In a move to avoid the death penalty, Frankie A. Roche admitted that he was hired by the "Springfield Crew" to kill Bruno outside the Mount Carmel Social Club in the city's south end back in November 2003.
"The members of the Springfield Crew ultimately followed through with their plan, and they ultimately paid Roche $10,000 to murder Bruno," said Michael Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
The plea deal states that Roche killed Bruno because the mob leader was not generating enough money for the Genovese La Cosa Nostra family in New York, and therefore needed to be replaced.
"The members of the Springfield Crew who planned Bruno's murder intended to increase the income from their racketeering activity once they removed Bruno from his position," Sullivan said.
Roche had been charged with murder in aid of racketeering along with aiding and abetting. Prosecutors, including the Attorney General decided not to pursue the death penalty in exchange for Roche's continued cooperation with the murder investigation.
Sullivan warned, "We have served a very clear, but simple notice to organized crime members that they commit their crimes subject to the penalties and the laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts... Not under their own criminal code of conduct."
Prosecutors hope the plea bargain will offer up more information with regards to the murder, and the Springfield mob, which they say is still working in Western Massachusetts.
"The investigation will proceed, and we are quite confident that we will be able to identify additional individuals involved in this crime and also to hold them accountable," said William Bennett, Hampden County District Attorney.
In exchange for the guilty plea, Roche will serve a life sentence for Bruno's murder. Investigators would not comment on whether or not Roche's co-defendants will face federal charges, but the plea agreement says Roche will testify against them
