Camuti Dangerousness Hearing Postponed

The defense for William Camuti, the Sudbury resident charged with attempted murder, was granted a request to postpone a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Aug. 6

"William Camuti is not going to be brought to court today for the dangerousness hearing. Lawyers will be in Concord District Court at 2 p.m. to will select a new date to hold the hearing," the Middlesex District Attorney's office said in an email. "This is at the request of defense counsel, so we have no further information at this time."

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan told reporters Friday Camuti was arrested in Boston on suspicion of poisoning Stephen Rakes, a witness in the Whitey Bulger trial, in July. Ryan alleged Rakes was poisoned because Camuti owed him money from a bad business deal.

The attempted murder charge is pending full autopsy results to determine the exact cause of death.

Camuti set a trap for Rakes by luring him to a McDonald's in Waltham on July 16 to discuss a business deal which did not actually exist, Ryan said.

After putting two teaspoons of potassium cyanide in Rakes' coffee, Camuti then drove Rakes around for several hours before disposing his body in Lincoln, where it was found on July 17, the district attorney said.

"We allege this defendant intentionally put poison in the victim’s iced coffee and then disposed of his body," Ryan said, adding the body was found without a wallet or ID.

This isn't Camuti's first brush with the law. According to caselaw.findlaw.com, in a jury trial beginning in September 1993, Camuti was tried on 13 counts of mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud investors by obtaining their funds through false representations.

On Oct. 18, 1993, the jury acquitted Camuti on two counts and convicted him on the remaining 11 counts. Camuti was sentenced on Feb. 28, 1994 to 116 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $2,528,000 in restitution.