Will Racial Slurs Save Buddy Cianci?(posted April 14, 2002)
Political insiders are buzzing with the rumor that tapes scheduled to be used in the federal corruption trial of Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci are filled with racial and ethnic slurs. According to Providence Journal reporter Scott MacKay who spoke on the WPRI-TV interview show "Newsmakers", government star witness Tony Freitas used "ethnic and racial slurs" during his meetings with Providence Dept. of Administration chief Frank Corrente. Corrente also is on trial with Cianci in the federal corruption probe.
The disclosure raises the provocative question as to whether this language will bias jurors against the government's star witness and become a basis for Cianci's lawyers to persuade the jury that the case is tainted. Such a defense worked for Johnnie Cochran in his defense of O.J. Simpson. Word that prosecution witness Mark Fuhrman had used the "N" word helped Cochran make the argument that the government was unfairly biased against his client.
