BOSTON -- Two Boston-area bookies have identified a North End cheese shop owner as the head of the Boston mob, according to documents filed in court.

In the court papers, a North End bookie said he paid Carmen "Big Cheese" DiNunzio for protection. A bookie in Medford said he used his connections to DiNunzio to escape paying gambling losses to another bookie.

The Medford bookie, Joseph Amato, identified DiNunzio as the head of the Boston faction of the mob.

DiNunzio is free on bail as he awaits trial on charges of extortion and gambling conspiracy. His attorney, Anthony Cardinale, has asked the court to throw out the case for lack of evidence. He said prosecutors wrongly told grand jurors that DiNunzio is the number two Mafioso in New England.

Cardinale said there's no proof DiNunzio received any money from anyone.