“Crimetown” weaves a story about a city filled with mostly reprehensible people around one man, the late Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Jr., the twice-elected, twice-convicted mayor of Providence, R.I.
Don’t worry ... those aren’t spoilers. Those facts are stated in the first minutes of the first episode.
I had no idea Rhode Island was such a hotbed of organized crime, so “Crimetown” was all news to me. The range of real-life people in the “mob town” of Providence seem like characters in a movie, and as soon as I finished listening to the entire season, I circled back to start over with episode one.
Listening to these criminals tell of their exploits — often with pride in their voices — both repulsed and intrigued me.
The most heart-breaking episode focused on the families, and how the lifestyles of violent criminals affected those around them. An aged gangster, filled with remorse, sobs as he says about the wife he deserted, “I tortured her. I used to come home at night covered in blood. She didn’t know what the f--- was happening. She was a good girl.”
The hosts are Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier, and if you download this podcast through something like iTunes, be sure to also take the time to visit the Crimetown website for a trove of newspaper articles and photos about each of the major players and plots.
If profane language makes your ears turn red, this is not be the podcast for you, because there is cursing … a lot of it. These are criminals, after all.
Where to find it: gimletmedia.com/crimetown, www.crimetownshow.com or your favorite podcast client.
