Son of ex-Philly mob underboss ‘Mousie’ Massimino sentenced for drug charges

The son of jailed Philadelphia mobster Joseph “Mousie” Massimino was sentenced Thursday by a federal judge to 16 years in prison for selling narcotics that caused the overdose deaths of two Queen Village residents in 2017.

Joseph Massimino Jr., 47, pleaded guilty in September in federal court to firearms charges and possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances, and agreed to the prison term. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson formally accepted the deal and imposed the sentence.

Massimino was indicted in 2017, and entered into a negotiated guilty plea in Common Pleas Court to two counts of drug delivery resulting in death. He was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison, which will run concurrent to the federal sentence.

Massimino, clad in an olive prison jumpsuit and sporting a 6-inch salt-and-pepper goatee, offered his apologies.

“I just want to say sorry to the families for their losses,” he said. “It was not what was intended. You know, we were all strung out. Also, I want to apologize to my family for dragging them through this.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy B. Winter called it a long sentence but “one he earned.”

Massimino will receive drug treatment while incarcerated, and his request to serve his sentence as close to Philadelphia as possible was accepted.

He was charged under a Pennsylvania law establishing harsh penalties for dealers convicted of selling narcotics involved in overdose deaths. Police arrested him in May 2017 following a raid on his house on Mountain Street in South Philadelphia, where police allegedly seized $200,000 worth of heroin and other illegal narcotics, $7,000 cash, and firearms.

In the past, authorities typically treated overdose deaths as accidents and dealers were not held criminally liable for more than the sale of drugs. But in reaction to the opioid epidemic, Pennsylvania joined other states in enacting “drug-dealer liability” laws that impose harsher sentences on dealers whose clients overdose.

Massimino’s father was accused by prosecutors of rising to become underboss of the Philly mob, a role he denied. He is serving a federal prison term of more than 15 years after being convicted in 2013 of racketeering and conspiracy.