Mafia street boss accused of plotting to kill federal officials strikes plea deal
An 82-year-old former street boss in the Boston mafia will go back to prison after federal prosecutors uncovered what they described as a plan to kill several federal officials associated with his criminal case .
Ralph DeLeo was accused of violating the terms of his supervised release in three ways : that he lied to federal agents, that he communicated with other convicted felons and that he possessed drugs. Under the terms of the agreement, prosecutors dropped the third violation, possession of controlled substances.
U.S. District Court Judge Stacey Neumann accepted the terms of the plea at a hearing Friday, court records show. DeLeo will now spend two years in prison, followed by a year of supervised release.
Investigators began looking into DeLeo in May after receiving a tip that he was plotting to kill several officials involved in his most recent criminal conviction, including a federal prosecutor, a judge and a retired agent. During a search of his home, they found several burglary kits, a handwritten note about silicone masks and what investigators believed to be marijuana.
Most critically, investigators found hard copies of information DeLeo compiled about the officials, including names of possible family members and addresses. During an interview, DeLeo was asked if he had help compiling the information. He said he didn't, which prosecutors contend was a lie.
His cell phone records showed he communicated with at least two convicted felons: John Willis, who ran the Asian organized crime operations in Boston's Chinatown, and Frank Goldman, a fellow member of the Colombo crime family.
DeLeo was the former street boss of the Boston mafia, serving as the acting leader when the person at the top of the organization was detained. He spent 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to racketeering and other charges, and was released in 2024.
The 82-year-old has battled health issues in recent years, and at a court appearance in June, struggled to hear the proceedings.
DeLeo has criminal convictions dating back decades, to when he was 16. In 1976, at 32, he was convicted of armed robbery and attempted kidnapping and sentenced to decades in prison.
DeLeo escaped custody and fled to Ohio, where he again committed armed robbery. In Ohio, DeLeo kidnapped a physician and killed him when he resisted.
He was in prison until 1997, when he was released at 55. Prosecutors say it was then that DeLeo became a member and former acting Boston Street Boss for the Colombo Family of La Cosa Nostra in New York, and founded the "DeLeo Crew."
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