NEW YORK, July 11 (UPI) -- A judge in New York commuted the two life sentences of former Bonanno crime family head Joseph Massino, the first mob boss to testify against an ex-associate.
Massino, 70, who is serving two consecutive life prison terms for killing eight people, is to be released from federal custody in 60 days, The New York Times reported.
The government had requested the two months time to arrange for security to keep Massino safe from what are expected to be numerous enemies.
Upon release, he is likely to receive a new identity and will live somewhere outside New York, his lawyer, Edward A. McDonald, said after Wednesday's hearing.
While in jail, Massino gave prosecutors information about hundreds of people associated with the Bonanno crime family and the other organized crime families of New York.
In a hearing in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis said he decided to release the mobster because of his "extraordinary cooperation with the government and his willingness to place himself at grave personal risk."
