Acting head of Mafia in New England pleads guilty

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Boston mobster acknowledged he was acting head of the New England Mafia as he pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to one count of racketeering conspiracy for shaking down Rhode Island strip clubs for protection money.

Anthony DiNunzio entered a guilty plea under a plea agreement in U.S. District Court. Under the deal, prosecutors said they would recommend a sentence of just over five years to up to 6½ years. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 14.

“We have driven a stake through the heart of organized crime in Rhode Island, and we have cut off its head in Boston,” U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha said outside court.

He said he hoped the case sent a message to others in the Mafia, but he acknowledged that organized crime was still a threat.

“Organized crime does not exist by itself in one particular place,” he said. “Where there’s an opportunity, other families may try to step in.”

DiNunzio, 53, who was arrested in April, is the eighth person to plead guilty in a federal investigation into extortion by the New England mob.

DiNunzio admitted in court on Thursday that he was paid monthly protection money by the owners of Providence strip clubs the Satin Doll, Cadillac Lounge and Foxy Lady. He began receiving those payments, which over the years had amounted to $2,000 to $6,000 per club, when he ascended to the role of acting boss of the New England Mafia in late 2009 and early 2010.

Prosecutors have said DiNunzio and another man, Theodore Cardillo, manager of the Cadillac Lounge, netted at least $2 million from the scheme.