SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Domenic Sarno has announced that he plans to withhold his signature for the Mount Carmel Society Club’s entertainment license after the new year.

The announcement comes on the heels of revelations contained in a 190-page racketeering indictment out of U.S. District Court in Boston linked to the arrests of more than 60 alleged leaders and associates of the Latin Kings.

Included in the FBI narrative were references to recorded meetings of Latin Kings leaders and other gang members holding summits at the club, located at 13 Winthrop St. and historically has been considered an Italian-American social club with its fair share of influence from organized crime over the years.

Sarno on Wednesday issued the announcement that he will refuse to sign off on the 2020 entertainment and liquor licenses “in the interest of public safety.”

The Republican has a request for comment pending with attorneys for the club, which came under fire after the federal indictment was unsealed on Dec. 5 and a Springfield man, Michael Cecchetelli, also known as “King Merlin,” was identified by law enforcement as the East Coast Regional leader for the Latin Kings.

Cecchetelli, 40, of Firglade Avenue, was held without the right to bail after his arraignment in Boston last week.

The lengthy affidavit cites two meetings at the Mount Carmel Club in February and June. Both were recorded by an embedded confidential informant, according to court records. The first meeting was an attempt at negotiating peace between the Latin Kings and Gangster Disciples in eastern Massachusetts after bloody clashes over drug sales. The second was a meeting of the “Massachusetts State Team” discussing a hit on the son of another member, according to the affidavit.

For breaking news in Western Massachusetts, download MassLive’s app and subscribe to Springfield push alerts

Sarno said he instructed City Solicitor Edward Pikula to notify the club that he will not sign off on their 2020 entertainment and liquor licenses in the interest of public safety. In addition, Sarno has instructed Pikula to contact the state attorney general’s office to review the club’s charitable status.

“This is not the place where I used to bring my grandfather after Sunday family dinner in order that he might socialize with his friends. It is certainly not the society where I volunteered as a young man years ago to assist with the once-popular Italian Festivals,” Sarno said in his statement.

The society was founded in 1897 by a group of Italian immigrants from Bracigliano, located in the Province of Salerno in southern Italy.

“The alleged illegal activities at the Mount Carmel Society, which were uncovered by a federal investigation, are an embarrassment to the Italian-American community. Out of respect to the founders and the hundreds of members over the past century of the once-great Mount Carmel Society and to the many Italian-Americas who have approached me with disgust over this situation,” Sarno said he will hold up the licenses pending a change in “leadership and direction” at the club.

The nexus between the Latin Kings and Italian management at the club appears to be Michael Cecchetelli’s uncle, David “Chicky” Cecchetelli, who was long a presence at the club with ties to the Genovese crime family.

He was arrested along with his nephew at the Firglade home after agents found a gun and ammunition by his bed. With a previous felony conviction, David Cecchetelli is prohibited from owning a firearm or ammunition. He has been released on bail pending a trial or resolution of that case.

Related Content: