Reputed mob boss appears in court on heroin trafficking charges; $250G bail set

SALEM – A reputed high-ranking organized mob boss who police say specialized in protecting drug dealers was among four men arraigned Tuesday in Salem Superior Court.Mark Rossetti, 51, of 1229 Bennington St., East Boston; Robert E. Ciampi, 50, of 67 Brook St., Apt., 1, East Boston; Henderson Martinez, 21, of Boston and Juan DeJesus Valdez, 22, of 136 Timson St., Lynn, pleaded innocent to trafficking over 100 grams of heroin, a crime that will net each of them a mandatory 10 years behind bars.Ciampi, Rossetti and Valdez also denied a second charge of conspiracy to violate the drug laws lodged against them in connection with the case.Prosecutors also indicted Rossetti and Ciampi as habitual criminals, a charge that allows prosecutors to propose a longer punishment if they are convicted on the more serious charges.Rossetti is held on $250,000 bail and Valdez on $200,000 at the Middleton Jail. Ciampi is free after posting $150,000 cash following a bail review earlier in Superior Court. Martinez also remains free on $10,000 pending the outcome of his case.All four men were indicted July 26 in Boston by a state-wide grand jury.First Assistant District Attorney Jack Dawley told Judge John T. Lu that the charges are the result of a long investigation by state police and local police involving wire taps, telephone interceptions, cell phone interceptions and GPS tracking devices on vehicles.The case began in March when Rossetti allegedly recruited men to burglarize a drug stash house in Jamaica Plain where three kilos of heroin was stolen along with hundreds of thousands of dollars, police said.Valdez would make arrangements to deliver the heroin to Rossetti in Boston and Ciampi would then sell it in his community.On May 20 the four men were arrested during a major drug bust.Authorities obtained an anticipatory warrant based on the expectations of a drug deal.They followed the alleged supplier, Valdez, and his passenger, Martinez, from Lynn as they drove to 1229 Bennington St. in East Boston to conduct the transaction with Ciampi.Police found a hidden compartment in a vehicle at Rossetti’s house with 166 grams of heroin. Rossetti and Ciampi were arrested inside the home.Police then searched a home at 80 Sagamore St. in Lynn, where $26,358 in cash was seized, additional heroin, a gun, ammunition and drug notes in connection with the case, Dawley saidCell phones also seized from Valdez and Ciampi at the time of their arrest corroborated phone conversations between the two men, according to Dawley.Rossetti, the reputed “capo” of the underworld, served as a facilitator, a protector of drug dealers and drug buyers.They are due back in court on Nov. 23 for a pretrial conference.Dawley said he expects additional charges to follow within the next few weeks involving the same individuals and others from Suffolk, Middlesex and Essex Counties.Rossetti, who authorities say replaced Carmen Salvatore DiNunzio, known as “The Cheese Man,” as under boss of the New England branch of the mafia. Rossetti came into power after DiNunzio was sentenced last summer to serve six years in prison for extortion, promoting an illegal gaming operation and conspiracy to violate state gaming laws arising out of the extortion of $500 per month from a Boston bookmaker. At the same time DiNunzio also pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges as well relating to providing soil for a highway project. DiNunzio currently is serving his 6-year-term in a federal prison in Virginia.