Ralph F. Deleo, 69, of Somerville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 235 months in prison, with credit for 36 months of time served, for a total of 199 months, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine. In May, Mr. Deleo pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Judge Woodlock accepted Deleo’s guilty plea today and imposed sentence.
According to the Office of the US Attorney for Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Deleo was the “street boss” of the Colombo Family of La Cosa Nostra (LCN) and the head of the DeLeo Crew, a criminal enterprise based in Somerville which engaged in the importation, trafficking, and distribution of narcotics and controlled substances, including cocaine and marijuana; extortion; loan sharking; and interstate and foreign travel in aid of racketeering. The Deleo Crew, as Mr. Deleos' alleged wing of the organization was called, operated principally in the areas of Massachusetts, Arkansas, Florida and New York.
The Government attorneys claim that if the case had gone to trial, they could have proven that Mr.Deleo:
•arranged and paid for a two kilogram cocaine deal;
•traveled to Florida, New York and Connecticut, on Colombo Family business on various occasions;
•attempted to collect an extension of credit by extortionate means in Canton, Massachusetts, on March 11, 2009;
•conspired with other members of the DeLeo Crew and a businessman to administer a beating to the financial advisor of the businessman’s brother, with whom he had a dispute;
•conspired with other members of the DeLeo Crew and other members and associates of the Colombo Family to import marijuana from Canada; and
•maintained in a hidden location a cache of at least eleven firearms, together with a silencer, ammunition, police uniforms, patches from at least three different police departments, wigs, masks, and zip ties.
La Cosa Nostra, also known as the "mafia," is according to the Government of the United States a criminal organization that operates in various parts of the United States and Canada through entities known as "families." The five most powerful families of LCN are based in New York City. The Colombo Family is one of those five families. The Deleo Crew was a separate entity from the Colombo Family.
