Scranton, PA
Reputed mob boss William “Big Billy” D’Elia was sentenced to nine years in prison Monday, as more information was revealed about his cooperation in the prosecution of Dunmore business magnate Louis DeNaples.The 62-year-old Hughestown man, whom investigators believe is the head of the Bufalino crime family, was sentenced for his role in hiding $600,000 in drug proceeds and for arranging a hit on a co-defendant who was cooperating with investigators.He receives credit for two years already spent in prison, and may not even serve the full remaining seven years if he continues to cooperate in the perjury case against DeNaples in Dauphin County.Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod said he will recommend the judge reduce D’Elia’s sentence if Dauphin County officials decide D’Elia provided “substantial help” in their investigation.
In July, D’Elia testified in front of a Dauphin County grand jury regarding DeNaples, who is accused of lying to state gambling regulators when he sought a license for his Mount Airy Casino Resort in 2006.What came to light Monday was that sometime before going to prison, D’Elia had written several letters and given them to friends to mail in case something happened to him. One of those letters, which was never mailed, was dated October 2006 and addressed to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.Defense attorney James Swetz recently turned that letter and others over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The prosecutor said he forwarded that and other handwritten letters from D’Elia to Dauphin County authorities involved in the DeNaples investigation.
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