Joseph Bruno's Blog, page 82

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Frank Costello – The Prime Minister of the Underworld

In 1891, Frank Costello was born Francesco Castiglia in Lauropoli, a mountain village in Calabria, Italy. In 1893, Costello's father moved alone to New York City, where he opened a small grocery in East Harlem. In 1900, the elder Castiglia had saved up enough money to send for his wife, Frank, and Frank's older brother Edward. It was his older brother Edward, 10 years Frank's senior, who got Frank first involved in petty crimes.

At the age of 14, Costello, wearing a black handkerchief over his face, robbed the landlady of the tenement house in which he and his parents lived. The landlady recognized Costello, but Costello concocted an alibi, which satisfied the police, and he was never arrested. In 1908, and again in 1912, Costello was arrested for assault and robbery, and again he somehow beat both raps.

In 1915, Costello then 24 years old, was sentenced to a year in prison for carrying an illegal firearm. Despite the fact that in the decades to come he was actively involved in scores of criminal activities, Costello would not see the inside of a jail cell again for 37 years. Costello swore at that time, that when he got out of jail, he would never carry a gun again. And he ever did.

Upon his release from jail, Costello met and married a Jewish woman named Loretta Geigerman. It was unusual at the time for an Italian to marry outside their Catholic faith. However, Costello saw things differently, and he eventually forged relationships with many Jewish gangsters, including Meyer Lansky, Louie "Lepke" Buchalter, and Bugsy Siegel.

Soon after he was married, Costello began working for the murderous Joe "The Clutch Hand" Morello, who along with his sidekick, Ignazio "Lupo the Wolf" Saietta, were responsible for the treacherous Black Hand extortion racket.

While he was working for Morello, Costello met Charles "Lucky" Luciano, a Sicilian who ran the rackets in Little Italy, on the Lower East side of Manhattan. Through Luciano, Costello became tight which such mobsters as Vito Genovese, Tommy "Three-Finger Brown" Lucchese, as well as with Lansky and Siegel. Together, these men became heavily involved in armed robbery, burglaries, extortion, gambling, and dealing drugs. When The Volstead Act became law in 1920, starting the era of prohibition, Costello and his pals cashed in big, bringing in illegal alcohol from Canada, and as far away as England. Their partner was Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein, who initially financed the entire operation.

Costello, Luciano, Lansky, and Siegel were raking in so much dough, they were able to pay off crooked politicians and police officials an estimated $100,000 a week for protection. These payments went all the way up to the office of the New York City Police Commissioner – Grover Whalen. In 1929, right after the stock market crashed, Costello told Luciano that he had to advance Whalen $30,000 so that Whalen could cover the margin calls from his stockbroker.

"What could I do?" Costello told Luciano. "I had to give it to him. We own him."

Even after all the hefty graft payments they had to dole out, there was still about $4 million in yearly profits from all their rackets, to be split equally amongst Costello, Luciano, Lansky, and Siegel.

It was during this period that Luciano convinced Costello (a name of Irish decent) that he should change his name from Castiglia. Luciano later said, "When we got up into our ears in New York politics, it didn't hurt us at all that we had an Italian guy with a name like Costello."

In the late 1920′s, both Luciano and Costello joined the Mafia gang headed by Joe "The Boss" Masseria. At the same time, Costello saw that it was advantageous to form alliances with other ethnic groups. Besides the Jews – Lansky, Siegel, and Rothstein, Costello became tight with Irish gangsters on the West Side of Manhattan, specifically Owney "The Killer" Madden and William "Big Bill" Dwyer. With the Irish, Costello became a big part of a rum-running operation called "The Combine. Of course, Costello shared all his profits with Luciano, Lansky, and Siegel.

However, Masseria frowned on members of his gang dealing with anyone other than Sicilians. The fact that Costello was Calabrese didn't please Masseria too much either.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Luciano and Costello, along with Tommy Lucchese, and Vito Genovese, switched sides in the "Castellamarese War," in which Masseria was actively engaged in, with bitter rival Salvatore Maranzano.

On Sunday, April 15, 1931, Luciano took Masseria out to lunch to the Nuova Villa Tammaro in Coney Island. After Massaria finished a sumptuous lunch, the two men engaged in a game of cards. During the card game, Luciano excused himself and went to the men's room. While Luciano was in the men's room, four gunmen, led by Bugsy Siegel, burst through the front door and filled Masseria with enough lead to render him quite dead. When the police arrived minutes later, Luciano claimed no knowledge of what had transpired, because he had been indisposed at the time of the shooting. The police scoffed at Luciano's story, but they had no proof of Luciano's involvement (or maybe they were bribed), so they let him go.

In just a few months, Costello and Luciano became disenchanted with Maranzano's old world ways. Considering himself an aristocrat, and of a higher calling then his men, Maranzano appointed himself "Capo de Tuti Capo (Boss of All Bosses)." To make matters worse, Maranzano extracted a bigger share of his underling's profits than even the greedy Masseria had demanded.

The final straw, was when, through moles planted close to Maranzano, Costello and Luciano discovered that Maranzano was plotting to kill Luciano, because he feared Luciano's ambitions. Not liking the idea of soon being a dead man, Luciano quickly sent four Jewish killers, led by the very capable Red Levine, to Maranzano's midtown office. Disguised as police detectives, the four men quickly disarmed Maranzano's bodyguards, then shot and stabbed Maranzano to death.

With their two former bosses now six feet under, Costello along with Luciano, Siegel, and Lansky formed a National Crime Commission. Whereas Luciano's job, as boss of the family, was running the day-to-day operations of whatever swindles they were involved in, Costello, his consiglieri, was the man behind the scenes, greasing the wheels for their protection, by getting chummy with the top politicians and police officials in New York City. Of course, this meant Costello had to pay and pay plenty, but he knew when he needed a political favor, that favor would always be performed. Costello bragged he owned all of the top Tammany Hall politicians, including Mike Kennedy, Christie Sullivan, Frank Rossetti, Carmine DeSapio, and Hugo Rogers.

Costello used his "in" with Tammany Hall to basically make any political appointment he wanted. Rogers even admitted, "If Costello wants me, he sends for me."

In the mid 1930′s, Costello, now one of the Luciano families biggest earners, went into the slot machine business with Phil "Dandy Phil" Kastel. Costello placed over 25,000 slot machines in New York City restaurants, bars, drugstores, bus stops, and gas stations. This went well for a while until reformist New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia went on a rampage against the illegal slot machine business. La Guardia made a big show of confiscating thousands of Costello's slot machines. Laguardia, aided by local law enforcement, loaded the slot machines on barges, and then La Guardia personally pushed the slot machines into the water. Photos of La Guardia's antics appeared in all the local newspapers, as well as in the movie house news reels.

His New York City slot machine business in ruins, Costello, along with Kastel, moved their operations to New Orleans, Louisiana. There, with the aid of New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello, they were able to place their machines were ever they deemed necessary. Their whole operation was under the protection of Senator Hughie Long, himself a bastion of corruption.

In 1936, Luciano began being hounded by Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey. Despite flimsy evidence, and the perjured testimony of prostitutes and pimps, Dewey prosecuted and convicted Luciano on a trumped-up prostitution charge. Luciano later claimed that it was Dewey himself who had framed Luciano.

With Luciano locked away in prison, Luciano appointed his underboss Vito Genovese as head of the Luciano Crime Family. However in 1937, Genovese was indicted for murder, and to avoid prosecution, he fled to Italy. At this point, Luciano appointed Costello as the head of the Luciano Crime Family.

Costello did very well as the new boss. Working with men of various nationalities, Costello increase the family's profitability across the board. Costello controlled the gambling, horse race fixing, policy rackets, and the illegal race wires throughout the country. Of course, to keep his illegal enterprises running smoothly, Costello contributed millions of dollars to the retirement funds of hundreds of crooked politicians and law enforcement officials. By doing this, Costello assured that when he needed a favor, he indeed got that favor.

In 1943, Costello called in one of his political chits, when he demanded that Thomas Aurelio be appointed a judge. The only problem was, Manhattan Dist. Atty. Frank Hogan, one of the few politicians not on Costello's payroll, obtained a wiretap on Aurelio's phone. The date was August 23, 1943, and the man Aurelio was speaking to was none other than Frank Costello, confirming that Aurelio would soon be a judge.

The conversation went like this: "How are you, and thanks for everything," Aurelio said.

"Congratulations," Costello said. "It went all the perfect. When I tell you something is in the bag, you can rest assured."

"It was perfect,"Aurelio said. "It was fine."

"Well, we will all have to get together and have dinner some night real soon," Costello said.

"That would be fine," Aurelio said. "But right now I want to assure you of my loyalty for all you have done. It is unwavering."

Amazingly, Costello had his clutches so deep into New York City politicians and law enforcement officials, despite the conversation between him and Aurelio being made public, Aurelio still got the judgeship, right after he beat a disbarment proceeding. That shows how crooked New York City politics was in those days.

However, the most important person Costello was able to get close to was the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover was a degenerate gambler, who frequented the racetracks often. While Hoover was ostensibly placing two-dollar bets at the two-dollar window, his underlings would be at the hundred dollar window placing bets for Hoover.

Hoover's addiction to the horses fell right in with Costello's plans. Costello, through his intermediary – bookmaker Frank Erickson -would find out when certain horse races were being fixed. Costello then would pass this information to nationally syndicated columnist Walter Winchell, who was a mutual friend of both Costello and Hoover. Winchell told Hoover which horse to bet, which made Hoover very happy and very rich to boot.

The Costello – Hoover relationship was hidden for many years. However, it was later discovered that whatever Hoover was in New York City he would meet secretly with Costello for breakfast, and sometimes even on a park bench.

The question that should be asked, is if Costello was providing Hoover with information on fixed horse races, what did Hoover do for Costello?

The answer is simple. During this period of time, although Hoover went rabidly after such Number One Public Enemies like John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson, Hoover absolutely refused to recognize that the Mafia, or the "Cosa Nostra" even existed.

However, not even Hoover's influence and protection could keep Costello out of the limelight forever. In 1951, Senator Estes Kefauver from Tennessee, and his five-man special committee to investigate organized crime, took dead aim at Costello. On March 13, 1951, Costello was summoned to testify before the Kefauver Committee. However, Costello did not want his face seen on national television, so through his lawyer, George Wolf, it was agreed upon that only Costello's hands would be shown on television.

With a nationally televised audience anxiously watching, Costello, in his gravely voice, reluctantly answered the committee's questions. He tried sparring verbally with Kefauver and his men, but it was obvious to all that Kefauver had exposed Costello for exactly what he was – a big-time Mob boss.

Unfortunately for Costello, who was now called by the press the "Prime Minister of the Underworld," the hearings did not do well for his image with his cohorts. By the time Costello got off the witness stand, Costello's standing in the Cosa Nostra had taken a big hit. And Costello was now ripe for an even bigger hit. A hit on himself.

With Luciano in exile in Italy, Vito Genovese had returned to the United States, with the ambition of taking over Luciano's crime family. To parry this, Costello became very close with Mafia killer Albert Anastasia. Anastasia's hatred for Genovese went back a long time, and thus stared an internal fight for control of the mob rackets in New York City.

On May 2nd, 1957, Frank Costello entered the lobby of his apartment building near Central Park. Waiting for him in the shadows by the elevator was a hulking, ex-professional prizefighter named Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, a close associate of Genovese. Gigante was sent there by Genovese to eliminate Frank Costello from the local crime scene, thus giving Genovese a clear path to the throne.

Suddenly, Gigante stepped out into the light and yelled at Costello, "Hey Frank, this is for you!"

Gigante fired one shot, which creased the side of Costello's head. However, because Gigante wasn't the best shot in the world, and also because Gigante broke the first rule of Mafia rubbouts: "Don't tell your victim you're about to shoot him. Keep your mouth shut and just shoot him," the wound was little more then a flesh wound. Costello was rushed to the hospital, where his wound cleaned and bandaged. Costello was safely back home later that night.

When Gigante fled the scene of the shooting, he thought he had killed Costello. Finding out his mission had been a failure, the 6'2", 300 pound Gigante went into hiding. Eventually, Gigante was caught and brought to trial. However, since Costello, true to the mafia code of "omerta," refused to testify against him (Costello said he didn't even recognize Gigante), Gigante walked out of court a free man.

(Editor's note: Usually when a Mafia killer botches a hit, he is then usually killed himself. For some reason, Gigante was never harmed, and he became the boss of the Genovese Crime Family in the mid-1980s. Go figure.)

For all practical purposes, this ended Costello's influence in the Cosa Nostra. However, Costello was still able to pull off a huge Machiavellian move in order to get even with Genovese. In concert with Luciano, who was still in exile in Italy, and Carlo Gambino, who was looking to ascend the ladder to mob boss himself, they were able to entice Genovese into a big drug deal. With Genovese knee deep in dope, they tipped off the police, and Genovese was arrested on a narcotics charge. A very bad rap.

Genovese was tried and convicted, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. With Genovese safely behind bars, Carlo Gambino was made the boss of his own family: The Gambino Crime Family.

After serving 10 years of his 15-year sentence, Genovese died in prison, thus making Costello and Gambino quite happy indeed.

His revenge-mission accomplish, and tired of the day to day operations of mob business, Costello greatly toned down his involvement in the organized crime scene. Costello moved to Long Island and only rarely came into New York City for sit downs with his former cronies, who sometimes came to him for advice, at an apartment he still kept in the Waldorf-Astoria. These pals included Carlo Gambino, Tommy Lucchese, and Meyer Lansky.

In 1973, Frank Costello died of a heart attack in a Manhattan hospital. He was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery in Queens. His wife Bobbi insisted that none of Costello's Mafia friends attend his funeral, or sent flower displays to the funeral parlor.

In a display of utter disrespect, mobster Carmine Galante, after he was released from prison in 1974, ordered the bombing of Costello's burial site. When the dust cleared, both doors of Costello's cemetery mausoleum were blown completely off their hinges.

This was Galante's way of saying he was coming back and taking control of the Cosa Nostra in New York City. Which he certainly attempted to do, with much cunning and killing of his own.

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Botched Albanian Mob Hit

The Albanian gunman, Bajram Lajqi, actions in the article below were to the art of killing, as the Keystone Cops were to the art of law enforcement.

This reminds me of a scene from the great movie "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." "The Bad" (Eli Wallach) is taking a bath in a small bath tub in a dusty western town, when suddenly a gunman bursts into the room, gun drawn. Instead of shooting Wallach and getting it over with, the gunman starts a rambling diatribe explaining why he is going to kill Wallach.

Wallach stares bemusedly at the gunman, then from amidst the bubbles in his bath, a gun appears and he shoots the gunman dead.

Wallach then stands and says to the dead gunman, "If you going to talk – talk, if you're going to shoot – shoot!"

The same principal applies in the article below. My advice to Bajram Lajqi, who is now cooling his heels in jail because his stupid act was caught on the outside cameras of the Tosca Cafe on East Tremont Avenue in The Bronx: Next time you intend to shoot someone – shoot! Don't walk over, punch your intended victim in the face, throw a shot at a bouncer in front of the restaurant who was just doing his job, and then try to shoot your intended victim.

Bajram Lajqi 's actions were just plain lunacy.

I have a feeling, because of Bajram Lajqi's, Albanian hit men will now be considered to have the same capabilities as Venus DeMilo had picking people's pockets.

But that's just me.



The article below appeared in the New York Post.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/mo...O

'Mob hit' is poorly executed

All out of whack

By MITCHEL MADDUX

Last Updated: 3:07 AM, July 12, 2011

Posted: 3:02 AM, July 12, 2011

This alleged hit man should have watched "The Godfather" a few more times to see how it's done.

Unlike Al Pacino's cool-headed Michael Corleone, suspected Albanian Mafia gangster Bajram Lajqi allegedly blew a planned hit on another gangster because he let his temper get the best of him.

Lajqi turned what might have been a quiet murder on a darkened New York street into a public spectacle in a crowded restaurant, according to an account filed by Brooklyn federal prosecutor Steven Tiscione.

Lajqi was busted recently by the feds on drug-trafficking charges and firing a gun in connection with narcotics smuggling.

It all began when Lajqi and his henchman went looking for a man who allegedly had been involved in a drug-smuggling scheme with them, which led to a falling out, authorities said.

Shortly before midnight on June 3, Lajqi and his cohort, Carlos Alvarez, went to the Tosca Cafe on East Tremont Avenue in The Bronx, the report says.

Before entering the restaurant, investigators believe the pair first located their intended victim's car, which was parked outside, and punctured all its tires.

NYPD detectives and Drug Enforcement Administration agents investigating the incident later came to believe this was a tactic aimed at making it hard for the victim to flee.

But apparently the mere sight of his intended victim was too much for Lajqi to bear, and, channeling Joe Pesci in "GoodFellas," he walked right over and allegedly punched him in the face.

Then Lajqi whipped out a pistol and turned it on a bouncer who intervened — but that gave the marked-for-death man a chance to run out the door, the report says.

The mobsters ran after him, and when Lajqi caught up, he allegedly fired several shots at the man outside the eatery.

The victim was hit in his left and right thighs, the report says, but he somehow was able to run away and later sought treatment at a hospital.

Even worse for Lajqi, the entire scene was caught on surveillance tape, authorities said.

With the help of informants, federal investigators discovered that Lajqi and the victim had allegedly been partners in a pot-trafficking organization, the report says.

mitchel.maddux@nypost.com

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Joe Bruno on the Mob – Jewish Gangsters and Italian Gangsters Form Alliances

Around 1915, Lucky Luciano became childhood friends with Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel. It began with Luciano trying to shakedown Jewish kids in school. Lansky fought back and, after a brutal fist fight, the two men became friends and allies for life.

Luciano's Mafia bosses didn't like Luciano doing business with Jews. Especially Joe "The Boss" Masseria. After Luciano killed off Joe "The Boss," then Masseria's successor Salvatore Maranzano, Luciano, along with Lansky, formed a National Crime Syndicate, which included men of all nationalities. The common denominator was making money, not what religion or nationality you belonged to.

 

So it's a fallacy to think that the Jews and Italians didn't work together. They worked closely together, for almost 100 years.

In the article below, the writer says that the Jewish gangster and Italian Gangster came together in the 1940′s. That's plainly false. They joined forces for the purpose of making illegal money 20-25 years earlier.

The article below appeared on BrooklynEagle.net on July 29, 2011.

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categori...

La Cosa Nostra Meets Kosher Nostra

by Samuel Newhouse (sam@brooklyneagle.net), published online 07-29-2011

By Samuel Newhouse

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Retired Judge and Mafia Historians Reveal the True Alliance Between the Italian and Jewish Mobsters of Brooklyn

BROOKLYN — Italian and Jewish mobsters, respectively 'La Cosa Nostra' and 'Kosher Nostra,' came together to make money in America during the 1940s — but the dividing lines between the two groups never fully went away.

"The Guineas are comin'! Let's get the Sheenies!" the Jewish Brownsville Boys would shout as they chased Ocean Hill Italians from back up to Atlantic Avenue, writer Ron Ross described of a typical Brooklyn scene during a panel last week on Italian and Jewish mob history, "La Cosa Nostra Meets the Kosher Nostra: From the Ghetto to the Boardroom."

Then, by the time they got there, the Italians would turn around, grab horse manure from the street and fling it at the Jews, chasing them back into their own turf.

In a few years, the Brownsville Boys would be organizing with Italians to form Murder, Inc., which operated out of a Brownsville candy store and was estimated to be behind 400 to 700 murders as enforcers for the Mafia in New York City. Jews and Italians united, most of all, for profit.

"There's a stereotype that Jewish guys were the bookkeepers and Italians were enforcers. That's not true," said panelist Eric Dezenhall, who is the author of "The Devil Himself." "There were plenty of intelligent Italians who kept the books, and there were plenty of psychotic, violent Jewish guys."

"It was all about making money," added New York University professor Roberta Newman of the union between the two groups.

As Dezenhall put it, "There were some guys who were tribal, but some who just cared about making money. It wasn't all guys who wanted to go into a restaurant and have everyone go 'Oooh.'"

Retired Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Edwin Torres, famed as the author of "Carlito's Way," which later spawned the 1980s mobster movie starring Al Pacino, moderated the panel and introduced the subject from a historical perspective.

In Italy, where famine, draught and political unrest ravaged the land during the late 1800s, people left in droves for the United States, just like Jews in Russia and Poland, who were living in shtetls and villages and subjected to anti-Semitism and pogroms, Torres said.

The second-generation immigrants, Jews and Italians who were born in America, were the ones who turned to crime, panelists said.

"The history of organized crime doesn't have to do with ethnic groups, it has to do with when you got here," Dezenhall said.

As Ross said about the Brownsville Boys who later became founding members of Murder Inc., "Their parents never had land of their own before or an apartment of their own before. … Clash for turf was a daily thing."

The panel said that while Italian and Jewish mobsters worked together, real loyalty only existed between a few partners and friends — not between the groups as a whole.

Ross said La Cosa Nostra shunned some of its members who were overly loyal to Jewish mobsters.

A lot of the discussion focused on ironic differences between the two groups.

Dezenhall said that one Italian mobster, Lucky Luciano, told a Jewish mobster, Meyer Lansky, "One day, my son will run the Brooklyn waterfront." The Jewish mobster replied, "My son works at NASA."

"Jewish guys never brought their kids in [to the mob]," Dezenhall said.

And divisions between ethnic groups were part of life back then, Torres said.

Torres told the audience at this talk organized by the Museum of the American Gangster that as a Puerto Rican growing up in Spanish Harlem, he would get beat up by the Italian Redwings if he walked east past Park Avenue; or by the black gangs if he went west of Fifth Avenue.

Bummy the Brownsville Boxer

Ross, who grew up on the border of East Flatbush and Brownsville, heard many of these stories from his uncle, who owned a Brownsville gas station, and from his cousin, who trained with boxer Al "Bummy" Davis, who was known for standing up to the mobsters in Brooklyn.

Bummy was 5-foot-9 and chunky, but Ross said that when his cousin would come home from Beecher's Gym in Brownsville and tell him stories about Bummy, "that made him 10 feet tall in my eyes."

Ross' book, "Bummy Davis vs. Murder, Inc.," tells much of the history of the Italian and Jewish mobster alliance, but focuses on one particular event, when Bummy refused to throw a fight for the profit of one of Murder, Inc's toughest killers, Abe Reles.

When Reles and his cohorts confronted Bummy on the sidewalk in the middle of the day, Bummy refused, and instead put his dukes up, snarling, "You want me, I'll take all of ya's! C'mon! I'll take all of ya!'" He was left alone after that.

"It was the talk of Brownsville," Ross said, and he claims in his book that Bummy's actions even inspired some former Murder, Inc. henchmen to turn state's evidence, leading to the eventual downfall and arrest of many Murder, Inc. members.

Ross also claims to have solved the mystery behind "The Canary Sang But Couldn't Fly" — the mysterious death of Reles, thrown out of a guarded room at the Half-Moon Hotel in Coney Island after he was arrested and turned informant for prosecutors.

Mobsters Albert Anastasia and Franky Carbo whacked Reles by throwing him out the window, Ross claims, after Lansky paid the five policemen guarding Reles to "go to sleep."

Ross said that he has this information firsthand from connections in the boxing world, which Carbo ruled back in the day, but said that he can't reveal his sources on this information just yet.

* * *

Questions? Comments? Sound off to the Editor

——–

(c) Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2011

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Mafia Informants in Sicily Rare

Isn't it amazing, you hardly ever hear of Mafia informants in Sicily? (The person in the article below is an exception.)

In America, it seems every time you buy a newspaper, or if you read Jerry Capeci's internet website "Gangland," there's another made guy going over to "Team America," to save his own hide and minimize his prison sentence. And "mob associates" are even worse. Ten minutes in jail and they're ready to give up their mothers.

Sammy "The Bull" Gravano and Joe "Big Joey" Massino are the two most glaring examples. Joey was a boss who gave up his underboss (Vinny 'Gorgeous' Basciano), and Sammy was an underboss who gave up his boss (John Gotti).

Why doesn't this happen as often in Sicily??

I'm open to all explanations.

This article appeared on Mafia Today, July 20, 2011.

http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-...

originally posted on : standardmedia.co.ke

Omerta: The glue that binds gang members

by Capo

One thing common across all underworld groupings is the use of oath to ensure members remain loyal to a group and does not reveal secrets.

The Sicilian Mafia is no different. Having existed for centuries, the group has one of the most powerful oaths, that perhaps has contributed to its survival despite attempts by several governments to eradicate it.

The oath is known as Omerta. It is a code of silence and secrecy that forbids members from betraying their 'brothers' to authorities or rival gangs.

The penalty for disobeying the oath is death. That, however, does not end there, family members of the traitor are also punished by death. And if the crime is grave, his entire kinsmen may be wiped out.

In a memoir, Bernardino Verro, a one-time mayor of a city in Italy and a member of the Mafia, who defected and paid the ultimate price, describes the oath.

"I was invited to take part in a secret meeting of the Mafia. I entered a mysterious room where there were many men armed with guns sitting around a table. In the center of the table there was a skull drawn on a piece of paper and a knife.

"To be admitted to the Mafia, I had to undergo an initiation consisting of some trials of loyalty and the pricking of the lower lip with the tip of the knife: the blood from the wound soaked the skull," he writes.

The oath is also used to guard mafia members against cooperating with the police in any way, although bribing individual officers to get information or a favour is allowed.

"Omertà is an extreme form of loyalty and solidarity in the face of authority. One of its absolute tenets is that it is deeply demeaning and shameful to betray even one's deadliest enemy to the authorities," writes an Italian author.

A mafia member will therefore not call the police when he is a victim of a crime. A wronged person is expected to solve the problem conclusively on his own.

Involving the police undermines one's reputation as a capable protector of others and they view him as weak and vulnerable. Inconspicuousness from members while in the society is among what the oath also guarantees. To ensure this, it discourages members from consuming alcohol or drugs. This is because when drunk, a member is more likely to let out sensitive information.

The oath further forbids members from writing down anything about the mafia's activities. Such may become evidence used against the gang.

In their strongholds, the group imposes the oath on the population. Residents, though they do not swear, are expected to remain silent of the gang's ills, lest they are punished by death. A Sicilian proverb goes, "He who is deaf, blind, and silent will live a hundred years in peace."

Source: standardmedia.co.ke

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Irish Gangster Tries to Kill Girlfriend

And you think gangsters here in America are vicious?

The Irish mobster in the article below named Shane Lyons takes the cake in the category "Brutality to Women."

Beating up and killing guys are one thing, but brutally attacking and choking the mother of your six-week-old baby is in a whole different category. What kind of animal would do something like that? I'm sure if Lyons had actually killed Kerry Lee Ball, he would have taken custody and raised the then-motherless baby himself.

Yeah right.

There's a special place in hell for creeps like Shane Lyons.

This article originally appear in Ireland's online newspaper Source: Herald.ie and re-printed in Mafia Today

http://mafiatoday.com/general-breakin...

July 27, 2011 by Capo

The Herald can reveal that Shane Lyons is a notorious gangster who has links with 'Fat' Freddie Thompson's gang.

He was also involved in a major dispute with gangland boss Eamon 'The Don' Dunne over a stolen car, before 'The Don' was shot dead in a Cabra pub last year.

Lyons is also a convicted drugs trafficker who was jailed for four years in March 2001 after he admitting importing IR£160,000 worth of cannabis from South Africa.

choked

The violent crook has also links to veteran gangster Martin 'The Viper' Foley.

Yesterday, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Lyons (41) choked Ms Kelly before locking the door and telling her to "sleep on the floor like the animal she was".

A friend who tried to protect her was then beaten so badly by Lyons that she had to be taken away in an ambulance.

Lyons, Ms Kelly and her pal Kerry Lee Ball, who had given birth to a baby six weeks earlier, had all been on a night out together before he attacked them at his Rathfarnham, Dublin, home.

Ms Kelly described Lyons during the attack as "the face of pure evil".

Lyons had separated from his wife after she had a miscarriage and had been seeing Ms Kelly for six months at the time of the attack on August 31, 2009.

They had been out at a city-centre club and the two women had taken cocaine during the evening. Ms Kelly had told Lyons she wanted to go outside for a cigarette but instead went back to his home at Harold's Grange Road, Rathfarnham.

Garda Joanne Grogan told the court the accused had come home screaming that Ms Kelly had left him. He told her to get out of his bed and she went downstairs to a spare bedroom, where she packed to leave. Lyons told her "she wasn't driving her car" even though she told him she did not have the keys.

He pushed her against the bedroom wall, then followed her upstairs where he pushed her down on to his bed, got on top of her and 'strangled' her with both his hands.

Her body went limp, she could not breathe and her eyes felt like they were going to pop, as he told her she "was trying to make a fool out of him and wouldn't treat him like a thickie".

Her head going light, she stopped fighting and he let go.

He locked the bedroom door, threw a pillow at her and told her to sleep on the floor before taking the battery from her phone and putting it under his pillow when she tried to call her father.

He punched her to the side of the head at one point but eventually agreed to open the door, saying: "Fiona, I just didn't want you to drive home."

Ms Ball arrived and Ms Kelly told her what happened before trying to strike Lyons with a bottle opener. The accused grabbed Ms Kelly by the throat again, lifting her up on her "tippy toes", saying: "Who do you think you are, I'll f***ing kill you".

Ms Ball tried to pull him off Ms Kelly but he shoved her away twice and flung Ms Kelly on to the bed by her hair.

Again Ms Ball tried to stop him and he punched her full force to the side of the head.

Ms Kelly screamed at her friend to run, but Ms Ball tripped and fell and the accused got her by the arms and flung her out into his front garden, on to her back.

He then grabbed Ms Kelly by the throat again and pinned her to a car. Gardai and an ambulance arrived and Ms Ball was taken away on a spinal board.

In her victim impact statement, which she read out to the court, Ms Ball said she would never forget Lyons face on the night, his extreme rage, or her friend's face turning purple in colour.

Lyons hands were gripped "around her neck so tightly I thought she was almost dead", Ms Ball said.

She began blocking out what happened with prescription medication, she was in constant fear and her mother had to care for her newborn baby. Her relationship ended and she became withdrawn and paranoid, she said.

In her statement, Ms Kelly said she suffered flashbacks, nightmare and a lack of sleep as well as "vivid images" over and over in her head of the accused strangling her.

"It was the face of pure evil, a face that will haunt me for the rest of my life," her statement said. "I can honestly say I thought I was going to die and I would never see my children again."

Both women said the accused had shown no remorse since the incident. Lyons apologized through his barrister.

"Can he say it?" Ms Kelly asked.

"I can, yeah, I'm sorry for what happened," Lyons said from the dock.

The defendant's car dealership business had collapsed in the recession and a repossession order had been put on his home. Judge Hunt adjourned the case for sentencing to a date in December.

Source: herald.ie

Joe Bruno on the Mob – How About a Little Compassion Judge?

OK, right off the bat, Criminal Attorney Mathew J. Mari has been a good friend of mine for over 40 years. He fights for his clients, and he mostly wins for his clients. But my friendship with Matty has absolutely nothing to do with what I am about to say.

The question is, why does Anthony Durso, convicted of a crime and waiting to go to prison, have a 7 p.m. curfew?? Even Anthony Durso's parole officer doesn't think his client should have a curfew. But Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto does. And right now, apparently the judge's opinion is the only one that matters.

A convicted person is usually free, from the time of their sentencing, to the time they start serving their prison sentence. Convicted disgraced governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is presently a free man after being convicted of a slew of crimes. And he's facing a hell of a lot of more prison time than Durso is. Want to bet that after Blagojevich is sentenced, he isn't put on a 7 p.m. curfew until he finally goes to prison?

It seems in the past few years, under Attorney General Eric Holder's regime, Italian/Americans are treated more harshly than people of other nationalities. Heck, even Muslim terrorists seem to get more respect these days than those of us whose last names end in a vowel. Especially from creeps like Geraldo Rivera, whom, by the way, I can't conceive why he still has a job at Fox News. Rivera belongs in a liberal setting like MSNBC. Every time I see Rivera on Fox News I want to punch out the TV screen.

But I digress.

The main issue is this: Hey judge, how about doing the right thing here? Give Anthony Durso a break. Treat Durso like every other man in his position should be treated. Durso will eventually serve his sentence like a man. There is no reason to treat Durso any less than a man should be treated, in the time period before he goes to prison.



This article appeared in the New York Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_cr...

BY John Doyle and John Marzulli

DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Thursday, July 21st 2011, 4:00 AM

"Baby Fat Larry" is looking for love.

Reputed Colombo associate Anthony Durso wants a judge to remove a 7 p.m. curfew so he can do what any other red-blooded, single Italian male living in Brooklyn wants to do.

"He goes home and eats dinner with his mother and stepfather and then has to stay home every night with them," his lawyer Mathew Mari wrote in a letter to Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto.

"He is a 27-year-old man and would like to have some leisure time away from his parents and his home," Mari continued. "He would like to leave his home after work and perhaps go on a date or just go out of the house."

For those ladies who might be interested, here's the dossier on Durso:

First the nickname – it's derived from his close association with fellow Colombo gangster Ilario (Fat Larry) Sessa.

Durso is gainfully employed by the city Sanitation Department, but that may not be true for much longer. He's facing up to 33 months in prison when he's sentenced in November.

Although Mari describes his client as a "teddy bear," prosecutors paint a more ominous picture of the 300-pound man.

Durso pleaded guilty to participating in the assault of a deadbeat who was past due on loanshark payments. Sessa was also present and carrying a knife, according to court papers. Durso is also known to have possessed a firearm that was going to be used in Sessa's mob induction ceremony, according to court papers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allon Lifshitz is urging the judge to keep the curfew in place "to minimize the defendant's ability to commit crimes."

Durso declined to comment Wednesday afternoon outside his parents' Dyker Heights home.

In an interview Wednesday, Mari pointed out that even his client's probation officer doesn't think a curfew is necessary. The lawyer insisted his request is not about getting Durso female companionship.

"He has no girlfriend and there's no girl he wants to see," Mari told the Daily News. "Why should he have to stay home with his mom and dad?"

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_cr...

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Catherine Greig's Detention Hearing

I can't believe a judge would even consider releasing Whitey's Bulger's moll, Catherine Greig, on bail before her trial for "harboring a fugitive."

It's plain nonsense to believe that Greig spent so many years living in Boston, that she did not know Bulger was a criminal of the highest order, and murderer, many times over. If Catherine Greig didn't know about Bulger's reputation when she ran away with him, she was the only person in the entire state of Massachusetts who didn't. And as for Bulger being "A Hero in the Community," as Greig's lawyer Kevin Reddington claims, don't make me laugh. Bulger was as much a "Robin Hood" type figure as was Al Capone.

Add that to the fact Greig spent 16 years on the lam with Bulger, living off the ill-gotten gains Bulger had accumulated in more than 40 years in a life of crime, and as far as I'm concerned, Greig is, beyond the shadow of doubt, guilty of some crime. But we'll leave that up to a jury.

And will somebody please put a sock in the mouth of Greig's sister Margaret McCusker, who said in the court hearing, "Cathy didn't commit any crimes." Even she must know that statement is disingenuous, at best.

It's also possible that Greig might know where Bulger has hidden the rest of his money. When they were arrested last month in Santa Monica, the FBI found $800,000 secreted in the walls of their condo. No one of sound mind could think that was all the money Bulger had stashed away to last him for the rest of his life

I feel the government should put the screws hard to Greig. Threaten the 60-year old woman with substantial jail time, then maybe she'll come clean about how Bulger was able to escape detection for 16 years. Greig, besides possibly knowing where Bulger's money is hidden, might also know who else helped Bulger while he was on the lam.

Go easy on Greig, and the relatives of Bulger's numerous victims will not sleep easy at night.

The following article appeared on Boston.com on July 13.

http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodes...

By Maria Cramer, Milton J. Valencia, and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Catherine Greig's defense attorney today said she was the innocent girlfriend of James "Whitey'' Bulger, who never took part in the crimes of a controlling, menacing man whom she had the misfortune to fall in love with.

The hearing ended without U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal formally deciding whether to detain Greig. Kevin J. Reddington agreed that Greig can stay behind bars while some of the complex legal issues raised in the detention hearing are addressed by lawyers in the near future.

Reddington in his closing argument during Greig's detention hearing in US District Court today, insisted that Greig should be free while awaiting trial on charges of harboring a fugitive.

"We all know who is the mastermind," Reddington told Magistrate Boal, in pressing his claim that Greig was never free to leave Bulger during the 16 years they lived on the run. "Her only crime is a crime of passion, falling in love.''

He added, "She is not a nefarious person. She is just a simple woman who wants to be with her sister.''

Bulger and Greig were captured last month in Santa Monica, Calif., where they apparently lived together since 1998. "There isn't a person in Santa Monica who doesn't have extreme love and respect for this woman," Reddington said.

But Assistant US Attorney James Herbert said Greig has proven she cannot be trusted to be released from custody. "She has demonstrated an ability to remain as a fugitive,'' he said. "She is not simply a traveling companion. She is a willing and active participant in their joint effort'' to elude authorities.

One major issue was Boal's decision to let the kin of Bulger's alleged murder victims testify as witnesses against Greig – even though she is not charged with participating in the murders, and even though she has not been convicted of a crime.

Thomas Donahue, Steve Davis, and Chris McIntyre, all of whom had loved ones allegedly murdered by Bulger, took the stand and told Boal in emotional terms about the pain they have suffered during the couple's years on the run.;

Thomas Donahue's father, Michael, was allegedly shot to death by Bulger in 1982. "Her 16 years with her lover on the run were 16 years we cried," he said.

Steve Davis, whose sister, Debbie, was allegedly murdered by Bulger, told the judge that he never heard anyone call Bulger Robin Hood as Reddington had argued earlier today.

"I can't put into words in three minutes the suffering of the last 16 years,'' Davis told Boal. "In my eyes, she is an evil woman.''

McIntyre testified that if Greig is freed, she could end up living 100 yards from his family's home in the Squantum neighborhood in Quincy where Greig has kept ownership of a house during the past 16 years.

As the relatives spoke, Greig kept her gaze straight ahead, never looking towars the people as they spoke.

Earlier today, Kevin Weeks, a former associate of Bulger, testified that Greig was Bulger's girlfriend, not a partner in the mobster's alleged crimes. "I don't know what she knew as far as his reputation,'' Weeks said of Greig. "She saw one side of him and others saw another side of him."

Prodded by Reddington, Weeks testified that Bulger's reputation in 1995 — when Greig joined Bulger in his life on the run – was that of a "Robin Hood,'' not as a ruthless killer of 19 people.

"He was considered by many to be a Robin Hood type, right?" Reddington asked.

"Yes,'' said Weeks, who turned against his surrogate father and helped lead authorities to secret graves where eight of Bulger's alleged victims were buried. "He was generous with people."

Weeks testified that he picked up Greig and then drove to Malibu Beach in Dorchester where Bulger awaited. Greig had just a handbag with her, he said.

Weeks was one of Bulger's top aides and a surrogate son until he learned that Bulger was an informant for the FBI. In 2000, Weeks began cooperating with the federal government.

Weeks pleaded guilty to assisting Bulger in five murders, and served five years and three months in prison. His autobiography is called, "Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob.''

Prodded by Reddington, FBI Special Agent Michael Carazza testified today that Bulger told agents after his arrest last month that Greig did not know about the 30 firearms found in the their apartment.

Carazza, however, disagreed with Reddington's contention that Greig did not know about the $800,000 in cash authorities found in the apartment. Reddington also said that Bulger told the FBI that he and his long-time girlfriend slept in separate bedrooms in the two-bedroom, rent-controlled apartment.

When questioned by prosecutors, Carazza testified that the landlord of the Santa Monica apartment building reported that Bulger and Greig had lived in the California city since 1998, although there were periods of time when the couple was not around.

During those years, the landlord told the FBI, it was Greig, using her alias of Carol Gasko, who paid the rent — always in cash. Carazza also testified that Greig told her hairdresser she liked bad boys, that "she knew her husband was a bad boy" who had now grown up.

Before the hearing began, Greig's twin sister said she believes Greig should be freed from jail despite living with Bulger for 16 years while he was being sought by law enforcement.

"Cathy didn't commit any crimes,'' Margaret McCusker said as she headed into court this morning.

McCusker also had harsh words for the gaggle of reporters who swarmed her as she arrived at the South Boston courthouse for the continuation of Greig's detention hearing.

"(Expletive) vultures," McCusker said. "Oh my God."

After today's hearing, McCusker had tears in her eyes and was allowed to use a courthouse exit that let her avoid the throng of reporters outside the courthouse.

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Mobster Skinny Dom Refused Early Release For a Kidney Transplant.

This one I really don't understand,

Judge Jack Weinstein denied the early release of Dominick Pizzonia, a.k.a. Skinny Dom, even though the judge admits himself, "He sounds like he's about to die."

Skinny Dom has already served 4 years of a 15-year sentence for illegal gambling and racketeering. He has kidney cancer, and already has had one kidney removed. There is a fear the cancer will spread to his other kidney.

`You might ask why can't they put Skinny Dom on house arrest, until a new kidney can be found for him? Well, Skinny Dom is 69, and with cancer in his body already, he would not be near the top of any list for a kidney transplant — home, or in prison.

The only chance Skinny Dom has to get relief is to get a "compassionate release" from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. And that's what his lawyer Joseph Corozzo has no choice but to try to accomplish.

It would be a lot easier, and much more compassionate, if the judge had granted Skinny Dom an early release. But considering the US government's vendetta against organized crime figures, especially Italians, my best guess is that Skinny Dom's request for a "compassionate release" will fall on deaf ears.

This article appeared in Mafia Today and was originally in the New York Daily News.

http://mafiatoday.com/general-breakin...

July 28, 2011

A Brooklyn judge yesterday shot down a cancer-stricken mob hit man's desperate plea for early release from prison so he can get on a list for a kidney transplant.

Gambino captain Dominick (Skinny Dom) Pizzonia, who worked for the late mob kingpin John Gotti, got the bad news in a call from the cancer ward of a North Carolina prison hospital.

"I can't release you," Judge Jack Weinstein said in the teleconference.

"If I could, I would do it for you, but I can't."

Pizzonia, 69, asked to be let out after he learned last year he had advanced cancer of the urethra and his left kidney was removed.

The gangster fears the cancer may spread to his remaining kidney, and he has served only about four years of a 15-year term for racketeering and illegal gambling.

"They can't give you a kidney here, nothing," Pizzonia explained yesterday in a weak voice. "I'm worried about that."

"Out there you get better care and I can get on a list for a kidney, God forbid. Maybe I can get time off or house arrest."

The judge appeared visibly moved by Pizzonia's appeal but explained that he does not have the power to alter the sentence under such a scenario.

Weinstein suggested that Pizzonia contact his trial lawyer, Joseph Corozzo, and seek a "compassionate release" from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

"I really am sorry you're having all this trouble," Weinstein said. "Good luck to you and I hope you have a better day today."

When Pizzonia was off the line, the judge said grimly: "He sounds like he's about to die. They're not going to give him a kidney."

Pizzonia was once a feared member of Gotti's crew. He operated a social club called Cafe Liberty in Ozone Park, Queens, and participated in some of the crime family's most spectacular rubouts, although he was never convicted of murder.

He was reportedly part of the hit team assembled by Gotti to whack then-Gambino boss Paul Castellano outside Sparks steakhouse in midtown.

In 2007, he beat the rap for the double murder of Thomas and Rosemarie Uva – a married "Bonnie and Clyde" stickup duo who had twice robbed Pizzonia's social club – and the killing of mob associate Frank (Geeky) Boccia.

Federal prison rules say an inmate can be an organ donor for an immediate family member and an organ recipient if it is deemed medically necessary.

It's unclear where the donated organ would come from.

"I am going to petition the Bureau of Prisons for any and all available relief," Corozzo told the Daily News.

Joe Bruno – Mob Rat Kasman Gets Off Easy

People on the streets consider rats as being the lowest form of life. But Lewis Kasman, the so-called "adopted son" of the late John Gotti, could be the most despicable rat of all.

During the heyday of Mafia Don John Gotti Sr., Kasman was entrenched in Gotti's inner circle. Gotti called Kasman his "adopted son," and Kasman could always be seen in the newspapers, or on TV, walking with Gotti, opening car doors for Gotti, and being an all-around lackey for Gotti. Kasman once said he respected no man more than John Gotti, but obviously this "respect" didn't extend to Gotti's immediate family.

As far back as 1998, when Gotti was sitting in jail serving a life sentence (Gotti died in 2002), in order to keep his own yellow butt out of jail, Kasman began operating as a mole for the FBI, inside the Gambino crime family, and even inside John Gotti's immediate family. Starting in 2005, this creep Kasman went as far as to wear a wire while talking to Gotti's wife Victoria. To make his actions even more disgusting, when Kasman was wired up recording her conversation, Victoria Gotti had just suffered a stoke. For his inside work concerning the Gotti family, Kasman, a veritable Judas, was paid by the government $12,000 a month. (Again, our tax dollars at work.)

There have been some despicable people in the annals of organized crime: vicious killers, who would rip out your eyes, hearts, and lungs, then eat a hearty roast beef sandwich afterwards. Kasman wasn't a killer. He didn't have the guts to be a killer, even if she wanted to be, which he didn't.

But right now, I can't think of any person, alive or dead, connected with organized crime, more despicable than Lewis Kasman: a man so vile, he would wear a wire while talking to the sick wife, of a deceased man who once called Kasman his "adopted son."



The article below originally appeared in the New York Post.

Gotti's 'adopted son' who ratted on the mob sentenced to time served

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/go...

September 16, 2010

Gambino crime family rat, Lewis Kasman, who Dapper Don John Gotti once called his "adopted son" scurried out of Brooklyn federal court with a no jail sentence as a reward for 15 years of cooperation with the government.

Kasman pleaded guilty in September of 2007 to obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI, after his own wire tape recorded him tipping off a fellow mobster to a federal investigation.

In 2008, while still cooperating with the government, he was charged again with robbing $90,000 after ripping off another Gambino crime member.

In his defense, Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Norris, cited his contribution to the government's uneven record prosecuting the Gottis.

"What Mr. Kasman achieved by recording the highest echelons of the Gambino crime family cannot be underestimated," said Norris.

It wasn't all good news for Kasman, 53, who was squealing on the mob even as he delivered the eulogy at the Gotti's funeral.

"He can no longer live the dual life he once lived where he partied with the bad boys and then reported to the good guys," said his lawyer Michael Gold, who claimed his client was on food stamps living with his parents.

"What a piece of sh-t," said Angel Gotti, the Teflon Don's oldest daughter, who was at the sentencing. "My father went to Marion for 10 years because of him."

His lawyer asked the judge to consider his difficulty growing up without a father, his bitter divorce with his wife and his estrangement from the Gambino crime family before handing down his sentence.

"There is constant fear of retaliation and acts of violence against him and his loved ones," said Gold.

It isn't just his crime family that's out to get him, his ex-wife would also like to see him dead, said Gold.

"It's one thing for a couple to separate after many years, it's another thing for the wife to side with the people who wanted to kill him," he said.

Although Kasman was feeding information to the feds since 1995, according to his lawyer, it wasn't until after he was busted in 2005 that he agreed to wear a wire for a whopping $12,000 a month.

"The man was two-faced, and that's being charitable," said Joe Bruno – Mob Rat Kasman Gets Off Easy, who represented Junior Gotti in the last racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court.

He was expected to testify against his mob brother Junior Gotti, but was deemed too unreliable to take the stand.

Wearing a rumpled grey blazer, black slacks, a white shirt and no tie, Kasman, buried his head in his and and sighed deeply throughout the proceeding.

"I do accept responsibility for my actions," he told the judge. "They were serious crimes. "I did envy the bad guys. I'm not going to tell you that I did not. It's a hard lesson to learn to live a clean and healthy life. I hope you have the compassion to do what's right by me."

Judge Nicholas Garaufis acknowledged Kasman contribution helping the FBI prosecute mobsters which he called the "cesspool of society" and the cost that it has on his life.

"Incarcerated or not, [Kasman] will never be free," said the judge.

Joe Bruno – Vinny "Gorgeous'" Basciano Sentenced to Life in Prison – Twice

This is both plain stupid and a total waste of taxpayer money. On Tuesday, July 19, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano was sentenced to life in prison, without chance of parole, plus ten years, for ordering the 2004 murder of Bonnano Crime Family associate Randolph Pizzolo.

That would be fine, if just for one simple fact: Basciano is already serving life in prison, without chance of parole, for the 2001 murder of junkie, and all around bad guy, Frank Santoro.

So now Basciano is scheduled to serve two life sentences, plus another ten years in prison. There's only one problem. The last time I looked, Basciano, like the rest of us, I might add, only has one life to live. You can't serve two life sentences, and certainly not an additional ten years, after you serve two life sentences. Just can't happen. Human being are not wired that way.

Millions of dollars were spent in Basciano's second trial, which was absolutely the worst example of overkill (no pun intended) I've ever seen.

The government might say the reason for the second trial was that they were seeking the death penalty for Basciano, and they obviously figured death was a more proper sentence for Basciano than life in prison. Right?

Well, how did that work out for you, Mr. Government?

The jury decided quite quickly, and quite correctly, that the proper sentence for Basciano was life in prison rather than sitting down in "Old Sparky" at Sing Sing Prison in upstate New York (The smart-ass judge added the extra 10 years for good measure). So that means Basciano got absolutely no punishment for the Pizzolo murder, because he was already serving life in prison for the Santoro murder.

The United States of America is in debt for trillions of dollars. Why? Because we overspend. On almost everything.

Social Programs. Heath Care. The Military. I could go on and on.

But spending millions of dollars on the prosecution of a man, already sentenced to life in prison without the chance for parole, is beyond the pale.

Attorney General Eric Holder has the reputation of being soft on terrorism and tough on organized crime; especially Italian, or Italian American organized crime. In early January, Holder made a big splash when he ordered the FBI to arrest 127 men, in and around the New York area, suspected of being associated with organized crime, i.e. – The Mafia, or "Cosa Nostra," as the government likes to call it.

On the day of the mass roundup of organized crime figures, Holder got on the podium before a nation TV audience to announce (brag about?) the arrests. He was so proud, the buttons on Holder's suit seemed ready to burst, even though the vast majority of the men arrested were so "low-level" in organized crime, they need a ladder just to reach the curb.

And how much more of our money do you think the government will spend on 127 prosecutions? And guess whose money they will be spending?

Not Holder's, that's for sure.

The following article appeared in the NY Daily News on July, 20, 2011.

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-...

Vinny 'Gorgeous' Basciano sentenced to life in prison plus ten years at Supermax

BY JOHN MARZULLI AND LARRY MCSHANE

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Bloodthirsty ex-crime boss Vincent Basciano made a startling admission on Wednesday before he was dispatched to rot behind bars in America's toughest federal prison.

"I was done in by the tapes," the murderous mobster said in federal court, referring to damning jailhouse recordings secretly made by ex-Bonanno chief Joseph Massino.

Basciano – spared the death penalty last month by a Brooklyn jury – received a sentence of life plus 10 years from Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis.

"No punishment is sufficient to right his innumerable wrongs," said Garaufis, who prosecutors say was targeted for murder by Basciano, who is known as "Vinny Gorgeous."

"No words are strong enough to convey the depravity with which he lived his free life."

The 51-year-old gangster is already serving a life sentence for a previous murder. He strode into the courtroom smiling and carrying a carton filled with legal papers.

Asked if he wanted to make a statement about murder victim Randolph Pizzolo, Basciano instead whined about his woes.

"I'm broke, I have no money," he said during a rambling speech, griping that he was denied a fair trial and demanding a new lawyer so he could sue an inmate who snitched on him.

The Basciano jury cited Massino's bloodier past – including a dozen murders – in deciding on a life sentence rather than death for Vinny Gorgeous.

Basciano was convicted of capital murder for ordering a November 2004 mob hit against Bonanno associate Pizzolo. He was previously found guilty in the 2001 murder of Bronx junkie Frank Santoro.

He's headed for the super-maximum security prison in Florence, Colo., where he will join the worst of the worst inmates in Cell Block H.

Basciano's neighbors will include terrorists like World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and shoe-bomber Richard Reid.

Despite his claimed lack of cash, prosecutors said they intend to collect a $5 million forfeiture order from Basciano's prior trial – and repay the Pizzolo family $21,000 in funeral expenses.

The judge noted that Basciano is proof there is no glory in the Mafia. "Basciano stands here today, proof of its reality – a crumbling facade, beneath which lies a bleak, pathetic and ignorant life," Garaufis said.