Luca Scalisi, the head of finance at Del Records, received an eight-month federal prison sentence on April 7, 2026. The sentence was handed down after his involvement in financial operations linked to assets belonging to drug traffickers was confirmed—a violation of the Kingpin Act, a statute prohibiting transactions with individuals designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The case exposed the ties between the record label—one of the most prominent in the regional Mexican music scene—and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
According to journalist Laura Sánchez Ley, Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered Scalisi to serve his sentence at a federal facility in Southern California, allowing him to remain close to his family. In addition to his prison term, the former executive must serve three years of supervised release, pay $15,000 in restitution, and pay a special assessment fee of $100. His deadline to surrender to authorities is July 8, 2026.
Scalisi avoided a much harsher sentence, as he initially faced up to a decade in prison. In April 2025, he reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, agreeing to plead guilty to one of the charges against him. After admitting his culpability, the prosecution requested a reduction in the severity of the sentence, resulting in 13 of the 14 charges being dropped during the hearing.
Scalisi is 59 years old; he was born in Italy and arrived in the United States as a teenager. He settled in Beverly Hills, where he completed high school and was accepted into the University of Southern California. He did not finish his degree, however, leaving his studies to care for his father, who was suffering from cancer.
By the time his father passed away, Scalisi was already building a career in finance and the entertainment industry—a career that, for decades, had absolutely no connection to organized crime. He managed real estate portfolios, worked in venture capital, and operated a clothing company with licenses from Disney and Bloomingdale’s.
