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Mobster Found Hiding in Idaho Town

'I’ve always thought there was something different about Jay'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 9, 2011 4:02 AM CST
Rogue Mobster Enrico Ponzo Arrested in Idaho After 17 Years On the Lam
A 1994 mug shot of Enrico Ponzo.   (FBI)

Stunned residents of the small Idaho town of Marsing have just learned that the man they knew as Jay Shaw was actually Enrico Ponzo, a fugitive mobster from Boston. Ponzo, who had been on the lam for 17 years, was arrested this week for a long list of charges including racketeering and conspiracy to murder. The FBI says the 42-year-old gangster was part of a rogue Mafia faction that attempted to kill New England mob boss "Cadillac" Frank Salemme.

"You know, I’ve always thought there was something a little bit different about Jay. I’ve always felt he was running or hiding from something,” said a neighbor who describes Ponzo as "a very, very, nice guy" who lived an unremarkable life. “I’m in shock," he told the Idaho Statesman. Ponzo, the neighbor says, called him from jail to ask him to look after his cows. "I said, ‘Hey, what’s going on,’" the neighbor says. "He laughs: ‘This is a bunch of bull, but I’m going to be here a long time.’" (More Idaho stories.)

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