F R I D A Y SEPTEMER 6, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 66
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Cianci’s sentencing set for today Cianci’s lawyers filed a 21page memorandum in order to secure a more lenient sentence than the six years recommended by a federal agency studying the case
Photos by Ellen Bak / Herald
KICKING OFF THE YEAR IN STYLE A party on Wriston Quad kicked off the semester’s social calender Thursday night with performances by numerous a capella groups, the dance company Fusion, above right, and the band Lush, above left.
A federal judge will sentence Mayor Vincent Cianci today for racketeering conspiracy, following a last-minute attempt by Cianci’s lawyers to petition for leniency. City Council President John Lombardi will be sworn in as mayor at 1 p.m. in City Hall — across Kennedy Plaza from the federal courthouse where Cianci’s sentencing is to take place at 9:30 a.m. Cianci’s lawyers filed a 21-page memorandum Wednesday that included a list of the mayor’s accomplishments and awards, but did not recommend a sentence. Prosecutors have asked Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres to sentence Cianci to prison for 10 years and fine him $100,000. Cianci faces up to 20 years in prison for using his political power for personal gain. Cianci was acquitted of 11 federal charges in June after a 10-week trial, but he was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, one of the two most severe charges against him. A federal agency that studied the trial recommended Cianci be sentenced to about six years in prison. Prosecutors argued that Cianci’s “criminal enterprise” disrupted the city and undermined public confidence in government, and that Torres must use his discretion to hand down a stronger punishment. Two of Cianci’s co-defendants will also be sentenced tomorrow. Former director of administration Frank Corrente is scheduled to appear before Torres at 11 a.m. Richard Autiello, the Cranston businessman whose tow-truck enterprise was involved in Cianci’s bribery scheme, will be sentenced at 2 p.m. — Herald staff reports
U. to decide on arming police force by semester’s end BY ANDY GOLODNY
Plans to reform Brown’s police force and improve campus security are moving forward this semester, following the spring release of the long-awaited Bratton Group report on campus safety. The University implemented a number of changes to campus police over the summer, including hiring new officers, cutting down the number of security officers patrolling dormitories, enhancing shuttle and escort services and improving training for officers. Administrators plan to decide whether to arm Brown police officers by the end of the semester. The University commissioned the Bratton Group LLC — headed by former New York City Police Commissioner
William Bratton — to study Brown University Police and Security procedures in the wake of controversy last spring over a crime wave on the East Side. The spring semester also saw a high-profile incident involving allegations of racial profiling by Brown police officers on the Main Green. A broad restructuring of the campus police department will eventually affect virtually every aspect of policing and security at Brown. “It is a comprehensive plan,” said Vice President for Administration Walter Hunter. The Bratton report presented three scenarios to revamp policing at Brown and the possibility of arming Brown police officers. The first option is to maintain the status
quo, which would include the short-term measures the University has already taken, including paying for armed Providence Police Department details to patrol College Hill. The second option is to implement a variety of enhancements to campus security but not arm the police. The improvements to security outlined in the second option include better tracking and investigation of crime patterns, better coordination of BUPS and PPD, a foot patrol presence on Thayer Street and improved transportation services. The third option would include all of the recommendations in the second, and the arming of the Brown Police. Arming the Brown Police would eliminate what the Bratton Group views as “the
I N S I D E F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 6 , 2 0 0 2 MCM department will introduce new doctoral program in 2003 page 3
Indigo Girls to headline BCA-sponsored benefit concert at PPAC Sept. 20 page 5
U. Hall colleagues remember Associate Dean of the College Lynn Gunzberg page 5
unworkable policy of disengagement,” according to the report. Currently, department policy forbids Brown police from engaging at the scene of a crime where any participant is armed, and requires that the officer stand at a distance until PPD arrives. Some of the less controversial recommendations from option two in the report either have already been implemented or will be implemented by the end of the semester. BUPS is now known as the Department of Public Safety. “The new name shows that we take a broader perspective on public safety than just being a police department,” Hunter see POLICE, page 4
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Joshua SchulmanMarcus ’04 says with the Jewish new year comes the spirit of forgiveness guest column,page 11
Women’s soccer set for season opener today against New Hampshire page 12
sunny high 76 low 57