Former Gov. Edward DiPrete on Monday recalled President Donald Trump's now-fallen former campaign chairman Paul Manafort as an easygoing yet savvy strategist who was gaining national attention when he worked on DiPrete's campaigns in the 1980s.

CRANSTON, R.I. — Former Gov. Edward DiPrete on Monday recalled President Donald Trump's now-fallen former campaign chairman Paul Manafort as an easygoing yet savvy strategist who was gaining national attention when he worked on DiPrete's campaigns in the 1980s.

"He came recommended as the new guy on the block. He had a growing national reputation," DiPrete, 83, said during a phone conversation at his Garden City home. "He didn't come across as hardball as he does today," he added.

DiPrete took in the news earlier that day that Manafort and a former business associate, Rick Gates, were indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States, money laundering and several other financial charges related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into possible Russian meddling in the presidential election.

"I have no clue whether he did those things or not. It certainly isn't flattering," DiPrete said of the charges. "At this point, they are accusations."

DiPrete made his own news in 1998, when he became the first governor to go to prison for crimes in office after pleading guilty to racketeering, extortion and bribery charges.

Still, he credits Manafort with helping him win the governor’s race in 1984, 1986 and 1988. Manafort came up with his campaign slogan: “The Change We Need.”

"He said, 'I'll give you my best advice. Obviously, you are free to accept it or reject it,'" DiPrete recalled.

And DiPrete said he did just that when Manafort came up with an ad that was unflattering to an opponent. "I said redo it," DiPrete said, and Manafort did just that, not once, but twice.

"One thing that struck me was that he was very family-oriented, particularly toward his father," DiPrete said. Manafort's father often accompanied his son to inaugural balls and other events.

Manafort's easygoing nature also stuck out, DiPrete said. He recounted Manafort overseeing the Republican National Convention from a Winnebago.

"He was running the show from the back of the Winnebago under the stage," said DiPrete, who himself owned a famed Winnebago.

Manafort and his longtime business partner Rick Gates, who was also indicted in the Russia probe, had ties, too, to the lottery giant GTECH, now known as IGT. Gates worked as international business development support staff in London, focusing on lottery industry expansion, according to IGT spokesman Robert Vincent.

GTECH in the late 1990s hired Manafort's lobbying firm, Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly, as a consultant on business development, Vincent said. Manafort was not GTECH's contact at the firm, he said.

— kmulvane@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter: @kmulvane