Colombo Mobster 'The Claw' Receives Reduced Sentence Due to Health Concerns

Benjamin Castellazzo, 86, sentenced to 15 months in prison on a guilty plea to money laundering conspiracy, with lawyers arguing that his poor health could make a longer term a 'death sentence'.

• Benjamin 'The Claw' Castellazzo, a reputed Colombo mobster, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison on a guilty plea to money laundering conspiracy.
• Prosecutors had asked for a little over two years, but Castellazzo's lawyers argued that his poor health could make a longer term a 'death sentence'.
• Castellazzo, 86, has cardiac issues, previously dealt with prostate cancer and has artery blockages.
• Castellazzo was charged with racketeering in a 19-count indictment unsealed in 2021, as part of a long-running effort by the Colombo crime family to infiltrate and take control of a Queens-based labor union.
• He is scheduled to report to federal prison by March 22.

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