The FBI recorded more than 50 conversations involving Chicago Outfit boss Rudy "The Chin" Fratto during an investigation of alleged big-rigging at the city's McCormick Place.
The existence of dozens of undercover tapes is disclosed in defense motions filed in federal court in Chicago.
Fratto, 66, the leader of the Mob's Elmwood Park crew according to federal authorities, was indicted with another man last month on charges that he used inside information to score a forklift deal at McCormick Place.
The Darien resident was due to report to prison on April 28 to begin serving a year-long sentence for income tax-evasion. Today's motion filed by his tax-case attorney Arthur Nasser asks for a delay in Fratto's reporting date. An attached affidavit from Donald Angelini, Jr., the attorney handling the sweetheart contract case, states that Fratto's defense would be "greatly hampered" if he was imprisoned and couldn't assist in the preparation.
Fratto is scheduled to serve the tax sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky. Angelini Jr., son of the late Mob bookmaker Don "the Wizard of Odds" Angelini, said that he had received a 1500-page transcript of FBI undercover recordings along with more than 50 tapes. Mr. Angelini, Jr. said that he was only able to listen to three and a half hours of secretly recorded tapes and that without Fratto's help in deciphering the conversations, the defense would suffer.
The filing by Mr. Fratto's legal team in federal court also stated that there is "noise interference" on the tapes, making them "extremely difficult to interpret or understand."
Mr. Nasser will appear in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly Tuesday morning to argue for an unspecified extension in Fratto's surrender date.
The plea for freedom seems far more somber than last month's swaggering courthouse performance by Fratto himself, that included a self-styled perp walk in the lobby, a couple of wise-guy wise-cracks on the sidewalk, and some special sound effects from his driver who was behind the wheel of the family Range Rover.
Fratto, considered by Mobwatchers to be one of Chicago's top five most powerful hoodlums, was indicted with Inverness businessman William "Billy" Degironemo. The men allegedly squeezed a consultant for inside information that helped then land a forklift contract. In exchange, Fratto allegedly offered to settle a $350,000 debt the consultant had with mafia bosses in Cleveland. Neither Fratto nor his partner knew that consultant was working undercover for the FBI.
Fratto's uncle, "Cockeyed Louis," testified at a 1950 Senate organized crime hearing. Another relative, Frankie "One Ear" Fratto, was a skilled loan shark.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Reputed Chicago Outfit Jewel Thieves Arrested Outside of Former Home of Chinatown Boss
Two career jewel thieves in the Chicago Outfit, who are among the mob's most prolific pilferers, have been arrested again-- this time eyeing the home of their former boss, according to a federal complaint filed Friday afternoon.
During a short appearance in court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan ordered Joseph Jerome "Jerry" Scalise, Art Rachel and another hoodlum, Robert "Bobby" Pullia, held at the MCC without bond until a detention hearing next week. They were represented by high profile attorneys Terry Gillespie and Marc Martin. After court, Mr. Gillespie said that all three defendants would enter pleas of not guilty. He said questions about the existence of the Marlborough diamond would best be asked of the federal authorities, who declined to comment.
The men were arrested as they tried to hit the one-time home of Chinatown boss Angelo "the Hook" LaPietra. "The Hook," known for a fondness of hanging wayward gamblers on meat hooks, died in 1999. The arrests reportedly happened late Thursday night in the 3000-block of South Princeton, near LaPietra's former estate. For years Scalise lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood and reported to LaPietra.
The three men, still attired in the dark clothes they were wearing while allegedly staking out LaPietra's home, looked more like they were ready for a shuffleboard game then a burglary. Scalise is 73, Rachel is 71 and Pullia is 69 - and they told the judge about medications they are on, to insure adequate treatment at the MCC.
"I'm not sure exactly what they were expecting to get when they broke into the residence. The residence was occupied last night so it would have been a home invasion. Whether it was a robbery, whether they hoped to get ransom money, a kidnapping, we don't know," said Ross Rice, FBI spokesman.
"I heard a blast, like an M80 going off, like a firecracker. I said, 'who the hell is shooting firecrackers off this time of year?'" said Dan Bujas, neighbor.
The suspects ran a three-man crime wave for the past several years, according to the FBI, whose agents began following the trio last December and listening in on their phone calls after obtaining wiretap approval from a federal judge. An FBI affidavit filed with Friday's criminal complaint reveals cell phone conversations between the men that were intercepted by federal agents.
According to the affidavit, Pullia says, "while we are there we will grab it." Authorities are uncertain if the "it" they were going to grab was the long-missing Marlborough diamond. One theory has been that Scalise and Rachel handed off the stone in London or actually mailed to someone in the U.S., possibly their mob crew boss at the time, LaPietra.
Authorities say they watched the men conduct surveillance on several banks, including the First National Bank of LaGrange where they were allegedly plotting to overtake an armored car delivery of cash by spraying mace in the face of the guards. That hold-up, and others allegedly planned by the Outfit crew, were not actually carried out during the time that federal agents watched the men.
They are, however, suspected of numerous other unsolved bank robberies since 2007, according the federal investigators.
Scalise and Rachel are best known for the Sept. 11, 1980 theft of the famous Marlborough diamond from Graff Jewelers in London. The men were arrested at O'Hare Airport returning on a flight from the UK. They both served long stretched on the Isle of White prison of the UK. The 45 carat stone, once one of the Crown jewels, was never found.
The attempted break-in at LaPietra's former home is certain to spark speculation that the 45 carat sparkler was stashed somewhere in the home. The three men were arrested late Thursday night outside LaPietra's former "fortress" on the south side, carrying an elaborate supply of burglary tools according the feds. Investigators also say they had discussed abducting LaPietra relatives who still reside in the home and taking them hostage.
"All my client has told me so far is it's nonsense. I don't know any of the particulars as of yet," said Terry Gillespiel, defense lawyer.
The Marlborough heist in 1980 was pulled off by Scalise and Rachel, armed with a revolver and a hand grenade. They got away in less than a minute with millions of dollars in gems.
No one was hurt during the morning raid, and customers on the other two floors of the three-story shop were unaware of anything taking place.
A security guard let the first well-dressed thief into the exclusive store shortly after opening, thinking he was a customer.
Once inside the man - dressed in blue check pants, a jacket and a hat- pulled out a gun and ordered the staff and customers to lie down on the floor.
The second robber then walked in brandishing a hand grenade.
The Marlborough diamond, was packed into a briefcase with other jewels by the robbers before they fled to a getaway car parked about 50 yards away.
One of the store clerks followed the men and noted the registration number of the Fiat Mirafiore they used to escape.
The profanity-riddled affidavit also reveals discussions between Scalise and Rachel about potential mob murders, including the killing of a key witness from the Operation Family Secrets prosecution two years ago that resulted in numerous convictions of top mob bosses.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
During a short appearance in court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan ordered Joseph Jerome "Jerry" Scalise, Art Rachel and another hoodlum, Robert "Bobby" Pullia, held at the MCC without bond until a detention hearing next week. They were represented by high profile attorneys Terry Gillespie and Marc Martin. After court, Mr. Gillespie said that all three defendants would enter pleas of not guilty. He said questions about the existence of the Marlborough diamond would best be asked of the federal authorities, who declined to comment.
The men were arrested as they tried to hit the one-time home of Chinatown boss Angelo "the Hook" LaPietra. "The Hook," known for a fondness of hanging wayward gamblers on meat hooks, died in 1999. The arrests reportedly happened late Thursday night in the 3000-block of South Princeton, near LaPietra's former estate. For years Scalise lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood and reported to LaPietra.
The three men, still attired in the dark clothes they were wearing while allegedly staking out LaPietra's home, looked more like they were ready for a shuffleboard game then a burglary. Scalise is 73, Rachel is 71 and Pullia is 69 - and they told the judge about medications they are on, to insure adequate treatment at the MCC.
"I'm not sure exactly what they were expecting to get when they broke into the residence. The residence was occupied last night so it would have been a home invasion. Whether it was a robbery, whether they hoped to get ransom money, a kidnapping, we don't know," said Ross Rice, FBI spokesman.
"I heard a blast, like an M80 going off, like a firecracker. I said, 'who the hell is shooting firecrackers off this time of year?'" said Dan Bujas, neighbor.
The suspects ran a three-man crime wave for the past several years, according to the FBI, whose agents began following the trio last December and listening in on their phone calls after obtaining wiretap approval from a federal judge. An FBI affidavit filed with Friday's criminal complaint reveals cell phone conversations between the men that were intercepted by federal agents.
According to the affidavit, Pullia says, "while we are there we will grab it." Authorities are uncertain if the "it" they were going to grab was the long-missing Marlborough diamond. One theory has been that Scalise and Rachel handed off the stone in London or actually mailed to someone in the U.S., possibly their mob crew boss at the time, LaPietra.
Authorities say they watched the men conduct surveillance on several banks, including the First National Bank of LaGrange where they were allegedly plotting to overtake an armored car delivery of cash by spraying mace in the face of the guards. That hold-up, and others allegedly planned by the Outfit crew, were not actually carried out during the time that federal agents watched the men.
They are, however, suspected of numerous other unsolved bank robberies since 2007, according the federal investigators.
Scalise and Rachel are best known for the Sept. 11, 1980 theft of the famous Marlborough diamond from Graff Jewelers in London. The men were arrested at O'Hare Airport returning on a flight from the UK. They both served long stretched on the Isle of White prison of the UK. The 45 carat stone, once one of the Crown jewels, was never found.
The attempted break-in at LaPietra's former home is certain to spark speculation that the 45 carat sparkler was stashed somewhere in the home. The three men were arrested late Thursday night outside LaPietra's former "fortress" on the south side, carrying an elaborate supply of burglary tools according the feds. Investigators also say they had discussed abducting LaPietra relatives who still reside in the home and taking them hostage.
"All my client has told me so far is it's nonsense. I don't know any of the particulars as of yet," said Terry Gillespiel, defense lawyer.
The Marlborough heist in 1980 was pulled off by Scalise and Rachel, armed with a revolver and a hand grenade. They got away in less than a minute with millions of dollars in gems.
No one was hurt during the morning raid, and customers on the other two floors of the three-story shop were unaware of anything taking place.
A security guard let the first well-dressed thief into the exclusive store shortly after opening, thinking he was a customer.
Once inside the man - dressed in blue check pants, a jacket and a hat- pulled out a gun and ordered the staff and customers to lie down on the floor.
The second robber then walked in brandishing a hand grenade.
The Marlborough diamond, was packed into a briefcase with other jewels by the robbers before they fled to a getaway car parked about 50 yards away.
One of the store clerks followed the men and noted the registration number of the Fiat Mirafiore they used to escape.
The profanity-riddled affidavit also reveals discussions between Scalise and Rachel about potential mob murders, including the killing of a key witness from the Operation Family Secrets prosecution two years ago that resulted in numerous convictions of top mob bosses.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Organized Crime Global Meeting Resolutions
More than 600 parliamentarians from 124 countries, among them 35 Speakers of Parliament, attending the 122nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) closed their meeting in Bangkok by adopting four key resolutions.
In one of them, a resolution prompted by the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, they call upon governments to make disaster-risk assessment an integral part of planning for post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction.
The resolution commended the efforts made by the national authorities of Haiti and Chile to cope with the crippling disasters. It also urged governments to assess all their critical public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, with a view to making them resilient to earthquake, floods and storms, and to make disaster-risk reduction a part of poverty reduction and of all planning and programmes aimed at ensuring long-term welfare of the people.
Governments, they said, should also pay close attention to the protection of women and children in post-disaster situations, which can leave them particularly vulnerable to abuse, including trafficking.
In a resolution on cooperation and shared responsibility in the global fight against organized crime, in particular drug, illegal arms and human trafficking, and cross border terrorism, the Assembly invited the United Nations to convene an international conference to analyze the impact of new forms of terrorism and determine whether national legislation meets international humanitarian and human rights standards.
The resolution calls on States to combat terrorism, in particular by refusing to allow their territories to be used for cross-border terrorism and by bringing to justice those on their territories who participate in acts of terror.
It also invites IPU Member Parliaments to strengthen their respective legal systems in accordance with the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism with a view to combating money laundering and financing of terrorist activities and to ensure that all measures taken are in line with their respective State's international obligations.
It calls for universal ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and asks parliaments to support the newly established UNCAC review mechanism. It urges national parliaments to legislate more stringent penalties for corruption and organized crime, and to apply standards of good governance, accountability and transparency in public institutions with a view to combating corruption. It also urges the IPU to promote international cooperation to combat financial safe havens.
Efforts should also be intensified to counter the illicit cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, abuse, transit, trafficking and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, especially heroin, cocaine and its derivatives.
The resolution also urges parliaments to mainstream gender equality concerns into all legislation to ensure that women and children are protected from abuse and that they are provided with legal, medical and other forms of assistances.
A resolution was adopted on the role of parliaments in developing South-South and triangular cooperation with a view to accelerating achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It invites southern and northern parliaments and governments to support and develop South-South and triangular cooperation and to align their South-South cooperation agenda with the MDGs. It also urges southern country parliaments and governments to see to it that the funds allocated to MDG-related programmes and sectors are effectively used for the targeted programmes.
It recommends that donor country parliaments and governments, in addition to the traditional bilateral and multilateral aid flows, contribute to the United Nations Fund for South-South cooperation to provide money for South-South projects and initiatives. It also urges parliaments to ask their governments to ensure that United Nations documents on South-South cooperation make mention of the important role that parliaments have to play in fostering South-South cooperation.
The resolution also invites northern country parliaments and governments to ensure that a substantial part of development assistance serves to promote South-South and triangular cooperation.
A fourth resolution invites parliaments, if they have not yet done so, to set up specialized bodies to streamline youth issues throughout parliament's work and to monitor the fulfilment of their government's obligations under the Convention of the Right of the Child to ensure children's right to be heard and express their views freely and without discrimination.
States, parliaments, legislators, political parties, the IPU and youth organizations are invited to encourage and promote the initiative, enterprise and creativity of young people.
The resolution also calls on the IPU and parliaments, youth organizations and others to strengthen efforts aimed at achieving appropriate representation and participation of youth in decision-making bodies, bearing in mind that girls, boys, young women and young men are all entitled to the same rights.
It also calls on Parliaments to ensure that young people with disabilities and those who are socially and economically disadvantaged are offered equal opportunities to participate fully in society.
Established in 1889 and with Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU – the oldest multilateral political organization in the world - currently brings together 155 national parliaments and nine associated regional assemblies. The world organization of parliaments also has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer to the United Nations.
Thanks to News Room America
In one of them, a resolution prompted by the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, they call upon governments to make disaster-risk assessment an integral part of planning for post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction.
The resolution commended the efforts made by the national authorities of Haiti and Chile to cope with the crippling disasters. It also urged governments to assess all their critical public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, with a view to making them resilient to earthquake, floods and storms, and to make disaster-risk reduction a part of poverty reduction and of all planning and programmes aimed at ensuring long-term welfare of the people.
Governments, they said, should also pay close attention to the protection of women and children in post-disaster situations, which can leave them particularly vulnerable to abuse, including trafficking.
In a resolution on cooperation and shared responsibility in the global fight against organized crime, in particular drug, illegal arms and human trafficking, and cross border terrorism, the Assembly invited the United Nations to convene an international conference to analyze the impact of new forms of terrorism and determine whether national legislation meets international humanitarian and human rights standards.
The resolution calls on States to combat terrorism, in particular by refusing to allow their territories to be used for cross-border terrorism and by bringing to justice those on their territories who participate in acts of terror.
It also invites IPU Member Parliaments to strengthen their respective legal systems in accordance with the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism with a view to combating money laundering and financing of terrorist activities and to ensure that all measures taken are in line with their respective State's international obligations.
It calls for universal ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and asks parliaments to support the newly established UNCAC review mechanism. It urges national parliaments to legislate more stringent penalties for corruption and organized crime, and to apply standards of good governance, accountability and transparency in public institutions with a view to combating corruption. It also urges the IPU to promote international cooperation to combat financial safe havens.
Efforts should also be intensified to counter the illicit cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, abuse, transit, trafficking and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, especially heroin, cocaine and its derivatives.
The resolution also urges parliaments to mainstream gender equality concerns into all legislation to ensure that women and children are protected from abuse and that they are provided with legal, medical and other forms of assistances.
A resolution was adopted on the role of parliaments in developing South-South and triangular cooperation with a view to accelerating achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It invites southern and northern parliaments and governments to support and develop South-South and triangular cooperation and to align their South-South cooperation agenda with the MDGs. It also urges southern country parliaments and governments to see to it that the funds allocated to MDG-related programmes and sectors are effectively used for the targeted programmes.
It recommends that donor country parliaments and governments, in addition to the traditional bilateral and multilateral aid flows, contribute to the United Nations Fund for South-South cooperation to provide money for South-South projects and initiatives. It also urges parliaments to ask their governments to ensure that United Nations documents on South-South cooperation make mention of the important role that parliaments have to play in fostering South-South cooperation.
The resolution also invites northern country parliaments and governments to ensure that a substantial part of development assistance serves to promote South-South and triangular cooperation.
A fourth resolution invites parliaments, if they have not yet done so, to set up specialized bodies to streamline youth issues throughout parliament's work and to monitor the fulfilment of their government's obligations under the Convention of the Right of the Child to ensure children's right to be heard and express their views freely and without discrimination.
States, parliaments, legislators, political parties, the IPU and youth organizations are invited to encourage and promote the initiative, enterprise and creativity of young people.
The resolution also calls on the IPU and parliaments, youth organizations and others to strengthen efforts aimed at achieving appropriate representation and participation of youth in decision-making bodies, bearing in mind that girls, boys, young women and young men are all entitled to the same rights.
It also calls on Parliaments to ensure that young people with disabilities and those who are socially and economically disadvantaged are offered equal opportunities to participate fully in society.
Established in 1889 and with Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU – the oldest multilateral political organization in the world - currently brings together 155 national parliaments and nine associated regional assemblies. The world organization of parliaments also has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer to the United Nations.
Thanks to News Room America
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Junior Gotti the Hollywood Scriptwriter?
He is one of the most feared men in New York, with a family history of bribery, tax evasion, extortion, and murder. But after his trial on charges of conspiracy to commit murder ended in a jury deadlock two years ago, John Gotti Jr—son of the ‘Teflon Don’ John J. Gotti, and former head of the Gambino crime family—says he’s ready to give up a life of organised crime and finally go legit.
His new job after giving up the Mafia? Hollywood scriptwriter.
“He’s willing to go all the way, revealing as much as possible [in his screenplay] without hurting anyone who’s still involved in the street life,” Tony D’Aiuto, head of the New York production company Triplicity Entertainment, told the influential film industry website Deadline Hollywood this week. D’Auito is certainly familiar with the material: he used to act as the Gotti family’s defence lawyer.
It is thought that Gotti, 46—whose sister, Victoria, was until recently a reality television star and a columnist for the New York Post—hopes to turn his life story into a Goodfellas-style feature film, full-length documentary, and a book. He intends to pitch his story to major Hollywood studios as an epic father-and-son melodrama.
It’s unlikely, however, that Gotti will want to revisit the most notorious incident of his life, when the FBI searched the basement of one of his properties in Queens and found a list of ‘made’ members of his organisation, including the names of guests who attended his wedding—examples including Big Louie, Jackie Nose, Sammy Bull, Benny Eggs, Fat Andy, and Lil Funzie— and the dollar values of their gifts.
Agents also found a gun with a silencer, a semi-automatic rifle, and $348,700 in cash.
The bust inspired headlines such as “Like godfather, like son? Not quite” and an article in USA Today describing Gotti as a ‘dumbfella’, and Gotti was later sentenced to 77 months in prison.
Nevertheless
, If Gotti’s new career is successful, it could provide the general public with the most authentic inside account of the New York mob since an associate of the Lucchese family, Henry Hill, turned his life story into the book Wiseguy in the mid-1980s. The book was later adapted for the big screen, and became the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas.
Hill’s crimes included participation in the notorious $6 million Lufthansa heist of 1978—the biggest robbery in US history at the time—fixing basketball games in Boston, and smuggling heroin and cocaine.
Hill’s circumstances were very different to Gotti’s, however: when the publishing company Simon & Schuster bought the rights to his story in 1981 for a reported $96,250 (£63,000)—the equivalent of $230,000 today—he had already negotiated so-called ‘transactional immunity’ for his crimes in return for appearing as the FBI’s star witness in 10 trials, ultimately putting 50 of mobsters in jail, including 'Uncle Paulie' Vario and Jimmy ‘the Gent’ Burke (played by Robert De Niro in Goodfellas).
Authorities in New York later attempted to block Hill from being paid for Wiseguy under the Son of Sam law, which was first enacted to stop the serial killer David Berkowitz (who believed he was being controlled by a demon father-figure named Sam) from profiting from his crimes. The effort failed thanks to a Supreme Court ruling in Hill’s favour: it accepted Simon & Schuster’s argument that the ex-mobster's First Amendment rights should prevail, especially given that he had never even been arrested, never mind charged, for most of his crimes.
It’s unlikely that Gutty could make the same case, unless his life were heavily fictionalised.
During his most recent trial, in 2008, prosecutors attempted to link him to the murders of three men during the 1980s and 1990s. Ely Honig, an assistant United States attorney, told the court that Gotti was a dangerous man. “The defendant ordered and oversaw the three murders,” he said.
Regardless, the jurors failed to reach a verdict.
The previous case against Gotti came in 2005 when he was charged of ordered the kidnapping of Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels. As in the 2008 trial, the jurors deadlocked. Two retrials also failed.
Ironically, working on the screenplay of his life could prove to be the most dangerous thing the former mobster has ever done. When Hill was writing Wiseguy with the author Nick Pileggi, for example, a $2 million hit was put out on his life.
Contacted yesteday by The Times, Hill declined to comment on Gotti’s plans.
“He could care less,” said a representative for the ex-mobster, adding that Hill blamed the Gambino family for the execution of his former friend, Tommy ‘Two Gun’ DeSimone.
Thanks to Chris Ayres
His new job after giving up the Mafia? Hollywood scriptwriter.
“He’s willing to go all the way, revealing as much as possible [in his screenplay] without hurting anyone who’s still involved in the street life,” Tony D’Aiuto, head of the New York production company Triplicity Entertainment, told the influential film industry website Deadline Hollywood this week. D’Auito is certainly familiar with the material: he used to act as the Gotti family’s defence lawyer.
It is thought that Gotti, 46—whose sister, Victoria, was until recently a reality television star and a columnist for the New York Post—hopes to turn his life story into a Goodfellas-style feature film, full-length documentary, and a book. He intends to pitch his story to major Hollywood studios as an epic father-and-son melodrama.
It’s unlikely, however, that Gotti will want to revisit the most notorious incident of his life, when the FBI searched the basement of one of his properties in Queens and found a list of ‘made’ members of his organisation, including the names of guests who attended his wedding—examples including Big Louie, Jackie Nose, Sammy Bull, Benny Eggs, Fat Andy, and Lil Funzie— and the dollar values of their gifts.
Agents also found a gun with a silencer, a semi-automatic rifle, and $348,700 in cash.
The bust inspired headlines such as “Like godfather, like son? Not quite” and an article in USA Today describing Gotti as a ‘dumbfella’, and Gotti was later sentenced to 77 months in prison.
Nevertheless
, If Gotti’s new career is successful, it could provide the general public with the most authentic inside account of the New York mob since an associate of the Lucchese family, Henry Hill, turned his life story into the book Wiseguy in the mid-1980s. The book was later adapted for the big screen, and became the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas.Hill’s crimes included participation in the notorious $6 million Lufthansa heist of 1978—the biggest robbery in US history at the time—fixing basketball games in Boston, and smuggling heroin and cocaine.
Hill’s circumstances were very different to Gotti’s, however: when the publishing company Simon & Schuster bought the rights to his story in 1981 for a reported $96,250 (£63,000)—the equivalent of $230,000 today—he had already negotiated so-called ‘transactional immunity’ for his crimes in return for appearing as the FBI’s star witness in 10 trials, ultimately putting 50 of mobsters in jail, including 'Uncle Paulie' Vario and Jimmy ‘the Gent’ Burke (played by Robert De Niro in Goodfellas).
Authorities in New York later attempted to block Hill from being paid for Wiseguy under the Son of Sam law, which was first enacted to stop the serial killer David Berkowitz (who believed he was being controlled by a demon father-figure named Sam) from profiting from his crimes. The effort failed thanks to a Supreme Court ruling in Hill’s favour: it accepted Simon & Schuster’s argument that the ex-mobster's First Amendment rights should prevail, especially given that he had never even been arrested, never mind charged, for most of his crimes.
It’s unlikely that Gutty could make the same case, unless his life were heavily fictionalised.
During his most recent trial, in 2008, prosecutors attempted to link him to the murders of three men during the 1980s and 1990s. Ely Honig, an assistant United States attorney, told the court that Gotti was a dangerous man. “The defendant ordered and oversaw the three murders,” he said.
Regardless, the jurors failed to reach a verdict.
The previous case against Gotti came in 2005 when he was charged of ordered the kidnapping of Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels. As in the 2008 trial, the jurors deadlocked. Two retrials also failed.
Ironically, working on the screenplay of his life could prove to be the most dangerous thing the former mobster has ever done. When Hill was writing Wiseguy with the author Nick Pileggi, for example, a $2 million hit was put out on his life.
Contacted yesteday by The Times, Hill declined to comment on Gotti’s plans.
“He could care less,” said a representative for the ex-mobster, adding that Hill blamed the Gambino family for the execution of his former friend, Tommy ‘Two Gun’ DeSimone.
Thanks to Chris Ayres
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Ivy League Gangster Now a Criminal Informant?
More than forty wiseguys who took an oath to take their Mafia secrets to the grave have later changed their minds and cut deals with the feds to tell all they knew. But while mob squealing was a growth industry in recent years, the elite Genovese family has managed to keep its members mostly in line. Known in mob parlance as "the Westside" because that was its traditional geographic base of power, the Genovese's are considered so good at what they do that admiring agents dubbed them "the Ivy League of organized crime."
Until recent weeks, the family had suffered only three known defectors. But Ganglandnews.com is reporting that the feds have quietly won a key new recruit to their side.
Late last month, a Genovese soldier named Anthony "Bingy" Arillotta, who was being held in the federal lockup downtown to face a murder rap, was released from prison custody, destination untold. Arillotta, 42, had been running things for the family in Massachusetts. He was accused of masterminding the whacking of his predecessor, Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno who was gunned down in a Springfield, Mass. parking lot in 2003. His switch in loyalties is bad news for a lot of wiseguys, especially his former acting boss, Arthur "Little Guy" Nigro, who is also accused in Bruno's murder.
Actually, the Bruno hit showed signs of severely declining standards for the Genovese crew. The shooter recruited to carry out Big Al's murder, a tattooed ex-con named Frankie Roche, turned squealer himself a couple of years ago. They way he told the story, he waited for the mobster to finish his usual Sunday night card game. "I walked up to Bruno and said, 'Hey Al, you looking for me?' and I popped him." Nice line. Bad form.
Thanks to Tom Robbins
Until recent weeks, the family had suffered only three known defectors. But Ganglandnews.com is reporting that the feds have quietly won a key new recruit to their side.
Late last month, a Genovese soldier named Anthony "Bingy" Arillotta, who was being held in the federal lockup downtown to face a murder rap, was released from prison custody, destination untold. Arillotta, 42, had been running things for the family in Massachusetts. He was accused of masterminding the whacking of his predecessor, Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno who was gunned down in a Springfield, Mass. parking lot in 2003. His switch in loyalties is bad news for a lot of wiseguys, especially his former acting boss, Arthur "Little Guy" Nigro, who is also accused in Bruno's murder.
Actually, the Bruno hit showed signs of severely declining standards for the Genovese crew. The shooter recruited to carry out Big Al's murder, a tattooed ex-con named Frankie Roche, turned squealer himself a couple of years ago. They way he told the story, he waited for the mobster to finish his usual Sunday night card game. "I walked up to Bruno and said, 'Hey Al, you looking for me?' and I popped him." Nice line. Bad form.
Thanks to Tom Robbins
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