Edward "Eddy" Lato a high ranking member of the New England Mafia has been sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in an extortion scheme targeting local strip clubs. Prosecutors allege that Lato holds the rank of capo over a Rhode Island crew of the Patriarca crime family or New England La Cosa Nostra. Lato now 65 sentence is the stiffest so far in a sweeping mob case that has included prison time for five other mobsters and mob associates that included former alleged New England mob boss Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio.
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Edward "Eddy" Lato
Lato agreed to a plea deal last March to which he agreed to plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Lato was facing between 92 and 115 months as part of that plea deal and got sentenced to the higher end of that range. U.S. District Court Judge William Smith said to Lato "You have established yourself as a career criminal , and you need to receive a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed". Mark Smith the defense attorney for Lato asked the judge to split the difference in the range of the sentencing guidelines which had been previously done with other defendants. But the judge could not be swayed and agreed more with the prosecutions request for a sentence on the high end of the guidelines.
