Accused Boston mobster was living as Idaho rancher

An accused Boston mobster posing as a rancher and living under an assumed name in a small Idaho farm town pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to attempted murder, racketeering and a raft of other federal charges, authorities said. Enrico M. Ponzo, 42, was a member of La Cosa Nostra in New England when he fled Boston in 1994 after being accused of drug crimes, according to the FBI. Ponzo on Wednesday waived his right to a federal hearing in Idaho over his identity, admitting he was the fugitive from Boston and not Jeffrey John Shaw, the alias he adopted while living in Idaho, said Christian Nafzger, assistant U.S. attorney in Boise. Ponzo asked a federal judge to allow him to travel to Boston to face charges, Nafzger said. The government will argue in U.S. District Court Friday that Ponzo should remain in custody and be transported by federal marshals to Massachusetts...more