BLAKE BACKS BA-DA-BOOM . . .

This is an odd one; ex-mayor Blake "seen around town" Caravati appeared yesterday on George Loper's site holding a jar of "The Mayor's Own Marinara Sauce." We thought, well, maybe Blake is doing something positive with his Italian background by developing a tasty marinara sauce. WRONG. Providence, Rhode Island's ex-mayor Vincent "Buddy" A. Cianci, Jr. is the guy using "an adaptation of an old family recipe - a mix of tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, peppers, herbs and carrots." Sounds delicious, all proceeds go to charity (a scholarship fund in the ex-mayor's name) and Buddy is touted as having been "widely credited for revitalizing the city’s economy and positive image." WHAT?

There are a few snags in Buddy's story. First elected in 1971, Buddy (aka The Prince of Providence) resigned from office in 1984, pleading no contest to a charge of assault and was reelected in 1991 with the campaign slogan, "He never stopped caring about Providence." REALLY? In April 2001, Buddy was indicted by the Feds on federal criminal charges of racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and mail fraud. Prosecutors alleged that Buddy ran a criminal organization from his city hall office and code-named their investigation “Operation Plunder Dome.” He was acquitted of 26 of 27 charges and convicted of one charge of conspiracy, for which he spent five years in the federal pen. Buddy's sentence ended on July 28, 2007 and he will be eligible to run again as mayor, that is after his three year probation is satisfied. WHAT?

WHAT does this have to do with Charlottesville? Blake and Buddy are ex-mayors, of Italian heritage, and . . . ? Maybe it's Buddy's sense of humor; he once joked about coming out with other products such as Mayor’s Own Bread (MOB) but thought better of it, although Blake is not known for his sense of humor. Or maybe it's Buddy's sense of pride; he turned down the opportunity to sell his marinara sauce on HBO’s The Sopranos, saying “To accept would be to compromise the pride I have in my heritage, my ethnic background and my strong beliefs that bias against any individual or group is morally wrong.” Maybe it's because Blake and Buddy are Democrats (Bill Clinton and Al Gore love Buddy's sauce too). Or MAYBE Blake is "on the sauce" (we think not) which actually might not be bad. We recommend Old No. 7. In any event, we report this weird one and you decide.