, a city where corruption reigned supreme, where everything had its price. It was this reputation which would prompt ‘Operation Thunderdome’, a Federal probe into Cianci’s political affairs under the leadership of FBI investigator Dennis Aiken. The mayor would be charged with extortion, racketeering, and a string of other allegations. It would see the mayor leave his position in disgrace for the second time. But then can we still count out Buddy Cianci?

Mike Stanton is a master storyteller who paints wonderful pen-portraits of Cianci and his cronies. One official in charge of vermin control, nicknamed ‘Buckles’, overdoses the city on rat poison and actually ends up increasing Providence’s rat population. There is Anthony Laurence, a bookmaker labeled ‘Public Enema number one’, for trying to avoid prison, citing too many bowel movements. The mayor, his idiosyncrasies, and his private life add most of the pathos and humor to this book. This book is a must-read. It is hilarious in some parts and wildly entertaining all the time. It is by far, one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read recently.