[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 50 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   SAL MANCINI: A RHODE ISLAND LEGEND

  Mr. PELL. Madam President, I wish to share with my colleagues the sad 
news of the death of Sal Mancini, 74, the mayor of North Providence, 
RI, and to share with my colleagues the inspiring record of his 
lifelong dedication.
  It seems that I cannot remember a time when I did not know Sal. He 
was a colorful character and a consumate politician. His influence was 
felt far beyond the town lines of North Providence, where he served as 
mayor for more than two decades.
  Sal was a lifelong bachelor who made the people of North Providence 
his extended family. He was known to everybody as Sal. He dedicated his 
life to the town and his hard work left a legacy of friends and 
colleagues who will miss him terribly.
  I, for one, considered myself a friend and I know that I am only one 
in a company of thousands. Sal worked for people. He made the 
government work, he ran the town and he made things happen. We have 
lost both a leader and a good friend.
  In a time when Rhode Island towns are hard pressed by crunching 
economic pressures, North Providence seems to shine as a success story. 
As far as I am concerned, Sal can take the credit.
  Frankly, I know of nobody else who worked harder for the town and I 
know of nobody else who has become more identified with North 
Providence. Sal will be truly missed and we will not forget him.
  I ask unanimous consent that an article from the Providence Journal 
of April 18, 1994, entitled ``Sal Mancini: Alive in Legend,'' be 
printed in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                      Sal Mancini: Alive in Legend

                (By James H. McDonald and Steve Winter)

       North Providence.--At Andrew's Restaurant, across Smith 
     Street from Town Hall, Salvatore Mancini's face smiled from a 
     picture taped to a column as owner Patricia Massey echoed the 
     shock felt by other townspeople at the news that North 
     Providence's first and only mayor had died.
       ``It's just like losing your best friend,'' said Massey, 
     who had know Sal Mancini since she was a child. ``He wasn't 
     just our mayor; he was our friend. He went to every wake, 
     every function in town. He didn't miss a thing.''
       When Katherine Hawkins learned that Mancini had died, she 
     responded with stunned silence, then shook her head in 
     disbelief.
       ``I figured he'd live forever,'' Hawkins said. ``He was a 
     personality. This is really sad. It's the passing of an era, 
     I guess. He was always visible, always willing to listen. 
     Geez, I can't believe it.''
       Her husband, David Hawkins, remembers Mancini as a man 
     ``who ran the town from the hardware store until he was 
     elected,'' referring to Ace Hardware, near Waterman Avenue 
     and Smith Street, formerly owned by Mancini.
       ``That's where I met him,'' David Hawkins said, ``and, as 
     far as I'm concerned, he was a good man.
       ``A lot of politicians didn't like him, but the people did. 
     That's how he stayed in office. I'll go out of my way to 
     attend his funeral.''
       The 74-year-old Mancini, who had been hospitalized twice 
     since last year, died Saturday night of cardiac arrest, at 
     St. Joseph Hospital's Fatima Unit.
       He was a legend.
       Handshake by handshake, favor by favor, Mancini built a 
     political machine that dominated local politics for nearly 30 
     years. He was also a figure of statewide political 
     importance, serving as chairman of the state Democratic Party 
     from 1985 to 1991.
       Yesterday, there were signs of mourning throughout the 
     town. At Town Hall, the U.S. flag flew at half staff; passing 
     motorists slowed, almost reverentially, and glanced briefly 
     toward the front door.
       Inside, department heads met to make plans to keep the 
     town's business running smoothly. When the meeting was over, 
     three people sobbed openly as they descended the staircase 
     from the second floor.
       Town Council President A. Ralph Mollis, who was sworn in as 
     acting mayor last night, announced that Town Hall and the 
     Public Works Department would be closed today.
       Funeral arrangements were incomplete. There was talk of 
     having the mayor lie in state at the Salvatore Mancini Union 
     Free Library, in anticipation of crowds that would overwhelm 
     Town Hall.
       ``He helped everybody--the young, the old and the in-
     between,'' said 52-year-old resident Anthony Norato. ``I 
     guess it was his way of saying thank-you to the people. He 
     was just an unbelievable guy.''
       The community has ``lost someone who dedicated his life to 
     the town of North Providence and its people,'' said Mollis.


                            a true gentleman

       Governor Sundlun yesterday called Mancini an ``old-school'' 
     politician who left a ``legacy of good government.''
       Mancini ``provided honest and effective government,'' said 
     Sundlun. ``He was always courageous, loyal to the Democratic 
     Party, frank in his opinions and courageous. When under 
     attack, he was at his best, dignified and restrained. He was 
     a true gentleman.''
       Sen. Claiborne Pell, in a statement, recalled Mancini as 
     ``a friend of mine for many years. As mayor of North 
     Providence for two decades, he proved himself to be a strong, 
     warm-hearted Democrat. He will be much missed by his many 
     colleagues and friends.''
       In many ways, Mancini was the consummate politician.
       He had no skills as an orator, but he didn't need them. He 
     charmed people one at a time, bestowing the Mancini magic by 
     his personal touch, his involvement in a variety of 
     organizations, his ability to find money for the little 
     things that he knew constituents appreciated.
       Jim Pepe, 13, a member of the North Providence Babe Ruth 
     League, paused from batting practice at the league field, on 
     Smithfield Road, and recalled that Mancini ``tossed out the 
     first ball at all our games. And he let us use Town Hall for 
     our D.A.R.E. program, and he came to all our baseball 
     banquets.''
       Lou Zammarelli, the league coach, recalled Mancini's 
     purchase of uniforms for the team when it won the state 
     championship in 1992.
       ``He bought the uniforms so we could show off Rhode Island 
     at the New England Tournament in Vermont,'' Zammarelli said, 
     ``and contributed toward our team jackets. We couldn't get 
     lights out of him for night games, but he was always there 
     for sports leagues in town.''


                           always cooperative

       Flora Carbone, chairwoman of the Mayor Salvatore Mancini 
     Union Free Public Library and Cultural Center, said the mayor 
     ``always did everything we asked, always cooperative. If he 
     did something I didn't like, I'd swear at him in Italian and 
     he just laughed. He though a lot about the library.''
       Terry Patriarca, who remains angry at being laid off from 
     his Public Works Department job by Mancini, said he'll miss 
     the major nonetheless.
       ``I used to drive him around when he couldn't find a 
     driver,'' said Patriarca. ``He had a big heart. He couldn't 
     say no. If he could do you a favor, he would. He was like a 
     best friend to North Providence.''
       Mike Favocci, who works at the Jolly Roger Smoke Shop on 
     Smith Street, knew Mancini only by reputation.
       ``From what I hear, he did a lot to pave the way for small 
     business owners in the area,'' Favocci said. ``He certainly 
     left a legacy, and I don't envy his replacement. Those are 
     big shoes to fill. You don't change 20 years overnight. The 
     trouble is, too often people remember the bad press he got. 
     People talk about the history of North Providence, but Sal 
     Mancini is the history of North Providence.''


                         first elected in 1964

       Mancini was a lifelong bachelor noted for his white hair, 
     dark suits and sartorial splendor. Everyone called him 
     ``Sal,'' the name on his license plate.
       He was first elected to public office in 1964 when, as a 
     wealthy electrician and hardware store owner, he defeated an 
     incumbent Democrat on the Town Council.
       He was elected mayor in 1973, when the post was established 
     by charter.
       He was the state's longest-reigning municipal chief, and 
     few would dispute that Mancini had been the boss of North 
     Providence for the last quarter-century.


                       tainted by risdic collapse

       His career was not without its ups and downs.
       His resignation, in 1991, as Democratic State Committee 
     chairman was linked to the credit union scandal of that year. 
     He was a member of the Central Credit Union board of 
     directors when it closed in the RISDIC collapse, and many of 
     the other directors had been Mancini cronies. It was from 
     that institution and from Greater Providence Deposit that he 
     withdrew $150,000 just before RISDIC passed into history.
       He denied that he acted on inside information, and when his 
     withdrawals became public, he offered to return the money. By 
     then, however, lawsuits had begun flying about, and his offer 
     was refused.
       In late 1982, Mancini was indicted by a federal grand jury 
     on an extortion charge alleging that he demanded $2,000 in 
     exchange for occupancy permits for condominiums.
       Last February, a jury found him not guilty of the extortion 
     charge.
       Sundlun said yesterday the case should never have come to 
     trail.
       ``The allegation at the time was that it was an attempt to 
     keep (then U.S. Attorney) Lincoln Almond in his job,'' 
     Sundlun said. ``I don't know if that was true or not, but it 
     was unfair to use Sal Mancini for that purpose.'' Almond is 
     Sundlun's prospective Republican opponent this fall.
       Mancini was known for his skill in manipulating patronage 
     jobs. Occasionally a public relations blunder surfaced, such 
     as his decision in 1985 to give a firefighter job to the son-
     in-law of a local Democratic leader. The new firefighter 
     turned out to be a convicted arsonist.
       Mancini lived in a condominium built by developer Richard 
     Baccari, a campaign contributor. In 1989 he sided with 
     Baccari in a fight over the construction of an apartment 
     building, and refused to pay a lawyer hired by the Town 
     Council to battle the construction.


                        ``Nice to have friends''

       Although tarred by the RISDIC scandal, Mancini had no 
     trouble winning reelection in 1992 after a tough primary 
     fight.
       Mancini's victory celebration that primary night, in a back 
     room at Julio's Family Restaurant, typified the mayor's 
     style. Appearing after it was clear he had beaten two 
     Democratic opponents, he didn't take to the podium and make a 
     speech. He started working the crowd.
       When he finally made it to the front of the room, his words 
     were simple and to the point: ``It's nice to have a lot of 
     friends.''
       Then it was back to the handshakes, back to the one-on-one 
     style that gave Mancini his clout.
       His challenger in the ensuing general election, Edmund R. 
     Calcagni, said in an interview yesterday that he decided to 
     take on the mayor because he thought Mancini's performance 
     had slipped badly in recent years.
       ``Taxes were being increased and services were poor,'' said 
     Calcagni. ``I didn't want to hurt Sal personally, because he 
     was a nice fellow, but the town was going downhill.''
       Calcagni said he canvassed the entire town twice and ran 
     into a lot of criticism of Mancini.
       ``A lot of people said: `Get that crook out of there,''' 
     said Calcagni.
       But Mancini still had the magic. He plastered Calcagni at 
     the polls.


                        always politically loyal

       Former Lt. Gov. Roger Begin, now an executive at Fleet 
     National Bank, said he cannot forget the help Mancini 
     provided during his rise from state representative, even 
     though he hardly knew Mancini when he first solicited his 
     support in the mid-1980s.
       ``Because some of the people who supported me were friendly 
     with Sal, that was enough,'' was Begin. ``His loyalty was 
     always unwavering.''
       Begin rejected the notion that Mancini was an autocratic 
     leader. He had so many friends and supporters, said Begin, 
     that nearly everyone at a meeting or political gathering was 
     in Mancini's corner to begin with.
       ``People who had that gift, it's hard to describe how they 
     did it. But it was done out of deference to his leadership,'' 
     said Begin. ``He built a consensus.
       ``He manner more often than not tended to be low key, but 
     when he was unhappy, you knew it.''
       Leo Perrotta, the mayor's chief of staff, has said that 
     Mancini developed a reputation as gruff and unpolished 
     because he was an unskilled public speaker and uncomfortable 
     in front of crowds.
       ``People thought he was a real tough, hard-nosed guy,'' 
     said David Barriccelli, former executive director of the 
     state Democratic party. ``But he was really a cream puff. If 
     you knew him, you knew him, you could get anything out of 
     him.''
       Former Town Councilman John A. Celona, a longtime Mancini 
     supporter who broke with the mayor and opposed him in that 
     bitter three-way primary in 1992, said he was ``shocked'' at 
     the news of the mayor's death.
       ``You always felt he would be there,'' said Celona. ``I 
     have nothing but sympathy for the mayor's family.''
       Brown University political science professor Darrell West 
     said Mancini's passing may not have major implications for 
     the state because ``his role in state politics was highly 
     diminished.'' But for North Providence, he said, ``the 
     consequences will be enormous.''


                        compared to mayor daley

       He compared Mancini's role in the town to that of Mayor 
     Richard Daley of Chicago.
       ``No one could command such forces or have the same 
     resources,'' said West, who predicted major turf battles in 
     North Providence.
       Change, he said, is inevitable.
       ``Even if it's a Democrat (who becomes the next mayor), it 
     will be a different type of Democrat,'' said West. ``It will 
     almost certainly be a Democrat of a different generation.''

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