Judge throws out mob boss' sentence

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- A federal judge has thrown out the prison sentence imposed on a Mafia captain after concluding that in order to force a confession, prosecutors withheld key evidence that would have helped exonerate him of a killing.

Vincent "The Animal" Ferrara pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges in 1992 and admitted ordering a 1985 murder.

However, U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf said Ferrara probably didn't order the murder and a prosecutor failed to disclose a police detective's memo saying a witness to the shooting had admitted he lied about it.

Ferrara, 55, a Boston College-educated mob capo or captain, could be freed from his 22-year term as soon as next month, rather than his scheduled release date of January 2009. Wolf scheduled a May 3 re-sentencing hearing.

Wolf has frequently been critical of government misconduct in mob prosecutions.