Jim Kouri
Providence, RI, man is charged with soliciting murder of La Cosa Nostra capo
By Jim Kouri
A federal complaint filed in Providence, RI charges Anthony St. Laurent, Sr. with solicitation to commit murder-for-hire, according to an FBI report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police's Organized Crime Committee.
According to an FBI affidavit supporting the criminal complaint, St. Laurent tried to enlist others to kill Robert DeLuca, who, according to the affidavit, is a "capo," or captain, in the New England La Cosa Nostra criminal organization.
United States Attorney Robert Clark Corrente, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Department of Justice Criminal Division, and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly announced the complaint, which was filed under seal in U.S. District Court on January 23. It was unsealed last Friday in anticipation of court proceedings today.
The complaint results from a multi-agency investigation by the FBI, Rhode Island State Police, Providence Police, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Massachusetts State Police, and Boston Police.
"Federal, state, and local law enforcement throughout New England are ramping up the campaign against organized crime," U.S. Attorney Corrente said. "I want to thank all of the agencies that contributed to this collaborative effort against what continues to be a dangerous criminal organization, as is alleged in the complaint."
According to the affidavit, in 2006 St. Laurent offered two individuals approximately $20,000 to kill DeLuca. However, they expressed reservations because DeLuca is a "made" member of La Cosa Nostra and the killing might engender retribution. St. Laurent, according to the affidavit, tried to reassure them that there would be "no repercussions."
Later in April, St. Laurent asked another person to kill DeLuca, according to the affidavit, and offered to pay him from the fruits of an extortion scheme.
According to the affidavit, St. Laurent's efforts to have DeLuca killed continued after St. Laurent was sentenced to federal prison in 2007 for extortion. According to the affidavit, he told a fellow inmate that he was looking for someone to kill DeLuca.
In January 2007, a federal judge sentenced St. Laurent to 56 months in prison for extortion conspiracy. He is incarcerated at the Federal Medical Facility at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.
St. Laurent later told the fellow inmate to tell a visitor, who was an undercover police officer posing as a prospective hit-man, that there would be no repercussions for killing DeLuca. When asked how he wanted DeLuca killed and whether DeLuca should be given any message beforehand, St. Laurent allegedly said, "Shoot him in the f***king head....Say, 'This is from the Saint.'"
The complaint charges St. Laurent, 67, with soliciting another to commit the federal crime of murder-for-hire.
Trial attorney Scott Lawson of the Justice Department's Organized Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha are prosecuting the case.
© Jim Kouri
February 12, 2009
A federal complaint filed in Providence, RI charges Anthony St. Laurent, Sr. with solicitation to commit murder-for-hire, according to an FBI report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police's Organized Crime Committee.
According to an FBI affidavit supporting the criminal complaint, St. Laurent tried to enlist others to kill Robert DeLuca, who, according to the affidavit, is a "capo," or captain, in the New England La Cosa Nostra criminal organization.
United States Attorney Robert Clark Corrente, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Department of Justice Criminal Division, and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly announced the complaint, which was filed under seal in U.S. District Court on January 23. It was unsealed last Friday in anticipation of court proceedings today.
The complaint results from a multi-agency investigation by the FBI, Rhode Island State Police, Providence Police, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Massachusetts State Police, and Boston Police.
"Federal, state, and local law enforcement throughout New England are ramping up the campaign against organized crime," U.S. Attorney Corrente said. "I want to thank all of the agencies that contributed to this collaborative effort against what continues to be a dangerous criminal organization, as is alleged in the complaint."
According to the affidavit, in 2006 St. Laurent offered two individuals approximately $20,000 to kill DeLuca. However, they expressed reservations because DeLuca is a "made" member of La Cosa Nostra and the killing might engender retribution. St. Laurent, according to the affidavit, tried to reassure them that there would be "no repercussions."
Later in April, St. Laurent asked another person to kill DeLuca, according to the affidavit, and offered to pay him from the fruits of an extortion scheme.
According to the affidavit, St. Laurent's efforts to have DeLuca killed continued after St. Laurent was sentenced to federal prison in 2007 for extortion. According to the affidavit, he told a fellow inmate that he was looking for someone to kill DeLuca.
In January 2007, a federal judge sentenced St. Laurent to 56 months in prison for extortion conspiracy. He is incarcerated at the Federal Medical Facility at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.
St. Laurent later told the fellow inmate to tell a visitor, who was an undercover police officer posing as a prospective hit-man, that there would be no repercussions for killing DeLuca. When asked how he wanted DeLuca killed and whether DeLuca should be given any message beforehand, St. Laurent allegedly said, "Shoot him in the f***king head....Say, 'This is from the Saint.'"
The complaint charges St. Laurent, 67, with soliciting another to commit the federal crime of murder-for-hire.
Trial attorney Scott Lawson of the Justice Department's Organized Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha are prosecuting the case.
© Jim Kouri
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