Friends of ours: Lucchese Crime Family
Friends of mine: Louis Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa
The mother of a victim linked to the so-called "Mafia cops" case has addressed a letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asking for his help. The 'Mafia Cops' convictions were overturned on Friday.
According to an exclusive in the NY Daily News the mother wants the mayor to stop fighting her wrongful-death suit, which she said is being delayed by technicalities.
The letter is written by Pauline Pipitone, the mother of 26-year-old Brooklyn man Nicky Guido. He was slain on Christmas Day 1986, a victim of mistaken identity in a rubout linked to the so-called Mafia Cops case, according to the Daily News.
The full letter to Mayor Bloomberg is here.
Jim Kouri reported in the National Ledger on Friday on that the judge had overturned the convictions of two former New York City cops accused of working for the Luchese crime family as mob hit men.
He writes:
Judge Jack Weinstein said that he still believes they are guilty, but the statute of limitations had run out. Besides, liberals always work overtime in order to avoid incarcerating criminals and terrorists, and Weinstein's judicial history strongly suggested he's on the left of the political spectrum.
Three months ago, a jury found former NYPD detectives Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa guilty of participating in eight murders while on the payroll of the organized crime underboss. But a lawyer in a black robe knows best, so dirty cops lucked out by having a Lyndon Johnson-appointed judge hear their case.
In his decision, Judge Jack Weinstein said he agreed with a jury that Eppolito and Caracappa were guilty of murder, kidnapping and other crimes, but unfortunately the law "compelled" him to overturn the verdicts on the most serious charges. Weinstein granted the former cops a new trial on drug charges and Eppolito a new trial on money laundering charges. It will be interesting to see how Weinstein handles the drug charges.
"The evidence at trial overwhelmingly established the defendants' participation in a large number of heinous and violent crimes," he said in his ruling.
"Nevertheless the five-year statute of limitations mandates granting the defendants a judgment of acquittal on the key charge against them -- racketeering conspiracy."
Less than a month ago, Weinstein sentenced the two disgraced law enforcement officers to life in prison.
Thanks to Jim Roberts
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Convictions Tossed in "Mafia Cops" Case
Friends of mine: Louis J. Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa
A federal judge tossed out the convictions of two retired New York City detectives today on racketeering charges — including eight murders for the mob — because the statute of limitations had run out, even though there was overwhelming evidence the men had committed "heinous and violent crimes."
The ruling by Judge Jack B. Weinstein reversed in its entirety the conviction of the two detectives, Louis J. Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, who were found guilty in April of some of the most stunning corruption charges in the city's history. Although a jury found that Mr. Eppolito and Mr. Caracappa had participated, as paid assassins, in killings for the mob, the judge's order vacated the convictions, though not on evidentiary grounds.
The ruling, in a 102-page order that touched upon Sir Thomas More and the sanctity of the Constitution, was the latest —and most severe — turn yet in the 15-month case. It sent shock waves through the United States attorney's office in Brooklyn, which said it would appeal. And it sent a crest of disappointment through the families of the victims in the case, some of whom had given heart-wrenching testimony at the two men's sentencing last month, where they were given life terms.
It sent a surge of joy through the offices of the defendants' new lawyers, one of whom, Joseph A. Bondy, called it "the most substantial legal victory" in recent history. Meanwhile, it threatened to disrupt the careers — and the book deals — of some investigators in the case. And it led to the bizarre prospect that the two detectives — whom Judge Weinstein outright accused in his order of being stone-cold killers — could walk free from a federal jail in Brooklyn as early as next week.
The judge was poetic in acknowledging that his decision might seem strange to some.
"It will undoubtedly appear peculiar to many people that heinous criminals such as the defendants, having been found guilty on overwhelming evidence of the most despicable crimes of violence, should go unwhipped of justice," he wrote.
"Yet our Constitution, statutes and morality require that we be ruled by the law, not vindictiveness or the advantages of the moment."
The judge also wrote that even though there was little doubt that Mr. Eppolito and Mr. Caracappa had "kidnapped, murdered, and assisted kidnappers and murderers," he had no choice but to let them because the five-year statute of limitations in conspiracy cases had run out.
His ruling was not the first time the statute had come up. Virtually from the outset of the case, Judge Weinstein had said that he was queasy about the legal connection between the eight gangland murders, all of which occurred in Brooklyn in the 1980's and 1990's, and a much more recent — and less serious — charge of selling a single ounce of methamphetamine in Las Vegas last year.
In October, the defense team seized upon the judge's qualms and filed a motion to quash the case before the trial, saying, in essence, that the government had bootstrapped the drug charge on to the murder charges so as "to freshen up" the case and to avoid the statute of limitations.
Judge Weinstein denied the motion, deciding instead to go to trial and to see if the government could prove, as it said it could, that there was indeed an "ongoing criminal enterprise" that stretched from the streets of Brooklyn to the casinos and subdivisions of Las Vegas.
Judge Weinstein's ruling drove a legal spike directly through that argument and no matter how pained he seemed to be in vacating the convictions, he took the government to task for pushing the boundaries of conspiracy law.
"The government's case against these defendants," he wrote, "stretches federal racketeering and conspiracy law to the breaking point."
There was a certain irony lurking in the fact that the statute of limitations was practically the first issue raised in pretrial hearings by the defendants' former lawyers, Bruce Cutler and Edward Hayes, who just this week were forced to appear in court to defend themselves against charges of incompetence filed against them by the two detectives. Judge Weinstein tossed those charges out.
Still, it was in keeping with the topsy-turvy nature of the case that the very argument that the fired legal team had offered in their former clients' defense was the one that was eventually successful.
In either case the judge's ruling provided a much more sweeping victory than the mere new trial that the defendants would have gotten with a finding that their lawyers were incompetent. Now there can be no new trial on the murder conspiracy charges, although a higher court could reinstate the convictions and the prosecution can seek to retry the defendants on the drug charge and Mr. Eppolito, alone, on a money-laundering count.
Reached at his office, Mr. Hayes was at first speechless — a rarity for a man who once sang "Danny Boy" aloud in open court. He said the prosecution had made a grave tactical error by not allowing the case to be tried in state court, which has no statute of limitations on murder. "But this is a Justice Department that more than any in my lifetime has shown a mad-dog desire to control everything and to ignore the law," he said. "And they paid the price in this case."
Mr. Cutler said it would have been difficult for a jury to acquit on what some might see as a technicality, but he praised Judge Weinstein for his independence. "I take comfort in the fact that there are judges who do what they think is right," he said.
Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the United States attorney's office in Brooklyn, released a terse statement today supporting the jury's verdict. "The jury in this case unanimously found Eppolito and Caracappa guilty of racketeering and murder based on overwhelming evidence," the statement read. "And based on the law that was given to them by the court, each of the 12 jurors specifically found that the defendants' heinous crimes were committed within the statute of limitations. We intend to pursue an appeal."
Thanks to Alan Feuer
A federal judge tossed out the convictions of two retired New York City detectives today on racketeering charges — including eight murders for the mob — because the statute of limitations had run out, even though there was overwhelming evidence the men had committed "heinous and violent crimes."
The ruling by Judge Jack B. Weinstein reversed in its entirety the conviction of the two detectives, Louis J. Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, who were found guilty in April of some of the most stunning corruption charges in the city's history. Although a jury found that Mr. Eppolito and Mr. Caracappa had participated, as paid assassins, in killings for the mob, the judge's order vacated the convictions, though not on evidentiary grounds.
The ruling, in a 102-page order that touched upon Sir Thomas More and the sanctity of the Constitution, was the latest —and most severe — turn yet in the 15-month case. It sent shock waves through the United States attorney's office in Brooklyn, which said it would appeal. And it sent a crest of disappointment through the families of the victims in the case, some of whom had given heart-wrenching testimony at the two men's sentencing last month, where they were given life terms.
It sent a surge of joy through the offices of the defendants' new lawyers, one of whom, Joseph A. Bondy, called it "the most substantial legal victory" in recent history. Meanwhile, it threatened to disrupt the careers — and the book deals — of some investigators in the case. And it led to the bizarre prospect that the two detectives — whom Judge Weinstein outright accused in his order of being stone-cold killers — could walk free from a federal jail in Brooklyn as early as next week.
The judge was poetic in acknowledging that his decision might seem strange to some.
"It will undoubtedly appear peculiar to many people that heinous criminals such as the defendants, having been found guilty on overwhelming evidence of the most despicable crimes of violence, should go unwhipped of justice," he wrote.
"Yet our Constitution, statutes and morality require that we be ruled by the law, not vindictiveness or the advantages of the moment."
The judge also wrote that even though there was little doubt that Mr. Eppolito and Mr. Caracappa had "kidnapped, murdered, and assisted kidnappers and murderers," he had no choice but to let them because the five-year statute of limitations in conspiracy cases had run out.
His ruling was not the first time the statute had come up. Virtually from the outset of the case, Judge Weinstein had said that he was queasy about the legal connection between the eight gangland murders, all of which occurred in Brooklyn in the 1980's and 1990's, and a much more recent — and less serious — charge of selling a single ounce of methamphetamine in Las Vegas last year.
In October, the defense team seized upon the judge's qualms and filed a motion to quash the case before the trial, saying, in essence, that the government had bootstrapped the drug charge on to the murder charges so as "to freshen up" the case and to avoid the statute of limitations.
Judge Weinstein denied the motion, deciding instead to go to trial and to see if the government could prove, as it said it could, that there was indeed an "ongoing criminal enterprise" that stretched from the streets of Brooklyn to the casinos and subdivisions of Las Vegas.
Judge Weinstein's ruling drove a legal spike directly through that argument and no matter how pained he seemed to be in vacating the convictions, he took the government to task for pushing the boundaries of conspiracy law.
"The government's case against these defendants," he wrote, "stretches federal racketeering and conspiracy law to the breaking point."
There was a certain irony lurking in the fact that the statute of limitations was practically the first issue raised in pretrial hearings by the defendants' former lawyers, Bruce Cutler and Edward Hayes, who just this week were forced to appear in court to defend themselves against charges of incompetence filed against them by the two detectives. Judge Weinstein tossed those charges out.
Still, it was in keeping with the topsy-turvy nature of the case that the very argument that the fired legal team had offered in their former clients' defense was the one that was eventually successful.
In either case the judge's ruling provided a much more sweeping victory than the mere new trial that the defendants would have gotten with a finding that their lawyers were incompetent. Now there can be no new trial on the murder conspiracy charges, although a higher court could reinstate the convictions and the prosecution can seek to retry the defendants on the drug charge and Mr. Eppolito, alone, on a money-laundering count.
Reached at his office, Mr. Hayes was at first speechless — a rarity for a man who once sang "Danny Boy" aloud in open court. He said the prosecution had made a grave tactical error by not allowing the case to be tried in state court, which has no statute of limitations on murder. "But this is a Justice Department that more than any in my lifetime has shown a mad-dog desire to control everything and to ignore the law," he said. "And they paid the price in this case."
Mr. Cutler said it would have been difficult for a jury to acquit on what some might see as a technicality, but he praised Judge Weinstein for his independence. "I take comfort in the fact that there are judges who do what they think is right," he said.
Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the United States attorney's office in Brooklyn, released a terse statement today supporting the jury's verdict. "The jury in this case unanimously found Eppolito and Caracappa guilty of racketeering and murder based on overwhelming evidence," the statement read. "And based on the law that was given to them by the court, each of the 12 jurors specifically found that the defendants' heinous crimes were committed within the statute of limitations. We intend to pursue an appeal."
Thanks to Alan Feuer
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Sopranos Sign Two More
Two more members of "The Sopranos" cast have signed deals to appear in the show's final episodes, but two prime wiseguys are still holding out.
Lorraine Bracco, who plays Tony's (James Gandolfini) therapist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, and Aida Turturro, Tony's sister Janice, have each agreed to return for the final run of episodes, which is scheduled to begin in January. The cast's first script reading is set for next week.
Both actresses will be receiving sizable raises for the final episodes, which HBO is calling a continuation of the sixth season (the first 12 episodes ended earlier this month). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bracco will earn about $220,000 per episode, while Turturro will get $130,000.
The trade paper also reports that Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler have also finalized their deals to return, with each getting a per-episode salary in the low six figures.
Meanwhile, two of Tony Soprano's prime lieutenants, Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) and Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts), are keeping up their holdout and threatening to quit the show if their demands for a raise aren't met. The two actors, who have the same manager, are asking for pay in the $200,000-per-episode range, the New York Post says.
Both have been a major part of the show throughout its run, and should it come to that, writing Silvio and Paulie out would be a tricky task.
Steven Schirripa, who plays Janice's husband Bobby, also has yet to sign, but the HR says he's expected to work out a contract before the table read next week.
Lorraine Bracco, who plays Tony's (James Gandolfini) therapist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, and Aida Turturro, Tony's sister Janice, have each agreed to return for the final run of episodes, which is scheduled to begin in January. The cast's first script reading is set for next week.Both actresses will be receiving sizable raises for the final episodes, which HBO is calling a continuation of the sixth season (the first 12 episodes ended earlier this month). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bracco will earn about $220,000 per episode, while Turturro will get $130,000.
The trade paper also reports that Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler have also finalized their deals to return, with each getting a per-episode salary in the low six figures.
Meanwhile, two of Tony Soprano's prime lieutenants, Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) and Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts), are keeping up their holdout and threatening to quit the show if their demands for a raise aren't met. The two actors, who have the same manager, are asking for pay in the $200,000-per-episode range, the New York Post says.
Both have been a major part of the show throughout its run, and should it come to that, writing Silvio and Paulie out would be a tricky task.
Steven Schirripa, who plays Janice's husband Bobby, also has yet to sign, but the HR says he's expected to work out a contract before the table read next week.
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."
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."
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.
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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