'Chuckie' Merlino, 73, dies in Texas prison
SALVATORE "Chuckie" Merlino, the father of reputed Philly mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, died Monday in a north Texas federal prison.
SALVATORE "Chuckie" Merlino, the father of reputed Philly mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, died Monday in a north Texas federal prison.
Merlino, 73, was being held in the Federal Correctional Institute, a low-security facility in Fort Worth that houses male inmates, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Joseph Santaguida, a Center City lawyer, told the Inquirer that Merlino had been ill for some time. He didn't elaborate on what ailed the mobster.
Santaguida did not return calls for comment Tuesday night, and prison officials in Fort Worth were unable to comment on the cause of Merlino's death.
Merlino was an underboss to Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo from the early to mid-1980s.
He was convicted of racketeering in 1988 and was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Merlino was scheduled to be released in August 2016.
His son Joey, 50, was sentenced in 2001 to 14 years in prison on charges of extortion, racketeering and illegal gambling. He was released from prison in 2011, and now lives in Boca Raton, Fla.