Reputed mob capo arrested in Florida in death of Boston club manager

By Laila Kearney

(Reuters) – A man reputed to have served as a capo in a New England crime family was arrested in Florida on Monday in connection with the 1993 death of a Boston nightclub manager whose remains were discovered earlier this year, federal prosecutors said.

Robert DeLuca, 70, who authorities believe is a former member of the Patriarca organized crime family, was taken into custody in Coral Springs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts said in a statement.

DeLuca faces a charge of obstructing a federal investigation in the death of Steven DiSarro, who managed Boston’s Channel music club at the time of his disappearance, prosecutors said. He is also charged with two counts of making false statements to authorities.

In the course of the FBI’s probe, “DeLuca lied about his knowledge of the disappearance of DiSarro and other LCN (La Cosa Nostra) murders,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

No one has been convicted of the killing. DiSarro’s body was unearthed by the FBI behind a mill in Providence, Rhode Island. The identify of his remains were announced last month.

DeLuca faces up to 10 years imprisonment for the top charge of obstruction of justice.

Suspected mob boss Frank “Cadillac” Salemme, who had a “hidden interest” in The Channel, was suspected of aiding in the murder, the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a 2004 press release.

Salemme, now in protective custody, accepted a plea deal on a perjury charge in 2008 during the murder investigation.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Dan Grebler)