PHILADELPHIA, July 9 -- A federal judge sentenced Philadelphia- South Jersey mob boss John Stanfa to life in prison Tuesday for heading a criminal organization that used killing as a business tactic. Stanfa and seven associates were convicted last year after a trial that included testimony from several renegade mobsters.
Stanfa's lawyer, Jack Myers, plans to appeal his conviction, arguing that prosecutors used evidence based on testimony Stanfa gave under a grant of immunity. Myers said he is confident that Stanfa will win his appeal. But prosecutors say they had a strong case, including dramatic descriptions of bungled mob hits. They charge him with being involved in four murders, seven attempts and a kidnapping. 'We were able to capture John Stanfa before he became well- entrenched,' said Joel Friedman, head of the organized crime division in the U.S. Attorney's Office. Stanfa, 55, of Medford Lakes, N.J., took over the organization once headed by Nicodemo 'Little Nicky' Scarfo in 1991. Scarfo is serving a life sentence in the federal prison in Marion, Ill. Federal prosecutors have won convictions or guilty pleas on 25 of the 27 alleged members of Stanfa's family who were indicted two years ago. One is a fugitive and one was acquitted.
