BOSTON — A former high-ranking member of the New England Mafia was arrested in Florida on Monday on charges he lied to federal officials about the 1993 killing of a Boston nightclub owner.
Robert DeLuca, a former capo in the Patriarca crime family, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Massachusetts on charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements.
According to an indictment unsealed Monday, DeLuca lied to federal authorities when he denied knowing anything about Steven DiSarro’s disappearance in May 1993. At the time, DiSarro was the owner of The Channel nightclub.
The indictment says DeLuca, now 70, arranged with former mob boss Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme to have DiSarro’s body buried in Providence, Rhode Island. DiSarro’s remains were found behind a mill building in Providence in March.
The indictment against DeLuca says Salemme and his son, Frank Salemme Jr., participated in DiSarro’s killing. It says the elder Salemme took DiSarro’s body to Providence.
DeLuca was arrested in Rhode Island in 2011 and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities in an effort to obtain a lighter sentence. During an interview with federal prosecutors and investigators in June 2011, DeLuca denied knowing anything about DiSarro’s disappearance and suspected murder.