(UnitedVoice.com) – There was a time in the United States when the mob ruled. The criminal organizations had their hands in nearly anything that could make them money. Places like Las Vegas, New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia had major problems with crime.
The New England Family of La Cosa Nostra (NELCN) was one of the most prominent in Boston for decades. One of the men who ran it is now dead.
Cadillac Frank
On December 13, Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme died at the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners Springfield in Missouri. The former boss of the Patriarca crime family was serving a life sentence when he dropped dead at the age of 89.
Attorney Steven Boozang, who once represented Salemme, told Target 12 his former client was “honest and forthright,” saying he was “a gentleman.” He added the convicted murderer felt bad about the hardships his family and others later suffered.
In 2018, Salemme received a life sentence for one count of murder of a federal witness. He killed Steven A. DiSarro, the manager of “The Channel” nightclub in South Boston. According to a Department of Justice press release at the time of his sentencing, Salemme and his son, Francis Salemme Jr., had financial interests in the club. Federal investigators approached DiSarro while investigating the Salemmes and asked him to cooperate in 1993. The elder Salemme found out about it and ordered a hit on DiSarro to prevent him from speaking to authorities.
The DOJ found Salemme watched on May 10, 1993, as his son and a man named Paul M. Weadick strangled DiSarro. They transported his body to Rhode Island, where they buried him in Providence until authorities found the remains in March 2016.
Nick DiSarro, the victim’s son, spoke to Target 12 about the mobster’s death. He said, “The world is better off without him. Good riddance.”
Head of the New England Family of La Cosa Nostra
Salemme was the head of the NELCN from 1991 to 1996. The same year he ordered DiSarro’s murder, 1993, federal authorities charged him with racketeering. A federal court sentenced him to 11 years in prison, and he became an informant for the FBI. His information led to the conviction of James “Whitey” Bulger’s FBI contact, John Connolly, a former agent.
After his release from prison, Salemme entered the witness protection program, moved to Atlanta and received a new name. He eventually left the program before authorities found DiSarro’s body.
Salemme Jr. died in 1995.
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