His lack of knowledge about cattle did not give him away to his Idaho neighbors, nor did his knack of wearing outdated overalls. But locals did eventually discover who Jeffrey John Shaw really was after federal marshals showed up and arrested him.

 

Enrico Ponzo, Boston mobster.

 

Wanted along with other members of the powerful Patriarca crime family, Ponzo disappeared in 1994, three years before he was indicted for attempted murder and extortion, among other crimes. It is believed he went underground after a contract was put out on his life.

 

So Ponzo resettled in Marsing, Idaho, as a rancher, and established himself as “Jay” among his new friends and acquaintances. In addition to raising a small herd of cows, he managed the local irrigation system that farmers relied on for water, and did odd jobs like fixing computers, building websites and designing logos.

 

Ponzo now is awaiting extradition to Massachusetts to stand trial for his crimes from his former life.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Idaho Rancher Revealed as Gangster From Boston (by William Yardley, New York Times)

Enrico Ponzo: The Fugitive Who Lived Next Door (by Kathleen Kreller and Patrick Orr, Idaho Statesman)

Read How, According to Federal Court Documents and New England Newspaper Stories, Enrico Ponzo Plays into the Timeline of a Mob War (by Kathleen Kreller, Idaho Statesman)