This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Salemme and D were tried and convicted of murdering Steven DiSarro in 1993 in order to prevent DiSarro from talking with federal agents about his activities with Salemme, Weadick, and Salemme's son, Frank Jr. At the time of the murder, Salemme was the boss of a criminal organization known as the New England La Cosa Nostra (NELCN). In 1992, DiSarro bought a closed nightclub with funds he received from Frank Jr. Because DiSarro was under investigation at the time, the papers listed DiSarro's stepbrother as the owner. Frank Jr. was kept on the books as a part-time manager, which allowed him to avoid a full curfew as a condition of pre-trial release following his arrest on labor racketeering charges. D, a close friend of Frank Jr., was hired as a night manager. D and Frank Jr. had a history of ripping off drug dealers together, knowing that the specter of the NELCN would deter any retaliation. A federal agent approached DiSarro, telling him that he was under investigation and asking him to cooperate. Salemme voiced concern that DiSarro would implicate Frank Jr. and eventually Salemme himself. D expressed similar concerns to Frank Jr. Frank Jr. and Salemme also told others that they suspected DiSarro of stealing from the nightclub. Having trouble getting a meeting with DiSarro, D and Frank Jr. discussed inviting him to Salemme's house to make him feel safe. DiSarro was approached by another federal agent. DiSarro reported this contact to both his stepbrother, who nominally owned the club, and his wife. The next morning, DiSarro's wife watched him get into a car she didn't recognize, but her description of the vehicle matched a car Frank Jr. sometimes used. She never saw her husband again. Twenty years later, a Rhode Island excavator, who had been charged with committing various offenses, led law enforcement officials to a location in Rhode Island where they unearthed DiSarro's remains. DiSarro had been strangled. The excavator's information also led to Robert DeLuca, a captain in the NELCN, who confessed that he had received DiSarro's body from Salemme with orders to dispose of it. DeLuca reported that he had heard from Salemme that D had driven DiSarro to Salemme's house, where Frank Jr. strangled DiSarro as D held his legs, all in Salemme's presence. Salemme and D were indicted for murdering DiSarro with the intent, at least in part, to prevent him from talking to federal authorities. Frank Jr. had died by the time charges were filed. The jury found both defendants guilty. This appeal followed.

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