Mob figure granted compassionate release from prison

BOSTON (AP) — A former high-ranking member of the Patriarca organized crime family was granted compassionate release from prison Wednesday by a federal judge in Boston who ruled his poor health puts him at greater risk from the coronavirus if he remains behind bars.

Robert DeLuca, 75, is also not a threat to the community and was serving time for nonviolent crimes, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper said in her decision.

“The court agrees that DeLuca’s medical condition constitutes an extraordinary and compelling reason for release,” the decision said. “DeLuca, now 75 years old, has a serious heart condition and chronic kidney disease, all of which make him vulnerable to serious illness if he contracts COVID-19.”

DeLuca’s attorney, Carlos Dominguez, confirmed the judge’s decision in an email to WPRI-TV.

“I have not had a chance to speak with Mr. DeLuca but I am certain he is grateful for receiving the court’s consideration,” Dominguez wrote.

He said it’s unclear exactly when DeLuca will be released.

DeLuca was sentenced in 2018 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and false statements for lying to federal prosecutors about what he knew about the 1993 disappearance and killing of Boston nightclub owner Steven DiSarro.

Under Wednesday’s decision, the sentence was amended to time served, although he remains on probation.

DiSarro vanished in 1993 and his body was not discovered until it was unearthed from behind a Providence mill building in 2016.

The original indictment said DeLuca arranged with former mob boss Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme to have DiSarro’s body buried.