City Board Takes Aim at Cianci Pension

City Board Takes Aim at Cianci Pension

The city retirement board today is expected to start the process of removing or reducing retirement benefits for former Mayor Buddy Cianci—who was forced out of office in 2002 when he was convicted of running a criminal enterprise.

The meeting is set for 10:30 a.m. in City Hall, but the discussion about Cianci’s pension is closed to the public.

The meeting picks up where the board left off five years ago, when it first considered blocking Cianci’s pension. News reports at the time estimated he was eligible for at least two city pensions totaling $75,000 to $80,000.

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The board was scheduled to discuss the matter last month, but instead postponed it. In the meantime, the City Council passed—and Mayor Angel Taveras signed into law—an ordinance that prohibits employees from receiving pensions for dishonorable service, even if they are not convicted of a crime.

The state Supreme Court has ruled that the pre-existing ordinance only allowed the city to remove pensions if there was a criminal conviction.

The Providence Retirement Board also is scheduled to discuss the two pensions that Police Chief Dean Esserman has been receiving under his contract, which expired in January. That part of the meeting also is closed to the public.

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Knife photo credit: Maarten Van Damme