Mob Rat John Castagna Dies At 72

Patriarca associate John “Sonny” Castagna who flipped to become a government witness died last month at the age of 72 as reported by Edmund H. Mahony for The Hartford Courant.

Castagna once was described “as one of the most treacherous persons in the city of Hartford” but in 1991 joined Team America with his son John “Jackie” Johns after the feds indicted the Patriarca crew which ran the gambling parlors on Franklin Avenue.

For “the past six years, Castagna lived as John Serreno in Bradenton, Fla., in a retirement complex that says it is ‘dedicated to expressing Christian love, compassion, and concern to older adults on the West Coast of Florida by providing them an atmosphere to enjoy affordable independent living with dignity and well-being.’”

It’s unclear whether Castagna died with a complete confession to all his sins.  The one-time mobster was under apparent investigation for his suspected role in the 1988 hit against local boxer Eric Miller who had humiliated Patriarca underboss Billy Grasso by knocking him out with a punch to the head during a street confrontation.