If you're going to arrest your enemy on trumped-up charges, it's not a bright idea to have it done the same day you're trying to renege on his business licenses your city approved for him a month earlier. That's the message an adult nightclub owner seems to be sending by suing Providence, its mayor, and its treasurer. \nProvidence Mayor Vincent Cianci
Cadillac Lounge owner Richard Shappy accuses Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci of having him arrested on trumped-up charges on the same day Cianci was objecting to the licenses before the state department of business regulation.
Court papers indicate Cianci cited an "incomplete criminal record" and of telling the department businesses such as his "bring in a bad element" on 25 February - even as Providence police were taking Shappy into custody. And he's suing Cianci, the city, and treasurer Stephen Napolitano for false and malicious arrest and violating due process.
Shappy was arrested for giving police false information on "a document which was intended to mislead the City," according to the court papers. (The information refers to a 1974 obscenity conviction which ultimately, Shappy says, helped rewrite Rhode Island obscenity laws.)
A month later, in a Providence Journal article (2 March 1999), Cianci was quoted as saying Shappy should be thinking about his business from jail, adding that he wouldn't get the licenses but "that doesn't mean he can't have Kukla, Fran and Ollie apply for it - you know, with Howdy Doody. And, he'll still own it. So he's been arrested to maybe think about that."
Under pressure from religious groups and Cianci, the city licensing board ultimately withdrew Shappy's licenses. Shappy owns another adult entertainment business in the city.
Those charges were dismissed in May. But could Shappy end up having the last laugh? He's suing for punitive damages, attorney's fees, interest and costs, plus compensation for time lost from operating the Cadillac.
