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Mobster wanted to kill trio he blamed for putting him behind bars: Cops

Ralph DeLeo bitterly resented the people who sent him to prison, officials said

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Former Colombo crime family street boss Ralph DeLeo planned to serve his revenge cold.

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The elderly mobster was arrested in Boston earlier this month for allegedly plotting to murder at least three people who put him behind bars in 2012.

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According to court documents cited by WPRI, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that FBI agents “received a tip from a confidential source reporting that DeLeo is actively planning to kill two current and one former federal official.”

The trio were involved in DeLeo’s conviction, the court documents revealed. The 82-year-old mobster was arrested on May 15.

Mobster Ralph DeLeo. RIDC
Mobster Ralph DeLeo. RIDC

DeLeo was also a longtime associate of the Patriarca crime family, operating out of Providence, R.I., and controlling most of the criminal rackets in New England.

The OldFella’s bone of contention is reportedly his 2012 conviction when he was convicted of racketeering and other charges and sentenced to 16 years in a federal prison. He was sprung under supervised release in 2024.

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But the feds recently unearthed his alleged murder plot. A confidential source told agents that DeLeo indicated that a Mob associate had obtained the “tools” to do the deed. The targeted officials were not named.

The aged gangster had reportedly been making inquiries about those he he’s accused of targeting for death. He was able to obtain home addresses and names of their immediate family members.

But before the death plot could be enacted, agents conducted search warrants of his home where they allegedly discovered of “personal information for multiple people,” including two feds.

He told the informant, “They were his ‘retribution.’”

“Specifically, law enforcement obtained text messages between DeLeo and a third party demonstrating that DeLeo asked the third party for information related to the targeted individuals,” FBI agent Molly Driscoll wrote.

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Late New England crime boss Raymond Patriarca. GETTY IMAGES
Late New England crime boss Raymond Patriarca. GETTY IMAGES

Agents also recovered from his home a burglary kit, marijuana, vials of steroids, and a “handwritten note regarding silicone masks,” according to court documents.

Officials said that DeLeo bitterly resented the people who sent him to prison. He told one jailhouse snitch in 2014 that he was going to “chop off” one of the feds’ heads.

“DeLeo’s entire life has been devoted to crime,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Deitch and Lauren Maynard wrote in a motion for detention.

“His criminal record is riddled with violence spanning the course of decades. And just as aging had no impact on his activity in the past, DeLeo’s current advanced age has no bearing on his willingness or ability to continue engaging in criminal activity.”

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One shocking incident occurred in the 1970s in Ohio where the gangster was on the run from an armed robbery charge.

“While still in Ohio, DeLeo committed his most gruesome offense: Kidnapping for hire a prominent physician with the intent to castrate him, but instead shooting and killing the victim when he resisted DeLeo’s attempted abduction,” wrote the prosecutors.

He was released early on a commuted sentence in 1997 and became a prominent thug in the Colombo crime family in New York City. He eventually became the Borgata’s street boss before being indicted in 2009.

“DeLeo has spent his life committing violent crimes,” prosecutors wrote. “It appears that he intends to spend his sunset years doing the same. The seriousness of the most recent threats, DeLeo’s long and violent criminal record, and his history of attempting to flee from custody all lead to one conclusion: DeLeo must be detained.”

His legal eagles claim the old crook has multiple health woes and isn’t receiving the medical attention he needs.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

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