Career mobster 'Pudgy' begs for health mercy in embezzlement case

Admitted union fraudster John "Pudgy" Matassa, 68, pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from the Independent Union of Amalgamated Workers Local 711 where he was secretary-treasurer. Considered the highest-ranking made member of the Chicago Outfit to go down in federal court in a decade, Pudgy says prison would be hazardous to his health.

Matassa's plea for no prison time doesn't come close to the government's sentencing request, which includes a minimum 27 months in jail. Matassa, who pledges to repay the union and the Social Security Administration, has filed a request for mercy, almost entirely based on his many medical conditions.
"John's health could be seriously and irrevocably compromised" by imprisonment, according to his court filing. And dangerous, they say: "Other more able-bodied prisoners will be moving faster than John can, increasing the likelihood he will fall and injure himself. And, in the event of an altercation in a prison environment, John will simply be unable to defend himself."