Henry J. "Buddy" Cianfrani (March 19, 1923 – July 3, 2002) was the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

state senator for the

first district First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. Prior to holding elective office, he served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

where he earned the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

and the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

. He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1956 and 1960. He was elected to the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1963, where he served until his election to the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

in 1966. He eventually attained the chairmanship of the powerfu
Appropriations Committee
from which position he worked closely with Speaker of the House

Herbert Fineman Herbert Fineman (July 4, 1920 – August 18, 2016) was an American politician and former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania Genera ...

to appropriate money to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1977, Cianfrani was convicted on federal charges of

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

and

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...

for padding his Senate payroll. His case was prosecuted in the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phila ...

by U.S. Attorney

David W. Marston David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, who was later removed from the position by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. Cianfrani was sentenced to five years in federal prison. After serving for twenty-seven months, he was released in 1980.The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Churchman to Ciro
/ref> In the middle 1970s, he began dating political reporter Laura Foreman of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

''. The two moved in together and she reportedly accepted money and gifts from him while she was still reporting on him for her newspaper.Bartlett, Donald L. and James B. Steele. "The Full Story of Cianfrani and the Reporter". ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', October 16, 1977 After the affair became public in 1977 she was fired by her employer, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. She and Cianfrani married in 1980 after his divorce from his first wife was finalized and he was released from federal prison. Years after his release, his political career enjoyed a resurgence. In 1988 Cianfrani won back his old position as Philadelphia ward leader and regained a measure of clout within Philadelphia politics. He was considered a mentor to many Philadelphia politicians, including Congressman

Bob Brady Robert A. Brady (born April 7, 1945) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1998 to 2019. He was the ranking Democrat and Chairman of the United States House Committee on House Administration from 2007 to 2019. ...

and Senator

Vince Fumo Vincent Joseph Fumo (born May 8, 1943) is a former politician, lawyer and businessman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A Democrat, he represented a South Philadelphia district in the Pennsylvania Senate from 1978 to 2008. On March 16, 2009, he w ...

. Cianfrani died of a stroke in

Hahnemann University Hospital Hahnemann University Hospital was a tertiary care center in Center City Philadelphia. It was the teaching hospital of Drexel University College of Medicine. Established in 1885, it was for most of its history the main teaching hospital associate ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cianfrani, Henry 1923 births 2002 deaths Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud Politicians convicted of racketeering Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators United States Army personnel of World War II Politicians from Philadelphia Recipients of the Silver Star Pennsylvania politicians convicted of crimes 20th-century American politicians