A NEW York mobster says he has no regrets over the photo that blew his cover and led to a three-year sentence – insisting it was a “great” snap.
The Tony Soprano lookalike, Ralph DiMatteo, 68, was arrested on racketeering charges while on the run from the police.
TwitterThe photo that led to the arrest of Colombo crime family boss Ralph DiMatteo[/caption]
GettyThe American actor James Gandolfini playing Tony Soprano[/caption]
Tony Soprano is a fictional member of the Italian-American DiMeo crime family
He was caught after his son, Angelo, took a topless photo of him in a swimming pool in Florida with a gigantic gold crucifix around his neck.
Shortly after his father was arrested Angelo posted a rat emoji to his Twitter, implying that somebody had ratted him out.
Although, ironically it was the photo shared to Angelo’s social media that acted as the key to DiMatteo’s capture – as it helped the police determine his location.
The alleged “number three” of the Colombo crime family surrendered himself the following day.
He has now pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him, which involved extortion and money laundering, and has been sentenced to three years in prison.
In court, DiMatteo was asked if he regretted the photo that his son posted.
He denied that that he did, instead retorting: “Why? It was a great picture.”
DiMatteo’s lawyer asked the judge to be lenient with his client, claiming that he is “old school”.
The lawyer said that DiMatteo knew he had “done wrong”, and went on to say: “He took a plea, he’s taking his medicine, he’s doing his time.”
DiMatteo’s lawyer also added that he suspected his client is “ageing out” of his families crime business.
However, prosecutors were less convinced.
The Brooklyn federal prosecutor, Michael Gibaldi said: “Being a member of the Colombo crime family is a lifetime oath”.
He added: “Ageing out won’t happen.”
DiMatteo was one of 14 defendants charged with crimes committed as members of the Colombo crime family.
The Italian American American Mafia crime family is one of the five crime families that have dominated criminal activities in New York since the early 20th Century.
It has been claimed that the New York mafia have been weakened in recent years, due to multiple arrests, conflict within their own organisations, as well as competition from other criminal groups.
Reportedly, the elite administrators of the Colombo crime family had already pleaded guilty to a range of criminal activities in 2012.
Yet, the former New York Mafia prince Michael Franzese believes that this new, silent breed of gangsters could be even more dangerous than we suspect.
Franzese was once a trusted caporegime — or captain — in the powerful Colombo crime family, earning around $8million to $10million a week for the Colombo family at his peak.
But despite his successes, Franzese says today’s bosses are harder to read, so its harder to predict what they might do.
“It’s the silence in today’s world that makes them dangerous,” he told The Sun.
“You are more scared about what you can’t predict, especially
if you are doing something wrong.”
GettyMichael Franzese’s mugshot from 1993[/caption]