Reputed Mass. Crime Boss Sentenced To 12 Years

A reputed Massachusetts crime boss has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to loan sharking and extortion.

Mark Rossetti of Boston was sentenced Friday in Suffolk Superior Court. He pleaded guilty to loaning money at high rates to a gambler and making threats to collect gambling debts.

The sentence will be served concurrently with a 12-year Essex County drug trafficking sentence from Janurary and a seven-to-nine-year breaking and entering sentence from Boston last year.

In October 2010, prosecutors including Attorney General Martha Coakley announced the indictment of 31 people in a highly organized criminal enterprise allegedly operating under Rossetti's direction.

Coakley said Friday's sentence "is an important step in our efforts to combat organized crime."

Rossetti's lawyer said outside court Friday his client is glad to get the case behind him.