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« Today's front page | Today | Ethics commission puts off Montalbano case » May 31, 2007One former Providence mayor helps another / Photo
Paolino, of course, was the City Council president who became mayor when Cianci was forced to resign in 1984 from his first stint as mayor of the capital city. The two have had a sometimes contentious relationship, but they’ve been “communicating over the past few years” with letters, Paolino said this morning. It’s tough, Paolino said, to see someone who used to be on top who has fallen. He thinks “anybody that’s got compassion” would do what he did. “Sometimes when people are in need of help, you put your political differences aside,” Paolino said on his cell phone today from New York, where he’s conducting business. “We’ve both done that. We’re old warriors. We’ve been adversaries. We’ve been friends. We’ve been colleagues. And he needed help.” Cianci asked Paolino if he knew anyone in Boston, and Paolino delivered. He called Paul Roiff, originally a Rhode Islander and now owner of the posh Fifteen Beacon hotel that has signed Cianci on for some marketing work while he’s in the halfway house, Coolidge House in Boston. Cianci was released from federal prison at Fort Dix, N.J., at about 3 a.m. yesterday and arrived at the halfway house less than seven hours later. He's scheduled to start working at the hotel Monday. “I called Paul Roiff and told him that Cianci was going to be in Boston, would be in a halfway house, needed some help and if he had any need to hire someone of his talent,” Paolino explained. “And without hesitation, Paul Roiff said yes.” -- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson Paolino said helping Cianci, like helping anyone in need, “feels good.” Plus, he goes way back with the Cianci family, he said. He has known the former mayor’s daughter, Nicole Cianci, “since she was born.” She and her children now live in a building partly owned by Paolino’s real estate company, The 903 condominium development behind Providence Place mall, Paolino said. Paolino characterized Cianci as "the kind of guy who knows how to bring himself back up." He said he’s hopeful that Cianci’s “future is brighter than his past.” “He needed a hand of friendship, and I was happy to offer it to him …,” he said. “And hopefully it gives him a fresh start.” Paolino said he knows Cianci wants to be back in Rhode Island, but he said he doesn’t really know what direction the colorful former mayor will take in life. “I don’t know what goes, really, through his mind,” Paolino said. “He’s got a tremendous amount of talent. He’s very bright. He very much wants to be back in Rhode Island.” Mostly, Paolino thinks Cianci wants to focus on being a father and a grandfather, noting that Nicole had her third child recently. As for those letters the two former mayors exchanged while Cianci was in federal prison at Fort Dix, N.J., Paolino said he has never divulged the contents of a correspondence he considers “private.” Posted by Kate Bramson Commentsherman | May 31, 2007 11:59 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
Give the mayor another chance to make it right.Clear up a few thing,and state the fact.