’ 90s — returned to Rhode Island prominence in 2018 when he was convicted of murdering a Providence man more than two decades earlier . Steven DiSarro , who owned a nightclub in Boston , disappeared in 1993 , his whereabouts unknown until his body was discovered near a Branch Avenue mill in 2016 . Earlier in his career , Salemme also provided information about Whitey Bulger to federal officials and was part of the witness protection program . He died in federal custody in 2022 .
JOE “ THE ANIMAL ” BARBOZA
CHARGES : Murder . THE NOTORIOUS MOB ENFORCER from New Bedford , Massachusetts , got his start in Boston before he began working for the Patriarca crime family in the 1960s . Later , he was recruited as an informer by the FBI and gave testimony in the Willie Marfeo murder trial that earned Patriarca a six-year prison stint . As the case went to trial , Rhode Islander and U . S . Deputy Marshal John Partington was given the task of protecting Barboza , launching the start of the federal witness protection program . But Barboza ’ s violent past eventually caught up with him : He was gunned down in 1976 while living under an assumed name in San Francisco .
GERARD “ THE FRENCHMAN ” OUIMETTE
CHARGES : Conspiracy to murder , armed robbery , extortion .
THOUGH NOT ITALIAN , Ouimette enjoyed high status within the Patriarca crime family . He spent much of his life locked up in the Adult Correctional Institutions , where he allegedly ran a wing of the maximum-security prison . Stories abound about the lavish perks he enjoyed from inside his cell , including smuggled liquor and seafood dinners . In 1996 , he was put away again for extortion under the federal “ three strikes ” policy , which allowed violent offenders to be sentenced to life in prison without parole . He died at a North Carolina prison in 2015 .
WILLIE MARFEO
WILLIE MARFEO ’ S 1966 MURDER in the phone booth of a Federal Hill restaurant was the shot heard round Providence . Marfeo ran a card game and allegedly refused to pay Patriarca his cut . Thanks to testimony from Joe “ The Animal ” Barboza , Patriarca was convicted of ordering the hit and sentenced to prison time . Before his sentence began , Marfeo ’ s brother , Rudolph , was found gunned down in a Silver Lake grocery story alongside Anthony Melei , a crime that would land Patriarca back in court with an accessory to murder charge . Patriarca was acquitted , but local politicos will remember it as the case where a young , up-and-coming prosecutor named Vincent Cianci Jr . got his start .
CHARLES “ THE GHOST ” KENNEDY
CHARGES : Narcotics trafficking . A LONGTIME MOB ASSOCIATE , Kennedy was convicted in the ’ 90s of running an international drug trafficking ring out of his East Greenwich home . Among his more notable claims to fame were the pet wolves he kept on the property . Kennedy shared his story on the Crimetown podcast , where he discussed his friendship with Buddy Cianci when the two served time together in federal prison .
BOBBY DELUCA
CHARGES : Conspiracy to murder , obstruction of justice .
THE DELUCA BROTHERS were made members of the New England crime family , with Bobby rising to the rank of capo . In 2018 , their testimony over a twenty-five-year-old murder brought down “ Cadillac Frank ” Salemme and sent him away to federal prison . Some of those jurors may have recognized Bobby ’ s brother , Joe DeLuca , from a lighter appearance : Joe wrote the popular “ Pizza Chip Song ” for the Original Italian Bakery and was featured on WPRI ’ s “ The Rhode Show .”
CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE PAGE LEFT : Raymond L . S . Patriarca . Luigi “ Baby Shacks ” Manocchio . “ Cadillac Frank ” Salemme . Bobby DeLuca . Joe “ The Animal ” Barboza . Charles “ The Ghost ” Kennedy . Gerard “ The Frenchman ” Ouimette . Raymond Patriarca Jr .