Joseph "Mousie" Massimino, Philly mob under-boss, sentenced to 15 years in prison
(CBS/AP) PHILADELPHIA - The convicted under-boss of the Philadelphia mob has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for racketeering, capping a rap sheet that spans five decades.
The punishment was handed down Thursday after 62-year-old Joseph "Mousie" Massimino told a judge: "I'm no boss of nothing."
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno told him, "You have committed yourself to a life of crime."
The 15-year sentence is reportedly not nearly as bad as it could have been considering that Massimino was the most prominent defendant convicted in the February racketeering trial of Philadelphia's most recent generation of mobsters.
Reputed boss Joseph Ligambi and others are awaiting an October retrial after a jury this year deadlocked on much of the racketeering, gambling and extortion case. But Massimino was convicted of the central racketeering charge.
The paper reports prosecutors were looking for a 20-year sentence, but Massimino was not classified as a career offender, which could have given him additional years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Labor urged a lengthy sentence because, he says, the Philadelphia mob keeps springing to life every 10 years under new leaders.
However, evidence in the Ligambi case was less violent than the bloody reign attributed to earlier bosses.
After hearing his sentence Massimino reportedly went on a rant challenging his conviction, vilifying prosecutors, ridiculing law enforcement and complaining about his "unfair" label as mob leader, according to the paper.
Complete coverage of Philadelphia racketeering trial on Crimesider
