Judge denies early release request from Staten Island mobster who has made life long commitment to Lucchese family
In early 2020, reputed Staten Island mobster Eugene "Boobsie" Castelle was granted bail from federal prison due to pandemic-related health concerns, pending the outcome of an appeal filed against a 2019 conviction.
That appeal ultimately was denied.
So instead, Castelle’s legal team asked for a reduced sentence, citing extenuating circumstances involving his fiancee and children on the outside, in addition to a past bout with the coronavirus and ongoing health risks exacerbated by the conditions of his confinement.
A federal judge isn’t budging.
TIES TO LA COSA NOSTRA
Castelle— a reputed member of the Lucchese crime family who in public records is tied to an Annadale residence— was convicted in 2019 for racketeering conspiracy and running an illegal gambling business,
He was sentenced to 77 months in a federal penitentiary, a three-year supervised release, $100,000 fine and forfeiture of $188,955 in criminal proceeds.
In 2008, he had completed an 88-month sentence for racketeering conspiracy, according to court records.
FIANCEE: ‘A TRULY AMAZING MAN’
In a recent letter to the courts, Castelle’s fiancee described a “truly amazing man with a heart of gold.”
“Throughout his adulthood, Eugene ever holiday would buy thousands of stuffed animals to give to the children in the pediatric hospitals,” she wrote.
Prior to his most recent incarceration they were parenting four children together.
She also described him as a self-taught, intelligent man who ran successful businesses despite a challenging home-life growing up and lack of formal education.
But in addition to that success, she wrote, he was “drawn to another life, filled with greed and poor decision making.”
“Basically he wants [his children] to learn the right lessons in life now, so they don’t make the same mistakes he made.”
HEALTH CONCERNS
Since early 2020, Castelle has contended with serious illness and respiratory issues that are putting his life at risk amid an ongoing pandemic, his lawyers argued.
But according to a recent ruling by Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the U.S. Southern District of New York, the prisoner in this case did not meet the necessary requirements for an early medical release, based on legal precedent.
Diagnoses that qualify include, but are not limited to: Terminal cancer; end stage organ disease; advanced dementia and serious functional or cognitive impairment.
‘VIOLENCE AND ECONOMIC HARM’
In a letter to the court opposing the sentence-reduction request, federal prosecutors argued that Castelle “like so many made members of organized crime, views his membership in La Cosa Nostra as a life-long commitment” and thus would be a “substantial danger to the community” if set free.
Reduced sentences have been allowed in the past when, in part “the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community,” court records indicate.
In his denial of Castelle’s latest request, Hellerstein noted the 2019 sentencing when the defendant “refused to acknowledge any responsibility for his conduct, denied his guilt and expressed no remorse for his crimes.”
The judge also cited Castelle’s longterm involvement with the Lucchese crime family: “Extracting hundreds of thousands of dollars from vulnerable businesses and individuals around him, through explicit and implicit threats of violence and economic harm.”
(Both the indictment and officials from the U.S. attorney’s office spell the family name as “Luchese.” Many outlets spell the family name as “Lucchese.”)
https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/2021/05/boobsie-is-a-mobster-for-life-feds-say-hes-in-danger-of-covid-defense-says-judge-rules-on-bid-for-early-release.html
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