"Little Nick" Corozzo Turns Himself into the NY FBI

On the run for nearly four months and featured on "America's Most Wanted," a reputed Mafia capo strolled up to the FBI's New York City office on Thursday and surrendered on charges he ordered a decades-old gangland hit that took an innocent bystander's life.

Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo _ according to authorities, a one-time crony of notorious mob boss John Gotti _ was ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty to racketeering, extortion and murder charges _ part of a sprawling federal case against the once-mighty Gambino organized crime family.

So where had the balding 5-foot-5, 68-year-old fugitive been hiding out?

"I really don't know," defense attorney Diarmuid White told reporters outside court. Prosecutors claimed they didn't know either.

White said Corozzo contacted him two weeks ago about arranging a surrender _ around the time his case was featured on the popular television show. On Thursday morning, Corozzo donned a blue sweat suit-white sneaker ensemble, met the lawyer on a street corner in lower Manhattan and walked two blocks to the FBI office, where they were greeted outside by four agents.

"He knew what he was doing," White said.

Corozzo had fled his Long Island home in early February amid a massive pre-dawn roundup of 62 reputed mobsters named in an indictment unsealed in Brooklyn.

Authorities say Corozzo was a soldier in the Gambino family from the mid-1970s until 1992 when he was promoted to capo, or captain. They say he was part of a three-man committee of capos formed in 1994 to help John "Junior" Gotti run New York's Gambino family while his father was in prison, serving a life sentence for murder and racketeering; the elder Gotti died behind bars in 2002.

Corozzo, also known as "the Little Guy," was consider a candidate to take over the crime family, but racketeering convictions in the late 1990s in Florida and New York took him out of the running, prosecutors say.

The Gambinos have been crippled by a steady stream of government indictments and prosecutions since the 1990s. Authorities brought the new charges against Corozzo as part of a case aimed at delivering a knock-out blow, with charges accusing reputed mobsters with offenses stretching back three decades.

The indictment alleges Corozzo ordered the Jan. 26, 1996, the murder of a rival mobster, resulting in the death of the intended target and the bystander. So far, about 30 of his co-defendants have pleaded guilty.

Thanks to Tom Hays

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SOPRANOS COSTUMES LEAD CHRISTIE’S POP CULTURE AUCTION

James Gandolfini’s Personal Collection Of Costumes Worn During Filming of The Sopranos Will Benefit Wounded Warrior Project

Christie’s Pop Culture auction on June 25 in New York will be highlighted by a collection of costumes from the critically acclaimed and Emmy-award-winning HBO drama series, The Sopranos. James Gandolfini will sell his personal costume wardrobe worn as the series star, Tony Soprano, to benefit Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors. Among the twenty-four lots of Tony Soprano costumes are complete costumes of suits with shoes, leisure shirts, bathrobes, track suits, and bloody costumes, with estimates starting at $500. The sale will also include a selection of men’s costumes from The Sopranos worn by various characters such as Junior Soprano, Paulie Walnuts, Christopher Moltisanti and A.J. Soprano.

“Wounded Warrior Project is thankful for James Gandolfini’s commitment to our organization,” stated Wounded Warrior Project Executive Director and Founder, John Melia. “His public support and generous donation gives a world-wide voice to the severely wounded men and women WWP assists. Our motto is ‘The Greatest Casualty is Being Forgotten’ and with Mr. Gandolfini’s support, we will ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Tony Soprano Wardrobe

Hailed by critics as a landmark series, The Sopranos riveted audiences for six seasons and drew an international base of dedicated fans. The cast’s wardrobe played a significant part in establishing the look and tone of the series, and no small detail was overlooked, down to the actors’ socks. The series costume designer, Juliet Polsca, earned two Emmy nominations and a Costume Designers Guild award.

Many of the lots are accompanied with the original production tags attached and all of the lots include a letter of authenticity by James Gandolfini. Highlights among the Tony Soprano wardrobe recall the character’s most recognizable styles, as demonstrated by the short sleeve button down blue shirt worn in the opening credits of every show (estimate: $2,000-3,000). A tan cotton bathrobe with lavender trim and an embroidered letter ‘S’ on the breast pocket, which was worn in the pilot episode when Tony is fetching the morning paper and feeding ducks in the pool (estimate: $1,000-1,500). A signature costume worn in numerous episodes throughout the entire series run is a striped short robe by Guy Laroche, a white tank top, light blue striped boxers, and a pair of leather Bostonian scuffs (estimate: $1,000-1,500).

A complete costume worn in the episode “Rat Pack” (season 5, episode 2) and displayed at an exhibition of “Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design” at The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, consists of a multicolored geometric Burma Bibas short sleeve shirt, a white athletic tank top, dark brown pleated Slates pants, Gold Toe Socks, and a pair of Allen Edmonds brown loafers (estimate: $800-1,200). A bloody costume worn in a pivotal scene during “Members Only” (season 6, episode 1), when Uncle Junior shoots Tony in a fit of dementia, comprises of a white Jockey tank top, a black and beige short sleeve polo shirt by George Foreman, and black pants by Zanella (estimate: $2,000-3,000).

Various Characters Wardrobe

Approximately 37 men’s costumes from other lead characters in The Sopranos are available from The Golden Closet. They include costumes worn by characters Junior Soprano, Paulie Walnuts, Christopher Moltisanti, A.J. Soprano, Bobby Balcala, Burt Gervasi, Johnny Sack and others. From the character Junior Soprano is a plaid cap by Bert Pulitzer (estimate: $300-500), and a black wool overcoat (estimate: $500-700). Several costumes worn by the character Paulie Walnuts are offered, including a navy double breasted two-piece suit by Marcello Toscani and white Jos A. Bank shirt, a short sleeve Tuscan knit shirt and tan Sansabelt pants, and two complete track suits (each estimate: $500-700).

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Rumors Tie Mobsters to Stained Glass Church Windows North of Chicago

Amid the monks and saints depicted in a stained glass window at St. Peter Catholic Church in Antioch appears a car wheel, headlight and a wrench that have baffled parishioners.

For years they have speculated that the three-panel windows were somehow tied to Chicago mobsters who spent summers in northeastern Lake County around the time the church was dedicated in 1930. The gangsters were proud of their cars, had money and may have wanted to atone for some of their sins by donating to a church.

Mary Leonard, director of religious education for the parish, looked through church archives and even contacted the company that created the windows, but she hasn't found anything that proves a mob connection. "But it makes a really good story," she said.

What we do know about the windows is that they were made by Rambusch Studios of New York, according to Leonard. The company sketched out the glass iconography with the Rev. Francis Morgan Flaherty. The windows were then crafted by a stained-glass studio in Munich, Germany.

Church records don't indicate who paid for the windows. But painted at the bottom of the three-panels above the choir loft, it reads: "In memory of Harry Martin, Patrick Quilty and Margaret Quilty." It's unclear who they were or if they had a say in the window design.

Antioch and its lakes used to attract Chicago residents and tourists. During the summer, church attendance swelled at the first one-room Catholic church built in 1897 on Victoria Street in Antioch. A tent was needed to accommodate the faithful during summer Masses, Leonard said. Out-of-towners likely contributed to the $250,000 needed in 1930 to build the stone St. Peter Catholic Church on Lake Street.

Could Chicago Prohibition-era gangsters have attended Mass and cut a big check? There's no evidence of it, but reportedly Al Capone hung out in Fox Lake, and gangster Bugs Moran played golf in Antioch.

Adding another layer of mystery to the windows is that the central figure is clearly St. Patrick, not St. Peter, the parish's patron saint. The figure is holding a staff with a shamrock and is standing on a snake. (Pious legend credits Patrick with banishing snakes from Ireland, though post-glacial Ireland never had snakes.)

The St. Patrick iconography could be a tribute to the church's past. The one-room Catholic church in Antioch was a mission church of St. Patrick in Wadsworth until 1909.

We'll probably never know for sure if mobsters paid for the windows, or if the car references were the result of artistic license by the pastor or a German window builder.

"I see some parishioners pointing it out to their grandchildren, and they tell other children," Leonard said. "If nothing else, it interests them in the church."

-- not that we want them to be looking at the back of windows while Mass is going on."

Thanks to Ryan Pagelow

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