Former mob boss gets 5 years for lying, obstruction

Former New England Mafia boss Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday for lying and obstruction of justice, but is expected to become a free man in December or January after getting credit for time served while awaiting trial in the federal case.

When asked by US District Judge Richard G. Stearns whether he had anything to say before learning his sentence, the 74-year-old former don stood solemnly and denied involvement in the 1993 disappearance and presumed murder of South Boston nightclub owner Steven DiSarro.

"It's just that I want to categorically deny that I had anything to do with DiSarro, the assault, or the murder, and that's for his family, and that's for my family," said Salemme, a trim man, with gray thinning hair, who was dressed in a black suit, pale blue shirt, and navy tie.

Under a plea deal struck last April, Salemme admitted that after he began cooperating with the government in 1999 - in a probe into the FBI's corrupt handling of longtime informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi - he lied about DiSarro's disappearance.

He admitted he deliberately misled investigators by telling them that the late Nicholas Bianco, who preceded Salemme as mob boss, wanted DiSarro "eliminated."

Salemme, however, denied allegations in the indictment that he watched his son, Frank, strangle DiSarro at a Sharon home in May 1993, then helped dispose of the body. The younger Salemme died two years later of lymphoma. DiSarro's remains have not been found.

As part of the plea agreement, Salemme's lawyers and federal prosecutors agreed to recommend that he serve five years in prison.

Assistant US Attorney Brian T. Kelly told the judge yesterday that both sides were surprised when a presentencing report by probation officials, which took into account Salemme's criminal history as well as his conviction, concluded that he should face a sentence ranging from 41 months to 51 months under federal guidelines, which are advisory.

Calling the probation calculation far too low, Kelly said Salemme should face a much longer sentence because of the seriousness of his crime and his history. Salemme had served 15 years in prison for a car bombing that seriously injured a lawyer.

Attorney Kevin Reddington, one of three lawyers representing Salemme, said his client would not try to withdraw his plea and argue for a lower sentence, noting, "His indication to us unequivocally is a deal is a deal."

In his brief remarks to the court, Salemme said, "I've pled to what I've pled to, and I've done what I thought was right all along with the government working out of Washington. I did everything I thought I was supposed to do up until now, and I'm still willing to do it."

On his way out of the courtroom, a handcuffed Salemme looked at his brother, Jack, and said, "Give my love to the kids."

Outside the courtroom, Jack said, "He's just going to fade off into the sunset, and he doesn't want to come around here."

Later he added: "As far as Frank is concerned, he stuck by his end of the bargain and it's over now . . . I don't think he's ever coming back to the Boston area."

Salemme became head of the New England mob in the early 1990s.

He ruled during a bloody power struggle until his indictment on federal racketeering charges in January 1995, along with Bulger and Flemmi.

He pleaded guilty to racketeering and extortion and admitted participating in eight gangland killings in the 1960s.

A judge reduced his sentence in 2003 because his cooperation had helped convict former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. of racketeering.

Salemme testified that Connolly had warned him, Bulger, and Flemmi to flee just before they were indicted in 1995. Bulger remains a fugitive.

Salemme was released into the federal witness protection program in 2003. He was indicted on the most recent charges a year later.