# Man Gets Life For Ordering Witness Killing



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

_Woman, 19, Killed To Stop Her Talking To Police _

*BOSTON -- *The leader of a North Shore gang was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for ordering the murder of a 19-year-old woman to stop her from talking to police about the gang's criminal activities.

Paul A. DeCologero, 47, was convicted in March for ordering the November 1996 killing of Aislin Silva.

Prosecutors said Silva ordered members of his gang, the "DeCologero Crew," to kill Silva after police found some guns her boyfriend, Stephen DiCenso, a member of the gang, had stored in her apartment. When DiCenso told DeCologero that Silva was nervous and would probably cooperate with police, he ordered her killed, according to testimony at his trial.

DeCologero, moments after listening to heart-wrenching statements from the teenager's mother, father and sister, gave a statement of his own, insisting he is innocent and blaming "corrupt" federal agents for his conviction.

"I never had anything to do with hurting Aislin, and my heart goes out to Aislin's family," he said. "I was denied the right to a fair trial."

Silva's father, Joe Silva, later dismissed DeCologero's remarks.

"Paul DeCologero just got life in prison - what he deserves for what he did," Joe Silva said. "Everything coming out of him was just lies."

Silva's sister, Corissa Wenning, faced DeCologero and described the pain her family has suffered for the past decade while authorities continue to search for her body.

"Do you know what it's like to watch backhoes digging for someone you love?" she said.

U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel sentenced DeCologero to life in prison, plus 25 years on murder, racketeering and firearms charges.

Silva's blood and hair were found in a trash bin behind a Danvers car wash in 1997, but her body has never been found.

Her father said authorities this week resumed a dig behind a Peabody elementary school and found a shovel they believe was used to bury her.

Six members of the gang have been convicted for roles in Silva's slaying.

Derek A. Capozzi, 32, formerly of Beverly, was sentenced last year to 23 years in prison after being convicted of being an accessory to Silva's murder for helping dismember her body and hide the parts.

DeCologero also was convicted on federal racketeering charges for running the gang, which prosecutors said sold drugs and robbed rival drug dealers.

_Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed._


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