Providence used to be the notorious home of the New England branch of La Cosa Nostra, and rule #1 is, don't fuck with The Don. This week, small time state lobbyist Guy Dufault used two "unscheduled" minutes of airtime on his television show (which is essentially a paid infomercial sponsored by his lobbying clients) to imply that he could blackmail Rhode Island governor Donald Carcieri (pictured above) by blurting out that he could bury him by talking about Carcieri's former "comattas" (Italian slang for "girlfriends"). The Providence Journal (registration required) has the ugly tale.
Carcieri, as is to be expected, is furious, and Dufault's clients are running away from him as if he had herpes sores all over his face. As to be expected in Rhode Island, his clients run the gamut from gambling, labor unions (naturally), the health care industry, and, um, gambling. For a state with no casino, Rhode Island certainly does have more than its fair share of gambling industry lobbyists. Cripes, even the state's Democratic party machinery disowned him, and you have no idea how badly you have to screw up to be disowned by the most crooked party machine in America. I wouldn't be surprised if Dufault's next move is a triple gainer off the Pell Bridge. Maybe he'll find his career at the bottom of Narragansett Bay.
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