Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. was convicted on Monday, June 24 on a federal racketeering-conspiracy charge in U.S. District Court after nine days of jury deliberation.
On Wednesday, June 26, Cianci told a crowd of media members assembled in his second floor office that he would not seek re-election.
“I don’t want to be the 300-pound gorilla in a race,” he said. “It’s not fair to the people. It would be purely self-motivated and in my self-interests.”
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Cianci, 61, was acquitted of 11 other charges, including racketeering. The jurors initially couldn’t agree on two charges, but after two additional hours of deliberation, they found him innocent of extorting a free, lifetime membership to the plush University Club on Benefit Street.
Cianci was expressionless as the verdict was read, according to the Associated Press. He faces as many as 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse released an opinion just hours after the verdict that Cianci can legally remain in office “until he is suspended from holding the office of mayor, which happens by law immediately upon sentencing.”
U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres has set a Sept. 6 sentencing date for Cianci. Torres has also asked for written arguments on the racketeering-conspiracy conviction. Torres will also hear oral arguments from both sides, leaving open the possibility that he could overturn the jury’s guilty verdict.
Those arguments are scheduled for this Wednesday, July 3.
The verdict came after a seven-week federal trial in which prosecutors alleged Cianci, his former top aide and two businessmen solicited bribes in exchange for city jobs, contracts and tax breaks.
Cianci’s two co-defendants fared far worse than the mayor.
Frank E. Corrente, Cianci’s former chief of staff, was found guilty on several counts of racketeering-conspiracy, extortion and bribery.
Richard E. Autiello, a Providence garage owner, was also found guilty of racketeering-conspiracy, extortion and bribery.
Sentencing for the co-defendants is also set for Sept. 6.
