Mobster Gregory Scarpa Jr given compassionate release

Brooklyn mafia figure Gregory Scarpa Jr, 69, was serving a 40-year prison term for his role in several killings in the 1980s. He became a jailhouse informant and has been granted a compassionate release by a federal judge. Once a top-ranked member of the Colombo family, he is said to be seriously ill. During his incarceration, he has been diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Doctors removed a tumor that left a hole in his throat. Scarpa also had his salivary glands removed, which left him in a state where he ‘regularly chokes’ on his food. Scarpa Jr is the son of the late Gregory Scarpa, a former Colombo crime family hit man who earned the nickname 'The Grim Reaper.' He died in prison in 1994 after contracting HIV.