Damion Canalichio a reputed solider in the Philadelphia mafia was sentenced to more then 11 years in prison on charges of racketeering conspiracy. Canalichio has been in prison since 2007 for a cocaine trafficking conviction and was indicted again in 2011 along with other leaders of the Philly mafia. He was one of three mobsters to be convicted in the Philly mob trial last February on racketeering conspiracy charges. Prosecutors recommended that Canalichio recieve a term close to the maximum sentence of 20 years so he got some what of a break getting only the 137 months he recieved. Before sentence was handed down U.S. Attorney John S. Han recited the long list of arrest and convictions that Canalichio had compiled over the last two decades.
“Damion Canalichio (right)”
Prosecutors said that Canalichio had carved out a reputation on the streets as a violent enforcer in gambling and loan sharking operations for the Philly mob. They also stated that his greatest level of allegiance was to La Cosa Nostra and not to his own wife , kids, or family. Canalichio’s lawyer reminded the court that there was no evidence of violence by the defendant during the 3 month trial. Judge Eduardo Robreno chose not to classify Canalichio as a career offender which avoided added years to his sentence but said at the same time he acknowledged that he saw nothing that would suggest the defendant had any respect for the law. But said there may yet to a glimmer of hope for Canalichio after he stood and apologized to his family after he was sentenced and perhaps it was a beginning for him to recognize that life was passing him by.
With good behavior and time served Canalichio has a chance to be free from prison in a little less then a decade. Whether his days in the Mafia are over is yet to be seen.
