BOSTON — A Boston mob associate
who spent years on the lam in Idaho has told a judge he has no way to pay a $3
million forfeiture judgment sought by prosecutors.
Enrico Ponzo was convicted in November
of several federal crimes, including the 1989 attempted killing of Francis
"Cadillac Frank" Salemme, who later became the boss of the New
England Mafia. Ponzo fled Massachusetts in 1994 and spent a decade as a cattle
rancher in Idaho.
Prosecutors have recommended a
40-year sentence. Ponzo says he should not get more than 15 years.
The government seized $100,000
in cash and $65,000 in gold coins from his Idaho home. Those assets would be
deducted from the total forfeiture order.
A judge said he would announce
his ruling on the judgment when Ponzo is sentenced Monday.