Angelo Mercurio
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Angelo "Sonny" Mercurio (1936 - December 11, 2006), was a member of the Patriarca crime family who became a government informant and recorded a Cosa Nostra induction ceremony.
Born in the West End section of Boston, Massachusetts, Mercurio grew up working in the family bakery in Malden, Massachusetts. After serving time in prison for stealing securities, Mercurio opened an Italian food shop in the Prudential Tower in Boston. Mercurio was soon working for the Patriarca family, serving as a liason between the family and the Irish Winter Hill Gang in Boston. During 1980s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained incriminating evidence on Mercurio by electronic surveillance at his food shop. To avoid prison, Mercurio became an FBI informant in 1987. [1]
In June 1989, Mercurio lured Patriarca mobster Frank Salemme to a meeting outside restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts. After he arrived, Salemme was wounded by gunmen, but managed to escape.
In 1989 Mercurio informed the FBI about an upcoming family induction ceremony at a home in Medford, Massachusetts. Mercurio surreptitiously recorded the ceremony, the first time in U.S. history that a mob induction was taped. Attendees at the ceremony included Raymond Patriarca Jr., underboss Nicholas Bianco; consigliere Joe Russo; and caporegimes Biaggio Digiacoma, Vincent Ferrara, Matthew Gugleilmetti, Dennis Lepore,and Robert Carozza. While the ceremony was taking place, Mercurio even turned down the television volume in the home to improve the recording. Mercurio's recordings led to the prosecution and conviction of dozens of criminals.In 1991, Patriarca pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges and was sent to prison for seven years. After Patriarca's indictment, Mercurio disappeared from New England to avoid indictment himself.
In 1994, Mercurio was convicted in Georgia of possessing 150 pounds of marijuana and was sent to prison there. In June 1997, Mercurio was brought back to Boston from prison in Georgia to testify in the trial of Patriarca boss Frank Salemme. His revelation in court as a government informant was a tremendous surprise to the Patriarca family. After this testimony, Mercurio was sent back to prison. In 2000, Mercurio sentence was reduced. On his release from prison, Mercurio entered the federal Witness Protection Program and was secretly relocated to Arkansas. According to Mercurio's lawyer, Mercurio in later years felt guilty about becoming an informant and betraying the Patriarca family.
On December 11, 2006, Mercurio died of a pulmonary embolism in Little Rock, Arkansas.
