'Mafia Cops' Judge to Rule on Bail After Vacation Cruise

Friends of ours: Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, Lucchese Crime Family
Friends of mine: Louis Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa

'Mafia Cops' Judge Jack Weinstein tossed the convictions of the two retired New York City detectives that have been dubbed the 'Mafia Cops' on Friday. But now, the judge may make them wait until he finishes his vacation cruise before allowing them to make a bid to get out of jail.

Ex-NYPD detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa will certainly file for bail but according to a report in Newsday - they may have to wait for an answer until the judge returns from a vacation cruise.

Newsday reports that along with his momentous ruling Friday, which overturned the conviction of both men for racketeering conspiracy, Brooklyn federal Judge Jack B. Weinstein issued a terse order that any requests for bail be made to him as "presiding" justice in the case.

That means that any attempt by Eppolito, 57, and Caracappa, 64, to win release from the federal detention center in Brooklyn won't be decided until Weinstein returns from a vacation cruise later this month. However, defense attorneys may file bail requests as early as this week for both men.

On April 6, a jury found Eppolito and Caracappa guilty of 70 counts of racketeering in one of the most sensational cases of police corruption in New York's history. In a month long trial, witnesses testified that the two friends had formed a partnership with Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, an underboss with the Lucchese family, reports the LA Times.

In exchange for a shared $4,000 monthly retainer, they would pass along police information about mob figures and occasionally act as hit men themselves.

The men were each sentenced to life in prison for their crimes.

The United States attorney's office in Brooklyn said it would appeal the judge's decision to overturn the convictions.

Thanks to Jim Roberts

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Mob Gal Pal Becoming Key Witness to FBI Case

Friends of ours: Gregory Scarpa Sr., Colombo Crime Family

When Linda Schiro was just 16, the Brooklyn teen was already a mistress to a hardened mobster. Her lover, Gregory Scarpa Sr., was a veteran of the Colombo crime family who eventually was convicted of murder and racketeering.

A dozen years later, Schiro has emerged as a key witness against a former FBI agent who allegedly fed Scarpa inside information that led to four mob slayings. But attorneys for R. Lindley DeVecchio say the longtime mistress lacks the credibility to implicate the ex-FBI agent. Her story has changed drastically over time, the defense says.

Authorities insist that Schiro's initial reluctance to detail the relationship between the agent and the mob capo was motivated by fears for her life. Only recently was she persuaded to tell the truth, they say.

Schiro met Scarpa in 1966 when she was 16. They quickly moved in together and shared the same home for 28 years -- except when Scarpa was behind bars. The couple had two children.

DeVecchio was the head of the FBI's Colombo crime family squad and became Scarpa's handler when the mobster turned informer. During Scarpa's time as a mole, DeVecchio put together a 700-page informant file detailing their relationship, court papers showed.

Allegations about possible leaks from DeVecchio to Scarpa first surfaced after the mobster's June 1994 death in a Minnesota prison from AIDS, contracted when he received a tainted blood transfusion. But the Department of Justice declined to prosecute DeVecchio following an internal investigation.

DeVecchio, now 65, retired to Florida in 1996. The former agent has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and is free on $1 million bond.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation remains open, said authorities approached Schiro two years ago after a private investigator turned up fresh evidence against DeVecchio.

Prosecutors persuaded Schiro to come clean about the relationship between the agent and Scarpa by promising relocation and police protection. "It was a matter of making her feel safe, telling her, 'You're not going to get whacked,"' the official said.

Court papers filed by the prosecution present a sinister relationship between Scarpa and DeVecchio. The pair met once a week at Scarpa's home, where the agent accepted a roll of bills bound with a rubber band -- the payoff for DeVecchio's tips from inside the FBI, according to an affidavit from Assistant District Attorney Ann Bordley.

The prosecutor maintains that Schiro has direct knowledge about the 1990 slaying of Patrick Porco, who with Scarpa's son Joey and two other suspects murdered a man outside a church in Brooklyn on Halloween 1989.

In May 1990, Schiro answered a phone call from DeVecchio, asking for Scarpa. The mobster had Schiro drive him to a pay phone, where he spoke with DeVecchio for about 10 minutes before returning to the car. "I can't believe this (expletive) kid," Scarpa allegedly told Schiro. "Patrick is going to rat on Joey. We got to do something about this."

Porco, 18, was found the next morning on a Brooklyn street corner with a bullet in his head.

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Mother of Mafia Cops Victim Pleads with Mayor Bloomberg

Friends of ours: Lucchese Crime Family
Friends of mine: Louis Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa

The mother of a victim linked to the so-called "Mafia cops" case has addressed a letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asking for his help. The 'Mafia Cops' convictions were overturned on Friday.

According to an exclusive in the NY Daily News the mother wants the mayor to stop fighting her wrongful-death suit, which she said is being delayed by technicalities.

The letter is written by Pauline Pipitone, the mother of 26-year-old Brooklyn man Nicky Guido. He was slain on Christmas Day 1986, a victim of mistaken identity in a rubout linked to the so-called Mafia Cops case, according to the Daily News.

The full letter to Mayor Bloomberg is here.

Jim Kouri reported in the National Ledger on Friday on that the judge had overturned the convictions of two former New York City cops accused of working for the Luchese crime family as mob hit men.

He writes:

Judge Jack Weinstein said that he still believes they are guilty, but the statute of limitations had run out. Besides, liberals always work overtime in order to avoid incarcerating criminals and terrorists, and Weinstein's judicial history strongly suggested he's on the left of the political spectrum.

Three months ago, a jury found former NYPD detectives Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa guilty of participating in eight murders while on the payroll of the organized crime underboss. But a lawyer in a black robe knows best, so dirty cops lucked out by having a Lyndon Johnson-appointed judge hear their case.

In his decision, Judge Jack Weinstein said he agreed with a jury that Eppolito and Caracappa were guilty of murder, kidnapping and other crimes, but unfortunately the law "compelled" him to overturn the verdicts on the most serious charges. Weinstein granted the former cops a new trial on drug charges and Eppolito a new trial on money laundering charges. It will be interesting to see how Weinstein handles the drug charges.

"The evidence at trial overwhelmingly established the defendants' participation in a large number of heinous and violent crimes," he said in his ruling.

"Nevertheless the five-year statute of limitations mandates granting the defendants a judgment of acquittal on the key charge against them -- racketeering conspiracy."

Less than a month ago, Weinstein sentenced the two disgraced law enforcement officers to life in prison.

Thanks to Jim Roberts

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