PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A Rhode Island coin dealer serving a 660-year prison sentence for laundering more than $135 million for a Colombian drug cartel is requesting compassionate release.
The Providence Journal reports that 61-year-old Stephen Saccoccia argues that he qualifies for early release under the First Step Act, a new federal sentencing and prison reform law, because his crimes were not violent and he’s been a model prisoner. He says his age and various ailments including ongoing prostate problems, arthritis and degenerative vertebrae, qualify him for compassionate release.
Federal prosecutors said in court papers filed last week that the Cranston man’s age and ailments don’t meet the compassionate release threshold, and that for five years Saccoccia helped ensure the financial success of a violent drug cartel.
