One time New England mafia boss Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme, 85, and co-defendant Paul Weadick, 63, were each sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after being convicted earlier this year of murdering Stephen DiSarro, a Massachusetts man who disappeared in May of 1993.
A former owner of the Massachusetts night club The Channel, and an occasional business partner and friend of Salemme’s son, Frank Salemme Jr., DiSarro was last seen by his wife on the morning of May 10, 1993.
DiSarro’s remains were discovered in 2016, buried at an industrial site in Providence, Rhode Island.
Salemme, who was living in the federal witness protection program under an assumed name, and Weadick were arrested several months later and charged by federal prosecutors with the murder of a federal witness, a crime which carries a mandatory life sentence.
Prosecutors alleged that Salemme, worried that federal agents were closing in on his criminal operations, ordered DiSarro killed to prevent him from informing to law enforcement authorities. They argued that Weadick and Salemme Jr. strangled DiSarro at Salemme’s house, in front of Salemme.
A federal jury convicted Salemme and Weadick after seven weeks of testimony, including ex-mafia members who had themselves pleaded guilty to various crimes.
At the sentencing hearing, District Judge Allison Burroughs heard statements from DiSarro’s family members, who attended throughout the trial. (DiSarro's wife, Pamela DiSarro, testified as the first witness for the prosecution.)
Often speaking through tears, three of DiSarro’s five children and DiSarro’s half-brother spoke of the pain Salemme and Weadick had caused their family — not just in taking away a father, husband and brother but in leaving the family wondering for decades what had happened to DiSarro and even whether he was still alive.
"I remember growing up and playing sports, and at the end of the games all my teammates would hug their fathers and celebrate the wins and losses of sporting events," said Michael DiSarro. "I was the kid sitting alone while the lights turned off at the field and the coach would ask me if anyone was coming to pick me up. I imagined my entire life that one day he might come and pick me up. One day he would show up and everything would be OK. This was my entire childhood."
His brother, Nick DiSarro, expressed similar sentiments.
"Both as a child and as an adult, the questions were the same," he said. "Was he alive? Did he leave? Why didn’t he take us? Did he know something was coming? Did he suffer? Dozens of questions and no answers."
DiSarro’s children also spoke about their now-deceased eldest brother, Stephen DiSarro Jr., who died in a car accident at the age of 33, and who, they said, had struggled with addiction and emotional anguish since the his father disappeared. DiSarro Jr. died the same day that DiSarro Sr.’s remains were unearthed in Providence.
This post has been updated with new information.
