BOISE – Enrico M. Ponzo, a/k/a Jay Shaw, a longtime fugitive from Boston, Massachusetts, who posed as a rancher while living on the run in Marsing, Idaho, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for unlawful possession of firearms, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered that 23 months of Ponzo’s sentence is to be served consecutively to the 28 year prison sentence in the District of Massachusetts. Ponzo pleaded guilty on January 25, 2016.
According to the plea agreement and court proceedings, Ponzo admitted that on February 8, 2011, he knowingly possessed 33 firearms after having been convicted of felony assault and battery on a public employee. Ponzo was also found to be in possession of 34,000 rounds of ammunition. The government argued that a consecutive sentence was warranted, in part, because of the 90 disciplinary reports filed by the Ada County Jail, which included five incidents of involving the use of force. Judge Lodge also found that Ponzo obstructed justice in attempting to influence a witness in the case.
Ponzo was arrested by the FBI and the U.S. Marshals in Marsing, Idaho, in February 2011, 16 years after he fled Boston. After his arrest in Idaho, he was returned to Boston to face numerous charges. In November 2013, following a seven week jury trial, Ponzo was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the 1989 attempted murder of Francis P. Salemme, Sr., and the 1994 attempted murder of Joseph Cirame, both of whom were shot and seriously injured. The jury also found Ponzo guilty of murder conspiracy in aid of racketeering, firearm possession in relation to murder conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, conspiracy to use extortionate means to collect a debt, use of extortionate means to collect a debt, unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, and attempted witness tampering. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton sentenced Ponzo to 28 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
The District of Idaho case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime Task. The Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime Task Force is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole. The Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime Task Force assisted the United States Marshals Service Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force in apprehending Ponzo.