Angelo Mercurio - Prison Time

Prison Time

In 1994, Mercurio was convicted in Georgia of possessing 150 pounds of marijuana and was sent to prison there. He was also arrested because he tried to shoplift a $500 Shimano fishing reel in a Sandy Springs sporting goods store. He put the fishing reel in his pocket and just walked out of the store, giving the manager at the front a "Stop me, I dare you" look. The manager, a marathon runner, gave chase, and Mercurio made it about two blocks before collapsing in a breathless heap on the sidewalk. Mercurio was booked on shoplifting but released since the fake name he was using that day wasn't in the FBI national crime database. A short time later, though, he was pulled over for suspected drunk driving, and this time his fraudulent driver's license was a match. When word got back to the Boston FBI that Angelo had been arrested, FBI Special Agent Michael Buckley visited him in jail. Soon afterward, he pled guilty in the Vincent Ferrara case. The government just asked for nine years. Despite his obvious role in the attempted murder of Frank Salemme, it was significantly less time than J. R. Russo, Vincent Ferrara and Robert Carrozza received. Not only that, but federal prosecutors recommended that it be served concurrently with Mercurio's ten-year sentence in Georgia. In effect, Angelo received no jail time at all. 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's 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.