Decision on Limone suit expected by late March

U.S District Judge Nancy Gertner told Boston-area media that she expects to have a decision by late March or early April in a $100 million lawsuit against the federal government, according to a story by Shelley Murphy of the Boston Globe. The suit was filed by Peter J. Limone, Joseph Salvati and the families of the late Henry Tameleo and the late Louis Greco.

Those four men were convicted of murder in a 1968 state case that was based largely on the perjured testimony of mob enforcer Joseph "the Animal" Barboza, who cooperated with the FBI. The FBI reportedly had knowledge that Barboza's testimony was false but did not share the information with state prosecutors. Barboza now appears to have had more to do with the crime charged to the four men - the March 12, 1965, murder of Edward "Teddy" Deegan - than they did. Surveillance tapes created by the FBI caught Barboza and another gangster/informant Vincent "Jimmy" Flemmi asking New England Mob Boss Raymond L.S. Patriarca for permission to kill Deegan.

Greco and Tameleo died in prison. Limone served 33 years in prison, and Salvati served 30 before winning parole. In 2001, the federal government release evidence showing that the men were not guilty of the Deegan murder.

Limone, Salvati (bottom right) and the families of Greco and Tameleo are seeking compensation for the years of imprisonment. Attorneys for the federal government have argued that there was no federal involvement in the prosecution of the four men, as it was entirely a state matter.

At the conclusion of the trial, Salvati, now 74, told the press, "We waited 42 years, and we're still waiting."