Notorious New York mob hitman who killed three people escapes federal custody in Florida

Dominic Taddeo was a contract killer during the organized crime wars of Rochester, in upstate New York, in the early 1980s

Federal Prisons (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Notorious New York mobster Dominic Taddeo escaped federal custody in Florida just a year out from his scheduled release, according to a report.

The Mafia hitman, convicted for the assassination of three people and two failed attempts, had been transferred from a mid-security facility to a halfway house for inmates scheduled for release.

Bureau of Prison records show that Taddeo, 64, went to an approved appointment on 28 March but never returned, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.

Taddeo was sentenced to 54 years after pleading guilty in 1992 to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy charges from his time with the La Cosa Nostra organized crime family in Rochester, in upstate New York.

The charges included the three murders of Nicholas Mastrodonato, Gerald Pelusio, and Dino Tortatice in 1982 and 1983.

He also failed two attempts on the life of mob captain Thomas Marotta during Rochester’s organized crime wars in the early 1980s.

Marotta was shot six times in the first attempt and three times in the second but survived both hits.

US District Judge Frank Geraci Jr cited Taddeo’s record in a 2021 ruling against compassionate release on health grounds.

In opposing the release, prosecutors noted that Taddeo didn’t seem particular unhealthy, the Chronicle reported.

Taddeo escaped from the halfway house in Wildwood, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando, after being transferred from the federal facility in Coleman, according to The Miami Herald.

It’s the second time he’s slipped the net of authorities after he skipped bail in 1987 and remained on the lam for two years.

As a man in his 60s, however, Taddeo had a clean disciplinary record and had continued his education in prison, according to prison records seen by the Chronicle.