The Middlesex District Attorney's office confirmed an earlier report that the cause of death of Stephen Rakes, who was to be a witness in the Whitey Bulger trial, to be acute cyanide toxicity.
According to a spokesperson in the DA's officer, the manner of death is homicide.
Currently, William Camuti, 69, a former Sudbury resident, is facing charges of attempted murder, misleading police, and unlawful disposition of human remains in the Rakes case. The attempted murder charge was pending the toxicology report.
"We plan to seek additional charges," the spokesperson said.
The body of Rakes, 59, was discovered at 1:30 p.m. on July 17 in a wooded area off Mill Street in Lincoln.
Authorities believe Camuti poisoned Rakes over a bad business deal.
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. He was living on Audubon Road in Wellesley at the time.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
