Carmen “The Cheeseman” DiNunzio, the reputed former underboss of the New England Mafia , died Sunday, according to his obituary .

DiNunzio, who lived in East Boston, was 68.

DiNunzio got his nickname from the cheese store he operated on Endicott Street in Boston’s North End. He allegedly became a “made” member of the Mafia in the late 1990s and was appointed underboss in 2004, according to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court.

As underboss, DiNunzio was allegedly second-in-command of the Rhode Island-based family and first in Boston and eastern Massachusetts, according to law enforcement authorities.

Following his arrest in the North End in 2006, his lawyer, Anthony Cardinale, insisted that DiNunzio was no underboss, describing him as “a low-key, well-liked neighborhood guy wh

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