Steve Neavling

A high-ranking mobster in New England was sentenced Wednesday to nine years in prison for his role in shaking down strip clubs for money in return for protection, according to the Department of Justice.

U.S. District Court Judge William Smith also ordered Edward “Eddy” Lato, 65, of Providence, R.I., to three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.

In July, Lato admitted to participating in a racketeering and extortion conspiracy that demanded between $800,000 and $1.5 million in so-called protection payments from adult entertainment businesses in Rhode Island from 1995 to 2009, the Justice Department said.