The operation first became public when the FBI executed a search warrant on Providence City Hall on April 28, 1999.
The investigations that followed ultimately led to the indictment and subsequent conviction on federal criminal charges against a number of city officials including the 2002 indictment of then-Mayor Buddy Cianci.
[1][2][3] Frank Corrente, Chief of Administration for Providence, was found guilty of extortion and bribery and sentenced to 56 months in prison.
[4] During the case, an investigative reporter for WJAR, Jim Taricani, refused to reveal who leaked a surveillance tape to him.
He was convicted of criminal contempt of court on November 18, 2004, and sentenced on December 9, 2004 to six months of home confinement.