Former Providence Mayor Vincent A. 'Buddy' Cianci has died

Cianci, 74, was Providence's longest serving mayor and a twice convicted felon. Cianci, who battled colon cancer, was rushed to Miriam Hospital with “severe stomach pains” Wednesday night and died Thursday morning.
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By Tom Mooney
Journal Staff Writer
Follow @Mooneyprojo
Posted Jan. 28, 2016 at 10:07 am Updated at 10:45 AM

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Former Providence Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci, 74, has died.

His death was confirmed by his former mayoral chief of staff, lawyer Artin H. Coloian.

Cianci, Providence's longest serving mayor, died shortly after 9:30 Thursday, Coloian said.

“It’s a shock to me… His accomplishments will live on for a long time to come," Coloian said.

Cianci's death was also confirmed by Charles R. Mansolillo, the executor of the former mayor’s will and the trustee for Cianci’s trust. Mansolillo said Cianci’s financial assistant called him this morning with the news of Cianci's death.

Cianci, a twice convicted felon, was rushed to Miriam Hospital with “severe stomach pains,” Wednesday night, according to an ABC6 News report.

Cianci was taping his weekly “On the Record with Buddy Cianci” show at the ABC6 News studio when he began to experience pain.

In November, Cianci was carried out of City Hall on a stretcher 40 minutes after his mayoral portrait was unveiled. He said it the room was warm and he was dehydrated which caused him to stumble.

Earlier this month, Cianci said he'd gotten engaged to his girlfriend, who is a model and actress.

It would have been a second marriage for Cianci and a first for Tara Marie Haywood, who is in her 30s.

“We love each other and why not get married?” Cianci said. “I’m sure we’ll be happy.”

Cianci said they had not set a date.

Cianci’s political career began in 1974, when he first became mayor of Providence. His terms in office were cut short by criminal actions: once, in 1984, when he was convicted of felony assault, and again in 2002, when a federal jury found him guilty of running City Hall as a criminal conspiracy. He spent four and a half years in federal prison and emerged to resume a radio talk show career he left in 1990.

He ran again for mayor in 2014. After losing to Democrat Jorge Elorza, Cianci returned as a talk-show host on WPRO-AM.

He has fought cancer, but in an early January interview about his engagement, Cianci said he was “cancer-free.”

“I work every day. I’m in good health,” said Cianci, a grandfather of three.

-- With reports from Journal Staff Writer Jacqueline Tempera