The reputed city Mafioso who infamously posed for the camera shirtless in a swimming pool while on the lam said Tuesday he has no regrets about the photo — even though it helped put him in prison.
Alleged Colombo crime-famiily mobster Ralph DiMatteo, 68, was sentenced to three years behind bars by Brooklyn federal Judge Hector Gonzalez after pleading guilty to extortion, conspiracy and money laundering from 2020 to 2021 for threatening a union official in July.
When asked after sentencing if he had any second thoughts about posing for the camera while shirtless in a pool in Florida, DiMatteo, wearing a charcoal suit with sneakers, scoffed.
“Why? It was a great picture,” deadpanned DiMatteo — who flaunts his burly, hairy chest in the snap.
The reputed wiseguy, who prosecutors say was the clan’s consigliere, had flown to the Sunshine State a day before federal prosecutors charged 13 co-defendants with the major crimes related to the infiltration of a Queens labor union.
But DiMatteo’s cover was blown after his son posted the pool photo to Twitter, where the alleged mobster appears shirtless and half-submerged in a swimming pool with a gold crucifix hanging from his neck.
DiMatteo’s lawyer, Gerald McMahon, had asked the judge to be lenient with his client’s sentencing in part because DiMatteo is “old-schooled” and that he was ready to take the blame.
“Mr. DiMatteo did wrong,” McMahon said. “He took a plea, he’s taking his medicine. He wants it to be on him. He’s doing his time.”
McMahon said DiMatteo will “hopefully be aging out” from his alleged crime family business – but prosecutors, who were seeking a sentence of 46 months in prison, weren’t convinced the reputed wiseguy was going to stop from his ways.
“Being a member of the Colombo Crime family is a lifetime oath,” Brooklyn federal prosector Michael Gibaldi, adding that “aging out won’t happen.”
DiMatteo, known as “number three” by other Colombo clan members, was indicted along with other reputed Colombo leaders, including then-boss Andrew “Mush” Russo, who died in April 2022 while awaiting trial, and alleged Colombo underboss Benjamin “The Claw” Castellazzo, who pleaded guilty earlier this year.
DiMatteo worked together with reputed Colombo crime-family captain Vincent Ricciardo to collect monthly payments of $2,600 from the union official, only identified as “John Doe No.1,” during the 19-year scheme, according to prosecutors.
Ricciardo pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 10.
The judge ordered DiMatteo to pay $280,890 in restitution to the victim of the case and allowed him to surrender Jan. 15.