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Alleged Montreal Mafia leader Francesco “Chit” Del Balso has been granted yet another conditional release on the lengthy sentence he is serving, despite having admitted only a month ago that he threatened a reporter.

Despite having violated his conditions in the past, the statutory release is the now the fifth Del Balso, 48, has received. He is still serving the 11-year sentence he was given in October 2008, after he pleaded guilty to cocaine smuggling and a gangsterism charge related to how he acted as a leader in the Rizzuto organization between 2002 and 2006.

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Almost all offenders in federal penitentiaries who have not previously been granted parole automatically qualify for a statutory release after they reach the two-thirds mark of their sentence. Previously, Del Balso’s releases have been revoked or suspended, but in at least two cases they were because of reasons beyond his control.