Alleged mob boss wants out on bail

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The man federal prosecutors claim is the acting boss of the New England crime family is asking that he be released on bail pending trial.

Anthony DiNunzio, 53, of East Boston, was arrested last week and charged with seven counts in a sweeping probe into organized crime.

DiNunzio’s lawyers say there is “no likelihood” he will skip out on bail because he has been aware of federal investigation against him for more than year.

“He clearly decided not to flee, and the alleged recorded conversation cited by the government (he would ‘hide’ in his own neighborhood) reinforces this fact,” his lawyers wrote in a motion filed Monday.

Prosecutors have asked the court to hold DiNunzio without bail offering a mountain of recorded conversations as evidence that he took over as boss in late 2009, early 2010.

They claim they recorded DiNunzio bragging about hiding in plain site during a conversation with a high-ranking member of a New York crime family.

“At one point, when he was discussing his concerns about possible charges being brought against him, he told the senior made member of the Gambino family that he did not need help in escaping to New York because, ‘I got places… I could go live in my neighborhood and nobody would ever find me,’” prosecutors wrote.

According to the indictment unsealed last week by the Rhode Island U.S. Attorney’s Office, DiNunzio is accused of receiving monthly protection payments from adult entertainment businesses in Providence including the Cadillac Lounge, The Satin Doll, Foxy Lady and Desire.

The charges come in a third superseding indictment in a case that has already sparked seven plea agreements with federal prosecutors, including from the former mob boss Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio.

DiNunzio has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held without bail at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls. He is expected back in court on Thursday where his lawyers will fight for his release.

Tim White ( twhite@wpri.com ) is the Target 12 investigative reporter for WPRI 12 and Fox Providence. Follow him on Twitter: @white_tim