Former Gov. Ed DiPrete dies on his 91st birthday

Former Rhode Island Gov. Edward DiPrete, who served three terms as governor and later served time in prison for corruption, staining his legacy, has died.

DiPrete passed away in his home on Tuesday night — the day of his 91st birthday. A former Cranston mayor who went on to serve three terms as governor from 1985 to 1991, DiPrete’s time in office marked a boon for the state Republican Party, though his legacy was tarnished by misconduct allegations and a string of corruption charges. He served a one-year sentence in a plea deal struck in 1998 in exchange for leniency for his son, who was also indicted on criminal corruption charges.

A Cranston native who attended LaSalle Academy in Providence and the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, DiPrete went on to serve in the U.S. Navy before returning to Rhode Island, where he worked in real estate and insurance. His political career kicked off in 1970, when he won a seat on the Cranston School Committee. 

He served two terms on the school board, followed by two terms on the Cranston City Council, and was elected the city’s mayor in 1978. Known as a business-minded pragmatist, DiPrete ascended to the governorship in 1984, winning the open seat by 20 percentage points and returning the GOP to power in Rhode Island. He won two more terms as governor, before losing a fourth reelection bid to Democratic challenger Bruce Sundlun in 1990, with just 26% of the vote. He defeated Sundlun in the prior two gubernatorial elections, scraping by with a 6,600-vote margin in 1988. 

His 1990 loss came despite support from top Republicans, including then-President George H. W. Bush, who came to a Cranston fundraiser in 1989 for DiPrete’s re-election campaign.

Rhode Island Republican Party Chairman Joe Powers heralded DiPrete as a “dedicated public servant” in a statement Wednesday. 

“As a lifelong Cranston resident, I knew him not just as governor, but first as my mayor,” Powers said. “He was a fixture in the civic life of our community and a presence in local politics during my formative years. Governor DiPrete embodied the kind of leadership that believed in rolling up your sleeves, knowing your neighbors, and putting Rhode Island first.”

Gov. Dan McKee, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Rhode Island Senate leaders also offered tributes to DiPrete, with McKee ordering state flags at state facilities to fly at half-staff until sunset on the day of DiPrete’s interment.

“Ed will always be remembered as a down-to-earth, approachable leader who cared deeply for his home state,” McKee said in a statement.

Shekarchi also noted DiPrete’s focus on education, and his devotion to family, while Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone noted their shared membership in the Italian American War Veterans of the United States.

But DiPrete’s accomplishments as governor also coincided with a string of scandals that continued well after he left public office. In 1994, he and his son Dennis were indicted for taking bribes in exchange for state contracts awarded during his time as governor — including allegedly rummaging through a dumpster behind a Walt’s Roast Beef in Cranston to retrieve a $10,000 cash bribe he accidentally tossed with his trash.

DiPrete pled guilty to 18 felony counts of bribery, racketeering and perjury in 1998, sentenced to less than one year at the adult Correctional Institute in Cranston. 

DiPrete’s wife, Patricia, died in 2011. He is survived by seven children and numerous grand and great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

DiPrete’s gubernatorial portrait hangs on the third floor of the State House in the southwest corridor between rooms 323 and 324.