Old School Patriarca Boss “Cadillac Frank” Salemme Dies in Prison

Old School Patriarca Boss “Cadillac Frank” Salemme Dies in Prison

Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme, the once powerful New England Mafia boss who was serving a life sentence behind bars for the 1993 killing of a Boston nightclub owner who grew up in Providence, has died at the age of 89, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Salemme died on Tuesday, according to the Bureau.

 

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He and associate Paul Weadick were sentenced to life in prison in 2018 in connection with the 1993 murder of Providence native Steven DiSarro.

Salemme and Weadick were convicted by a federal jury of one count of murder of a federal witness.

 

The Investigation

In the early 1990s, Salemme was the boss of La Cosa Nostra. At the time, DiSarro managed a South Boston nightclub, known as “The Channel,” in which Salemme and his son, Francis Salemme Jr., had a financial interest.

As a federal investigation was narrowing in on the Salemmes, DiSarro’s connection to the mafia boss was discovered and he was approached by federal investigators to cooperate. Knowing this, Salemme had DiSarro murdered on May 10, 1993, in Salemme’s Sharon residence.

Salemme, who had ordered the murder to prevent DiSarro from cooperating with law enforcement, watched as Salemme Jr. and Weadick fatally strangled DiSarro. Salemme then ordered DiSarro’s body transported to Providence and buried.

In March 2016, DiSarro’s remains were recovered by federal authorities behind a mill in Providence.

In 1995 Salemme was indicted on federal racketeering charges and convicted in 1999.

He was subsequently convicted of obstruction of justice in 2008 for lying to federal authorities about the murder of DiSarro.

Salemme Jr. died in 1995. 

 

Victim Grew Up on Federal Hill

In 2016, GoLocal reported that FBI officials announced that a body had been found off of Branch Avenue in Providence -- DiSarro. 

What had not been reported is that DiSarro grew up on Federal Hill and was popular, smart, and had a bright future in business.

 

Remembering DiSarro

State Representative John Lombardi told GoLocalProv that DiSarro, who was referred to as a "South Boston nightclub owner" in the press, was a star in the Federal Hill neighborhood in the 1970's. 

"He's from my neighborhood. I played sports with him growing up, he played at St. Mary's Church on a championship basketball team when he was 12 or 13, he played Little League -- he was a hell of a ballplayer.  We played at Zuccolo, Paul Jabour was in that group. Not too many people remember him," said Lombardi, the former acting Providence Mayor and City Council President. 

"He was a guy who couldn't miss -- all the girls wanted to be with him.  He was a lawyer, and he started doing real estate in Boston and got involved in nightclubs, and was making a lot of money.  He was a gentleman," said Lombardi.

"I haven't talked with anyone from his family. Again, he's been gone for twenty years," said Lombardi.

Former State Senator Paul Jabour said that DiSarro was "several years" ahead of him.

"He was on those St. Mary's CYO championship teams, I recall," said Jabour.  "He was a few years ahead of me, but everyone knew who he was.  Great athlete."