William "Big Billy" D'Elia was born on June 24,1946 and is an American former mobster who was the head of the Bufalino crime family and protege of family namesake Russell Bufalino.
12 Facts About William D'Elia
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William D'Elia grew up in Pittston, Pennsylvania and began working with the Bufalino family in the mid-1960s as Bufalino's driver and gofer.
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William D'Elia was said to be a mediator among mob families, meeting frequently with gangsters from across the country including the Philadelphia crime family, Los Angeles and New York City.
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In 1990, William D'Elia was implicated in a money laundering operation involving The Metro, a newspaper in Exeter, Pennsylvania.
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The agents seized records relevant to a tax evasion investigation from which William D'Elia claimed a loss of $6 million while reporting $8,000 in gambling operations in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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On February 26,2003, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission banned William D'Elia from entering any Atlantic City, New Jersey casinos and he remains on the Exclusion List of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
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On May 31,2006, William D'Elia was indicted on federal charges of laundering $600,000 in illegal drugs proceeds.
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Russell Bufalino 8.
When William D'Elia learned that a co-conspirator might testify against him, William D'Elia allegedly plotted to kill him.
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In November 2006, William D'Elia was charged with trying to kill a witness and with new charges of money laundering.
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On March 12,2008, William D'Elia pleaded guilty to reduced charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and witness tampering as part of a plea agreement.
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Prosecutors dropped the solicitation to kill a witness charge after William D'Elia testified before a Dauphin County grand jury that indicted Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis DeNaples for perjury for lying to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board about his long relationship with William D'Elia and Bufalino.
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William D'Elia was sentenced to nine years in prison and prosecutors touted his sentencing in October 2008 as the end of the Bufalino family.