Zambarano's voice key in bribery case

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Disgraced and imprisoned North Providence town councilman John Zambarano was a talker.

His ramblings – caught on FBI recordings – proved key in the U.S. Attorney's case against him and two town council colleagues. But his story-telling was often inconsistent and created challenges for prosecutors.

The Target 12 Investigators obtained 42 secretly recorded conversations from the sweeping corruption probe that rocked North Providence Town Hall. Some were made through a hidden microphone worn on the body of former town councilman Paul Caranci who agreed to help the feds in their case. Others came from wiretapped phone calls between the defendants.

In one call with convicted former councilman Raymond Douglas, investigators say Zambarano talks big about how he can use his power as a politician to hurt someone if he's not paid-off.

Zambarano: "I tell you want if we do this without anything, he screws us, I'm going to make that guys life miserable down there."
Douglas: “I'll do whatever I can do to be right behind ya.”

Though Zambarano's voice proved key to the case, it was never heard from the witness stand. Prosecutors did not call him to testify in the trial of disgraced North Providence attorney Robert Ciresi, who was convicted of being a middleman in one of the bribery schemes.

During the sentencing of Ciresi, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lisi said Zambarano was prone to exaggeration on the recordings.

"I heard him on those tapes," Lisi said. "I would say he is probably not the most credible person I've ever heard."

In one example, Target 12 examined Zambarano's comments about the night he said he was paid off after a vote to approve a controversial supermarket project. On the recording, Zambarano complained to Caranci that the pay-off was in jeopardy because the meeting went late.

Zambarano: "...it ended up taking five [expletive] hours, remember all those people with...”
Caranci: “Yeah, yeah.”
Zambarano: “He says, ‘after the meeting’ he says, ‘I'll meet you somewhere.’ I says ‘OK.’ The [expletive] meeting didn't get over until 11:30.”

Target 12 dug up the records from the Feb. 10, 2009 meeting Zambarano was colorfully describing. The minutes reveal the meeting lasted less than three hours and ended at 8:15 p.m.; much earlier than Zambarano claimed.

But prosecutors successfully worked around the Zambarano's story-telling. Zambarano was sentenced to 71 months, Douglas 74 months and former council president Joseph Burchfield was sentenced to 64 months for bribery, extortion and conspiracy. Ciresi and Edward Imondi – who was also an accused middleman – were also sent to prison for their role in the crime.

The recordings offer a rare glimpse into the underbelly of seedy deals and public corruption. And prosecutors say they also show greed. In a particularly telling conversation, Zambarano tells Caranci how he was able to negotiate the price of the bribe.

Zambarano: “I said ‘how does 25 sound.’ He said ‘that's fine.’”
Caranci: “That easy.”
Zambarano: “Like that. And you know what?”
Caranci: “You could have said 40.”
Zambarano: “I could have said 50. Now I know. Next time.”
 

Tim White ( twhite@wpri.com ) is the Target 12 investigative reporter for WPRI 12 and Fox Providence. Follow him on Twitter: @white_tim