Feds: DeLeo ran Colombo crime family as the street boss in Somerville
An accused Somerville mafioso was arraigned in a Boston federal court yesterday on racketeering charges.
Accused Colombo crime family street boss Ralph Francis DeLeo appeared in court in a khaki jumpsuit, shackles and black-and-white sneakers.
The 68-year-old alleged organized crime made man and other members of what is described in court documents as the “DeLeo Crew” are accused of drug trafficking, extortion, loan sharking and racketeering in Massachusetts, Arkansas, Rhode Island, New York and Florida.
DeLeo allegedly pulled the strings of the crew and used it to maintain his standing with the Colombo family, according to a 2009 indictment.
DeLeo was busted after the FBI tapped his associate George Wylie Thompson’s phone and recorded the duo’s conversations about smuggling drugs from Arkansas to Massachusetts, the documents state.
DeLeo and his cohorts were arrested after a drug runner was allegedly caught with about two kilograms of cocaine during a traffic stop in Arkansas.
DeLeo pleaded not guilty to the charges yesterday and was remanded to jail without bail. At his request, his public defender, Timothy Watkins, told Judge Marianne B. Bowler that DeLeo had “issues of ongoing medical treatment that are not totally resolved” and was having difficulty making legal calls.
“That has become a serious problem,” Watkins said.
DeLeo is expected back in court Sept. 14.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0813feds_mafioso_ran_colombo_crime_family_in_somerville/
Accused Colombo crime family street boss Ralph Francis DeLeo appeared in court in a khaki jumpsuit, shackles and black-and-white sneakers.
The 68-year-old alleged organized crime made man and other members of what is described in court documents as the “DeLeo Crew” are accused of drug trafficking, extortion, loan sharking and racketeering in Massachusetts, Arkansas, Rhode Island, New York and Florida.
DeLeo allegedly pulled the strings of the crew and used it to maintain his standing with the Colombo family, according to a 2009 indictment.
DeLeo was busted after the FBI tapped his associate George Wylie Thompson’s phone and recorded the duo’s conversations about smuggling drugs from Arkansas to Massachusetts, the documents state.
DeLeo and his cohorts were arrested after a drug runner was allegedly caught with about two kilograms of cocaine during a traffic stop in Arkansas.
DeLeo pleaded not guilty to the charges yesterday and was remanded to jail without bail. At his request, his public defender, Timothy Watkins, told Judge Marianne B. Bowler that DeLeo had “issues of ongoing medical treatment that are not totally resolved” and was having difficulty making legal calls.
“That has become a serious problem,” Watkins said.
DeLeo is expected back in court Sept. 14.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0813feds_mafioso_ran_colombo_crime_family_in_somerville/
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