Lucchese Mobster Tried To Break Out Of Jail: Feds

HARTSDALE, NY — An alleged Mafia soldier has been charged with trying to escape from a federal pretrial detention facility. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim announced Wednesday that Christopher Londonio, 43, of Hartsdale, was charged with attempted escape.

Londonio has been in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since February 2017 in connection wth murder and recketeering charges pending in White Plains federal court.

Londonio, along with fellow Westchester residents Steven “Wonder Boy” Crea Sr., Paul “Paulie Roast Beef” Cassano and others, was indicted in May 2017 on racketeering, murder, narcotics offenses and firearms offenses as part of the Lucchese Family of La Cosa Nostra.

According to the federal government, Londonio and another detainee came up with a plan in or about June 2017 to escape from the detention center.

SEE ALSO: Mob Bust: 7 Westchester Lucchese Mobsters Indicted, Feds Say

Londonio used dental floss as a cutting tool to tamper with a window in the facility, and authorities said he planned to solicit a priest to smuggle a saw blade into the detention center.

He also allegedly stockpiled a large number of sheets and blankets to be used as a rope to help him escape.

The plan was foiled after a fellow detainee reported the escape plan to the authorities, Kim said.

“Although sounding like a script for a made-for-TV movie, the charges allege yet another serious federal crime against Londonio,” Kim said. “As alleged, with this latest chapter in his years-long life in the mob, Londonio adds to the string of crimes he must now face, in a criminal justice system he was desperately seeking to escape.”

The attempted escape charge carries a maximum prison term of five years.

Image via Shutterstock.