Cosa Nostra News

A Federal appeals court in Boston yesterday (Friday, September 24) upheld the life sentences of New England Cosa Nostra boss Francis (Cadillac Frank) Salemme and mob associate Paul Weadick for the 1993 murder of Steven DiSarro, a Federal witness whose remains were found in an unmarked grave in Rhode Island in 2016. 1993 surveillance photo, from left: Salemme, Flemmi with back to camera, Frank Jr.  According to Federal prosecutors, Salemme, 88, held a secret interest in a South Boston nightclub  called The Channel, which DiSarro purchased. Salemme had DiSarro killed after he began to believe that the nightclub owner was talking to the FBI and was about to implicate him in criminal activity. The Fed's star witness at Salemme and Weadick's 2018 trial was Stephen (The Rifleman) Flemmi, the longtime partner of Winter Hill boss Whitey Bulger . Flemmi, 84, who is serving a life sentence for 10 murders, testified that he had walked in on the Salemmes, father and son, and Weadick...

Former New England mob boss Francis (Cadillac Frank) Salemme, 85, has appealed his conviction and life sentence for the 1993 murder of Steven DiSarro, a South Boston nightclub owner. Salemme's attorney filed the appeal Wednesday He and co-defendant Paul Weadick, 63, were both convicted in Boston federal court in June. Weadick also is appealing. DiSarro, a 43-year-old father of five, was killed to prevent him from cooperating with federal authorities. His remains were unearthed behind a Providence mill building in 2016. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston will hear the appeal. Salemme was in the Federal Witness Protection Program when DiSarro’s remains were discovered, leading to Salemme's arrest. At the sentencing hearing, DiSarro’s son, Michael, told Salemme about irony. “(Y)ou killed our father for thinking he was going to rat and become a snitch. When actually, Mr. Salemme, you ended up being the snitch... “You are a coward a...

Headline corrected; story expanded Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme has pleaded not guilty to the 1993 murder of Boston nightclub owner Steven DiSarro. Salemme, 83, copped to the charge on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston. Rhode Island ex-mobster Robert "Bobby" DeLuca cooperated with investigators, according to an affidavit, which also noted that DeLuca had implicated Salemme in the murder.

UPDATED NOTE, VIDEO ADDED Yesterday, Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme, one-time boss of the New England Mafia, was formally indicted for the 1993 murder of a Boston nightclub owner whose body was found this past March in Providence, Rhode Island by law enforcement authorities acting on a tip. Salemme, Paul Weadick, who also is named in the indictment, and Salemme's son, who died in 1995, have long been suspected of involvement in the notorious disappearance of the nightclub owner, Steven A. DiSarro. The indictment, unsealed Friday, charges Salemme and Weadick with the murder of DiSarro, a federal witness. 

October 15, 2021 : This story was NOT a gag, as it said at the end for the past five years. There really was a guy I called Charley P, or C.P., from here, New York City. He got cold feet about two seconds after I published and freaked out on me--begged me to take it down. I told him: how about I put a little note at the end saying it was all a joke? He was so relieved I could see the anguish visibly depart his face. I also inserted some fictional material about the “murder” on Gun Hill Road, and some of the other biographical Bronx details were “masked” in an attempt to make the story seem like it truly was a joke. It took years before Charley was comfortable enough to communicate with me and tell me anything meaningful. Over time he learned he could trust me (after testing me in multiple ways). When I said I would never betray him, say by naming him and writing about him, etc., I meant it. The piece overall was an attempt to re-create Charley's personality and record some of his o...