John Martorano Is Boston Mobster

Meet John Martorano, the infamous Boston mobster who became the government’s prime witness in their case.John Martorano will appear on “60 Minutes” tonight. In an interview John promised to a now-deceased Ed Bradley, the mobster gives us an insight into his life and how he turned out the way he did.

John Martorano was born December 13, 1940 in Somerville, Massachusetts, so his age is 68. His father was Italian and his mother Irish. He went to high school in Rhode Island at Mount Saint Charles Academy where he excelled at football and blocked for future CBS news correspondent Ed Bradley. On the football field he was known as The Milkman. John also participated in the Catholic Church as an altar boy.

After high school Johnny joined the Winter Hill Gang who worked in Boston with whom he eventually became a hitman. He picked up several more nicknames, including Basin Street Butcher and Sickle Cell Anemia.

In 1995, Martorano pleaded guilty to murdering 20 people, mostly fellow gangsters. While in prison, he agreed to be a witness in the government’s case that exposed a relationship between several FBI agents and the mob. In exchange for his testimony, he served only 12 years in prison for the murders and was even provided $20,000 upon his release. The cash was provided by the government to help his start a new life. The money is apparently common in cases where witnesses for the government do not wish to join the witness protection program, but for the victims of Johnny Martorano it seemed unfair.