Reputed Mob Figure Gets 11 Years for Cocaine Deal

Reputed mob figure Ronald A. Lorenzo was sentenced Monday to 11 years in federal prison for helping an FBI informant buy nearly six kilograms of cocaine.

Lorenzo, 47, who ran Splash restaurant in Malibu, was convicted at two trials of entering drug deals during 1988 and 1989 with Robert Franchi, who spent several years secretly taping suspected organized crime contacts.

The case drew widespread attention when actor James Caan testified as a character witness that Lorenzo was his best friend. “I love him,” Caan said.

Before the sentencing, Lorenzo’s attorney, Gerald Scotti, told U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian that the restaurateur was a “very close family man” who “himself has never supplied drugs to anyone,” but was lured into playing a middleman role after two years of prodding by Franchi.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Brad Sonnenberg argued that Franchi’s tapes showed that Lorenzo was “a ready, willing and enthusiastic criminal.”

Lorenzo, who moved to Los Angeles in 1982, has been described by authorities as a “made member” of the New York-based Bonanno crime family, but his alleged mob ties were not an issue in the federal trials.

Lorenzo issued only a short statement at the sentencing, saying: “I just made a mistake and apologize to my wife and my family and my friends.”

Lorenzo spent much of the year on trial in Los Angeles Superior Court on charges stemming from several kidnapings and robberies carried out by a strong-arm “crew,” which allegedly shared its profits with him. Two other defendants were convicted, but the jury was deadlocked on all charges against Lorenzo. County prosecutors say they expect to retry him.