Get Me Outta Here!
Last week, it was the plaintive plea for a super-sized toilet. This week, the Cheeseman shows he’s willing to submit to any indignity to get sprung. Boston Herald:
FBI searches and phone monitoring may be anathema to mobsters, but Carmen “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio, reputed underboss of the New England Mafia, is offering to submit to this and more if they’ll just spring him from stir.
But the feds, claiming DiNunzio is a threat to the informants who linked him to a bribe to dump $6 million worth of untested fill on the Big Dig, have indicated they’ll press tomorrow to keep the 400-pound alleged big wheel wrapped up behind bars.
The 50-year-old Cheeseman has delivered what he hopes will be a tasty offer that U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein can’t refuse. He’s eager to get out from behind bars and back into the East Boston two-family house he shares with his mother and sister.
“What a Mother’s Day!” DiNunzio’s heartbroken 70-year-old mom Anna exclaimed from behind a closed door yesterday. But she declined to comment on her son’s latest arrest and bid for freedom.
In a two-page conditional release proposal filed by his defense attorney Anthony Cardinale, DiNunzio volunteers to:
Conduct no non-cheese-related business in the North End.
Travel only to his “Fresh Cheese” shop in the North End, court hearings, meetings with lawyers and medical emergencies.
be tethered to a GPS anklet from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. daily at his home in East Boston.
consent to random searches of his home by the FBI and the installation of a pen register (a device that records telephone numbers dialed) and/or telephone trap (a device that records the numbers of incoming calls).
agree to a “no association” list of names drawn up by prosecutors - people with whom he must have no contact.
post $20,000 cash bail, plus a personal surety bond of $200,000.
“He’s not a threat. That’s the bottom line,” said Cardinale. “That’s a very onerous set of conditions for someone who poses no risk. I just don’t want to argue this anymore. We have bigger fights on our hands.”DiNunzio is accused of paying an undercover FBI agent posing as a Massachusetts Highway inspector $10,000 on Sept. 22, 2006, to secure a contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam for the multibillion-dollar public works project.
The deal fell apart when DiNunzio was arrested in December 2006 on state extortion and gambling charges. Those charges are still pending.
Cardinale said, “The judge must - must - release an individual unless she can make a determination by clear and convincing evidence that there are no possible conditions that can ensure the public’s safety.” He said these conditions should do that.
Few of the North Enders approached by the Herald yesterday would discuss the Cheeseman, but one man, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “He’s a really nice guy, always giving free food to people. But you can see in his mannerisms there’s a dark side. He’s not all roses.”
Said another man, “I don’t think he’s bothering anybody. Everybody makes mistakes.”
Topics: Boston
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:52 am on Monday, May 12, 2008
One Response to “Get Me Outta Here!”
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May 12th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Mama DiNunzio will be lucky to still have Sonnyboy in this world by the end of the year. He looks like he’s ready to blow.