United States v. Samuel Volpendesto

WOOD, Chief Judge.

Samuel Volpendesto’s career in organized crime finally caught up to him at the age of 87. Wheelchair-bound and in poor health, he heard the jury return guilty verdicts against him on four counts: racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit arson, arson, and use of a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence. The district court sentenced Volpendesto to prison, entered a forfeiture judgment, and ordered him to pay $547,597 in criminal restitution to the victims of his crimes.

Volpendesto appealed, but he died before we could hear his case. The difficult *450question…