New England Organized Crime, LCN and the Irish

A month before he died, Nicholas Pari of Rhode Island was said to have given the location of a body. He may have been knocked off.

In Rhode Island, an Old Mobster Lets Go of a Long-Kept Secret

WHAT LIES BENEATH After his arrest last month, Nicholas Pari, an ailing Rhode Island mobster, took the police to the backyard of an East Providence apartment complex to resolve a 30-year mystery involving a police informant.

By DAN BARRY
NY TIMES
Published: December 21, 2008
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Mr. Pari was accused of running a crime ring out of this flea market.
They came for the gravely ill racketeer last month, appearing at his North Providence home around dawn. His time was near, but not as near as the police officers at his door. He went peacefully.

Soon he was at state police headquarters, where veteran detectives knew him well: Nicholas Pari, once the smart-dressing mobster whose nickname, “Nicky,” had clearly not taxed the Mafia muse. Now 71, with gauze wrapped around his cancer-ruined neck: Nicky Pari.

The arrest, for running a crime ring from a flea market, put him in a reflective mood, and he said some things he clearly needed to say, including that he was dying. Still, ever-faithful to that perverse code of the streets, he seemed insulted when asked about the deeds of others.

“He wouldn’t cooperate beyond talking about himself and his past actions,” says Col. Brendan Doherty, the state police superintendent, who knew Mr. Pari from long years spent investigating Rhode Island crime, back when it was more organized.

The gaunt man did not weep, though his voice softened as he spoke with regret about a life that had fallen far short of its promised glamour and riches, a life heavy with guilt over one particular act. And in confessing this one act, Nicky Pari gave up a ghost.

“He was making an attempt at an act of contrition,” says Lt. Col. Steven O’Donnell, who also knew Mr. Pari from way back when and had listened to his old adversary’s words of regret.

That same day, detectives took the mobster for a 19-mile ride, following his directions as he zeroed in on the past. To East Providence. To the Lisboa Apartments. To a grassy backyard bordered by a listing stockade fence.

What he indicated next, whether through words or gestures or even a nod, was this: Here. Deep beneath this blanket of dormant grass, you will find him — here. Soon the claws of backhoes were disturbing the earth.

Thirty years ago, organized crime in Rhode Island was still like a rogue public utility. Raymond L. S. Patriarca, the old man with bullet tips for eyes, still ran the New England rackets from a squat building on Federal Hill. And men, from the merely dishonest to the profoundly psychopathic, still followed his rules.

Among them was Nicky Pari, who supposedly declined the honor to join the Mafia because he preferred the freelance life. If not made, he was known, in part because he had done time for helping a Patriarca lieutenant hijack a truck with a $50,000 load of dresses.

In April 1978, he and another freelancer, Andrew Merola, decided to address the delicate matter of a police informant within their ranks, a droopy-eyed young man from Hartford named Joseph Scanlon. The theories behind his nickname, “Joe Onions,” are that he made the girls cry or, more prosaically, that his surname sounded like scallion.

One morning Mr. Pari lured Mr. Scanlon and his girlfriend, who was holding their infant daughter, into Mr. Merola’s social club, in a Federal Hill building now long gone. Mr. Pari struck Mr. Scanlon in the face. Then Mr. Merola fired a bullet that shot through the man’s head and caught the tip of one of Mr. Pari’s fingers.

The girlfriend was ordered to leave the room. When she came back, her child’s father was wrapped in plastic near the door, his jewelry gone, his boots placed beside his body. A package, awaiting delivery.

The girlfriend, once described as a “stand-up girl” who wouldn’t talk, did, and the two men were convicted of murder in a case lacking a central piece of evidence: the body. They successfully appealed their convictions, but in 1982 they pleaded no contest to reduced charges in a deal that required them to say where the body was.

Dumped in Narragansett Bay, they said.

Few believed this story, perhaps because it lacked the panache desired of a Rhode Island-style rubout. For years afterward, people would call the police and The Providence Journal with tips like: Joe Onions is in the trunk of a scrapped Cadillac. Check it out.

Perhaps, too, there was the inexplicable charm of Mafia sobriquets. In a state whose mobster roll call includes nicknames like “The Blind Pig” and “The Moron,” one wonders whether Joe Onions would be remembered had he been known, simply, as Joe Scanlon.

The years passed. The paroled Mr. Merola opened a Federal Hill restaurant called Andino’s, while the paroled Mr. Pari gravitated toward flea markets. They were often seen together, sitting in a lounge in Smithfield, or attending a testimonial for a mob associate in Providence, that damaged finger of Mr. Pari’s, holding a glass or maybe a cigarette, always there.

Dan Barry's Columnist Page » Mr. Merola died of cancer last year, leaving Mr. Pari to bear their secret alone. He went on as a father, a grandfather and, apparently, the man to see in a grimy flea market in a stretch of Providence where auto-body shops reign.

Last month the police arrested Mr. Pari and a motley mix of others for crimes of the flea market that put the lie to The Life, including the supposed trading of guns and drugs for more fungible items like counterfeit handbags and sneakers. Still, he remained bound to Mr. Merola; in arranging to sell illegal prescription drugs for a measly $320, for example, he chose to meet an undercover officer at his departed friend’s restaurant.

At state police headquarters, before that ride to East Providence, Mr. Pari expressed remorse for helping to kill Joe Onions, remorse that he admitted had deepened as he faced his own mortality. Seeing the anguish his own family was going through, he knew he could ease another family’s 30-year pain by sharing one detail that only he knew.

Don’t misunderstand, Lieutenant Colonel O’Donnell says. Mr. Pari could have shared this detail days before his arrest, months before, decades before — but he lied instead, for reasons known only to him. “It doesn’t make him a good guy,” the police official says. “But he’s a human being.”

Hours after leading the police to the place that had haunted him since 1978, Mr. Pari appeared in District Court in Providence, unshaven, diminished, in a wheelchair. Released on bail, he returned home to his hospice bed and oxygen tank.

Meanwhile, back in East Providence, backhoes mined the sandy past. They dug until dark that Monday afternoon, then returned to dig all day Tuesday, as detectives and spectators shivered and watched, as the November sun offered little warmth, as the smell of fried food wafted from a Chinese restaurant a few yards away.

Finally, late on that Wednesday, the scoop of a backhoe pulled up things of interest from more than a dozen feet below, including a boot that seemed to match a description. The mechanical dig stopped and a human dig began, with investigators using a sifting pan to separate bone from earth.

It isn’t as though you can dig anywhere in Rhode Island and find a body. But Colonel Doherty, the state police superintendent, says he will not confirm this was Joseph Scanlon until a match is made with some DNA provided by one of Mr. Scanlon’s siblings. He adds that even though 30 years have passed, among the Scanlons “there was always a hope that he was not dead.”

On a cold night late last week, an old mobster died at his home in North Providence, freed of one secret he would not have to take to the grave.

Undercover: Boston's New Mob Boss?

Last Edited: Sunday, 11 Jan 2009, 10:34 PM EST
Created: Sunday, 11 Jan 2009, 10:34 PM EST

BOSTON (FOX25, myfoxboston) -- Move over Cheeseman, there's allegedly a new boss of the Mafia in Boston, and you may recognize him. Peter Limone is best known as the man who spent decades in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Last month, he was arrested again, accused of running an organized crime ring. FOX25's Mike Beaudet investigates.

Watch the video footage of the old and new bosses here:

http://www.myfoxboston.com/myfox/pages/New...TY&pageId=3.2.1

Reputed Revere mobster arrested

Jan 27, 2009
By Dan O'Brien / The Daily Item

WINTHROP - A reputed Revere mobster who was acquitted in a 1984 Lynn murder case was arrested Monday after he allegedly robbed a Beverly landscaper of $11,000 cash on a Middleton side street.

Darin Bufalino, 47, of 190 River Road, Winthrop, was arrested and charged with armed robbery when he turned himself into the Winthrop police station about 6:15 p.m., police said.

Middleton Police Chief James DiGianvittorio said Bufalino pulled out a black handgun and robbed a 23-year-old Beverly man on Village Road, off Interstate 95, about 12:30 p.m. before fleeing on the highway in his 2006 Ford Explorer.

Bufalino worked as an enforcer for notorious mobster "Cadillac" Frank Salemme, who had strong ties to James "Whitey" Bulger.

DiGianvittorio said the victim owns a landscaping company and the robbery might be "a business deal that seems to be a set up."

"We're still investigating whether there was a possible co-conspirator," DiGianvittorio said. No one was hurt.

After the alleged robbery on Monday, Winthrop police went to Bufalino's home and found the alleged getaway car. The suspect was nowhere to be found, but a police lieutenant said Bufalino called the police station "several times" saying he would turn himself in.

According to police logs, Bufalino's car was registered to 10 Elwood Place in Revere, the same address he resided when he allegedly shot a woman in Revere in 1994.

He was transported back to Middleton with a State Police escort to face charges last night. He is scheduled for arraignment today in Salem District Court.
Bufalino has a long and well-publicized history with North Shore law enforcement.

He was sentenced in 1999 to serve 10 years in prison for a 1993 armed bank robbery at the former Boston Five Cents bank at Northgate Shopping Center in Revere. It was perhaps his longest jail sentence served despite being suspected in several serious crimes.

Bufalino and two other men were acquitted of shooting to death drug dealer Vincent DeNino, 26, of 236 Summer St., Lynn, in February 1984 after a judge suppressed wiretap evidence. DeNino's bullet-riddled body was found in the trunk of a car in a Revere supermarket parking lot after being shot once in the shoulder and four times in the head, allegedly for refusing to pay $10,000 in a cocaine deal.

After the homicide, Bufalino fled to County Cavan, Ireland where he worked as a pub bouncer and was suspected in a murder similar to DeNino's. He was jailed in 1987 for the Lynn murder after fleeing Ireland to Spain and extradited to the United States in 1989.

In 1995, Bufalino pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to three to five years for shooting a woman and nearly shooting a male friend in a Revere parking lot after a drug deal went bad.

In 1992, he was arrested for stealing cash from an armored car on Broadway in Revere.

Mobster charged with soliciting hit on rival
By Milton J. Valencia
Globe Staff / February 7, 2009

A leading member of the New England Mafia was charged in federal court in Rhode Island yesterday with soliciting a hit on another "made man" in what may be a continuing feud that started a decade ago during court hearings that exposed the identities of FBI informants.

Anthony "The Saint" St. Laurent Sr., an aging, ailing member of the Patriarca crime family who is already serving a federal prison sentence for extortion, is expected to appear in federal court Monday to face a charge that he solicited the killing of Robert "Bobby" DeLuca. DeLuca is a reputed capo, or captain, in the La Cosa Nostra crime family.

The elder St. Laurent, who has a long history of organized crime-related convictions, allegedly asked associates whom he recruited in an extortion scheme three years ago to kill DeLuca, offering one of them a piece of the profits he would earn once he took over DeLuca's rackets, or some of his enterprises.

He tried to ease the associates' concerns that they would be killing a "made," or inducted and protected, member of the Mafia, telling them that he had the approval of Luigi "Louie" Manocchio, the reputed boss of the New England crime family, according to court records.

"Shoot him in the [expletive] head," St. Laurent allegedly told one of the individuals he solicited. "Say, 'This is from The Saint.' "

At one point in April 2006, according to court records, St. Laurent drove one of his associates by DeLuca's workplace, to show him where he could be found. At the time, DeLuca was fulfilling an inmate work-release program at the Sidebar & Grill in downtown Providence. Eventually, DeLuca was secretly removed from the job.

At the time, law enforcement officials did not explain why DeLuca was suddenly removed, but court records indicate that federal agents realized the dangers of St. Laurent's alleged attempts.

The day after St. Laurent drove by the workplace, he was arrested for trying to extort $200,000 and another $2,000 a week from two Taunton men. He was sentenced in July 2006 to 56 months in prison.

In court hearings, St. Laurent's lawyers described the 67-year-old, of Johnston, R.I., as being in poor health, suffering from congestive heart failure and other ailments. St. Laurent allegedly told one of his associates that he would carry out the hit himself, if it had not been for his health.

Even in prison, St. Laurent sought the killing of DeLuca, telling one government witness that he "hates" him and has "reasons with him," according to court records.

Lawyers who have worked for St. Laurent in the past did not return calls for comment.

The feud between DeLuca and St. Laurent is said to be more personal than reflective of any power struggle within the New England crime family.

DeLuca, who gained notoriety in 1989 as one of the four soldiers who were secretly recorded by the FBI during a Mafia induction ceremony, and others have accused St. Laurent of cooperating with the FBI and the Rhode Island State Police.

St. Laurent was also one of the men accused of being an FBI informant in the court hearings in 1997 that exposed the FBI's cozy relationship with James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen Flemmi.

Flemmi, a notorious Boston gangster, signed an affidavit in 1999 saying that disgraced former FBI agent John J. Connolly once sought his help in protecting St. Laurent. According to Flemmi, Connolly had identified St. Laurent as an informant and sought his protection from a Las Vegas bookie who wanted St. Laurent dead for trying to extort him and threatening the bookie's 15-year-old daughter.

St. Laurent has denied he was an informant and refused to testify in the 1997 court hearings, saying at the time, "Guys like me don't talk."

Reputed RI mobster makes brief court appearance
February 24, 2009

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --A reputed member of the Patriarca organized crime family told a federal magistrate Tuesday that he would remain with his court-appointed attorney as he answers charges that he tried to arrange a hit on a fellow gangster.

Anthony "The Saint" St. Laurent Sr. appeared briefly via videoconference Tuesday for a federal court hearing in Providence. He is currently serving a nearly five-year sentence at a Massachusetts federal prison for his role in an earlier extortion scheme.

Prosecutors say St. Laurent was already behind bars when he solicited an informant to kill Robert DeLuca, a rival and also an alleged member of the Patriarca crime family.

St. Laurent allegedly told an informant that the hitman should shoot DeLuca in the head and say, "This is from the Saint."

St. Laurent, who has not entered a plea, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond on Tuesday that he planned to remain with his court-appointed public defender for now. Almond told him he could not use a switch in lawyers to delay the case.

"I'm not trying to delay nothing," St. Laurent replied.

Mobster Anthony ‘The Saint’ St. Laurent Sr., indicted in murder plot

08:43 AM EDT on Friday, April 10, 2009

Journal Staff Report

PROVIDENCE — Mobster Anthony M. “The Saint” St. Laurent Sr. has been indicted on federal charges in a plot to kill another high-ranking member of the Patriarca crime family.
Related links

Extra: The federal indictment

A grand jury indicted St. Laurent on Wednesday for solicitation to commit a crime of violence and murder for hire. The authorities say the intended target was Robert P. “Bobby” DeLuca Sr., a capo regime in the mob, who spent more than 10 years in federal prison for extortion.

St. Laurent, serving a five-year term at Federal Medical Center Devens, in western Massachusetts, for extortion, will appear before a judge via a videoconference on April 20 to face the new charges.

If convicted, St. Laurent could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Prior to the indictment, there had been discussions between St. Laurent and federal authorities on a possible plea agreement in the case. At that point, he had been charged in a federal affidavit of solicitation to commit murder for hire with DeLuca as the target.

Since the mid-1990s, DeLuca has accused St. Laurent of being an informant for the Rhode Island State Police and the FBI, a charge that St. Laurent has denied. The alleged murder-for-hire plot dates to 2006, when St. Laurent was running an extortion ring from his house at 2 Rotary Drive in Johnston.

DeLuca works in the kitchen of Sidebar, a downtown bar and restaurant that is owned by Artin H. Coloian, a lawyer and onetime top aide in the administration of former Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr.

Mobster St. Laurent pleads not guilty in murder-for-hire plot

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, April 21, 2009

By Michael P. McKinney

Journal Staff Writer

St. Laurent

PROVIDENCE –– Veteran mobster Anthony M. “The Saint” St. Laurent Sr. rocked slightly in a wheelchair on a courtroom video screen Monday as he entered pleas from a federal prison in Massachusetts to charges that he plotted the murder of a Patriarca crime family rival.

“Not guilty, your honor,” court-appointed lawyer Olin W. Thompson said to Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond in U.S. District Court here.

But prominent lawyer John F. Cicilline, who has represented St. Laurent and other mob figures before, is expected to take over St. Laurent’s defense at the end of the month, Thompson said at the arraignment.

That prompted Almond to tell St. Laurent that he reserves the right to charge him for the cost to taxpayers that is being incurred by Thompson’s representation if it’s found St. Laurent had money to hire a private lawyer. But outside the courthouse Monday afternoon, Thompson told reporters that St. Laurent “has absolutely no resources whatsoever.” Asked if Cicilline is representing St. Laurent for free, Thompson said he had no idea.

A federal grand jury this month indicted St. Laurent on charges of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and of murder for hire against Robert P. “Bobby” DeLuca Sr., described by authorities as a capo regime in the Patriarca crime family.

St. Laurent is serving five years at Fort Devens federal prison, in Massachusetts, for extortion.

Cicilline, who is in Florida, could not be reached for comment. The father of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, he has represented such defendants as mobster Matthew L. Guglielmetti Jr., Patriarca crime family capo regime Edward C. Lato and, in other cases, St. Laurent. He has also represented DeLuca in the past.

During the arraignment, Almond read aloud the indictment to St. Laurent, asked if he understood it and asked for a plea.

The alleged scheme goes back to 2006, when St. Laurent was running an extortion ring from his Johnston house. Since the mid-1990s, DeLuca has accused St. Laurent of being an informant for the Rhode Island State Police and the FBI, which St. Laurent has denied.

Thompson told reporters that St. Laurent’s health is not good, including “extraordinary trouble breathing.”

Trial is scheduled for July 21 before Judge William E. Smith, allowing a 60-day period for dealing with pretrial motions. A pretrial conference is set for July 13.

mmckinne@projo.com

4 guilty on racketeering, gaming charges
Phone taps led to crucial testimony in federal trial
By Shelley Murphy
Globe Staff / April 23, 2009

Reputed Mafia associate Arthur Gianelli kept meticulous records for his sprawling sports betting and loan shark ring, including a list of so-called problem people that included deadbeat gamblers and mobsters who were shaking him down for a cut of his profits.

He warned his girlfriend to "keep your mouth shut" about his gambling business, unaware that State Police investigators were secretly recording that phone call and hundreds more as he and his associates blabbed about arson, extortion, money-laundering, and other crimes.

Yesterday, after weighing all those records and phone calls, a US District Court jury in Boston found Gianelli, 51, of Lynnfield, guilty of hundreds of charges, including racketeering, arson, illegal gambling, money laundering, and attempted extortion.

The jury of six men and six women, which deliberated 23 hours over four days, also found Gianelli's three codefendants - Dennis "Fish" Albertelli, 56, and his wife, Gisele Albertelli, 54, of Stow, and Frank Iacaboni, 65, of Leominster - guilty of racketeering conspiracy and a variety of other charges in the case that prosecutors say marked the downfall of a sprawling enterprise protected by the Mafia.

"This prosecution eliminated one of the largest gambling and loan-sharking operations operating in the Greater Boston area," Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak said after the verdict. "It was affiliated with organized crime, and this is part of the government's battle against organized crime."

There was testimony during the eight-week trial that Gianelli, who is the brother-in-law of disgraced former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., paid $2,000 a month in tribute to New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man" DiNunzio from 2001 to 2003. In exchange, the Mafia protected Gianelli's organization, prosecutors said.

Jurors also heard tapes and testimony indicating that another reputed mobster, Dennis LePore, allegedly started shaking Gianelli down for money after relatives told him they had heard Gianelli's gambling business was booming.

In a Feb. 5, 2004, call recorded by State Police and played at the trial, Gianelli accused Daniele Mazzei, then his girlfriend, of putting him in jeopardy with the Mafia by talking about his business to LePore's nephew.

"Just don't tell anybody these [expletive] things, because it ends up a [expletive] problem," Gianelli said. "These [expletive] people are jealous against everybody, and and they're lookin' to rob everybody, all right? And they ain't gonna rob me."

In a telephone call with LePore the next day, Gianelli agreed to pay him $15,000.

Jurors found Gianelli ran an organization involved in sports betting, video poker machines, and later online gambling. They also convicted Gianelli of attempted extortion for trying to seize control of Clarke's Turn of the Century Saloon in Faneuil Hall and McCarthy's Bar and Grill on Boylston Street in Boston, between 1998 and 2002.

Gianelli's lawyer, Robert Sheketoff, who had argued that the government's witnesses were not credible, urged jurors not to be swayed by the sheer size of the 333-count indictment. He declined to comment after yesterday's verdict.

Gianelli's wife, Mary Ann, who pleaded guilty last month to money-laundering, racketeering, and other charges and is awaiting sentencing, is the sister of Connolly's wife, Elizabeth. The Gianellis and Connollys lived next door to each other in Lynnfield. Connolly was convicted of federal racketeering in Boston in 2002 and sentenced to 10 years.

Last November, Connolly was convicted of murder in Florida for helping longtime informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi orchestrate the 1982 slaying of a businessman.

Yesterday, Gianelli, who had been in custody while awaiting trial, showed little emotion as the verdict was read, and he said nothing afterward.

Iacaboni, who was convicted of eight of nine charges against him, said, "This is a shock," after the verdict was read.

Gianelli, Iacaboni, and Dennis Albertelli were all convicted of arson in plotting to burn down the Big Dog Sports Grille in North Reading in a bid to force its owners to sell Gianelli and Albertelli another bar in Lynnfield. The arson conviction carries a minimum mandatory 15-year prison term.

Gisele Albertelli's lawyer, Page Kelley, said, "I'm disappointed that they returned so many 'guilties,' because there were a lot of counts on which the evidence was dubious. The problem with an indictment like this that alleges so many crimes is that it's hard to overcome the presumption of guilt."

Dennis Albertelli's lawyer, Edward Pasquina Jr., referring to prosecution witnesses who were granted immunity in exchange for their cooperation, said, "Certainly the government marched in a parade of horribles, and they [jurors] took their word for it."

US District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton set sentencing for July 17 for Gianelli; July 23 for Dennis Albertelli, the following day for Iacaboni, and July 29 for Gisele Albertelli.

The case, investigated by the Massachusetts State Police Special Service Section, began with a wiretap and quickly mushroomed.

Mobster Danny Angiulo dead at 86
By Laurel J. Sweet
Monday, May 4, 2009 - Updated 1h ago

Donato “Danny” Angiulo of Medford, a convicted racketeer and the brother of one-time New England Mafia underboss Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo, is dead at age 86, the Herald has learned.

Angiulo, who called himself the “Laughing Fox,” passed away last night. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Dello Russo Funeral Home in Medford confirmed today they will be handling the arrangements, but arrangements are incomplete.

Done in by his Boston mob rivals James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, who were moonlighting as FBI informants, Gennaro Angiulo, 90, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1986 for racketeering. He was paroled in 2007.

Donato was also convicted of racketeering in 1986. He served an 11-year sentence.

Mob boss is feeling 'heat' from feds
Melissa Sardelli, Tim White
May 7, 2009

(Video at link below)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The Target 12 Investigators take you "Inside the Mafia." The reputed head of the Patriarca crime family is feeling some serious 'heat' from the FBI.

We now know in response, "the boss," Luigi Baby Shacks Manocchio has hired a lawyer. Although, it's important to note Mr. Manocchio has not been charged with a crime. State and federal authorities have marked him the boss of the New England crime family for the past 13 years.

Now, Manocchio has reached out to a former federal agent for help. Authorities say Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio runs the New England mob from Federal Hill in Providence. Target 12 has learned Manocchio, who turns 82 next month, has potentially felt the first sting from a federal investigation.

Law enforcement sources say Manocchio was approached by two FBI agents after receiving an envelope of cash. Investigators believe the money which was traced back to a Providence strip club, is tribute money or money paid to the kingpin of a crime family.

That incident prompted Manocchio to hire attorney Raymond Mansolillo. Mansolillo is a former federal agent with the drug enforcement agency for 15 years.

Tonight, on Eyewitness News at 10 on FOXPROVIDENCE and Eyewitness News at 11 on WPRI Target 12 Investigator Tim White sits down with Raymond Mansollilo for a rare and exclusive interview.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_wpri_ta...ds_20090507_mds

--------------

Mob boss' lawyer breaks silence
Talks to Target 12 about his client, FBI probe
May 7, 2009

(Video at link below)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Attorney Raymond Mansolillo , a former federal agent himself, is now representing the man state and federal authorities have pegged as boss of the New England crime family for the past 13 years, Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio.

"This is old history it's an old game and they just obsess. It's like a big game hunter trying to get the white tiger that no longer exists," said Mansolillo, during an exclusive interview with Target 12 Investigator Tim White.

When asked if Manocchio is indeed the boss, Mansolillo said, "It's a myth."

The attorney claimed the feds are wasting resources and taxpayer money.

"It's time that Federal Hill stop getting the reputation as you know, mobsters and lobsters, it's ridiculous," he said.

Manocchio, who turns 82 next month, has not been charged with a crime. However, he sought Mansolillo's representation after a run-in with the feds late last fall.

Law enforcement sources said Manocchio was at Euro Bistro , a Federal Hill restaurant Manocchio frequents, when a worker from a Providence strip club handed him an envelope stuffed with several thousands of dollars in cash.

Minutes after Manocchio took the envelope, two federal agents, including veteran organized crime fighter Joseph Degnan, moved in and seized the money. Investigators believe the cash is "tribute money" or a payment made to a kingpin of a crime family.

Though Manocchio has not been charged with a crime, sources said the FBI is attempting to apply significant pressure.

Mansolillo would not get specific on the on-going probe, however he said the FBI's "obsession" with cracking down on old school mobsters is tired.

"You have all these resources put on him and the agencies can tell you they follow him from one place to another to another to another. What does that mean? What is it doing?" Mansolillo asked. "We're wasting precious resources and taxpayer's money."

Mansolillo, who spent more than 15 years as a federal agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, said law enforcement should be focusing on powerful Eurasian and Asian crime syndicates - crime families the FBI itself calls the new face of organized crime.

Mansolillo: It's been over for 25 years.

Tim White: The mob doesn't exist here?

Mansolillo: The mob is defunct here.

Mansolillo's assessment of organized crime in New England is not shared by FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jeffrey Sallet.

"It is the top priority for organized crime for the New England region," Sallet said.

Sallet runs the Providence-based New England Organized Crime Office for the FBI. He said the agency assesses threats region by region.

"Because we have people working one threat does not mean we do not have the appropriate amount of people working another threat," Sallet said. "Just because [La Cosa Nostra] is not leaving people dead in the streets does not mean they are not having an impact on the state or society that we live in."

Sallet would not discuss the investigation into Manocchio. However, Mansolillo said he's reached out to the Providence office of the FBI to let them know he's now representing the boss.

"If they have an issue with him, we'll walk through the front door and we'll walk right out the front door after that," he said.

Click here to see what Mansolillo said about Manocchio's name appearing in court documents surrounding the alleged assassination attempt by reputed capo Anthony "The Saint" St. Laurent.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/target_12/loc...ks_20090507_nek

Friday, June 12, 2009

Why would Sal DiMasi hire as one of his attorneys a convicted felon who went to prison for conspiring with the Mafia underboss of Boston to subvert a 1981 federal organized-crime probe?

The lawyer is William Cintolo, and if Sal wants a glimpse into his likely future, all he has to do is go to the Bureau of Prisons Web site - bop.gov - and type in his lawyer’s name under “Inmate Locator.” It comes back:

Sal has conclusively proven that he’s not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree -trophy wife, allegedly taking checks, doing business with dolts and rats - but this is really embarrassing.

Now Sal hires a guy who did Club Fed time for conspiring with Mafia boss Gerry Angiulo to stop a witness from testifying against La Cosa Nostra. I couldn’t believe it when I saw Cintolo driving his law partner Tom Kiley’s black Jag at DiMasi’s first court appearance last week.

But on Tuesday, Cintolo was a no-show at Sal’s arraignment. So I called Kiley to find out what was going on.

“How can I not help you today?” Kiley said.

Is Cintolo really representing Sal?

“He filed a notice of appearance, didn’t he?”

Yeah, but he wasn’t there Tuesday.

“Look, if there was any problem with Bill Cintolo, he wouldn’t be my partner, would he?”

So there you have it. Here’s what put Sal DiMasi’s lawyer in the can: In 1981, he had as a client a Combat Zone bartender named Walter LaFreniere. Gerry Angiulo was worried LaFreniere was going to testify before a grand jury investigating Mafia crime in Boston.

According to the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, Cintolo was a “regular participant” in conversations with Angiulo at his underworld headquarters on Prince Street. Neither of them knew that the feds were taping all of their conversations.

One day Angiulo and the boys, including Cintolo, were discussing another possible informant. Let’s join the narrative:

“In response to a query by Cintolo, Angiulo gave the following chilling command: ‘I don’t want to know about this guy no more. I want (LCN associate Skinny) Kazonis to go see him . . . We’ll . . . kill him once and for all.”

The court’s conclusion about Sal DiMasi’s attorney: “In any realistic light, the most authentic victim of Cintolo’s behavior was not his nominal client, but the due administration of justice.”

And now he represents Sal DiMasi, the third House speaker in a row to go down on a federal rap. Why are we not surprised?

Widow of mob victim testifies in lawsuit against US
June 11, 2009

Notorious gangsters and longtime FBI informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi orchestrated the 1976 slaying of Revere nightclub owner Richard J. Castucci. But his life was not enough; they wanted his money, too.

Taking the stand yesterday in her wrongful death suit against the government, Castucci's widow described being caught in a terrifying web as her husband's killers - members of the Winter Hill Gang - and the New England Mafia both vied for control of her husband's interest in The Squire, a popular and highly profitable strip club.

"I was scared," said 72-year-old Sandra Castucci, recounting how Flemmi, a stranger to her, showed up unexpectedly at her Revere Beach home after her husband's killing, asking about her financial interest in the club and suggesting he should handle it for her.

She was frightened by the visit and immediately alerted the businessman who co-owned The Squire with her husband. Then the Mafia got involved.

The widow, who was relying on weekly payments from The Squire to support her and her two teenage children, testified that a friend of her husband's drove her to a store in Providence, where she was led into a back room and a face-to-face meeting with then New England Mafia boss Raymond L.S. Patriarca.

"He said that my husband owed him money and that the money I was getting I guess I wasn't going to get anymore," said Castucci, adding that Patriarca told her that she no longer owned any interest in The Squire.

"I was frightened," said Castucci, wiping away tears as she recounted the meeting, which occurred about a year after husband's slaying. It meant that the weekly payments from the club, which had already diminished from about $8,000 a week to only $1,000, stopped altogether.

During cross examination, Lawrence Eiser, a US Justice Department lawyer who is defending the government, asked: "You never phoned the police. Why not?"

"Because I was more frightened of the people who asked me to go there," said Castucci, referring to Patriarca and his associates.

What Castucci did not know then was that the FBI had been told in 1977 that Bulger and Flemmi were suspected in her husband's death and were trying to extort money from her, according to FBI memos filed in prior court proceedings. Yet the FBI took no action against the gangsters, who were both informants at the time.

Flemmi, who is serving a life sentence for killing 10 people, and hit man-turned-government witness John Martorano both provided chilling accounts of Castucci's killing when they testified last fall in the Miami trial of disgraced former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. in a case involving another slaying.

Flemmi testified that Connolly warned him and Bulger in 1976 that Castucci was an informant and had told the FBI where two fugitive members of the Winter Hill Gang were hiding in New York. Flemmi said they decided to kill Castucci, who also was a bookmaker.

Martorano testified that he shot 48-year-old Castucci in the head as he sat in a Somerville apartment counting money that he collected for a New York bookmaker, then Bulger and Flemmi disposed of his body, which was found in the trunk of his car in a Revere parking lot on Dec. 30, 1976.

Thomas J. Daly, the retired FBI agent who was Castucci's handler, testified during Connolly's trial that informants told the FBI that the Winter Hill Gang was suspected in Castucci's death and that Flemmi later tried to extort money from Sandra Castucci. He acknowledged that the FBI did not investigate Castucci's death or the alleged extortion.

Connolly was convicted last year of plotting with Bulger and Flemmi to kill a Boston businessman in Florida in 1982 and sentenced to 40 years in prison, to be served after he finishes a 10-year prison term for a 2002 conviction on federal racketeering charges.

Bulger, a fugitive since 1995, is wanted in 19 murders.

US District Judge Reginald C. Lindsay, who died in March, ruled last year that the government was liable for Castucci's death because of the FBI's negligent handling of Bulger and Flemmi.

US District Judge William G. Young, who took over the case, is presiding over the nonjury trial and will determine how much the government should pay to Castucci's widow and his four children.

Family of man slain by mob gets $6.25M
By Associated Press


BOSTON — A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to pay $6.25 million to the family of a Revere nightclub owner whose death was ordered by FBI informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi.

Judge William Young on Thursday awarded the widow of Richard Castucci, Sandra, $3 million, two of their children $750,000 each, and two children $500,00 each. The family was awarded another $750,000 in lost income.

A judge last year found the FBI liable for the 1976 slaying.

Sandra Castucci told The Boston Globe that she was glad the ordeal was over.

Authorities say Bulger and Flemmi had Castucci killed because he told the FBI where to find two fellow gangsters. Bulger allegedly learned about Castucci from rogue FBI agent John Connolly.

Reduced fat ‘Cheese’ to wed


The late Dean Martin is unavailable to croon for the reception band, but reputed Boston Mafia godfather Carmen “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio has been shot by Cupid’s arrow and is engaged to be married, the Herald has learned.

A source confirms DiNunzio, 51, who has shed some 75 pounds since being placed on house arrest in East Boston more than a year ago, plans to wed Denise Spagnuolo, 53, of the North End.

It was unclear yesterday how the romance bloomed, given DiNunzio’s commitment to a GPS bracelet.

The blushing bride hung up on a reporter who called to offer congratulations.

Her groom-to-be’s attorney declined comment.

DiNunzio has asked a U.S. District Court judge to let him go to dinner in style tonight for a belated Father’s Day celebration at a restaurant approved by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and pretrial services.

In a promising sign of male bonding, the guest list includes Spagnuolo’s sons, Joseph and Caesar.

The honeymoon, however, may have to be put on ice.

DiNunzio faces state extortion and gambling charges in Essex County and is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 19 on federal charges that he bribed an undercover FBI agent posing as a Massachusetts Highway inspector $10,000 in 2006 to purchase 300,000 yards of untested loam for the Big Dig for $6 million.

In addition to being the alleged underboss of the New England La Cosa Nostra, DiNunzio owns the North End’s “Fresh Cheese” shop.

Last summer, when DiNunzio’s weight hit 400 pounds, the federal court agreed to grant him 60 minutes of freedom each day to join a gym or go walking.

DiNunzio’s doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said he had diabetes and was at risk of heart failure if he didn’t slim down.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/...home&position=0


He has one more promise he intends to keep, but Carmen “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio today agreed to serve a six-year prison sentence and pay up to $500,000 in fines for crimes federal and state prosecutors allege he committed as godfather of the Boston Mafia.

“We assessed all the evidence and came to the decision it was time to make the best deal we possibly could. He’s a man. He understands all the circumstances,” attorney Anthony Cardinale told reporters this afternoon at U.S. District Court.

Cardinale insisted the Big Dig-related crimes to which DiNunzio, 51, pleaded guilty today - bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery concerning a program receiving federal funds - had “nothing to do with organized crime.”

A noticeably slimmer DiNunzio, wearing a green shirt and dark slacks, left the federal courthouse pressing past media. Judge William G. Young will sentence him Sept. 24.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter K. Levitt said he was prepared to prove DiNunzio orchestrated a plot to sell $6 million worth of “silt, manure and clay” to the Central Artery Project in 2006 by giving a Massachusetts Highway Department official $10,000 up front, and the promise of hundreds of thousands of dollars more, to see to it he got a loam contract.

The official, however, was an undercover FBI agent, and the evidence against DiNunzio included audiotapes.

DiNunzio could have received up to 15 years behind bars had the case gone to trial.

His sentence will also reflect his taking responsibility for state gaming and conspirary charges provided he keeps his date with Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office Wednesday and pleads guilty in Salem Superior Court.

Cardinale assured he will.

Levitt told the Herald state prosecutors are on board with the plea agreement.

DiNunzio, who allegedly lorded over the city’s underworld from his Fresh Cheese shop in the North End, will serve his time at the Federal Medical Center at Fort Devens in Central Massachusetts, which houses 1,068 male inmates.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/...ticleid=1182444


A former top associate of fugitive mobster James "Whitey" Bulger coolly described how Bulger murdered people as a trial got under way in wrongful death lawsuits by families of three alleged victims.

Kevin Weeks began testifying Wednesday in lawsuits filed by families who say the FBI is responsible because they protected and failed to control Bulger and his cohort, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, who were FBI informants.

The families of Deborah Hussey, Debra Davis and Louis Litif are seeking unspecified damages.

A Justice Department lawyer said the FBI did not know Bulger and Flemmi planned the killings and cannot be held liable in their deaths.

Weeks described in gruesome detail how Bulger and Flemmi killed several other people after receiving tips from former FBI Agent John Connolly that they were cooperating with law enforcement against them.

Court papers: Reputed RI mobster "seriously ill"
July 2, 2009
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A reputed Rhode Island mobster accused of trying to arrange a hit on a rival has been moved from prison to a hospital and his lawyer says he is "seriously ill."


A lawyer for Anthony "The Saint" St. Laurent Sr. filed court papers Wednesday seeking to postpone his court case. The motion says St. Laurent is sick in a Massachusetts hospital and in "no position, physically or mentally, to have a legal discussion with counsel."

St. Laurent, an alleged high-ranking member of the Patriarca crime family, is accused of offering to pay to have a rival, Robert DeLuca, killed.

St. Laurent is already serving a federal prison sentence in Massachusetts for extortion conspiracy.

His lawyer, Victor Beretta, did not immediately return a phone message Thursday.

The court filing was first reported by WPRI-TV.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_isl..._seriously_ill/

Ex-cop tells of secret search for mob victim
By Laurel J. Sweet
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 - Updated 0m ago


A retired state police captain who spent six years looking for the missing daughter of a mobster’s flame said yesterday he kept his search a secret for fear dirty cops would tip off the gangsters who had killed the moll’s kid.

“It was very difficult in those times to trust anyone in law enforcement from the FBI on down,” Joseph Saccardo - testifying in the wrongful-death cases of three people murdered by James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi - said of the personal probe he conducted from 1985 to 1991.

The remains of Deborah Hussey, 27, were found in a mass mob grave next to the Southeast Expressway in 2000, 15 years after Bulger and Flemmi strangled her with a rope for dropping their terror-invoking names around town.

Saccardo’s friend Marion Hussey, with whom Flemmi lived while molesting Deborah as a teen, sat rocking yesterday in U.S. District Court in a topaz-blue pantsuit.

Her ex-husband Tom Hussey, Deborah’s father, kept to himself, clutching a manila envelope of treasured family photos.

Loved ones of victims Debra Davis and Louis Litif were also on hand at the bench trial, now in its second week. The families are seeking financial reparations from the U.S. Department of Justice for the FBI’s failure to rein in the deadly duo.

Flemmi, 74, who is serving life for his part in 10 executions while Bulger, 79, presumably enjoys his 14th year of life on the lam, is expected to testify Thursday in graphic detail for the first time as to how Hussey and Davis, another Flemmi lover, were tortured to death.

The sum horror of Bulger’s and Flemmi’s crimes were but rumors and suspicions when Hussey disappeared, Saccardo said as explanation for why he didn’t launch a formal investigation to find her.

But there was one truth about Flemmi Saccardo dared not leave to chance: “Knowing who Marion was living with and who he was - Stephen Flemmi,” he said, “it became a well-known fact that he had friends in law enforcement

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/...ticleid=1183323

Now that DiNunzio is inside, Boston has a new boss.

Dinunzio has 52 years inside. He now has two choices: Die in prison of a heart attack as he is very overweight or turn rat and get a lesser sentence.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/...ticleid=1183641

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2008, file photo, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, a jailed Boston mob leader, testifies in a Miami court room in the murder trial of former FBI agent John Connolly. Flemmi testified Thursday, July 9, 2009, in federal court in Boston in wrongful death lawsuits filed by three families who say the FBI failed to control Flemmi and fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger.

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

Boston mobster 'Rifleman' Flemmi describes killing
By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer
July 10, 2009, 11:43AM


BOSTON — New England mobster Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi on Friday described watching a cohort strangle his girlfriend as a "very traumatic moment" — but then admitted he pulled out her teeth afterward so her body would be difficult to identify.

Flemmi, 75, showed no emotion as he described the 1981 killing of Debra Davis, 26, a woman he began dating when she was 17.

Flemmi testified Thursday that James "Whitey" Bulger wanted to kill Davis after he learned Flemmi had told her that they were both working as FBI informants. He also said Bulger resented the amount of time Flemmi was spending with her.

He said he agreed to lure Davis to a vacant home he owned in South Boston, where Bulger was waiting. Bulger, he said, "grabbed her by the throat and strangled her."

Flemmi said he watched and did nothing as Bulger killed Davis.

"This happened very quickly, a very traumatic moment in my life," Flemmi said.

He said Bulger carried her down the stairs while he continued to strangle her.

After they got to the basement, Flemmi said he told Bulger, "Let her pray." He said he wasn't sure whether she was already dead.

Flemmi said he later removed some of Davis' teeth "at Bulger's insistence."

"He said to extract some of the teeth to deter identification," Flemmi said.

Later, Flemmi said he and Bulger put her body in the trunk of a car and drove her to Quincy, where they buried her along the Neponset River.

Flemmi's chilling account of Davis' killing came during his second day of testimony in wrongful death lawsuits brought by Davis' family and the families of two other people allegedly killed by Bulger and Flemmi.

The families say the FBI is responsible for the deaths because it failed to control Bulger and Flemmi, who were longtime FBI informants. Justice Department lawyers say the FBI did not know Bulger and Flemmi planned the killings and cannot be held liable in their deaths.

Flemmi is serving a life sentence in 10 murders, including the killing of Davis. Bulger fled shortly before he was indicted in 1995 and has been a fugitive ever since. He is on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list.

Buried bones ID'd as 1978 RI mob victim Joe Onions
July 15, 2009

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Bones dug from a dirt lot by police acting on a tip from a dying killer belong to a mob victim nicknamed Joe Onions, who was shot in the head three decades ago, state officials said Wednesday.

State police detectives unearthed Joseph "Joe Onions" Scanlon's bones in November after arresting 71-year-old Nicholas Pari, who was terminally ill and offered to lead them to Scanlon's burial site.

Investigators said they compared the skeletal remains with a DNA sample taken from Scanlon's family to make a match.

"We hope that this information will bring closure for the family" said David Gifford, director of the state Department of Health, in a written statement. "This death occurred 30 years ago. We hope this gives them peace."

The announcement solves a mystery that long vexed veteran Mafia investigators, who solved Scanlon's killing but never found his body.

Pari and Andy Merola were convicted in 1979 of killing Scanlon because they believed he was a police informer, but the convictions were overturned by the state Supreme Court. The pair later pleaded no contest to lesser charges as part of a plea deal and confessed to dumping Scanlon's remains in Narragansett Bay.

Investigators long had doubts about their story.

Pari, arrested on unrelated charges during a raid last year, told police he was dying and said Scanlon was buried near an East Providence apartment complex. Pari died a month later.

Merola went to his grave in 2007 without divulging the secret.

FBI union sting nets 3rd guilty plea
By Katie Mulvaney - Journal Staff Writer
July 17, 2009

PROVIDENCE — A former director of the Laborers’ New England Region Organizing Fund has agreed to plead guilty to accepting gifts from an FBI agent posing as a contractor.

Nicholas Manocchio reached a deal July 10 in which he admitted to one count of labor conspiracy for accepting cash and other items of value, including liquor, rental cars and gift certificates from an undercover FBI agent posing as a contractor looking for business in Rhode Island.

Manocchio, 56, of Cranston, is the last of three men to agree to plead guilty to charges resulting from the undercover FBI operation. Gerald Diodati, a Coventry contractor and Seekonk resident, signed an agreement in June and is scheduled to enter the plea July 31 before U.S. District Judge William E. Smith.

A third defendant, Harold L. Tillinghast Jr., two weeks earlier pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and agreed to cooperate with the government.

Manocchio was Tillinghast’s boss at the Providence offices of the Laborers’ International Union of North America.

Tillinghast, Manocchio and Diodati in November were indicted on charges that they participated in a kickback scheme involving Rising Sun Mills, a redevelopment project on Valley Street in the city’s Olneyville neighborhood.

In conducting its investigation, the FBI in 2002 opened a fictitious construction firm, Hemphill Construction, in Johnston that pursued jobs in southern New England.

An agent posing as Hemp-hill’s owner met with Tillinghast and Diodati and the group reached a deal in which Diodati and others agreed to make payments of $1,000 and more to Tillinghast and Manocchio.

In April 2003, Tillinghast allegedly told Diodati and the undercover agent that he would try to get Hemphill Construction a demolition contract at Rising Sun Mills. The deal involved a $2,000 kickback to Tillinghast, the authorities said.

The kickback scheme also had a backdrop of organized crime activity, authorities say. Matthew L. Guglielmetti Jr., a capo regime in the Patriarca crime family, did construction work at Rising Mills and participated in some of the meetings at Hemphill’s office. He is now serving a long sentence in federal prison on drug charges.

Manocchio has deep criminal bloodlines. He is the nephew of Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio, described by the authorities as the longtime head of the Patriarca crime family.

In 1980, Nicholas Manocchio, then a student in microbiology at the University of Washington, was arrested for killing Richard Fournier, 24, outside a restaurant on Mineral Spring Avenue in North Providence. He was convicted of intentional manslaughter and conspiracy to commit assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Records from the Adult Correctional Institutions show that Manocchio served about 7 years of a 12-year sentence. Upon his release, he ran a sports memorabilia store in Cranston before he landed a job with the Laborers’ Union.

In the latest case, Manocchio will face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/...home&position=6

Whitey Bulgers' victims' families win judgment
Sat Jul 25, 2009

In an unusual move, U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young yesterday previewed his “thinking” from the bench, favoring compensation for the families of three victims killed by FBI informants James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, barely an hour after hearing the final closing argument.

But the “tentative” awards represent a significant downward departure from the sums awarded to previous Bulger/Flemmi victims.

Judge Young said he was considering $350,000 - for conscious pain and suffering - for each of the families of Debra Davis, Deborah Hussey and Louis Litif. He indicated Louis Litif’s two children and widow may get an extra $800,000 for loss of consortium.

Several months ago, Judge Young - taking on the work of the late U.S. District Court Judge Reginald Lindsay - awarded the family of Revere nightclub owner and bookmaker Richard Castucci $6.25 million. Edward Brian Halloran and Michael Donahue’s families received a combined $8.5 million. Quincy fisherman John McIntyre’s family got $3.3 million.

The three families argued their loved ones died because the two South Boston killers were allowed to run amok by their FBI handler, the imprisoned rogue G-Man, John Connolly. But Young’s preliminary thoughts suggest he finds the FBI less culpable in the deaths of the women, both of whom had sexual relationships with Flemmi apart from the criminal operation, while Louis Litif, the Southie bookmaker had planned to become a witness against Bulger and Flemmi.

Judge cuts Cheeseman DiNunzio some slack
By Laurel J. Sweet
Monday, August 3, 2009

The clock is winding down on Carmen “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio’s final days of freedom, but he’ll wedge in some hot fun in the city yet thanks to a federal judge who’s lifted his round-the-clock house arrest.

Despite the former Boston Mafia godfather’s guilty pleas last month to federal bribery and state gaming and extortion charges as part of a joint agreement that will land him in the hoosegow for six years starting in late September, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler is allowing DiNunzio to wander free between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily.

He remains banned from the North End - home to his Fresh Cheese shop - unless his business there is green-lighted by pre-trial services, and must remain in his East Boston home after curfew.

DiNunzio, 51, was placed on house arrest in May 2008 after he was busted by the feds for trying to sell $6 million worth of untested loam to the Big Dig, but judges have since gone soft on the Cheese, loosening his leash so he can exercise, eat out and spend holidays with family.

His lawyer claims DiNunzio is engaged to be married, but has not set a date.

Mobster Anthony St. Laurent Sr. asks judge to dismiss charge

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, August 15, 2009

By John Hill

Journal Staff Writer

St. Laurent

PROVIDENCE — A lawyer for mobster Anthony M. “The Saint” St. Laurent Sr. is asking a federal court to dismiss an attempted murder-for-hire charge against St. Laurent, claiming a 2006 plea agreement on an extortion charge bars the new prosecution.

St. Laurent, already serving a five-year sentence in the extortion case, was indicted in April on charges he tried to hire someone to kill Patriarca crime family member Robert P. DeLuca in 2006. Some of the evidence that led to the murder solicitation indictment was developed during the extortion investigation in 2006. St. Laurent’s lawyer Victor J. Beretta claims, in a motion filed Wednesday, that the 2006 plea agreement in the extortion case covered the attempted murder-for-hire charge as well.

Federal officials, predictably, disagreed.

“The government will oppose the motion,” said Thomas Connell, spokesman for acting U.S. Attorney Luis Matos. He declined to describe the government’s objections, saying they would be detailed later in the government’s court filing.

Beretta’s motion argues that in April 2006, while St. Laurent was discussing the extortion plot with a cooperating witness and in conversations that were taped, he inquired about hiring someone to kill DeLuca. The motion states he was arrested on April 13, 2006, in part to head off any possible murder solicitation indictment and evidence in the murder solicitation was included in hearings on the extortion case.

St. Laurent knew in 2006 that he faced a possible indictment for trying to hire someone to kill DeLuca, Beretta argued in his motion, and said St. Laurent entered into the 2006 plea negotiations with the goal of avoiding prosecution on that charge. He wound up pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion and was sentenced to five years.

“The agreement covered the same time, place and participants as the conspiracy that was charged,” the motion said.

Besides the plea deal in which the federal government agreed “not to charge the defendant with any offenses known to the government related to the conspiracy charge to which the defendant is pleading,” Beretta cited another part of the 2006 agreement that warned St. Laurent that he still faced possible state prosecution on the solicitation-of-murder charge.

If there was a possibility of a federal indictment on the solicitation charge, a provision allowing for a state prosecution would be pointless, Beretta said.

jhill@projo.com

Former Boston mobster, Bulger rival ailing
By Laurel J. Sweet
Thursday, August 13, 2009 - Added 4d 15h ago

Award-winning court and crime reporter Laurel J. Sweet has been featured in the ABC miniseries "Boston 24/7" and the 9-11 documentary motion picture "Looking For My Brother."

Former longtime Boston Mafia godfather Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo of Nahant is near death from kidney failure, sources tell the Herald.

The 90-year-old ex-mobster has been on weekly dialysis treatments, sources say. Angiulo was convicted of racketeering in 1986 and sentenced to 45 years after his headquarters at 98 Prince St. in the North End was infamously bugged by the FBI with help from his underworld rivals James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi.

He was not expected to be released from federal prison until next May, but was paroled in 2007.

Angiulo’s 86-year-old brother and former capo Donato “Laughing Fox” Angiulo, died in May.

Boston Mafia boss Jerry Angiulo dies
By Laurel J. Sweet
Sunday, August 30, 2009 - Updated 2h ago
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Award-winning court and crime reporter Laurel J. Sweet has been featured in the ABC miniseries "Boston 24/7" and the 9-11 documentary motion picture "Looking For My Brother."
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Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo, who ruled Boston’s Mafia with an iron fist for two decades, died at 4:30 p.m. yesterday at Massachusetts General Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman confirmed.

Angiulo suffered a broken hip and was hospitalized earlier this month while also fighting a losing battle with kidney failure.

The ex-gangster was 90 years old.

His brother and fellow convicted Mafioso Donato “Laughing Fox” Angiulo died in May. He was 86.

Angiulo had returned to his compound in Nahant upon his release from prison in 2007 after a 21-year stint behind bars for his 1986 conviction on federal racketeering, loansharking and illegal gambling charges.

The reign of the former New England La Cosa Nostra underboss was ended by his rivals in the South Boston Irish mob, James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, who infamously helped the FBI bug the Mafia’s North End headquarters at 98 Prince St.

Flemmi is today serving life for multiple murders. Bulger, who turns 80 Thursday and is wanted for the serial slayings of 19 men and women, has been a fugitive since 1995.

The FBI is offering a $2 million reward for information leading to his capture.

Angiulo was to have remained imprisoned until next May, but was paroled three years early for good behavior.

Gennaro Angiulo’s military burial raises eyebrows, ire
By O’Ryan Johnson | Thursday, September 3, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

Before Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo was a high-ranking Mafioso in charge of the Boston mob, he was a Navy chief serving his country during wartime, and he earned the flag that will cover his coffin, local vets said.

But the idea that one-time Patriarca family underboss, alleged to have ordered beatings and killings, will be laid to rest today with full military honors isn’t sitting well with some vets. At an undisclosed cemetery today, six Navy pallbearers will carry his coffin, a sailor with a bugle blowing taps, and seven others will fire a salute for the departed don.

“He should have got the firing squad years ago,” said Army vet John Balutowski, 46. “But, he is a veteran.”

Angiulo served four years in the Navy, steering landing craft in the Pacific and rising to the rank of chief bosun’s mate - which placed him above most enlisted men and would have given him a private cabin and dining privileges in the chiefs’ mess hall.

John McGrath, 60, a former Army sergeant from 1968 to 1971 struggled to weigh the veteran’s status against that of a made man.

“He was a veteran before he was a gangster,” McGrath said. “The military used the Mafia in World War II. That’s how they landed in Sicily . . . But, I don’t know if he deserves full honors.”

U.S. Navy veteran Ed Rood, 56, a former Petty Officer First Class, from 1971 to 1974, was impressed to learn that Angiulo was a chief - and couldn’t care less about the rank of captain Angiulo wielded with brutal authority inside the Providence-based crime family.

“It’s not an easy rank to get,” he said. “He does deserve a flag. As for full honors, I don’t know about full honors.”

Angiulo’s North End headquarters was famously bugged by the FBI, which led to his 1983 arrest and his famous perp-walk boast that he’d return before his pork chops were cold.

He was convicted on racketeering, loansharking and gambling charges and served 24 years in federal prison. He was released in 2007 and returned to his wife and their Nahant home. He died Saturday at age 90 of kidney failure.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/...ticleid=1195078

21 years is a heavy sentance for gambling and racketering. Until past few days I knew nothing about him, I never followed Boston stuff much. His never ratting is admirable, more admirable is his dedication to his country. He was rejected, yetstill tried to get i to serve country during war, and suceeded. Too bad he did not go legit when he got out of miilitary.

Boston Mob Bosses Ordered To Pay Victim's Family
Mob Bosses Ordered To Pay $15 Million Each
Posted: 7:17 am EDT September 18, 2009
Updated: 7:37 am EDT September 18, 2009

DEDHAM, Mass. -- A Massachusetts judge has ordered fugitive mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger and a cohort to pay $15 million each to the family of 26-year-old woman after finding them liable for her 1981 murder.

Judge Patrick Brady also ordered Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, serving a life sentence for 10 murders, to pay $3 million for molesting the woman's younger sister, and another $500,000 for intentionally inflicting emotional distress on the woman's mother. The sister and mother have both died.

Bulger, who just turned 80, remains on the loose.

Flemmi dated Debra Davis, and authorities allege she was killed because she knew too much about the mob bosses.

A lawyer for Davis' family told The Boston Globe it's unclear whether Bulger and Flemmi have any assets to pay the judgment.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

INCLUDES VIDEO: http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_wpri_pr...on_20090918_nek

Notorious mobster now a free man
Bobby DeLuca released from probation

Updated: Friday, 18 Sep 2009, 6:57 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 18 Sep 2009, 4:40 PM EDT

* Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - For the first time in more than 14 years, reputed Patriarca Crime Family captain Robert “Bobby” DeLuca, is a free man.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Friday morning, DeLuca walked into a downtown federal building with his attorney Artin Coloian to officially end his federal probation. Minutes later, clutching what federal probation officials call “a letter of satisfaction” DeLuca strolled out without comment.

His probation will end one minute after midnight on September 20th.

DeLuca was arrested in 1995, caught up in a sweeping federal investigation that also accused mob enforcer Gerard Ouimette. The pair was found guilty of trying to extort $50,000 from Providence businessman Paulie Calenda.

The mid-90s were a tough stretch for DeLuca, legally speaking. He was also snared in a federal investigation out of Boston along with James J. "Whitey" Bulger , leader of Boston's Winter Hill Gang and notorious hit-man Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi.

DeLuca had already been given a suspended sentence after a Rhode Island State Police sting into organized criminal gambling. In all, he spent more than 12 years in federal and state prisons before getting out on work release.

“He did his time, cooperated and did the right thing,” said federal probation official Barry Weiner. “Everything came off clean; he’s off and on his way.”

Weiner said before handing a former inmate the letter of satisfaction, the Feds perform an electronic inquiry into criminal records to make sure there is nothing outstanding.

“Or nothing we don’t know about,” Weiner said.

DeLuca, who was the alleged target of a recent murder-for-hire plot involving fellow capo Anthony "The Saint" St. Laurent, burst onto the scene in 1989 when his induction in the Patriarca crime family was caught on FBI wiretap. The infamous tape secretly recorded in a Medford, Massachusetts home, was used in countless court hearings to prove the existence of La Cosa Nostra.

"That's an organized criminal family whose sworn oath is basically to break laws," said Rhode Island State Police Lt. Col. Steven G. O'Donnell , a veteran organized crime fighter. "You don't leave that organization voluntarily."

Investigators say DeLuca quickly rose through the mob ranks, making strong ties to the Gambino crime family in New York and Boston mobsters. DeLuca was a close associate of one-time mob boss Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme .

O'Donnell said, however, Friday's release from the squeeze of the Federal Bureau of Prisons doesn't mean law enforcement isn't keeping tabs on DeLuca.

"We wish him the best," O'Donnell said. "We hope he stays on the straight and narrow and if he's not we'll be there waiting for him."

Reputed RI mobster wants charges dropped in plot
By Associated Press
Monday, September 28, 2009 - Updated 3d 20h ago

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An indictment accusing a reputed mobster of trying to arrange the killing of a Mafia rival should be dismissed because prosecutors promised not to seek criminal charges as part of an earlier plea deal, a defense attorney said today.

The U.S. attorney’s office has denied ever making such an agreement with Anthony "The Saint" St. Laurent, who is accused of offering to pay for the assassination of Robert DeLuca, a man the FBI claims is a captain in the Providence-based Patriarca crime family.

U.S. District Court Judge William Smith did not immediately rule on the request after a hearing Monday. St. Laurent, who is serving a prison sentence for an extortion plot, has pleaded not guilty to the murder-for-hire charges.

Investigators say the feud between the two men appears personal. DeLuca has publicly accused St. Laurent of being a police informant.

FBI Special Agent Joseph Degnan testified Monday that he first learned of the plot against DeLuca while investigating an attempt by St. Laurent to recruit men to shake down bookmakers across the border in Massachusetts.

During a meeting on April 7, 2006, St. Laurent offered $20,000 to FBI informant Anthony Nardolillo if he would kill DeLuca, Degnan said. St. Laurent was secretly recorded the following day urging Nardolillo and another man to consider his murder-for-hire offer.

When the would-be hit men worried about the consequences of killing a Mafia member, St. Laurent offered to introduce them to Louis Manocchio, who investigators believe is New England’s current Mafia boss.

After he was arrested for the extortion plot, St. Laurent told defense attorney John F. Cicilline to cut a deal with prosecutors. In return to quickly pleading guilty in the extortion case, St. Laurent wanted assurances he would not be prosecuted for plotting against DeLuca, Cicilline said.

Cicilline said he received a plea agreement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office that he believed would protect St. Laurent against more charges.

But retired federal prosecutor James Leavey said the decision not to prosecute St. Laurent for allegedly trying to arrange the killing of DeLuca was never part of the plea agreement.

Leavey testified that he did not want to pursue the murder-for-hire case because the main informant had previously lied to the FBI and stolen government money. The recordings of the meeting with St. Laurent were also bad, he said.

Federal officials apparently re-examined the case after another informant told them that St. Laurent also offered him money to kill DeLuca. St. Laurent even drove with the man into Providence so he could see the restaurant where DeLuca was working, authorities said.

Investigators say the plotting continued even after St. Laurent was imprisoned.

He allegedly tried to arrange a hit from behind bars in late 2007 by working through an FBI informant who secretly recorded their conversations, according to court documents. A partial transcript shows St. Laurent wanted the hit man to deliver a message to DeLuca before shooting him in the head.

"Say, ’This is from The Saint,’" he said.

Mobster Arthur Gianelli sentenced to 22 years in prison
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/underc...n_prison_100709

Secret wiretap reveals mob murder plot
Major evidence against Anthony St. Laurent
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/target_12/local_wp...ps_20091102_nek

What a messed up bunch. I am surprised to see Mob member offering money to lower lever guys to kill someone for him, was surprised again when I saw DeLuca, the proposed victum, had been publicy accusing Laurent of being rat. Is Laurant a made guy, or a quack? How was Deluca accusing him, through news?

I have yet to meet a sane person from Rhode Island. That is not a joke. Over the years I've met 5 people from there who I got friends with, all were nuts, including the craziest---ok, one of craziest, girls I ever met.

State of the Mafia in New England
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/underc...-in-new-england

Shakeup in Patriarca crime family
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/target_12/loc...ia_20091105_nek

page wasnt found.

heres the right one
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/target_12/loc...ia_20091105_nek