Edward D DiPrete

EDWARD D. DI PRETE was born in Cranston, Rhode Island. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and served in the U.S. Navy, holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve. He began his political career in 1970 with election to the Cranston School Committee. He was reelected in 1972 and served as Chairman until 1974. He went on to win election to the Cranston City Council and then as Mayor of Cranston prior to becoming governor. While governor, he chaired the Coalition of Northeastern Governors and the New England Governors' Conference as well as the New England Partnership for Science and Technology. In 1994, DiPrete was indicted on criminal charges associated with the award of state contracts while he was governor. Over the next four years, developments in the case included: accusations that the prosecution withheld evidence favorable to DiPrete; the decision of a Superior Court judge to throw out the charges against the former governor on various grounds, among them prosecutorial misconduct; and reinstatement of the charges by the Rhode Island Supreme Court. DiPrete pleaded guilty in 1998 to a number of felony counts, sentencing for which included a one-year prison term.