Blind Ex-Philly Mob Boss’ Vision Lawsuit Thrown Out
Ralph Natale, whose lawyer says he is now functionally blind, blames the loss of his vision on substandard medical care.
The Inquirer’s Jeremy Roebuck writes today about former Philadelphia mob boss Ralph Natale’s lawsuit, thrown out last week by U.S. District Judge Mary McLaughlin. Natale’s lawyer, the ubiquitous Conor Corcoran, says he’ll appeal.
Natale is the first American mob boss to turn on his family, and testified for the government in the early 2000s. He says prosecutors didn’t allow him checkups for his deteriorating eyesight, even going as far as to block him from a an appointment at Wills Eye Institute.
The government produced evidence of in-prison checkups — Natale served 13 years and was released in 2011 — but Corcoran says the delay in getting care doomed his vision. Natale is now functionally blind, per his lawyer.