Local News

‘The Cheeseman’ is dead. Here’s what to know about him.

The reputed boss of the New England Mafia, Carmen “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio’s rise to the top was not without some hiccups.

Carmen Dinunzio listens to his attorney argue a motion to dismiss racketeering charges against him in state court on Oct. 5, 2007. Robert Spencer/The Boston Globe, File

By Abby Patkin

September 25, 2025

2 minutes to read

After a fabled run as one of Boston’s last old-school mobsters, Carmen “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio, reputed boss of the New England Mafia, died Sunday at the age of 68.

The East Boston resident “passed away peacefully,” according to his obituary.

Taking his nickname from the cheese shop he ran in Boston’s North End, DiNunzio allegedly became a made member of the New England Mafia in the late 1990s and began a yearslong stint as underboss in 2004, according to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court.

But DiNunzio’s rise to the top was not without some hiccups. He served five years in prison after pleading guilty to bribing an undercover FBI agent who was posing as a state official — part of a 2006 conspiracy to net a lucrative Big Dig contract. DiNunzio also received a concurrent sentence at the state level after pleading guilty to charges of extortion, promoting an illegal gambling operation, and conspiring to violate state gaming laws.

Following his 2006 arrest, defense attorney Anthony Cardinale denied DiNunzio was an underboss and instead described his client as “a low-key, well-liked neighborhood guy who happens to be Italian,” according to the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, authorities alleged DiNunzio picked up where he left off upon his release from prison in 2015, resuming his leadership position with the Mafia.

“He did his time like a man,” Cardinale told The Boston Globe this week. “He was very respected wherever he went. He was a humble, very low key guy.”

DiNunzio battled myriad health issues in his later years on the throne; federal court records indicate he suffered from diabetes, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, coronary artery disease, and sleep apnea.

According to his obituary, he is survived by his siblings — Anthony, Lois, and Sylvia DiNunzio — his nieces and nephews, and his longtime partner, Denise Spagnuolo. Speaking to the Boston Herald in 2009, Robert Spagnuolo, Denise’s father, had nothing but kind words for DiNunzio.

“He’s the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet,” Robert Spagnuolo told the news outlet at the time. “It’s his kindness. He’s very kind to everybody – kids, everybody.”

DiNunzio evidently made a similar impression on others, including even some of his police adversaries; retired Massachusetts State Police Major Pasquale Russolillo, a former organized crime investigator, told WCVB DiNunzio was “very charismatic, very respectful not only to his own people in the neighborhood but to law enforcement.”

Russolillo even recalled sitting down with DiNunzio to “break bread,” according to WCVB.

“You’re not going to replace somebody like Carmen,” Russolillo told the news outlet. “Carmen’s from the old school. Carmen was taught the old way. Carmen was one that would want people to sit down and talk things out instead of turning to violence.”