[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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