New York Mob Hitman Captured Near Miami After Escaping Federal Custody

In 1992, Dominic Taddeo admitted to being a member of the notorious Sicilian mafia organization known as La Cosa Nostra, which translates from Italian to “our thing.”

Dominic Taddeo, a convicted contract killer for the Rochester, New York, based mafia was apprehended by authorities outside of Miami, Florida, on Monday after escaping custody on March 28.

Taddeo was scheduled for release in less than a year - February 2023 - but instead chose to leave the halfway house he was assigned to and didn’t return for a medical appointment. At that time, authorities placed him on “escape status” and launched a manhunt for the fugitive.

The US Marshals say he was apprehended without incident.

A Rochester, NY, mobster who escaped federal custody by walking away from a halfway house near Orlando was apprehended without incident by the US Marshals Service from the Southern District of Florida and the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force: https://t.co/W9Eg2hGiiz

— U.S. Marshals (@USMarshalsHQ) April 4, 2022

In 1992, Taddeo pleaded guilty to racketeering, killing three men as a mafia member and the attempted murder of two other individuals who were alleged to be rival mafia captains. He was also found guilty of skipping bail, as well as for illegal weapon charges.

Taddeo spent most of his 30-year sentence in a medium security prison in Sumter County, Florida, before being transferred to the halfway home outside of Orlando, Florida, in February 2022.

It is unclear what Taddeo’s motivations were when he decided to walk away from the halfway house with less than a year left on his sentence. Escaping custody is a second-degree felony in Florida and carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years, according to the website of Hussein & Webber, a law firm in Florida.

In December 2020, Taddeo applied for compassionate release, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic was a danger to his health; however, his request had been denied.