PROVIDENCE — They were both made members of the Patriarca crime family, but their hatred for each other had been bubbling over for years.

Bobby DeLuca, a capo regime in the Patriarca crime family, had been running his mouth about “The Saint” since the mid-90s: “The Saint,” also known as Anthony M. St. Laurent Sr., had betrayed the La Cosa Nostra vow of silence and had been a rat for the feds and state police.

In April 2007, The Saint pleaded guilty to federal extortion charges and was sent to federal prison for five years. Still, he couldn’t get DeLuca out of his head. He spent his days in a wheelchair at the federal prison in Fort Devens, Mass., dreaming of ways to take out his rival.

According to a federal affidavit unsealed yesterday, St. Laurent actively recruited fellow inmates to kill DeLuca.

FBI Special Agent Joseph R. Degnan caught wind of the plot. On Dec. 6, 2007, the FBI sent an undercover police officer, posing as a prospective hit man, to the prison to meet with St. Laurent. A police source with ties to St. Laurent accompanied the would-be assassin.

The source, the affidavit says, asked St. Laurent how he would like DeLuca murdered and whether there was a message.

“Shoot him in the [expletive] head” St. Laurent allegedly told him. “Say, ‘This is from The Saint.’ ”

Yesterday, a criminal complaint was unsealed in U.S. District Court that charges St. Laurent with solicitation to commit a crime of violence, to wit: murder-for-hire.

On Monday, St. Laurent will make his initial appearance in court via a video-conferencing arrangement before Magistrate Judge David Martin in Providence. If convicted, St. Laurent could spend what remains of his life in prison.

The affidavit also provides an interesting insight into the workings of what is left of the Patriarca crime family, once the most powerful criminal enterprise in New England. St. Laurent allegedly told multiple candidates for the hit on DeLuca that it had been approved by Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio, the longtime family boss based in Providence.

A top mob investigator said last night that Manocchio, 81, has been seen in the city only once since Thanksgiving. He said that the mob boss often retreats to warmer climes during the winter months.

Several of the recruited killers expressed concern in the affidavit about killing a made mob member such as DeLuca. They wanted to make sure that St. Laurent had the authorization to sanction the hit.

“There’s no repercussions,” St. Laurent allegedly told the undercover officer and others.

And, he added, that if any mobsters question the hit, tell them: “I listen to Saint,” or “Get in touch with Saint.”

He allegedly told the undercover officer that it was “none of his business,” as to why he wanted to off DeLuca, but in the next breath, he said that he “hates” him and has other “reasons with him.”

St. Laurent has not aged gracefully. In 2006, when he was sentenced for extortion, the bloated and heavily medicated mobster was pushed into court in a wheelchair. He suffers from a myriad of ailments including heart failure, back problems and dysfunctional bowels. In a prior hearing, his lawyer announced that St. Laurent takes “40 enemas a day.”

A federal prosecutor suggested that a “$500 to $600” a-day cocaine habit was a key factor in leaving the mobster in such poor medical condition.

Last night, DeLuca’s lawyer, Artin H. Coloian, said that the mobster, who spent more than 10 years in prison on federal extortion charges “never felt threatened.” The affidavit says that, in April 2006, St. Laurent took a police source on a ride to Coloian’s restaurant, Sidebar & Grille on the corner of Dorrance and Pine streets, where DeLuca has worked since he was released from prison three years ago.

Coloian said that DeLuca scoffed at the murder plot.

“He thought it was just bravado that came about because of St. Laurent’s use of narcotics,” he said.

bmalinow@projo.com