PA Mafia Associate Gets Prison For Drugs, Racketeering: Feds

Philadelphia PA

27 May, 2022

11:19 AM

Description

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man associated with the Philadelphia mafia has been sentenced to prison on federal racketeering and related crimes, authorities said. United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said Daniel Castelli, 68, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to five years in prison and four years of supervised release for racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. In January 2022, Castelli pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment stemming from his involvement in criminal activity with and for the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra, also known as the LCN, the mafia, and the mob. The Philadelphia LCN is one of a number of LCN organized crime families based in various cities throughout the United States. The goal of the LCN in Philadelphia and elsewhere is to make money through the commission of various crimes, including illegal gambling, loansharking, drug trafficking, and extortion. According to court documents, and Castelli's guilty plea, he was an associate of the LCN who worked with LCN members and other associates to commit crimes such as drug trafficking, extortion, and loansharking. Castelli pleaded guilty to his involvement with the LCN for that conduct as well as for an effort in 2016 to obtain a kilogram of cocaine, intended for later resale, on behalf of other LCN members and associates. "Even though the Philadelphia mob has been weakened over the decades due in large part to persistent law enforcement efforts, the organization and its criminal activities are still very much a problem and are damaging the communities in which it operates," Williams said. "The U.S. Attorney's Office is committed to prosecuting anyone who is committing serious federal crimes like these, and we will not rest until the mob is nothing but a bad memory."