Lee D’Avanzo, husband of ‘Mob Wives’ star, slammed with 64 months in prison – SILive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Lee D’Avanzo, the husband of “Mob Wives” star Drita D’Avanzo, has already done “hard” time in federal lockup while awaiting his sentencing in a gun case, his lawyer told a judge on Friday.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Pleasant Plains resident has been allowed out of his cell a total of just three-and-a-half hours some weeks to shower and speak to his loved ones, said attorney James R. Froccaro Jr. at D’Avanzo’s sentencing.

That hardship, coupled with his “redeeming” qualities, including being a “loving family man,” were among the reasons why the 51-year-old defendant should be sentenced to 37 months in prison, Froccaro said.

“I respectfully submit it’s not a slap on the wrist,” said the lawyer.

Brooklyn federal court Judge Rachel P. Kovner disagreed.

Citing his extensive criminal history, which entails six convictions, including two in federal court, the judge hit Lee D’Avanzo with a sentence of 64 months behind bars and two years’ supervised release.

“This is a really serious crime,” said Kovner. “I do think there’s a specific need for deterrence.”

In March, Lee D’Avanzo pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm while being a convicted felon.

He and his wife were arrested in a Dec. 19 raid of their Woodvale Avenue home by officers from the New York Police Department and the Narcotics Task Force of the Office of the Monmouth County Prosecutor.

Authorities said they recovered two guns, a .38-caliber revolver and a 9 mm.

Both weapons were loaded with hollow-point bullets, which expand on entering soft tissue, increasing the likelihood of injury, Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Lash wrote in a pre-sentencing memo.

The couple’s two daughters were home at the time of the bust, one of whom was a minor.

The judge referenced that point in imposing sentence.

Authorities said they also recovered drugs, scales, bags used to package narcotics, along with cash and multiple cell phones, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

Lee and Drita D’Avanzo were both charged in state court on Staten Island with criminal weapon possession, criminal firearm possession, criminal possession of a controlled substance and child endangerment.

On Feb. 21, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon dropped the state charges against the couple after Lee D’Avanzo was indicted on federal charges.

Prosecutors said Drita D’Avanzo wasn’t the target of the search warrant. She was not charged in the federal case.

Kovner appeared troubled by Lee D’Avanzo’s criminal history, which dates back more than two decades.

In 1998, he was convicted of burglary in Essex County, N.J., said Lash, the prosecutor, in her sentencing memo.

Less than three years later, he was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Following, in 2003, he was sentenced to 62 months in federal prison on a conviction of racketeering for multiple robberies, marijuana distribution, loansharking and money laundering.

Then, in 2009, the defendant was convicted of burglary stemming from his arrest in “Operation Turkeyshoot” on Thanksgiving morning in 2008.

D’Avanzo was among four suspects allegedly caught trying to break into the vault of a New Springville bank.

The defendants attempted to gain access by drilling through the walls of a neighboring building, according to Advance/SILive.com reports and court documents previously filed by federal prosecutors.

D’Avanzo, who was on federal probation at the time, was sentenced to 30 months to five years in state prison.

He did not address the court on Friday. His wife and children were in the audience.

Later, after the sentencing, Drita D’Avanzo broke down in tears outside court, the Daily News reported.

The Mob Wives star had begged for leniency in a letter to the court last month.

“If there is one thing no one can take away from Lee is what an amazing father he has been to our children,” Drita D’Avanzo wrote. “He never missed a soccer game and was very much involved in our kids’ schoolwork and any activities they were involved in.

“He has a family that is fully supporting him and hoping he comes home soon.”

Kovner, the judge, stressed that point to the defendant.

“Mr. D’Avanzo, you have the support of a family that loves you,” she said.

Prosecutors, based on the plea agreement with the defendant, had recommended a sentence of 37 to 46 months behind bars.

However, the judge went higher.

She said two prior five-year prison sentences hadn’t deterred Lee D’Avanzo from committing additional crimes.

“The defendant has a really serious and long (criminal) history,” said Kovner, adding the federal Probation Department suggested a sentence of between 57 and 71 months.

D’Avanzo’s sentence requires him to forfeit the two guns and ammunition seized from his home.