Operation Plunder Dome
Operation Plunder Dome was the code-name for the FBI's investigation into corruption in the city of Providence, Rhode Island.
Investigation
During the summer of 1997, a grand jury in U.S. District Court began investigating questionable lease arrangements between the city and Edward Voccola, a commercial property owner and convicted felon. Several city officials were questioned under oath about the deals. The probe, named Operation Plunder Dome, focused on whether Frank Corrente, Cianci's long-time director of administration, had played a role in securing the lucrative leases for Voccola.
In January 1998, local businessman Antonio R. Freitas began working for the probe, telling authorities that city officials had accepted an inflated bid for a contract to rent school space from Edward Voccola, over Freitas' legitimate bid. The FBI continued to investigate the relationship between Voccola and Providence, and asked the state police to join the investigation. Freitas, carrying a hidden video camera or wearing a concealed microphone, recorded about 180 meetings with Joseph A. Pannone, chairman of the Providence Board of Tax Assessment Review, and other allegedly corrupt city officials.
On April 28, 1999, the investigation became public when FBI agents stormed City Hall and arrested Pannone and David C. Ead, vice chairman of the tax board. They also seized crates of documents from five offices in City Hall.[1]
Charges and Convictions
In December 1999, Joseph Pannone pleaded guilty to 14 corruption charges.[2]
In June 2000, Frank Corrente was indicted on charges he arranged bribes for city leases and contracts.[2]
In April 2001, A 97-page, 30-count indictment was unsealed, charging the following people with racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, mail fraud and witness tampering as a result of Operation Plunder Dome:[3]
- Vincent Cianci, Jr., former Providence Mayor
- Frank Corrente, former chief of administration
- Artin H. Coloian, chief of staff
- Joseph A. Pannone, ex-chairman of the Board of Tax Assessment Review
- Richard E. Autiello, of Providence
- Edward E. Voccola, of Cranston
The 2001 indictment alleged that Cianci and his co-defendants took more than $1.5 million during the 1990s- extorting cash and campaign contributions for leases, contracts, jobs, promotions and other benefits. Most of that money involved an allegedly crooked deal in which the impoverished School Department paid $1.3 million to rent space in a former auto body shop owned by Edward Voccola. Another $250,000 in campaign contributions was allegedly extorted from tow-truck operators to keep their place on the Police Department's lucrative tow list.[3]
Cianci was also charged with attempting to extort a $10,000 bribe in a city real-estate deal, extorting a $10,000 bribe for a property-tax reduction, extorting a $5,000 bribe for a city job and extorting a free lifetime membership in the exclusive University Club. Cianci was also charged with witness tampering for allegedly trying to influence the grand-jury testimony of a city official in the summer of 1999 concerning the University Club.[3]
In March 2002, Joseph Pannone pleaded guilty to taking bribes in exchange for reducing tax bills and security city contracts.[2]
In 2002, Mayor Cianci was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and was released in 2007.[4]
Additional Reading
Footnotes
- ↑ Providence Journal, "FBI built case slowly, rising through ranks," April 3, 2001
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Standard-Times, "After three years of hype, Plunder Dome trial heads to court this week," April 15, 2002
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Providence Journal, "Grand jury indicts Cianci, 5 others on 30 counts of racketeering, conspiracy," April 3, 2001
- ↑ New York Times, "Now Free to Speak His Mind, an Ex-Mayor Is Doing So," April 28, 2008
