The Bud-I got his Time magazine article this week, although Spider-Man aced him out for the cover. Local observers wonder if Tobey Maguire should expect to find the complimentary severed horse head under his bed sheets if the man -- who is not "the man downtown" -- is found not guilty on all counts. Because of the Bud-I's fearsome reputation, there has been plenty of sotto voce talk about possible reprisals, a la post-1972 Nixon, if the trial continues on its present course. Where's the beef? Which brings us to Monday's "star" witness.

Boy, that Barney Prignano is one tough-talking immunity witness, isn't he?

First, he was excoriating reporters prior to his turn in the docket, snidely demanding of some Other Paper scribes, "When are you going to start writing the truth?" Well, P&J weren't there for that little attack, but we'd be happy to oblige the former Providence police honcho: Barney is a loudmouth moron who got his job by attaching his lips to Mayor Buddy "Vincent A." Cianci's buttocks, and the PPD during his tenure was known for brutality, theft, secrecy, racial tension, and rancor over inside information on promotional exams. The people of Providence should have held a festival when Prignano finally got drummed out of his job, an event that Barney tried to disguise as a retirement of his own choice. How's that for the truth, Mr. Prignano?

We loved his feisty account of taking on Captain Jack Ryan over a police academy candidate who should have been weeded out for being unfit (oops, that's not what five G-notes said), telling his subordinate that he'd make the final decision because, "I wear the eagles." Phillipe and Jorge must admit that the birds looked absolutely magnificent next to the matching dodos on your clown suit, chief. Barney "Walking Eagle" Prignano -- he's so full of shit he can't fly.

The fact that Walking Eagle was purportedly a prosecution witness is hard to fathom since his testimony seemed far more helpful to the defense. While his talk will add fuel to the fire of ongoing investigations of promotional irregularities inside the Providence Police Department (one by AG Whitehouse's office, the other an internal probe launched by interim Chief Richard Sullivan), it had no adverse effect for the Plunder Dome defendants.

According to Prignano, Autiello never mentioned a bribe, nor did the Bud-I or Corrente ever use undue influence in departmental decisions. The former chief also impeached Major Dennis Simoneau's earlier testimony, according to WPRI-TV/Channel 12, claiming he never suggested to Simoneau that the major start attending Cianci fundraisers.

Walking Eagle's evasive answers to prosecutor Richard "Funny Face" Rose indicate that: A) Prignano was always fully in charge, and B) it's a mystery as to why the name of Joseph Maggiacomo, the would-be police officer whose mother claims to have paid $5000 to Autiello to assure her son a spot at the academy, kept popping up as a cadet. How could that be?

Courtroom observers indicate that Prignano seemed far more comfortable and friendly with the defense. In fact, former AG Jeff Pine and lawyer Lou Pulner, who have been contributing Plunder Dome commentary for WPRI, both indicated that Prignano was probably more helpful for the defense than the prosecution.

And let's hear it for Channel 12. Seeing an opportunity to trump Channel 10 on the most provocative and widely discussed local story in years, 12 has been running a daily half-hour on Plunder Dome at 4:30 p.m. The JARheads at 10, meanwhile, are locked into Oprah.

Despite such innovative moves, Vo Dilunduhs remain notorious creatures of habit, "turning to 10" like helpless somnambulistic creatures of the evil Doug "Dr. Caligari" White. Karen Adams, the fragrant Channel 12 anchor, keeps things moving on the 4:30 telecast, and thanks to the contributions of Pine, Pulner, Jack White, and Sean Daly (good to see Sean back), WPRI in general and the 4:30 show in particular outshine the competition on Plunder Dome coverage.