Friends of ours: John Gotti
A former member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang testified Thursday that alleged gang kingpin Barry "The Baron" Mills once ordered a killing at the request of John Gotti after another inmate jumped the mob boss in a prison yard.
Glen West, a member of the white supremacist gang from 1981 to 2003, said Gotti later told him he had offered $100,000 to the group if they would kill the man named Walter Johnson.
Another gang member sent a message to Mills, who was in a different prison, requesting permission to carry out the hit, West said. "He'd sent it to Barry, and Barry sent word back that we were to get Johnson killed at all costs," West said. Prosecutors have said the killing was never carried out.
Mills is among four members of the Aryan Brotherhood on trial on federal racketeering charges in the case alleging a web of conspiracies and killings in the gang's efforts to sell drugs and conduct other criminal activities in prisons across the nation.
It's the first of several trials comprising one of the largest death penalty cases in U.S. history. Prosecutors said Mills had a hand in all but one of the crimes in the indictment that includes 32 murders and attempted murders.
Two of the men currently on trial -- Mills and T.D. "The Hulk" Bingham -- could face the death penalty. All have pleaded not guilty.
During cross-examination, attorney H. Dean Steward, who represents Mills, asked if West was testifying to avoid a life sentence and pointed out that he didn't come forward with his information until 2003, when he was trying to strike a deal with prosecutors. "You were arrested at the same time everyone else was in this," Steward said. "You know count nine (of the indictment) carries a potential sentence of life in prison, is that right?"
West answered "yes" but did not elaborate.
West, 52, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the current case, but he said that count will be dismissed in exchange for his testimony and a guilty plea in a separate attempted murder case from 1980.
Under earlier questioning, West said he had lied at another trial in the early 1990s to support an Aryan Brotherhood member. Later, he said he didn't testify at all in the case.
West also testified that he and Mills had been housed in the same prison block in Marion, Ill. During that time, Mills talked about at least five other murders that he said he ordered, according to West.
In one case, West said, Mills told him he was upset about a killing that got messy when the first strategy -- using a drug overdose -- didn't work.
Gang member Arva Lee "Baby" Ray was killed on July 9, 1989 because he threw a sugar packet and spit at another defendant, Edgar "The Snail" Hevle, and because he was abusing drugs and having a homosexual relationship, West said.
Mills "said they first tried to give him a hot shot, but that didn't work, so they had to strangle him and what they were using to strangle him with broke," West testified. "He said he was surprised at how hard Baby Ray fought it."
West, who was charged with one count of conspiracy to kill Ray, is now in the witness protection program.
Mills, 57, is already serving two life terms for a 1979 murder. In the current trial, he faces a possible death sentence for allegedly orchestrating the 1997 killings of two black inmates in Pennsylvania.
Rae Jones, 58, his stepsister, attended court proceedings. She said outside the courtroom that her parents had taken him in for a number of years when he was a teen and dating her older sister.
Mills worked at the family restaurant and later helped Jones raise her own sons. "He's a good man and has a loving heart," she said. "Barry was just one of the guys."
Bingham, 58, is currently serving time on robbery and drug charges. Also on trial are Hevle, 54, and Christopher Overton Gibson, 46. If convicted, both could face life in prison.
Authorities arrested 40 alleged Aryan Brotherhood members in 2002 after a six-year investigation that aimed to dismantle the gang's leadership under a federal racketeering law originally aimed at organized crime. Nineteen defendants struck plea bargains and one has died.
If convicted, 16 of the remaining defendants could face the death penalty.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Detectives Were Hired for Contract Killing, Witness Says
Friends of mine: Louis J. Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa
Fleshing out his tale of gangland murder and corruption, an aging marijuana dealer told jurors at the trial of Louis J. Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa today that in 1986, the two New York detectives murdered a crooked jeweler in a parking garage and then, years later, laughed about the killing at a secret meeting in a Staten Island cemetery.
It was the second day of testimony by the dealer, Burton Kaplan, in the trial of the two detectives, who are accused of taking part in at least eight murders for Brooklyn's Luchese crime family.
Mr. Kaplan, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence, spun a mesmerizing yarn today about the shooting of Israel Greenwald, a jeweler who had made the grave mistake of crossing him in a scheme to selling stolen Treasury bills.
The marijuana dealer, 72 and ailing, spoke in gravelly, measured tones, saying that he had given the murder contract to Mr. Eppolito's cousin Frank Santora Jr. and that the cousin had then recruited the detective and his partner to stop Mr. Greenwald on the highway, tell him he was wanted in a hit-and-run accident and then assassinate him in cold blood.
"The guy was driving his car," Mr. Kaplan said Mr. Santora had informed him once the contract had been filled. "They put on the flashing lights and pulled him over and told him he was wanted in a hit-and-run and they wanted him to be in a lineup.
"They took him, according to Frank, to an automobile repair place, a collision place, that was a friend of theirs."
It was there, prosecutors say, that the three men bound Mr. Greenwald's hands, shoved a plastic bag on his head, secured it with his own scarf, then shot him twice in the head
Thanks to Alan Feuer
Fleshing out his tale of gangland murder and corruption, an aging marijuana dealer told jurors at the trial of Louis J. Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa today that in 1986, the two New York detectives murdered a crooked jeweler in a parking garage and then, years later, laughed about the killing at a secret meeting in a Staten Island cemetery.
It was the second day of testimony by the dealer, Burton Kaplan, in the trial of the two detectives, who are accused of taking part in at least eight murders for Brooklyn's Luchese crime family.
Mr. Kaplan, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence, spun a mesmerizing yarn today about the shooting of Israel Greenwald, a jeweler who had made the grave mistake of crossing him in a scheme to selling stolen Treasury bills.
The marijuana dealer, 72 and ailing, spoke in gravelly, measured tones, saying that he had given the murder contract to Mr. Eppolito's cousin Frank Santora Jr. and that the cousin had then recruited the detective and his partner to stop Mr. Greenwald on the highway, tell him he was wanted in a hit-and-run accident and then assassinate him in cold blood.
"The guy was driving his car," Mr. Kaplan said Mr. Santora had informed him once the contract had been filled. "They put on the flashing lights and pulled him over and told him he was wanted in a hit-and-run and they wanted him to be in a lineup.
"They took him, according to Frank, to an automobile repair place, a collision place, that was a friend of theirs."
It was there, prosecutors say, that the three men bound Mr. Greenwald's hands, shoved a plastic bag on his head, secured it with his own scarf, then shot him twice in the head
Thanks to Alan Feuer
Friday, March 17, 2006
Documentary may tie Mafia to JFK assassination
Last November we told you here about a book titled Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK, which purported to offer new details about the death of President John F. Kennedy
. It's too complicated to go into all the revelations in this massive work by Lamar Waldron, but let it suffice to say that the San Francisco Chronicle recently ran a rave review written by Ronald Goldfarb. He was the Mafia prosecutor under Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, and this is the first time anyone closely associated with either brother has offered praise for a JFK assassination book.
Now we can tell you that NBC has completed an hourlong documentary focusing on the information in Ultimate Sacrifice, and this top-secret project will air soon on the Discovery Channel. It is to be titled Conspiracy Files: JFK and will include material withheld from the Warren Commission and from congressional investigations as well. Such material has never been seen on TV before.
Some of the protagonists are Mafia kingpin Johnny Rosselli and other godfathers telling how they tried to kill the president first in Chicago, then in Tampa, Fla., and later in Dallas, where they ultimately succeeded.
This documentary will offer the only TV interview in more than 40 years with Abraham Bolden, the first black Secret Service agent assigned to the White House. Framed by Rosselli's gang, he was arrested on the day he went to appear before the Warren Commission. He has fought for a very long time to clear his name.
Discovery will offer us a few startling realities about how the Secret Service destroyed crucial files covering the Tampa and Chicago attempts, and how there are still "well over 1 million CIA records" about the assassination that remain secret to this day.
Thanks to Liz Smith
. It's too complicated to go into all the revelations in this massive work by Lamar Waldron, but let it suffice to say that the San Francisco Chronicle recently ran a rave review written by Ronald Goldfarb. He was the Mafia prosecutor under Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, and this is the first time anyone closely associated with either brother has offered praise for a JFK assassination book.Now we can tell you that NBC has completed an hourlong documentary focusing on the information in Ultimate Sacrifice, and this top-secret project will air soon on the Discovery Channel. It is to be titled Conspiracy Files: JFK and will include material withheld from the Warren Commission and from congressional investigations as well. Such material has never been seen on TV before.
Some of the protagonists are Mafia kingpin Johnny Rosselli and other godfathers telling how they tried to kill the president first in Chicago, then in Tampa, Fla., and later in Dallas, where they ultimately succeeded.
This documentary will offer the only TV interview in more than 40 years with Abraham Bolden, the first black Secret Service agent assigned to the White House. Framed by Rosselli's gang, he was arrested on the day he went to appear before the Warren Commission. He has fought for a very long time to clear his name.
Discovery will offer us a few startling realities about how the Secret Service destroyed crucial files covering the Tampa and Chicago attempts, and how there are still "well over 1 million CIA records" about the assassination that remain secret to this day.
Thanks to Liz Smith
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Junior Gotti: They're breaking me
Friends of ours: Junior Gotti
John "Junior" Gotti, facing another retrial on racketeering charges this summer, is struggling financially to fight the charges, his lawyers say.
A second jury deadlocked last week on charges alleging the 42-year-old son of the late mob boss arranged the brutal beating of Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin set a July 5 date for another retrial after Gotti lawyer Charles Carnesi said Monday that his client needed time to borrow money to pay his legal team. Prosecutors, however, argued that Gotti wants to sell property paid for with crime proceeds, and the judge set a schedule for both sides to argue the fates of several properties before trial.
Sliwa attended the brief court proceeding several hours after announcing on his radio show that he had calmed down since saying last week that his WABC-AM co-host, Ron Kuby, was no longer his friend. Kuby, who represented a Gotti co-defendant in the 1990s, had been called to testify that Gotti told him in 1998 he wanted out of organized crime. After the mistrial, Sliwa said he was so angry at Kuby he wasn't sure he could do the show anymore.
The two were more cordial on the air Monday. "There's not going to be a train wreck," Kuby said. Sliwa, later in the show, said: "Things are getting a little better. In fact, Ron is going to get me a hot cup of tea."
Gotti, free on bail with electronic monitoring, insists he did not order the attack on Sliwa.
John "Junior" Gotti, facing another retrial on racketeering charges this summer, is struggling financially to fight the charges, his lawyers say.
A second jury deadlocked last week on charges alleging the 42-year-old son of the late mob boss arranged the brutal beating of Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin set a July 5 date for another retrial after Gotti lawyer Charles Carnesi said Monday that his client needed time to borrow money to pay his legal team. Prosecutors, however, argued that Gotti wants to sell property paid for with crime proceeds, and the judge set a schedule for both sides to argue the fates of several properties before trial.
Sliwa attended the brief court proceeding several hours after announcing on his radio show that he had calmed down since saying last week that his WABC-AM co-host, Ron Kuby, was no longer his friend. Kuby, who represented a Gotti co-defendant in the 1990s, had been called to testify that Gotti told him in 1998 he wanted out of organized crime. After the mistrial, Sliwa said he was so angry at Kuby he wasn't sure he could do the show anymore.
The two were more cordial on the air Monday. "There's not going to be a train wreck," Kuby said. Sliwa, later in the show, said: "Things are getting a little better. In fact, Ron is going to get me a hot cup of tea."
Gotti, free on bail with electronic monitoring, insists he did not order the attack on Sliwa.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Police Accused of Mafia Ties Head to Trial
Friends of ours: John Gotti, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, Lucchese Crime Family
Friends of mine: Louis Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa
It's a crime story that begs for a best seller: A pair of oft-decorated NYPD detectives are accused of leading double lives, joining the mob's payroll. They allegedly go on a crime spree, leave a trail of dead bodies, and retire to a life as Las Vegas high rollers. But who could write such a bizarre tale?
There's plenty of talent right at the defense table. Ex-detective turned defendant Louis Eppolito wrote an autobiography titled "Mafia Cop" and even appeared in a mob movie. His attorney, Bruce Cutler, wrote "Closing Argument," covering a career that includes defending mob boss John Gotti. Cutler's co-counsel, Edward Hayes, has a memoir titled "Mouthpiece" that just hit stores, and he was a model for a character in a Tom Wolfe novel.
All this media know-how will assemble in court Monday when the so-called "Mafia Cops" - Eppolito and former partner Stephen Caracappa - arrive for opening statements in their racketeering and murder trial.
Expect a few plot twists. "I think there will be some surprises," Hayes predicted. "And I certainly have a few."
According to prosecutors, the two ex-detectives engaged in a cornucopia of criminal activity between 1979 and last year. Their indictment lists eight murders, allegedly at the bidding of Luchese family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso.
Authorities said Casso paid $75,000 for one of the hits, regularly paid the pair $4,000 a month, and referred to them as his "crystal ball."
In one case, the detectives allegedly provided Casso with information to locate a mobster suspected in a murder plot against Casso. The tip, however, led to another man with the same name who died in a hail of gunfire on Christmas Day 1986.
There are charges of racketeering, kidnapping, murder, obstruction of justice, and money laundering, and after the pair retired to Nevada they were distributing methamphetamine, according to the indictment. The list could have been longer; in January, prosecutors opted to drop two additional murder counts.
Eppolito, 57, and Caracappa, 64, are both insistent about their innocence. Caracappa went on "60 Minutes" in January to express his indignation.
"Totally ridiculous," he said of the charges. "It's ludicrous. Anybody that knows me knows I love the police department."
Caracappa spent 23 years with the NYPD, working his way up to detective first grade and helping to establish the department's nerve center for Mafia murder investigations before retiring in 1992.
Eppolito actually grew up in a mob family: His father, grandfather and an uncle were all members of the Gambino family. The contrast between his police work and his family life was detailed in his autobiography, "Mafia Cop: The Story of An Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob."
He joined the department in 1969, and also made detective first-grade. Before his 1990 retirement, Eppolito was known among fellow cops as a tough guy with plenty of street smarts. The partners settled in Las Vegas to enjoy their golden years. They were arrested on March 9, 2005, at a Las Vegas restaurant, and released on $5 million bail each.
Their trial promises to be one of the year's great legal spectacles.
The bombastic Cutler is best known for his work with Gotti. In one memorable opening statement, he dramatically spiked the indictment against Gotti in a courtroom trash can.
"Garbage!" he thundered.
Hayes, a former prosecutor, brings his impeccable attire and a glittering client list that includes Robert De Niro and Sean "Diddy" Combs. He was the model for take-no-prisoners defense attorney Tommy Killian in Tom Wolfe's "The Bonfire of the Vanities." Hayes said he's willing to let somebody else write about this case: "I already wrote a book."
If someone else takes up the challenge, there's always the chance of a movie - and Eppolito could play himself. He had a bit part in the Martin Scorsese mob classic "GoodFellas."
Thanks to Larry McShane
Friends of mine: Louis Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa
It's a crime story that begs for a best seller: A pair of oft-decorated NYPD detectives are accused of leading double lives, joining the mob's payroll. They allegedly go on a crime spree, leave a trail of dead bodies, and retire to a life as Las Vegas high rollers. But who could write such a bizarre tale?
There's plenty of talent right at the defense table. Ex-detective turned defendant Louis Eppolito wrote an autobiography titled "Mafia Cop" and even appeared in a mob movie. His attorney, Bruce Cutler, wrote "Closing Argument," covering a career that includes defending mob boss John Gotti. Cutler's co-counsel, Edward Hayes, has a memoir titled "Mouthpiece" that just hit stores, and he was a model for a character in a Tom Wolfe novel.
All this media know-how will assemble in court Monday when the so-called "Mafia Cops" - Eppolito and former partner Stephen Caracappa - arrive for opening statements in their racketeering and murder trial.
Expect a few plot twists. "I think there will be some surprises," Hayes predicted. "And I certainly have a few."
According to prosecutors, the two ex-detectives engaged in a cornucopia of criminal activity between 1979 and last year. Their indictment lists eight murders, allegedly at the bidding of Luchese family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso.
Authorities said Casso paid $75,000 for one of the hits, regularly paid the pair $4,000 a month, and referred to them as his "crystal ball."
In one case, the detectives allegedly provided Casso with information to locate a mobster suspected in a murder plot against Casso. The tip, however, led to another man with the same name who died in a hail of gunfire on Christmas Day 1986.
There are charges of racketeering, kidnapping, murder, obstruction of justice, and money laundering, and after the pair retired to Nevada they were distributing methamphetamine, according to the indictment. The list could have been longer; in January, prosecutors opted to drop two additional murder counts.
Eppolito, 57, and Caracappa, 64, are both insistent about their innocence. Caracappa went on "60 Minutes" in January to express his indignation.
"Totally ridiculous," he said of the charges. "It's ludicrous. Anybody that knows me knows I love the police department."
Caracappa spent 23 years with the NYPD, working his way up to detective first grade and helping to establish the department's nerve center for Mafia murder investigations before retiring in 1992.
Eppolito actually grew up in a mob family: His father, grandfather and an uncle were all members of the Gambino family. The contrast between his police work and his family life was detailed in his autobiography, "Mafia Cop: The Story of An Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob."
He joined the department in 1969, and also made detective first-grade. Before his 1990 retirement, Eppolito was known among fellow cops as a tough guy with plenty of street smarts. The partners settled in Las Vegas to enjoy their golden years. They were arrested on March 9, 2005, at a Las Vegas restaurant, and released on $5 million bail each.
Their trial promises to be one of the year's great legal spectacles.
The bombastic Cutler is best known for his work with Gotti. In one memorable opening statement, he dramatically spiked the indictment against Gotti in a courtroom trash can.
"Garbage!" he thundered.
Hayes, a former prosecutor, brings his impeccable attire and a glittering client list that includes Robert De Niro and Sean "Diddy" Combs. He was the model for take-no-prisoners defense attorney Tommy Killian in Tom Wolfe's "The Bonfire of the Vanities." Hayes said he's willing to let somebody else write about this case: "I already wrote a book."
If someone else takes up the challenge, there's always the chance of a movie - and Eppolito could play himself. He had a bit part in the Martin Scorsese mob classic "GoodFellas."
Thanks to Larry McShane
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