Luigi 'Baby Shacks' Manocchio moved to Virginia prison

PETERSBURG, Va. (WPRI) – The reputed former mob boss of the New England crime family has been moved to a medium security prison in Virginia, the Target 12 Investigators have learned.

Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio, 85, of Providence, was shipped from a holding facility in Brooklyn N.Y. and arrived at the Petersburg Federal Correctional Institution on Monday, according to a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons. He declined to say whether or not this would be the aging mobster’s permanent home for the next three years.

“[Petersburg] has a designated inmate population and also can be used as a holdover,” said spokesman Chris Burke. “We don’t comment or speculate if he is going to move in the future.”

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website the institution is about 25 miles southeast of Richmond.

The medium security prison marks the seventh time Manocchio has been moved since his arrest in January 2011. He was initially brought to a county jail in Florida then moved to a federal prison in that state. Weeks later Manocchio was flown to a holding center in Oklahoma City, then to a federal prison in Brooklyn before arriving at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls in February 2011.

After his sentencing Manocchio was held at the Wyatt for several weeks before being transported back to Brooklyn and on to Virginia.

Manocchio’s defense lawyer, Joseph Balliro Sr. of Boston said he was not aware his client was moved and doesn’t know if the government plans on keeping him there permanently.

Manocchio pleaded guilty earlier this year to racketeering conspiracy for running an extortion scheme that shook down area strip clubs for protection money.

In March, U.S. District Court Judge William Smith sentenced Manocchio to 5 ½ years behind bars. He has received credit for time served since his arrest and is schedule to be released on Nov. 4, 2015. He can carve some time off his sentencewith credit for good behavior.

During sentencing Balliro asked that Smith recommend Manocchio be housed at a prison in Florida. He said the warmer climate would help his client deal with ongoing illnesses.

"He's got the customary problems of an 85 year-old," Balliro said.

In all nine defendants have been charged in the sweeping crackdown into organized crime. Seven men have pleaded guilty and two are still headed for trial.

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