Help Me Unlock Buddy Cianci’s FBI File [UPDATED]
The Agency Says It Has “Approximately 57,328 Pages” Of Potentially Responsive Records
UPDATE: This campaign has stopped. Read why here.
It’s going to cost $1,720 to unlock Buddy Cianci’s FBI file.
That’s the estimate I got from a FBI letter in response to the Freedom of Information Act request I submitted on January 28. The FBI’s note, postmarked April 18, reads, in part:
Dear Mr, Eil:
This is in reference to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has located approximately 57,328 pages of records potentially responsive to the subject of your request…If all potentially responsive pages are released on CD, you will owe $1,720 in duplication fees (115 CDs at $15.00 each, less $5.00 credit for the first CD). Releases are made on CD unless otherwise requested. Each CD contains approximately 500 reviewed pages per release.
As a freelance journalist, I’m not in a position to put up that kind of money, myself, so I’ve decided to crowdfund. Fortunately, the website through which I submitted the FOIA request, MuckRock, has a crowdfunding option. You can access the fundraising page for Cianci’s FBI file here.
The FBI has asked for a response to its letter within thirty days. So, for the next two weeks (thirty days from April 18 is May 18), I’m asking you to consider chipping in toward the fee to release Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci’s FBI file. I’m launching the campaign with a 10 percent ($172) contribution of my own, which brings the overall fundraising goal (the FBI’s fee, plus MuckRock’s 15 percent hosting charge) to $1,806. To be clear: none of the money I’m raising goes to me. I’m asking for only enough to meet the FBI’s duplication fee and MuckRock’s service charge.
That’s the basic pitch. And for those of you familiar with Cianci and/or the Freedom of Information Act, it may be persuasive enough. But if you’d like to learn more about me and this particular request, read on.
So, why should you give?
Aside from Providence founder Roger Williams, Cianci — who was mayor of Providence from 1975 to 1984, then from 1991 to 2002 — is probably the most historically significant figure in the city’s 380-year history. No one did more to rouse the city from its late 20th-century post-industrial doldrums. And no one did more to solidify the city’s reputation as a hotbed of corruption.
Through it all, Cianci — who was a successful TV and talk-radio host when he wasn’t in public office or prison — remained one of most colorful figures in American politics. He was the subject of two books (Mike Stanton’s The Prince of Providence and Cianci’s memoir, Politics and Pasta), a feature-length documentary, countless articles (here’s one I wrote when he unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2014), and one off-off-Broadway musical. When he died, the New York Times’s Dan Barry wrote, “Although Mr. Cianci had not been mayor since his federal conviction for racketeering in 2002, the shadow he cast over the city for 40 years is difficult to overstate.”
Cianci’s FBI file is an unseen chapter of his story. And there’s reason to believe it contains interesting stuff. I’ve written before about the historical riches in public figures’ FBI files: press clippings, photographs, internal FBI documents, etc. And even the files of non-convicted politicos, like former Boston mayor Kevin White, can yield fascinating tidbits. Imagine what the folder on Providence’s twice-convicted, famous/infamous, longest-serving mayor holds?
And it isn’t just Cianci we’ll likely learn about. FBI files often tell us about the time and place in which the subject lived — in this case, post-1975 Providence. A contribution to this campaign is an investment in this city’s self-knowledge.
You might be wondering, “How does Phil benefit from this campaign?” Well, as I mentioned above, none of the money goes to me; it all goes to unlocking this file. And while I certainly may pitch an article (for which I may ultimately be paid) based off of the fruits of this request, I won’t be holding these documents hostage for that purpose. As soon as the documents are released, I will publish them online — via MuckRock and my DocumentCloud page — and share them with interested citizens and news organizations. I have plenty of exclusive reporting projects I’m working on; this isn’t one of them. I’m doing this mostly because it combines two of my strongest interests: Providence and the Freedom of Information Act.
Speaking of FOIA, a few quick disclaimers:
- First, I can’t confirm that I’m the only one who asked for this file. While I’m unaware of other requesters, someone else might have asked for this file, and that person might have forked over this fee and therefore might be simultaneously (privately) awaiting this release. I don’t know. And, unless someone comes forward to confirm this, I don’t have an easy way to find that out.
- Two, given how notoriously slow the gears of FOIA turn (see the House Oversight Committee report “FOIA Is Broken”), I can’t guarantee that these documents will be released promptly. In April, after I asked the FBI for an estimated completion date, the agency told me “ the estimated [sic] on which the FBI will complete action on your request is 475 days from the date of your request.” But that was before I received this fee estimate, so the estimated-delay calculation may have changed — and estimated completion dates aren’t legally binding, anyway. It might take a month for these documents to be released. It might take six months. It might take three years. So if you’re thinking of donating to this campaign, remember that FOIA isn’t the place for instant gratification.
- Third, while I expect — and hope — there will be interesting materials in this file, I can’t make any guarantees. The contents of Cianci’s FBI file might be mundane or unintelligible due to redactions. Most FOIA requests are, in some sense, a roll of the dice. That’s part of the intrigue, and that’s part of the frustration.
But, having said all of this, I will offer one final pitch for your participation — even if that only means sharing this article, or following updates on this process. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m fiercely passionate about the Freedom of Information Act. (Learn why I care so much here.) And if this crowdfunding campaign can educate people about the power of FOIA as a transparency tool and a way for citizens to get more engaged in our democracy, I see that as a small victory. Whatever your feelings about him, you can’t deny that Buddy Cianci made politics interesting. This file is his final curtain call. It’s also one last way to hold him accountable.
Once again, the crowdfunding site can be found here. Feel free to send questions or comments to BuddysFBIFile@gmail.com. And stay tuned for updates about this campaign and the progress of this request. If you’d like to sign up for email updates, email BuddysFBIFile@gmail.com with “Mailing List” in the subject line.
Thank you.
Philip Eil is a freelance journalist based in Providence, Rhode Island. His work has appeared in VICE, the Atlantic, Salon, the Jewish Daily Forward, and elsewhere. He was the news editor and staff writer at the alt-weekly, the Providence Phoenix, until the paper’s close in 2014. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Contact him at philip.edward.eil [at] gmail.com.
