Vincent Albert "Buddy" Cianci Jr. (/siˈænsi/, see-AN-see; Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃantʃi], CHAHN-chee; April 30, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American politician, attorney, radio talk show host, and political commentator who served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island from 1975 to 1984 and again from 1991 to 2002.

His second stint as mayor ended when he was forced to resign following his conviction for one count of racketeering conspiracy, and he served four years in federal prison.

[4] At the age of seven, Cianci began appearing regularly on WJAR's Kiddie Revue Sunday radio broadcast from the Outlet Department Store on Weybosset Street, downtown Providence.

[citation needed] In 1973, he became the prosecutor of the Rhode Island Attorney General's Anti-Corruption Strike Force, a position he held until his first election as mayor in 1974.

[7] During this time, Cianci gained political experience working on Attorney General Herbert DeSimone's unsuccessful campaigns for governor in 1970 and 1972.

Cianci presented himself as a visionary reformer, outlining plans to revive an economically troubled downtown, rebuild the waterfront, restore blighted neighborhoods, create parks, and improve schools.

After Ford's loss to Jimmy Carter, Cianci promoted himself as a candidate for one of Rhode Island's U.S. Senate seats, aiming to expand the Republican Party's ethnic votership.

Cianci attempted to run in the election under the rubric that he had been convicted of a felony but received a five-year suspended sentence rather than being sent to prison.

After a few weeks, it was decided by the Rhode Island Supreme Court that Cianci could not run in the special election, because the legislative intent was that the convicted incumbent could not succeed himself in office.

The special election was won by City Council Chairman, Acting Mayor, and future ambassador to Malta Joseph R. Paolino Jr.[citation needed] Cianci spent the next few years as a radio talk show host on Providence AM station 920 WHJJ and as a television commentator.

[citation needed] During Cianci's second run as mayor, beginning in 1991, the city of Providence entered its "Renaissance phase".

"[15] It was claimed that proceeds from sales were "Benefiting Providence School Children" and helped hundreds of students attend college.

[16] However, an August 2014 Associated Press report found that "in recent years, no money from the sauce's sales has been donated to Cianci's charity scholarship fund."

[citation needed] Cianci was indicted in April 2001 on federal criminal charges of racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and mail fraud.

"[22] Much of the trial was focused around a video tape showing top Cianci aide Director of Administration Frank A. Corrente taking a bribe.

NBC reporter Jim Taricani aired the tape on local television station WJAR, and he was sentenced to six months of house arrest for refusing to reveal his sources to the court.

Cianci did not maintain a low profile after the indictment but poked fun at the investigation, code-named "Operation Plunder Dome".

Cianci was acquitted of 26 out of 27 charges, including bribery, extortion, and mail fraud, but he was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, running a corrupt criminal enterprise.

Upon his initial release from federal prison, he had already secured a job in marketing and sales for the XV Beacon, a luxury hotel in Boston.

[25] On the animated sitcom Family Guy (set in Rhode Island), Chris attended Buddy Cianci Junior High School.

On September 20, 2007, Cianci returned to the airwaves on local Providence AM radio station WPRO, hosting a weekday talk show.

[26] On October 24, 2007, Cianci appeared on WLNE-TV ABC6 to announce that in addition to his radio show, he was joining the television station as chief political analyst and contributing editor.

[34] He had been taken to the hospital the previous day after experiencing abdominal pain while filming his television show, On the Record with Buddy Cianci, at the WLNE-TV studio.

[35] Thousands of people viewed Cianci's open casket as his body lay in state for two days in Providence City Hall,[36] the first mayor to be so honored since Thomas Doyle in 1886.

[37] A horse-drawn carriage carried his casket through the city during a snowstorm on February 8, as it made its way to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul where Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Joseph Tobin presided over a funeral mass.

[36] The funeral procession then passed through Olneyville and Silver Lake, where Cianci grew up, ending at St. Ann's Cemetery in Cranston for a private burial next to his parents and daughter, Nicole.