Ciresi's disbarment upheld by court

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- The state Supreme Court has upheld the disbarment of a former North Providence town attorney convicted on federal corruption charges in 2011.

78 year-old Robert Ciresi was convicted in April of 2011 for facilitating bribes to former North Providence Town Councilmen John Zambarano, Raymond Douglas and Joseph Burchfield on behalf of a supermarket developer in order for their votes on a zoning change.  

The FBI captured Zambarano on tape talking to former Councilman Paul Caranci about Ciresi's arranging of the bribes for them.  Ciresi was sentenced to 63 months in prison and in September of 2011 was suspended from practicing law in Rhode Island. Ciresi agreed to the suspension without objection.

However, he appealed his conviction, saying that the FBI recordings unfairly affected the jury's decision and should not have been allowed in court.

Ciresi lost his appeal and his conviction was upheld in October 2012; the Rhode Island Supreme Court reaffirmed his disbarment today.