Anthony DiNunzio, the brutal acting boss of New England’s Cosa Nostra mob, arrested

Anthony DiNunzio, the acting boss of New England’s Cosa Nostra crime family, was arrested in Boston on Wednesday morning on charges including racketeering, extortion, and conspiracy, the New York Times reported.

DiNunzio, 53, allegedly became the leader of the mob in late 2009, and was the brutal overseer of the extortion of Rhode Island strip clubs to the tune of $2,000 to $6,000 payments per month, the New York Times reported.

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At his court appearance in Providence, Rhode Island, DiNunzio's attorney Robert Sheketoff entered not guilty pleas on his behalf, the Associated Press reported. The mob leader was ordered held without bail until his hearing, which is scheduled for May 3, the Boston Globe reported. 

“Organized crime likes to believe their reach is long,’’ US Attorney Peter F. Neronha said at a press conference after the hearing, according to the Globe. “Our reach is longer.’’

The indictment against DiNunzio describes him as a brutal leader of La Cosa Nostra's New England branch, readily threatening violence against those who did not take his orders, according to the AP. 

"I get to watch you die in the ground…and I'll dig you back up and make sure (you're) dead," DiNunzio is quoted as telling a member of the Gambino crime family during a June 22 meeting last year at My Cousin Vinny's restaurant in Malden, Massachusetts, according to the AP. 

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The indictment was the first time authorities publicly identified DiNunzio as La Cosa Nostra's leader, the Times reported. His arrest makes him the ninth mob member to be charged in Rhode Island, according to the Times. Law enforcement efforts to stifle the mob presence in Rhode Island began two years ago, and preceded a national effort to arrest Mafia leaders in January 2011, the largest roundup of mob figures of its kind in history, the Boston Globe reported. 

“The Justice Department and its law enforcement partners are determined to put La Cosa Nostra out of business, and we won’t stop until we’ve done just that,’’ James M. Trusty, chief of the organized crime and gang unit for the Justice Department, told the Globe. 

DiNunzio is the sixth consecutive boss or acting boss of La Cosa Nostra mafia to have criminal charges brought against him, according to the Boston Globe. All six were convicted.