Sal Sperlinga was in the Winter Hill Gang,  a close friend of boss Howie Winter. When they were both convicted in a 1977 pinball shakedown, Winter asked the judge to go easy on Sal because he was the sole support of his widowed mom. Sal was out on work release in 1980, toiling at the Magoun Square print shop of Somerville alderman Peter Piro, brother of state Rep. Vinny Piro, who would soon beat an attempted-extortion rap. Sal had told a local character, Dan Moran, to stay out of Union Square. Moran, angered, found out where Sal was working and tracked him down, and one Friday, while the boys were playing cards in the back of the shop, Moran came in and opened fire, killing Sperlinga. He was quickly tried and convicted, but he never had any “street justice” meted out, because his pal Howie Winter was still in prison.

Read this FBI report about how Howie first asked Whitey Bulger and Stevie Flemmi to avenge Sal Sperlinga, and how he finally had to seek help from the Mafia (who also rebuffed Howie).