A Saco man was arrested by Massachusetts State Police and FBI agents with the Boston organized crime task force on Thursday and faces one count of Hobbs Act robbery, which is robbery that affects interstate or foreign commerce.
William “Billy” Angelesco, 48, was taken into custody Friday morning and faces one count of interfering with commerce by threats of violence. The crime is alleged to have occurred on or about Sept. 20, 2018, in Abington, Massachusetts, according to the indictment unsealed Thursday. There are no further details about the nature of the allegation in court records.
Angelesco made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland on Friday, and will be held until Wednesday, when he is scheduled to appear again in Portland for a detention hearing, said Liz McCarthy, spokeswoman for Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling.
McCarthy said Angelesco’s case will be transferred to Massachusetts at some point.
Angelesco was charged with the brazen 2001 killing of a nightclub manager but was acquitted after witnesses gave differing descriptions of the gunman who killed the manager inside the crowded Revere strip club where Angelesco worked.
Massachusetts court records from a different case indicate that in 2001, investigators with the Massachusetts State Police suspected Angelesco of being connected to organized crime, and was a “made man” in the Boston Mafia for his participation as the shooter in a slaying for which he was never prosecuted.
In 2006, Angelesco, then living in Chelsea, Massachusetts, was charged with running an illegal gambling ring. He pleaded guilty two years later and was sentenced to 2½ years in jail. It’s unclear how long he lived in Saco.
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