Longtime Gambino crime family solider Oreste “Ernie Boy” Abbamonte has been sentenced to five years in prison for extortion of a local contractor. The 65 year old wiseguy agreed to a plea deal after being charged with the $1.2 million dollar shake down from 2006 through 2011. According to the prosecution he forced Deca Development a Long Island based company to pay his car payments , mortgage, and travel expenses eventually driving the company out of business. Abbamonte’s criminal and mafia career goes back decades with his first arrest back in 1962 at age of only fourteen years old and he has spent 26 of the last 32 years of his life behind bars.
“Oreste “Ernie Boy” Abbamonte (left), Nicky DiPietro, and John Carneglia”
Judge Arthur Spatt even commented that he was amazed at the amount of crimes Ernie Boy had committed considering he has been in prison for so much of his criminal career. Even with such an extensive rap sheet it didn’t stop lawyers for Abbamonte from requesting a shorter sentence then his plea deal agreement of 60 months. Citing the wiseguys age and various health problems as reasons as to why he should be sentenced to less then the maximum. The 88 year old Judge said “You have got to be kidding me” referring to his age saying in his view 65 was not old calling Oreste a “spring chicken”.
Prosecutors recited the mobsters long criminal past including previous drug convictions among many others calling him a feared member of the Gambino family of the New York mafia. They also argued that his age and health problems didn’t stop him from committing the crimes. Judge Spatt agreed and sentenced Abbamonte to the maximum of five years and he will now be eligible for release in July of 2016. Although he may face up to two more years behind bars for committing crimes while on lifetime parole from his previous drug convictions.
