Friends of mine: Patrick Balsamo
The Gambino organized-crime family, furious at the shooting of one of its bosses, is calling for a sit-down with the rival Bonannos to decide the fate of the ex-cop who allegedly pulled the trigger, law-enforcement sources said yesterday. The Gambinos are absolutely livid because the victim, Carmine Sciandra, who runs the Top Tomato produce market, is a top captain in the Mafia family and was once considered a successor to "teflon don" John Gotti, the sources said. Both residents and law-enforcement officials fear that unless the dispute is resolved, it could lead to war between the two families.
Sciandra was shot in the belly outside the market on Dec. 7 by former cop Patrick Balsamo, who brought along two Bonanno thugs to use as muscle, police said. Balsamo was angry because he believed Carmine's brother, Salvatore, groped the cop's 18-year-old daughter, Maria, a College of Staten Island student. The teen had worked as a cashier at the market before being fired. Discount Golf Equipment
Swinging a baseball bat, Balsamo smashed several windows before a melee erupted. During the fracas, the ex-cop drew a gun and blasted Sciandra, police said. Balsamo, now a security guard at a Brighton Beach nightclub, hasn't been seen since he was released on $25,000 bail last Friday. Law-enforcement officials believe he has gone into hiding. "I imagine Balsamo is terrified. We're all concerned," said a woman who has lived in the neighborhood for years.
Sciandra is recovering from his wound at Staten Island University Hospital. His wife hung up on a reporter who called his room yesterday. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn and the FBI's organized crime task force are watching to see if any mobsters retaliate. The feds fear a mob war could erupt because the brazen attack on Sciandra was not approved by other bosses. "This was a renegade act," a police source said.
At the time of the shooting, witnesses said that they heard a shot and saw Sciandra go down. Then they saw several men with baseball bats chase a sedan out of the parking lot. Top Tomato employees would say only, "I don't know nothin'."
Thanks to various sources.
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