Cianci Threatened to Sue Author Ann Hood

Tuesday, December 09, 2014

Kate Nagle, GoLocal Contributor

Former Providence Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci said that he threatened to sue author Ann Hood, after she asked him to pen a piece for an upcoming compilation of stories entitled "Providence Noir" before he entered the race -- then marketed Cianci's name on the book after he lost.  

Hood's husband Lorne Adrain, the failed Democratic-turned-independent Mayoral candidate, helped mastermind the "Anybody But Cianci" effort that saw two-time Mayor Cianci defeated this November by Mayor-elect Jorge Elorza.  

"I got a letter from [Hood's] publisher after I lost for Mayor," said Cianci. "I thought it was mercenary, self-serving, and avaricious. Not only did her husband create an organization to stop me from being Mayor, they were trying to use me for promotion after I lost.  I sent a cease and desist letter that if my story appeared in that book, I would sue."

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Cianci said that Hood approached him to write a piece for "Providence Noir," part of a series of original noir novels for Akashic Books, prior to his announcing his intention to run for office. 

"[Hood] had set this up before I even declared for Mayor," said Cianci. "I respected her, so I said yes. They offered me $200.  I didn't need the money, I just did it for the kicks. I worked with my secretary Rita Marcott on a piece of "noir fiction" about City Hall.  Then I forgot all about it - until they wanted to make money off my name after what they did during the election."

A copy of Akashic promotional materials obtained by GoLocal shows Cianci's name as penning a story for the book; however it is not on the publisher's website.   Adrain did respond to request for comment on Monday.  

Campaign Controversy Carryover 

During the Democratic primary campaign, Adrain spoke out strongly against the prospect of Cianci returning to office, then continued to rail against Cianci after he dropped out.  

On September 9 -- Primary Day -- Adrain messaged supporters to explain "why Lorne Adrain [withdrew] from the race." 

"Former Providence Mayor and two-time convicted felon “Buddy" Cianci entered the Mayor’s race," wrote Adrain. "This created a four-way contest in which Mr. Cianci could become Mayor again with as little as 25% of the vote. This risk was unacceptable to me.   My decision to withdraw dramatically reduced the risk of a Cianci victory, but it did not eliminate it."

In September, a leaked memo from Adrain showed his involvement in orchestrating an "Anybody But Cianci" effort to coordinate a financially backed third party effort for Elorza to prevail.

According to the Adrain memo, the messaging outlined was that the group needed to raise money -- and issues about Cianci, including pointing to claims about Cianci being a rapist, so Elorza could stay positive. 

"So [Adrain] starts an organization to destroy me, then his wife wants my name on her book?  Talk about opportunists," said Cianci about his decision to cut ties with Hood's book after the election.  "After saying all those things about me....she sat in the front row on the campaign and said I was a bad person, an ugly person."

"We've already sued [Mayor-elect Jorge] Elorza, [Myrth] York, [Brett] Smiley for their campaign finance violations," said Cianci. "And they're going to lose that case.  The money goes to the state, by the way.  Not me."

"Lorne will be subpoenaed and will probably be sued because he sent out of the original email," said Cianci, of Adrain's message sent to supporters about the (c)4 in the "Anyone But Cianci" effort.  

"Anyone who has spent time in Providence, Rhode Island, knows that lurking in the shadows are many sinister noir elements and characters. The city is ripe for this volume, and Akashic is proud to have recruited the amazing Ann Hood as editor," writes Akashic in its site about Providence Noir.  

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