Who was ‘Cadillac Frank’ Salemme? Ex-New England mafia boss serving life sentence dies in prison at 89

'Salemme was apprehended in Florida'

His stint as mafia leader came to an end in 1995, when legendary Boston criminal James "Whitey" Bulger, and others were accused in a massive racketeering case. Salemme and Bulger escaped after the latter's FBI handler, John Connolly Jr, informed them of the impending indictment. Salemme was apprehended in Florida a few months later, but Bulger eluded detection for 16 years before being apprehended at the age of 81 in Santa Monica, California. However, Bulger, 89, was murdered in prison by fellow convicts in 2018. Salemme testified against Connolly in 2002, and Connolly was convicted of assisting Bulger in avoiding justice. The ex-mafia boss was released from prison early in exchange for entering the witness protection program. 

'Frankie boy, Salemme's son, died in 1995'

During the 2018 Boston trial, the jurors saw the hazy surveillance photos from the 1990s and Salemme was practically unrecognizable in his slicked back, straggly gray hair, and slender build. Another ex-mobster testified to investigators that he witnessed Salemme's son choke DiSarro while his co-defendant Paul Weadick grabbed the nightclub owner's feet and Salemme stood by. Salemme’s son “Frankie boy” died in 1995. Steven Boozang, Salemme's longtime lawyer, said he had only ever known Salemme to be a "gentleman" and that he thought Salemme "regretted a lot of the things he had done in his life, particularly the effects it had on his immediate family and the families of others," New York Post reported.

'Predicted his own tale would come to an end in prison'

Salemme stood up from his chair, referred to the proceedings as "ridiculous," and claimed that the truth hadn't been disclosed to DiSarro's family before receiving a life sentence in 2018. But he appeared to have predicted that his own tale would come to an end in prison years ago. “You’re not going to beat the government,” Salemme said to a reporter in 2004. “Let’s face it. One way or the other, they’re going to get you.”