Judge Throws Out Murder Conviction in NYPD 'Mafia Cops' Case

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

A judge on Friday threw out a racketeering murder conviction against two detectives accused of moonlighting as hitmen for the mob, saying the statute of limitations had expired on the slayings.

U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein also granted a new trial to the defendants, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, on money laundering and drug charges.

Defense attorneys had argued that the five-year statute of limitations had expired on the most serious allegations against the pair — that they committed or facilitated eight killings between 1986 and 1990 while on the payroll of both the New York Police Department and Luchese crime family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso.

Prosecutors had countered that the murders were part of an ongoing conspiracy that lasted through a 2005 drug deal with an FBI informant.

In a 77-page ruling, Weinstein agreed with a jury that Eppolito and Caracappa were guilty of murder, kidnapping and other crimes, but he said the law compelled him to set aside the verdict.

"The evidence at trial overwhelmingly established the defendants' participation in a large number of heinous and violent crimes," the judge wrote. "Nevertheless an extended trial, evidentiary hearings, briefings and argument establishes that the five-year statute of limitations mandates granting the defendants a judgment of acquittal on the key charge against them — racketeering conspiracy."

After the detectives retired and moved to Las Vegas in the mid-1990s "the conspiracy that began in New York in the 1980s had come to a definite close," the judge wrote. "The defendants were no longer in contact with their old associates in the Luchese crime family."

There is no statute of limitations on murder in the state of New York, but the men were prosecuted at the federal level because of the higher likelihood of a conviction for racketeering.

Eppolito, 57, whose father was a member of the Gambino crime family, and Caracappa, 64, were convicted in April in what was considered one of the worst cases of police corruption in New York history.

"It's exactly what we argued during the trial," said Edward Hayes, Caracappa's trial lawyer. "I am very happy for my client, and I do feel it is a vindication of our trial strategy."

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Reputed Head Of South Florida Mafia Crime Ring, Others Arrested

Friends of ours: Genovese Crime Family, Renaldi "Ray" Ruggiero, Liborio "Barney" Bellomo

The alleged head of the Genovese crime family's South Florida ring and six others have been arrested.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Friday that the men are charged with extortion, robbery, money laundering and other acts of racketeering as far back as 1994.

Renaldi "Ray" Ruggiero, whom prosecutors identified as a captain of the family's operations in South Florida, was in federal court in Fort Lauderdale along with a half dozen co-defendants.

If convicted under the racketeering charges, Ruggiero could face up to 120 years in prison and fines of up to $1.75 million. The others could face slightly lower maximum sentences.

The arrests are the latest blow to New York City's most powerful Mafia family. The family's reputed acting boss, Liborio "Barney" Bellomo, and 31 others were arrested in February in New York on a host of charges including murder.

The indictment covered the family's alleged illegal enterprises from 1994 to the present.

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Boss or Not Boss - James "Little Jimmy" Marcello

There seems to be some disagreement among a handful of my readers regarding James "Little Jimmy" Marcello. Several media sources report that Marcello is the currently "the man" of the Chicago Mob. Others report that Marcello is not the boss now nor has he ever been boss.

With Little Jimmy back in custody and looking at a possible long prison term as a result of Operation Family Secrets, it is probably a moot point. Most likely, "The Outfit" has begun it's search for Marcello's successor, if he is in fact the guy in charge.

I am curious for my readers and fellow mobologists to weigh in with their comments and thoughts. Feel free to share your opinion by sending me an email. I will report back on any new revelations that you might have for us.

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Dapper Don Took Secrets to His Grave

Friends of ours: John Gotti, Junior Gotti

As doctors tried to ease the pain from his cancer, John Gotti had one request.

"No truth serum," he wrote on a chalkboard to his youngest son, Peter, who was at his father's bedside in the final days of the mob boss' life.

Gotti, who died in prison in 2002, was loyal to the end to the Mafia code of silence, his other son, John "Junior" Gotti told the Daily News for an interview in Wednesday's editions. "I'm proud of my father, right down to his last breath," Gotti said.

The elder Gotti kept famously mum about the mob, never publicly acknowledging his role in the organization or even its existence. Before his 1992 sentencing for murder and racketeering, Gotti instructed his lawyer to "get it over with without anybody making any speeches."

"Junior" Gotti, 42, is scheduled to go on trial again in August after two previous juries deadlocked on charges alleging he arranged the beating of Guardian Angels founder and radio host Curtis Sliwa.

His lawyers have argued that he gave up all mob activities after he pleaded guilty in another racketeering case in 1999, serving five years in prison. Last month a federal grand jury charged that Gotti never gave up that life, accusing him in a written indictment of committing a series of mob-related crimes in the last year.

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Search For Bulger Goes To Chicago

Friends of ours: James "Whitey" Bulger

Investigators searching for fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger went to Chicago last week, delivering subpoenas to two labor union officials and taking a Palm Pilot from one of them, a lawyer representing the union said.

The Palm Pilot was turned over by a union employee with Local 134 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said attorney Matthew J. Cleveland. Cleveland said the union was told by federal investigators that neither the union nor its employees was being investigated. "They were just following up on some leads regarding the Whitey Bulger case," Cleveland said. "The union itself is not a target, nor any employees or the officers of the union."

Subpoenas were delivered to two union employees, Charles Dunn, a business representative for the union, and Michael Caddigan, the union's office manager, according to a report in The Boston Globe.

Cleveland would not confirm the identities of the union employees who received subpoenas, but said that the employees had already spoken to investigators. "They cooperated with the federal agents," he said.

Neither Caddigan nor Dunn could immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. Messages were left for both men at the union's office in Chicago. Cleveland said he did not know that kind of lead investigators were following in Chicago.

Samantha Martin, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, would not comment on the leads investigators are following in Chicago. The FBI in Boston referred calls to Sullivan's office.

"We can't confirm or deny any specific investigative activity for Whitey Bulger," Martin said.

This is not the first time that the search for Bulger has led investigators to Chicago. Kevin Weeks, a former enforcer for Bulger's Winter Hill Gang, has told investigators that he delivered fake identification to Bulger in Chicago in 1996.

Bulger, 76, a longtime informant for the FBI, disappeared 11 years ago, fleeing Boston just before he was indicted on federal racketeering charges in January 1995. He's been charged in 19 murders and is on the FBI's "10 Most Wanted" list.

Bulger's former FBI handler, retired FBI agent John Connolly Jr., was convicted of racketeering charges in 2002 for warning Bulger to flee before his 1995 indictment. Connolly is serving a 10-year prison sentence.

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