By Selim Algar
Attorneys for 'Goodfellas' mobster want rap sheet off limits
Judge sends elderly mobster back to prison for meeting with criminal pals
'Goodfellas' mobster confronted by victim's family at sentencing
Ailing Bonanno mobster sentenced to 21 months
A Bonanno crime family associate was sentenced to 33 months in prison in Brooklyn federal court Thursday for his role in a money laundering scheme.
Charles “Charley Pepsi” Centaro conspired with Gambino associate Franco Lupoi to wash $370,000 in cash from drug and weapons deals, according to Brooklyn federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors, who pushed for 41 months, said that Centaro was paid $45,750 for his efforts.
“Without money launderers like Centaro and his co-conspirators, illegal ventures like drug and firearms trafficking would be far less lucrative,” wrote prosecutor Kristin Mace in a pre-sentencing filing.
In lobbying for leniency in court filings, Centaro’s attorney Joseph Mure stated that he suffered from a serious gambling addiction that likely led to his criminal conduct.
He also painted Centaro as a loving son who took care of his elderly parents.
“I am ashamed of myself for even considering what I did, let alone doing it,” Centaro said in a court filing before his sentencing in front of Judge Sterling Johnson.
