Reputed Mobster Linked To Rothstein Sentenced
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) - A reputed Italian mobster linked to a massive South Florida Ponzi scheme has been sentenced to four years in prison for money laundering conspiracy charges.
U.S. District Judge James Cohn also ordered 42-year-old Roberto Settineri to complete 500 hours of alcohol abuse counseling in prison. Settineri also was sentenced to two years probation.
Settineri did not speak during Wednesday's hearing. Afterward, his attorney said the sentence was fair.
Settineri was arrested in a U.S.-Italian sweep of suspected Mafia figures in March. Authorities say he sought to broker business deals between Italian and U.S. crime families.
Settineri was nabbed after the FBI set up meetings between him and Scott Rothstein, an ex-attorney who admitted operating a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
Prosecutors say Rothstein was instrumental to Settineri's capture because he had secretly recorded incriminating conversations between the two. Settineri and two others allegedly agreed to destroy records and launder $10 million for Rothstein, who is now serving a 50-year sentence.
