New England

Closing Arguments Set for Monday in Mafia Boss Trial

Closing arguments in the trial of a former New England Mafia boss accused of killing a nightclub owner in 1993 will take place on Monday, following prosecutors bringing a rebuttal witness to testify on Friday.

Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme and his co-defendant, Paul Weadick, are accused of killing club owner Steven DiSarro to prevent him from cooperating with authorities investigating Salemme.

DiSarro's remains weren't found until March 2016 after authorities received a tip that they were buried behind an old mill building in Providence, Rhode Island.

Salemme, 84, and Weadick deny involvement in the killing. Both men waived their right to testify.

Prosecutors submitted a document to refute the defense's testimony from Darren Wagner, who hired Weadick to work for his plumbing business and called him a good friend. The document was Weadick's plumbing license, which showed he received it in 1995, before DiSarro's death, in an argument that Wagner didn't know Weadick at the time of the murder.

On Thursday, a defense witness blammed Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi for DiSarro's killing, not Salemme or Weadick. John McAveeney said he was a good friend of DiSarro.

McAveeney tesitfied that before DiSarro disappeared in 1993, the nightclub owner owed Flemmi $60,000 and was worried Flemmi would kill him over it. McAveeney said he told DiSarro to skip town. Shortly after, DiSarro disappeared.

Prosecutors mocked the story, calling McAveeney a wannabe gangster.

The jury received instructions Friday morning after the prosecution's rebuttal. They will not start deliberating until after Monday's closing arguments.

Salemme led the New England family of La Cosa Nostra in the early 1990s and entered witness protection in 1999.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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