When Lin DeVecchio goes to court, he never goes alone.
His lawyers are there, making arguments. The news media are there, taking photographs and notes. His wife sometimes shows up, making small, sorrowful faces as she grips him by the hand. Then there are the men who make a path for him as they escort him back and forth through the crowd. The ones with the gray hair and the jowls, the stern faces and the off-the-rack suits.
Almost from the moment he was charged in March with helping to commit four murders for the mob, R. Lindley DeVecchio has been surrounded by this posse of supporters: retired F.B.I. men who for years were not only his colleagues, but also his friends.
They watch his back. Personally guarantee his million-dollar bond. Solicit money for his legal bills. Scoff at his accusers. Interview — or, some have said, intimidate — witnesses in the case. And at every chance they get, tell whoever cares to listen that Mr. DeVecchio is an innocent man.
Sixty-five years old and retired from the F.B.I., Mr. DeVecchio stands accused in a state indictment of four counts of second-degree murder. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office says he helped an informant in the mob, Gregory Scarpa Sr., kill four times in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, so that Mr. Scarpa could rid himself of rivals and win bloody battles in a war within the Colombo family.
To a federal agent, there is nothing more toxic than a corruption charge — which even by association can ruin a career. And the charges faced by Mr. DeVecchio are radioactive: that he gave secret information to Mr. Scarpa in exchange for $66,000.
Which makes it all the more remarkable that 19 former F.B.I. agents have put their names and reputations on the line to save their troubled friend. These were not the bureaucrats or pencil pushers of the New York office, but its veteran undercover and investigative men. “We’ve all worked with Lin since the early 1970’s,” said Joseph D. Pistone, the real-life Donnie Brasco, who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family as an undercover agent in the 1970’s.
“We’re all veteran street guys,” Mr. Pistone said. “If anyone could smell something bad, it would be us. And with Lin, we never smelled bad.”
The so-called Friends of Lin DeVecchio have a total of 480 years of street experience, give or take a few, and while most spend their time these days on a golf course or at the shore, they remain encyclopedic on the subject of the mob.
Who knows better than us, they say, what happened 20 years ago at Carmine Sessa’s bar or at Larry Lampesi’s house near McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn? (Both places will figure prominently at trial.) “We gathered the information,” said James M. Kossler, who from 1979 to 1989 was Mr. DeVecchio’s boss.
Much of that information has been posted on a Web site, www.lindevecchio.com, which attempts to refute the state indictment with transcripts of federal trials and with private F.B.I. reports called 302’s. There is information about how to donate money toward Mr. DeVecchio’s legal expenses. The Web site also levels personal attacks against the state’s lead prosecutor, Michael Vecchione; its chief witness, Linda Schiro, Mr. Scarpa’s former companion; and Sandra Harmon, who is a self-described relationship coach and the co-author with Priscilla Presley of a tell-all book on Elvis Presley, and who had planned to write a book with Ms. Schiro but wrote one instead about Mr. Scarpa’s son.
Mr. DeVecchio’s supporters make no bones about their deep disdain for the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, who they say considers a good Mafia case to be rounding up gamblers on Super Bowl Sunday. “Here you have a rackets bureau that doesn’t know a thing about organized crime,” Mr. Kossler said. “They don’t know what they’re doing. If they had a track record of making great O.C. cases, fine — but they don’t.”
The bad blood between the state and the F.B.I. goes back many years, to at least 1992, when Mr. Scarpa went into hiding after Brooklyn prosecutors obtained a warrant for his arrest on a gun possession charge. From April to August of that year, court papers say, Mr. Scarpa met or spoke with Mr. DeVecchio seven times, but the F.B.I. neither informed the state of his whereabouts nor arrested Mr. Scarpa.
Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for Mr. Hynes, waved off accusations that the office was incompetent. “These people who are making these allegations can’t possibly know the depth of the evidence we have compiled to make this case,” he said.
Part of that evidence is likely to include the testimony of Lawrence Mazza, Mr. Scarpa’s one-time disciple, who has already told investigators that Mr. Scarpa had a friend in law enforcement, whom he used to call “the girlfriend.” Mr. Mazza, who now works at a gym in southern Florida, said that several weeks ago, one of the retired agents paid him a visit. Without saying exactly what happened, he said the agent had tried to intimidate him in connection with the case.
Mr. Kossler scoffed at the charge, saying the former agent had gone to Florida merely to interview Mr. Mazza on Mr. DeVecchio’s behalf. As a witness for the prosecution, Mr. Mazza is of obvious interest to the defense, he said. While the prosecution has said in court that intimidation of witnesses may have occurred, it will not publicly discuss Mr. Mazza’s accusation.
At its core, the DeVecchio case is about the tenuous give-and-take that exists between an agent and a confidential source. Prosecutors say that Mr. DeVecchio abused that give-and-take, giving Mr. Scarpa names and addresses of men who wound up dead.
Mr. DeVecchio has said that in the 12 years he “ran” Mr. Scarpa, he never leaked a secret and never received anything more than a Cabbage Patch doll, a bottle of wine and a pan of lasagna.
As for the Friends of Lin DeVecchio, they maintain it takes a special sort of man to handle Mafia informants. He must speak the language of the street and of the F.B.I. He must appreciate the criminal mind without admiring it. He must be able to cultivate trust among those who trust no one but themselves. “That’s the fine line the agent has to walk — to always remember who he is and who he’s dealing with,” said Christopher Mattice, who served for many years as the F.B.I.’s informant coordinator in New York. “You have to talk the language and make them understand you understand what’s going on.” And most important, he said, you must remember that no conversation between an agent and a mole takes place in a vacuum. Questions fashioned to elicit information give information: If Agent X asks about Gangster Y, it means that he is interested in Gangster Y. If Gangster Y winds up dead, is that Agent X’s fault?
For now, Mr. DeVecchio’s trial is scheduled to open at the beginning of next year, and his federal friends are planning to attend. “The bond is very close,” said Douglas E. Grover, Mr. DeVecchio’s lawyer. “It’s not just that they worked together; it’s like they were in the Army together, like they went through the wars.”
Should things go poorly for Mr. DeVecchio, his supporters will not quit, they say. “We’ll continue to do what we’re doing,” Mr. Kossler said. “We’ll fight this as far as it has to go.”
Thanks to Alan Feuer
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Tribute in Light
The "Tribute in Light," a tribute to the victims of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, lights up the sky above lower Manhattan with the Brooklyn Bridge in the foreground in this view from the Brooklyn borough of New York, Monday, Sept. 11, 2006.
Megale Gets Capone Prison Sentence
The sole remaining defendant, Gambino Family associate Louis Natrella
Mob underboss Anthony "The Genius" Megale, a/k/a “Mac,” a/k/a “Machiavelli,” was sentenced Friday in Manhattan federal court to 11 years imprisonment, following his conviction on racketeering and extortion charges. Ironically, he received the same sentence as the legendary Chicago mobster Al "Scarface" Capone.
United States District judge also imposed a term of three years’ supervised release, a fine of $30,000, and ordered Megale to forfeit $100,000, representing the proceeds of his criminal activity.
Megale's sentencing followed his guilty plea on March 30, 2006, to four counts of an Indictment unsealed last year. It charged 32 defendants, most of whom are members or associates of the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra, with wide-ranging racketeering crimes and other offenses spanning more than a decade, including violent assault, extortion of various individuals and businesses, loansharking, union embezzlement, illegal gambling, trafficking in stolen property and counterfeit goods, and mail fraud.
As part of his guilty plea, Megale admitted participating in a racketeering enterprise and extorting the owners of a restaurant in Greenwich, Connecticut, a New Jersey trucking company, and a construction company in Westchester County.
As stated in the Indictment, from approximately 2002 until the time of his arrest in late 2004, Megale was the Acting Underboss of the Gambino Organized Crime Family. Megale assumed this position when official Underboss Arnold Squitieri , a codefendant, was elevated from Underboss to Acting Boss. The Gambino Crime Family was once headed by John "Teflon Don" Gotti and Paul Castelano, whom many believe was assassinated by order of Gotti.
The charges leading to Megale's conviction were the result of an almost three-year long investigation that included obtaining court authorization to intercept conversations among high-ranking members of the Gambino Crime Family at several locations in the Bronx and Westchester County, including at the United Hebrew Geriatrics Home, located in New Rochelle, New York. An undercover FBI agent also infiltrated the Gambino Family in the course of the investigation.
All but one of the defendants charged in this case have pleaded guilty or, in the case of Gambino Family Capo Gregory DePalma, been convicted at trial. In the past two weeks, Gambino Family Capo Thomas Cacciopoli, a/k/a “Tommy Sneakers,” Luchese Organized Crime Family Captain John Capra, a/k/a “Johnny Hooks,” and Genovese Organized Crime Family Soldier Pasquale DeLuca, a/k/a “Scop,” have all pleaded guilty in this case.
The sole remaining defendant, Gambino Family associate Louis Natrella, is scheduled to go to trial on September 11, 2006.
Anthony Megale, who was known as "The Genius," began his criminal activity in Stamford, Connecticut. In August 2001, it is believed that Megale became a Capo (Captain) within the Gambino Family and was made acting underboss after Peter Gotti -- son of John Gotti --was arrested on racketeering charges.
During August 2002, a Fairfield County nightclub owner, met with Megale after the nightclub owner had been approached by members and associates of the Gambino Family and another organized crime family who sought to extort payments from him, his associates, and his businesses.
Megale represented to the nightclub owner that he was a top Gambino Family member, that he had met with leadership of the rival organized crime family, and that he had prevented members and associates of the rival family from extorting payments from him.
Then Megale told the nightclub owner that he would have to pay for “protection” in order to ensure the safety of himself, his associates, his property and his businesses. Megale demanded payment of $2000 every month plus an annual Christmas bonus as tribute money.
According to the FBI, for almost two years the nightclub owner was forced to pay protection money to Megale. It is further alleged that Megale threatened the nightclub owner with violence, destruction of property and disruption of his business if and when Megale didn't receive his protection money from the owner.
Thanks to Jim Kouri
Mob underboss Anthony "The Genius" Megale, a/k/a “Mac,” a/k/a “Machiavelli,” was sentenced Friday in Manhattan federal court to 11 years imprisonment, following his conviction on racketeering and extortion charges. Ironically, he received the same sentence as the legendary Chicago mobster Al "Scarface" Capone.
United States District judge also imposed a term of three years’ supervised release, a fine of $30,000, and ordered Megale to forfeit $100,000, representing the proceeds of his criminal activity.
Megale's sentencing followed his guilty plea on March 30, 2006, to four counts of an Indictment unsealed last year. It charged 32 defendants, most of whom are members or associates of the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra, with wide-ranging racketeering crimes and other offenses spanning more than a decade, including violent assault, extortion of various individuals and businesses, loansharking, union embezzlement, illegal gambling, trafficking in stolen property and counterfeit goods, and mail fraud.
As part of his guilty plea, Megale admitted participating in a racketeering enterprise and extorting the owners of a restaurant in Greenwich, Connecticut, a New Jersey trucking company, and a construction company in Westchester County.
As stated in the Indictment, from approximately 2002 until the time of his arrest in late 2004, Megale was the Acting Underboss of the Gambino Organized Crime Family. Megale assumed this position when official Underboss Arnold Squitieri , a codefendant, was elevated from Underboss to Acting Boss. The Gambino Crime Family was once headed by John "Teflon Don" Gotti and Paul Castelano, whom many believe was assassinated by order of Gotti.
The charges leading to Megale's conviction were the result of an almost three-year long investigation that included obtaining court authorization to intercept conversations among high-ranking members of the Gambino Crime Family at several locations in the Bronx and Westchester County, including at the United Hebrew Geriatrics Home, located in New Rochelle, New York. An undercover FBI agent also infiltrated the Gambino Family in the course of the investigation.
All but one of the defendants charged in this case have pleaded guilty or, in the case of Gambino Family Capo Gregory DePalma, been convicted at trial. In the past two weeks, Gambino Family Capo Thomas Cacciopoli, a/k/a “Tommy Sneakers,” Luchese Organized Crime Family Captain John Capra, a/k/a “Johnny Hooks,” and Genovese Organized Crime Family Soldier Pasquale DeLuca, a/k/a “Scop,” have all pleaded guilty in this case.
The sole remaining defendant, Gambino Family associate Louis Natrella, is scheduled to go to trial on September 11, 2006.
Anthony Megale, who was known as "The Genius," began his criminal activity in Stamford, Connecticut. In August 2001, it is believed that Megale became a Capo (Captain) within the Gambino Family and was made acting underboss after Peter Gotti -- son of John Gotti --was arrested on racketeering charges.
During August 2002, a Fairfield County nightclub owner, met with Megale after the nightclub owner had been approached by members and associates of the Gambino Family and another organized crime family who sought to extort payments from him, his associates, and his businesses.
Megale represented to the nightclub owner that he was a top Gambino Family member, that he had met with leadership of the rival organized crime family, and that he had prevented members and associates of the rival family from extorting payments from him.
Then Megale told the nightclub owner that he would have to pay for “protection” in order to ensure the safety of himself, his associates, his property and his businesses. Megale demanded payment of $2000 every month plus an annual Christmas bonus as tribute money.
According to the FBI, for almost two years the nightclub owner was forced to pay protection money to Megale. It is further alleged that Megale threatened the nightclub owner with violence, destruction of property and disruption of his business if and when Megale didn't receive his protection money from the owner.
Thanks to Jim Kouri
New Orleans Radio Host Charged with "Mob" Hit on Wife
To friends and listeners, radio talk show host Vince Marinello was "Vinnie" -- a racetrack regular straight out of "Guys and Dolls," a New Orleans native with a Brooklyn accent, a guy who liked to imply he had mob connections.
Now, Marinello stands accused of donning a disguise and shooting his estranged wife to death gangland-style in a suburban parking lot. Listeners who enjoyed his fan talk or found comfort in his post-Katrina broadcasts are wondering what went wrong. Marinello, 69, surrendered to authorities and was jailed Thursday on murder charges.
Mary Elizabeth Marinello, a 45-year-old respiratory therapist, died September 1, a day after she was shot twice in the face as she stood in a parking lot. The attack was first described as a botched robbery, but Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said Wednesday that it was being treated as a "hit" based on surveillance tapes.
"I think that before Katrina they had some problems," said Bertha Norman, the victim's mother. "But after Katrina, all that stress brought on a lot of things. I think Katrina made everything worse."
So much worse that in July, Mary Elizabeth filed for a divorce. That was when she learned that her husband of less than two years was still married when they wed. "The lawyer called and told her, `You don't need a divorce; you need an annulment,"' Norman said. Marinello "had told her so many lies -- that's why she was divorcing him. But this was the one he didn't want known."
Marinello was put on a suicide watch after turning himself in Thursday. The charges carry a mandatory life sentence.
Detectives said that on August 31, Marinello put on a fake mustache and beard, rode a bicycle to a parking lot he knew his wife used regularly, lay in ambush and shot her before pedaling away. Marinello's lawyer, Donald Foret, said he was trying to help his client post $250,000 and get out of jail. Other than that, he had no comment.
Authorities initially thought the shooting was a robbery gone bad, until they were able to take a closer look at surveillance tape.
Late Wednesday, authorities searched Marinello's Katrina-damaged house, the FEMA trailer he lived in, and the home of a friend. In the trailer, the sheriff said, they found a handwritten checklist of the alleged plans for the attack. "It was almost as good as a confession," Lee said.
Initially, Marinello had said he was in Jackson, Mississippi, at the time of the shooting, but Lee said his alibi unraveled and "things started to fall into place."
Marinello grew up in the close-knit Italian community in the French Quarter. He was a New Orleans sportscaster for a quarter of a century and also did a handicapping show from the Fair Grounds Race Track that was televised to betting establishments nationwide.
After Hurricane Katrina hit, he switched his WWL talk show's focus from sports to hurricane relief. "He was everybody's idea of a New Orleans guy," said Michael Diliberto, who worked with Marinello at the Fair Grounds for 15 years. "He'd do anything for anybody." Marinello knew everyone, Diliberto said, including the sheriff, who acknowledged that the arrest pained him.
Marinello was not above dropping hints that he was mob-connected. "I know from his life in the news media that he knew a lot of people that were known as bad guys," Diliberto said. "Working at the racetrack, in Chicago, around boxing, he came in contact with all kinds."
Despite that, Diliberto said he has a hard time thinking of Marinello as a bad guy himself. "I can think he might think he would know somebody that would do it," Diliberto said. "But I can't believe he would do it himself. He is such a kind man. I just can't picture him pulling the trigger."
Bob Mitchell, who co-hosted the show with Marinello, said during Thursday night's broadcast that he is still trying to make sense of what has happened. "If my friend is innocent, then I hope God will lead investigators to the guilty person or person. If he's not, and he did the crime, then he should pay the price whatever it is," Mitchell said. "This is a tragedy for all of us."
Now, Marinello stands accused of donning a disguise and shooting his estranged wife to death gangland-style in a suburban parking lot. Listeners who enjoyed his fan talk or found comfort in his post-Katrina broadcasts are wondering what went wrong. Marinello, 69, surrendered to authorities and was jailed Thursday on murder charges.
Mary Elizabeth Marinello, a 45-year-old respiratory therapist, died September 1, a day after she was shot twice in the face as she stood in a parking lot. The attack was first described as a botched robbery, but Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee said Wednesday that it was being treated as a "hit" based on surveillance tapes.
"I think that before Katrina they had some problems," said Bertha Norman, the victim's mother. "But after Katrina, all that stress brought on a lot of things. I think Katrina made everything worse."
So much worse that in July, Mary Elizabeth filed for a divorce. That was when she learned that her husband of less than two years was still married when they wed. "The lawyer called and told her, `You don't need a divorce; you need an annulment,"' Norman said. Marinello "had told her so many lies -- that's why she was divorcing him. But this was the one he didn't want known."
Marinello was put on a suicide watch after turning himself in Thursday. The charges carry a mandatory life sentence.
Detectives said that on August 31, Marinello put on a fake mustache and beard, rode a bicycle to a parking lot he knew his wife used regularly, lay in ambush and shot her before pedaling away. Marinello's lawyer, Donald Foret, said he was trying to help his client post $250,000 and get out of jail. Other than that, he had no comment.
Authorities initially thought the shooting was a robbery gone bad, until they were able to take a closer look at surveillance tape.
Late Wednesday, authorities searched Marinello's Katrina-damaged house, the FEMA trailer he lived in, and the home of a friend. In the trailer, the sheriff said, they found a handwritten checklist of the alleged plans for the attack. "It was almost as good as a confession," Lee said.
Initially, Marinello had said he was in Jackson, Mississippi, at the time of the shooting, but Lee said his alibi unraveled and "things started to fall into place."
Marinello grew up in the close-knit Italian community in the French Quarter. He was a New Orleans sportscaster for a quarter of a century and also did a handicapping show from the Fair Grounds Race Track that was televised to betting establishments nationwide.
After Hurricane Katrina hit, he switched his WWL talk show's focus from sports to hurricane relief. "He was everybody's idea of a New Orleans guy," said Michael Diliberto, who worked with Marinello at the Fair Grounds for 15 years. "He'd do anything for anybody." Marinello knew everyone, Diliberto said, including the sheriff, who acknowledged that the arrest pained him.
Marinello was not above dropping hints that he was mob-connected. "I know from his life in the news media that he knew a lot of people that were known as bad guys," Diliberto said. "Working at the racetrack, in Chicago, around boxing, he came in contact with all kinds."
Despite that, Diliberto said he has a hard time thinking of Marinello as a bad guy himself. "I can think he might think he would know somebody that would do it," Diliberto said. "But I can't believe he would do it himself. He is such a kind man. I just can't picture him pulling the trigger."
Bob Mitchell, who co-hosted the show with Marinello, said during Thursday night's broadcast that he is still trying to make sense of what has happened. "If my friend is innocent, then I hope God will lead investigators to the guilty person or person. If he's not, and he did the crime, then he should pay the price whatever it is," Mitchell said. "This is a tragedy for all of us."
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Snitch from "Mafia Cops" Case May Have Sentenced Reduced
A former mob associate who helped convict the "Mafia cops" could have his prison sentence reduced because of his testimony, according to a published report.
During Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa's trial, Burton Kaplan told jurors he acted as a middleman, passing secret police information -- including names of confidential informants and imminent mob arrests -- from Eppolito and Caracappa to Luchese crime family underboss Anthony (Gaspipe) Casso.
As thanks, prosecutors are expected to ask U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein to resentence Kaplan, 72, who has served 15 years of a 27-year sentence, according to the New York Daily News. "Burt was an incredible witness, he was certainly telling the truth and was responsible for getting convictions against two really bad people," a legal source told the News. "If anybody deserves a sentence reduction, it's him."
While Eppolito and Caracappa, a former Great Kills resident, were found guilty of every count in the racketeering conspiracy case -- from murder for hire to kidnapping to witness tampering to bribery -- the verdict was tossed out June 30 by Weinstein, who ruled that the statute of limitations had run out on the pair's racketeering convictions. Weinstein has ordered a new trial on charges of money laundering and drug trafficking.
Thanks to Staten Island Advance
During Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa's trial, Burton Kaplan told jurors he acted as a middleman, passing secret police information -- including names of confidential informants and imminent mob arrests -- from Eppolito and Caracappa to Luchese crime family underboss Anthony (Gaspipe) Casso.
As thanks, prosecutors are expected to ask U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein to resentence Kaplan, 72, who has served 15 years of a 27-year sentence, according to the New York Daily News. "Burt was an incredible witness, he was certainly telling the truth and was responsible for getting convictions against two really bad people," a legal source told the News. "If anybody deserves a sentence reduction, it's him."
While Eppolito and Caracappa, a former Great Kills resident, were found guilty of every count in the racketeering conspiracy case -- from murder for hire to kidnapping to witness tampering to bribery -- the verdict was tossed out June 30 by Weinstein, who ruled that the statute of limitations had run out on the pair's racketeering convictions. Weinstein has ordered a new trial on charges of money laundering and drug trafficking.
Thanks to Staten Island Advance
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