A Walpole man who was convicted in January by a federal jury for his role in smuggling gold, platinum, and other precious metals into the United States from Colombia, and then laundering the money, has been sentenced to four months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, announced the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts on Friday, April 17.
Thomas Cataloni, age 46, was sentenced on Wednesday, April 15, by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris. Mr. Cataloni was convicted of one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, one count of international money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In 2018, Mr. Cataloni and his co-conspirators sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to bank accounts in Colombia to pay for gold and platinum to be smuggled into the United States without being declared at U.S. customs, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The precious metals were melted and formed into crude, unfinished jewelry chains, keychains, and purse straps, to be worn by individuals on flights from Colombia to the United States, without declaring them.
Two of Cataloni’s co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty. One was sentenced earlier this year and the other is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
Mr. Cataloni was charged in November 2022, convicted in January 2026, and sentenced in April.
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