by mafiastudent » Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:21 pm
In the order of fairness...the first thing I'm going to do is "reprint" the story as it was written so that it can be viewed in full context as it was intended......because I couldn't quite figure out how all those different pieces were fitting together as Chin presented it. I will also say that I went through the testimony and wrote this part of that overall story as it occurred at trial. So, we'll start here....a bit later I'll go through Chin's points point by point:
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John Pennisi was an alleged “soldier” in the Lucchese Family who had a criminal past that included a 1990 manslaughter conviction. He was only 20-years-old at the time. In 1989, he and another man were dating the same girl. When the other boyfriend found out Pennisi was at her house, he went there to confront her, but her father sent him away. He left and went to a bar.
Pennisi was upset that the other man had the nerve to show up the girl’s house, so Pennisi called up a friend and hunted the other boyfriend down, shooting him in the chest and killing him. It was never determined which one of the two friends killed the other man, but Pennisi took off and went into hiding for months. He was finally arrested, brought to trial and sentenced to 17 years behind bars.
However, he had lied during his testimony at that 1990 trial to protect him and his co-defendant. This “false narrative” was brought to light at the May 2019 trial of alleged Lucchese “soldier” Eugene Castelle when the government admitted this fact to the Court, saying in part: “CW-2 has admitted to the Government that during his testimony in the 1990 trial, he deliberately made false statements in an effort to shield himself and his co-defendant from liability.”
While in prison, Pennisi had many problems. He tried committing suicide because he couldn’t deal with prison life. He was a very paranoid and jealous man, too. He required his former girlfriend to “answer him on FaceTime (even if she was traveling on a highway or otherwise unable to use her phone at that moment) to ensure that another man was not present with her” and had burned her hair and knocked her teeth out with his fist.
However, the defense wasn’t allowed to ask about any of this because it wasn’t relevant to his credibility. So, what was relevant to his credibility?
It seemed that the main purpose of having Pennisi testify was so the government could complete its special hierarchy board for the jury to see. His testimony mostly consisted of identifying people in pictures and providing background information on the “Mafia” and Lucchese Family activities because he, apparently, knew everything and everybody even though he was a self-described “nobody.”
But despite being a “made” member from approximately 2013 to 2017 and knowing all the players allegedly involved, the prosecution didn’t even ask about the main plot of the trial – the murder of Michael Meldish.
Even Gang Land commented on it in their October 24, 2019 column, stating, “You’d think that a wiseguy who’d been made before the hit, and was active for more than four years after it took place, would have heard some scuttlebutt tying Crea or former acting boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna to the slaying.”
Nonetheless, he had heard about the Coddington Club incident. And he also provided the jury with some interesting information, including step-by-step detail about his “making ceremony” and many other side stories that fit with the government’s and perhaps even the public’s image of what the “Mafia” is all about.
Before being sent to prison for that 1989 murder, Pennisi claimed he had a relationship with “the mob,” specifically the Gambino Family as explained to our favorite prosecutor, Scotten:
Q. Was there any particular person or people in the Gambino Family you had a relationship with?
A. Yes.
Q. Who?
A. Tony Moscatiello and John Jr.
Q. And do you know John Jr.’s last name?
A. Gotti.
Right off the bat, let’s name drop a big name because even if the jury didn’t know much about the “Mafia,” they probably had heard of that famous name, right?
Q. Did you have any kind of a formal relationship with them? Were you just friends, or was there something more?
A. We were friends and I was associated to them.
Q. In the terms used at the time, how would you have been referred to?
A. I was with them.
Q. How long were you around the Gambinos on the street?
A. Since I was maybe 14, 15 years old.
He went on to describe that while in prison, he maintained his close relationship with “the Mob.” “There was a lot of guys locked up with us,” he said. “We were, we were mostly Italian guys.”
When Pennisi got out of prison in 2007, he got a job in construction because he was on parole until 2012. At some point, he ended up getting into a fight with some Colombo guys at a restaurant owned by the girlfriend of his friend Anthony Guzzo. This conflict happened because, apparently, the Colombo guys didn’t want to pay their check.
Although he and Guzzo “won the fight,” Pennisi was concerned there might be a problem, so he went to speak with his childhood friend Joey DiBenedetto, who was allegedly a member of the Lucchese Family, for help. After the conflict was resolved, Pennisi was “put on record” with Joey. Later, he met an alleged “capo” by the name of John Castellucci, and then the doors to the Lucchese Family swung wide open.
Q. During this period when you’re on record with DiBenedetto, did you ever meet anybody more senior than Castellucci?
A. Yes.
Q. Who did you meet?
A. The administration and other members.
Q. And who was in the administration at the time you met them?
A. Matty, Stevie, Joe D.
Q. And what’s Joe D’s full last name?
A. Excuse me?
Q. What’s Joe D’s full last name?
A. DiNapoli.
Scotten then asked about how Pennisi met the various members of the “administration.” It gets a little loopy, but let’s try to follow along. Pennisi first talks about how he met Madonna. Then he’s asked about Crea and others. Scotten shows him pictures to identify and they immediately go up on the government’s poster board.
Q. How were you introduced to Madonna?
A. I was introduced to him – I was introduced to him by Joe DiNapoli. And he said, “This is Matty. He’s the Acting Boss of the Family.” And he said, “Matty, this is John, amica nostra.” That’s how it was done.
Q. Other than just saying, “Hey, this is Matty,” is there significance to that? What is the purpose of such an introduction?
A. I don’t – what was the purpose?
Q. Yes.
A. Well, it had to be done.
Q. Why did it have to be done?
A. I was just inducted into the Family.
Q. Were you also introduced to Stevie Crea?
A. Yes.
Q. And do you recall who it was who introduced you to Stevie Crea?
A. It could have been one of two people. I don’t, I don’t exactly remember which one.
Q. Do you remember where you were introduced to Stevie Crea?
A. Yes.
Q. Where were you introduced to him?
A. At the club in the Bronx.
Q. And I’ll ask you more about the club in the Bronx in a minute. What was said when you were introduced to Stevie Crea? What was said?
A. How did —
Q. Yeah.
A. Like I said, I don’t know – it was one of two people who, who, who introduced us. They said, “This is Stevie. He’s the official Underboss of the Family. And this is John. Amica nostra.”
So, the first time he meets “Stevie,” this nobody is told Crea’s supposed position in the Family? Who would have guessed? And just to point out something else rather nifty…notice how Scotten refers to Crea as “Stevie”…just like he knew him personally.
And just so Londonio wouldn’t feel left out, because, you know, the government had given him so much attention for so long, Pennisi talked about him, too. The only one he didn’t talk about was Caldwell.
Q. And then, finally, when you were introduced to Chris, was anything said about Chris’s position? Was he introduced as a boss or an underboss or anything like that?
A. He was not.
Q. So, what does that mean?
A. He was a soldier.
Q. What was your rank at the time?
A. Soldier.
Q. All right. This wasn’t the first time you met the administration, was it?
A. No.
And “Chris” must be a close personal friend of Scotten’s as well since he refers to him by his first name. By the way, are you catching the government’s trickery here? Pennisi never says he was introduced to “Chris” as a “soldier” but he could infer that was Londonio’s position because he wasn’t identified “as a boss or underboss or anything like that.” How does he know he wasn’t an “associate?”
Q. Where did you first meet Madonna, Crea, and DiNapoli?
A. At the club in the Bronx.
Q. And how did you end up at the club in the Bronx for the first time?
A. John and Joey took me.
Q. John Castellucci and Joe DiBenedetto?
A. Yes.
Q. Did they say why you were going?
A. No.
Q. What happened when you got there?
A. They introduced me to everybody.
Q. Any women?
A. Excuse me?
Q. Were there any women there?
A. There was a woman like serving. One woman.
Q. Other than her?
A. Any —
Q. Any women other than her?
A. No.
Because it’s a “boy’s club,” you know. No women allowed. But this will be proven false as well, which we’ll see shortly.
Q. And you said you were introduced to people. Who do you remember meeting that day?
A. I met, I met — like I said, I met the administration and whoever else was, was there.
Q. No. I’m asking you if you met them. You weren’t introduced in the sense you talked about before, were you?
A. No.
Q. And why, why is that?
A. I wasn’t, I wasn’t a member of the Family.
The problem with his testimony is that he says he met all of the administration and a whole bunch of other people at the club but wasn’t introduced to them formally because he wasn’t yet a made member. But, yet, he still met all of the supposed important people anyway, complete with full names and alleged titles. Also, he testified when he met Madonna, he had been inducted, but then said it wasn’t the first time he had met him because he met him initially at the Coddington Club. He was also introduced to Londonio, but apparently that wasn’t at the Coddington Club, either, but at a wake.
While it might not seem like a big issue, the way the testimony was presented made it seem like Pennisi was “in the know” and that everything else that followed was true and factual even though his testimony was conflicting from one segment to the next.
Let’s see what happened after he met everyone that big day at the Coddington Club:
Q. And after you met, in the informal sense, everyone there, what did you do?
A. What did I do?
Q. What did you do? Did you stand around? Did you get something to eat? What did you do?
A. We were just talking, and then eventually I think we ate.
Q. Where did you sit?
A. At, at the table that they were sitting at.
Q. And can you describe the conversation in general terms?
A. It was just friendly talk. It was, you know, not — talk about prison or whatever.
Q. And were you an equal partner in that conversation?
A. At times, yes.
Q. Now, you said there were people there other than Madonna, Crea, DiNapoli, and Castellucci?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you remember any of their names today?
A. Yeah. A few. Richie, Richie DeLuca was there. Frankie, Carmin.
He then talked about how things work at the club – almost as if he had just read the pages of a movie script:
Q. Now, did you go to the club on subsequent occasions?
A. On what?
Q. Later occasions. Is that the only time you were in the club?
A. No.
Q. And, generally, what was going on there when you were there?
A. Just guys talking and eating. A lot of eating.
Q. Did you ever discuss any criminal activity in the club?
A. Did I? No.
Q. Did you hear it discussed?
A. Not really.
Q. And do you know if there’s a reason for that?
A. Everyone was leery of bugs.
Q. Did you speak with other people in the Family, generally, about where to talk about things and where not to talk about things?
A. We — so, you don’t really talk in there. If you had —
Q. And did you ever discuss why not to talk in there?
A. We were worried about law enforcement listening.
Q. Did you have a solution for that, if you wanted to talk business?
A. You could go outside, if you wanted to.
Q. What did you do outside?
A. Have the conversation you wouldn’t have inside.
Q. Did you do a lot of that up at the club?
A. Did I do that? No.
Q. Did you see others doing it?
A.Yes.
Q. Who did you most often see doing that at the club?
A. Stevie.
Q.Who would Stevie talk with?
A.Mainly captains.
Q. And, to be clear, when you’re saying “Stevie, you’re referring to the Defendant here in court, Stevie Crea?
A.Yes.
So, according to this testimony, “Stevie” must obviously be engaging in criminal activity because he wouldn’t talk inside the club about anything important, only outside. And the reason he did this was because law enforcement might be listening. So, the logical conclusion would be if Crea was innocent then why would he have to hide his conversations? See how that works?
Also, think about this. Pennisi was at the club quite often, knew everything about it, and why people were there, but isn’t it strange that in all that time, he never talked or heard anyone else ever discuss any criminal activities? So, was he just a hanger-on who had some special magical quality that all the supposed important people always wanted him around?
He then discusses the “incident” at the Coddington Club – the only thing relevant to the charges against Crea.
Q. Did you ever learn of any confrontations that occurred at the club?
A. Yes.
Q. And at the time you learned of this confrontation, were you a member of the Family?
A. Yes.
Q. Who told you about the confrontation?
A. Well, several, several people brought, brought it up.
Q. What was the status of those people in the Family?
A. Also members.
Q. And what did they tell you about the confrontation in the club?
MR. DRATEL: Objection, Your Honor, hearsay.
THE COURT: I think you can lay a foundation for who these people are and purpose for the conversation.
MR. SCOTTEN: I think he’s stated they were members of the Family. And I’ll ask, Your Honor —
THE COURT: And when you say “members, you mean inducted members?
THE WITNESS: Correct.
Q. And when these people told you about the conversation, were you still doing Family business with them?
A. Yes.
Q. Did the confrontation concern matters of concern to the Family?
MR. FRANKLIN: Objection, Your Honor. This witness wasn’t — he wasn’t there. He doesn’t know, except what he may have been told.
THE COURT: His own conversation he has been there for. You can answer. Did — from what you were told, was this confrontation that occurred at the club something that was of concern to the Family?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: Overruled. You can answer.
It appears that gossip has a role when trying to prove someone’s guilt. However, considering the number of times Scotten asked Pennisi about this guy and that guy, it seems a bit odd that in this particular instance, he didn’t bother asking which “made” guys told Pennisi the tale – maybe Scotten didn’t need any more pictures for his board? Another point to remember as we continue through the trial is how the government was allowed to use hearsay testimony and gossip to present their case while the defense wasn’t allowed to do the same.
Let’s continue with the Coddington Club incident:
Q. So, what did these members of the Lucchese Family tell you about the confrontation at the club?
A. There was an incident prior to the confrontation where Matty had told members of the Bonanno Family that we — our Family didn’t recognize a boss that was away in prison.
Q. Before you go on, where was the Bonanno Family’s boss at the time?
A. He was in federal prison.
MR. DRATEL: Can we get a name, instead of just titles?
THE COURT: No. If you want, you can ask on cross.
Q. Do you remember his name?
A. Yes.
Q. What was his name?
A. Mikey Nose.
Q. And why did saying — well, what did they say about — Matty said about Mikey Nose?
A. Just, just that, that — that’s what the problem was over, that he said that we didn’t recognize a boss that was in prison.
Q. And how did that lead to a confrontation?
A. They took it as a sign of disrespect, being that our own boss was also in prison at that time. And they decided to confront — they got together, a whole bunch of them, and, and came into the club.
Q. Did they have anything with them when they came in the club?
A.Some had weapons.
Q.Was there any actual violence in the club that day?
A.Excuse me?
Q. Was there any actual violence in the club that day?
A. I was — no. I was told that there was no actual violence.
Basically no questions about anything of relevance. No date, no questions about what was supposedly said by Crea. No mention of Crea at all or even Ulzheimer. And why bring Madonna into it when he wasn’t even charged with anything related to this supposed “incident?”
So, after meeting everyone under the sun in 2012 for no apparent reason, he talks about how he came to be inducted into the Family in 2013. Apparently, there was a fight with some Genovese guys at a strip club. Although no one was hurt, Pennisi was summoned back to the Coddington Club the next day to explain himself because he wasn’t a made member and the incident caused some embarrassment. But it did speed up his induction into the Family.
A. I believe it was the next day I was told I had to go to the Bronx, to the club.
Q. By who? Who told you?
A. Little Joey.
Q. And what did Joe DiBenedetto do at that time? Did he go too?
A. Yeah, he took me there.
Q. And what happened when you and DiBenedetto got to the club in the Bronx?
A. He, he told me that we had to explain what happened, and he wanted me to explain what happened.
Q. Did, did DiBenedetto say why he wanted you to explain?
A. He said he wasn’t a good talker, and he just — he — and he — Little Joey was inside the club at the time that all of this took place outside. He wasn’t there. And he didn’t know what I just told you. He wasn’t part of that. So, he wanted me to explain that.
Q. And who did you end up explaining to at the club?
A. There was a group of — the administration was at the club. A group of guys also with them.
Q. Well, go ahead and give the names, as best you remember.
A. Matty, Stevie, Joe DiNapoli, Richie. Big John was there, myself, Freddy Boy —
Q. Okay. So —
A. — Little Joey.
Q. Sorry. Go ahead.
A. I said Little Joey was with me too.
Q. And so, Richie is the Richie DeLuca we discussed before?
A. Yes.
Q. And Big John is John Castellucci?
A. Yes.
Q. Have we mentioned Freddy Boy before?
A. No.
Q. Okay. Did you, in fact, explain what had happened to this group?
A. I did.
Q. And did the group say anything to you?
A. Occasionally, they would ask a question.
Q. Other than that, did you receive any information from the group?
A. Yes.
Q. Who told you what?
A. Stevie said who Ralphie and the other guy was.
Q. He explained to you their position in the Genovese Family?
MR. DRATEL: Objection, leading.
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q. What did he say when he said who Ralphie and the other guy was?
A. They were with the Westside.
Q. And did Stevie say anything further?
A. He said that Ralphie said I misrepresented myself.
Q. What did you understand misrepresented to mean?
A. That he was trying to say that I was talking like I was a wise guy when I was not.
Q. Did Crea say anything about whether this would be a problem? Did Stevie say anything about whether this would be a problem?
A. They, they didn’t feel that I misrepresented myself. And they — he said that he also told Ralphie that my name was on a list to be straightened out, so I could talk to him any way I wanted to talk to him.
So, wait a minute? First, Pennisi was admonished for misrepresenting himself but then, at the same time, it was okay what he did because he was on a list to be “straightened out?” And why wasn’t there a “sit-down?” Isn’t that part of “Mafia legend” when there’s a problem between two Families?
Q. So, couple things there. What does straightened out mean?
A. Inducted into the Family.
Q. And what does on the list mean?
A. When a person is gonna be inducted into the Family, his name is put on the list, and it’s passed around within that Family and then to the other Families.
Q. And, so, what did you understand him to mean when Stevie said you could speak to Balsamo however you wanted because you were on the list to get inducted?
A. That’s not the way he said it. He, he said, even if this Ralphie was, was, was telling the truth, that I spoke like that, I could speak like that. But he didn’t believe that I spoke like that either, from what I, what I explained happened.
Q. And was there going to be — did he say anything about future interactions with the Genovese Family?
A. We were told we couldn’t retaliate.
Q. Did Stevie say why?
A. He says it was settled.
Q. And did you speak with Matty at all about — Matty Madonna at all about this incident?
A. Yes.
Q. What did Madonna say?
A. He said that he, he told — he, he said he told the —
Q. Well —
A. — the West Side that — excuse me?
Q. I was just waiting for the court reporter. Go ahead.
A. He said he told the West Side that if they had sent us there to shake the place up like they believed, and we showed up in suits and a limousine, that we would be leaving in a hearse.
Q. And when we started this, you said this incident affected the timing of you getting straightened out?
A. Yes.
Q. How did it affect the timing of you getting straightened out?
A. It pushed it forward faster.
Q. Why?
MR. DRATEL: Objection.
Q. What is your understanding of why?
THE COURT: Well, first of all, what was the basis of the understanding, and then why.
Judge Siebel just helping out the over-enthusiastic and snotty Scotten before Pennisi continues with his tale because she needs to make sure the government keeps its facts straight…wouldn’t want to miss any important detail in their narrative.
Q. How did you come to believe that this moved forward the timing?
A. They were concerned about the West Side also maybe looking to sneak and hurt us.
Q. When you say they were concerned, who was concerned?
A. Our administration.
Q. How do you know your administration was concerned?
A. Because they pushed to straighten us out right away, like within a week or so.
Because in the world of the “Mafia,” they just needed this dumbbell to help them out in case there was a “sneak.” Also, notice how Pennisi always says “our administration” – proof positive that he was, indeed, “in the club.”
Q. So, do you remember the date that you were inducted?
A. Yes.
Q. What date was that?
A. April 2nd.
Q. Of what year?
A. 2013.
Q. Did you know beforehand that this was going to happen?
A. Yes.
Q. How did you know?
A. I was on a trip in — to Saint Thomas with a girl, and I got a telephone call.
Q. From who?
A. Anthony Guzzo.
Q. And what did — what occurred during that call that caused you to believe you were gonna be inducted?
A. He asked me where I was, and I told him. I asked him 1 where he was. He said he was at the club in the Bronx and that he needed my mother’s maiden name.
Q. And what does that have to do with getting inducted?
A. Obviously, if your last name is Italian, that’s your father’s name. So, having your mother’s maiden name is — your whole bloodline is Italian.
Q. Did you also discuss getting made with anybody before it happened? Or did anybody discuss it with you?
A. Yes.
Q. Who discussed it with you?
A. Johnny Side Burns.
Q. And what did Johnny Side Burns tell you?
A. He was joking and he said, “Stay out of trouble because it’s any day now.” I knew what he meant.
Well, didn’t he already know he was going to be inducted because “Stevie” had told him his name was on a list? So, if his name was already on a list, why would Guzzo need to call him to ask for his mother’s maiden name? Wouldn’t “the administration” have wanted to know that before he was put on that special “list?”And if Pennisi was “on record” with Joey DiBenedetto, why was Guzzo calling him for that information? Why not his “sponsor” or Crea or Madonna, for that matter, since he had such a great relationship with everyone already?
Pennisi then talked about his special day, going into excruciating detail about how it all went down from which expressway he took to get to the house in Staten Island all the way through to when he received his special souvenir knife from Big John. We’re not going to post the entire segment of testimony because it’s extremely lengthy, but here are parts of how it happened.
First, he and “Little Joey drove to Anthony’s house and picked up Anthony, and then we met Spanky at a diner in Staten Island.” They all got in Spanky’s car with another guy named “Patty or Patsy” and jumped on and off the “Korean War Veteran expressway” and “went through streets and then got to a house.”
He, Anthony, and Patty were brought “down to a basement” and then were called “one at a time” to go “upstairs.” When he got to the “top of the stairs” Spanky brought him “over to sit at a, at a dining room table.”
“There was a whole, a whole table full of guys” including “Matty, Little John, Joe DiNapoli, Joe Cafe, John Brody, Patty, the guy — Spanky. Little Joey.”
Scotten was a bit confused about John Brody and asked for clarification. He wanted to know if that was “his nickname” and whether “John Brody was, in fact, Italian.” He was – have to keep that “Mafia” image going.
No one spoke. “They were just sitting there.” On the table was “a gun, a knife, a picture of a saint, a lighter and a, like a diabetic needle.”
Q. A diabetic needle? What do you mean by that?
A. Just, I guess, what the diabetic people use to take their blood, test their blood.
Q. Oh, like to prick your finger?
A. Yeah.
He then talked about the knife, which Pennisi eventually turned over to the government:
Q. Did you ever see the knife again?
A. Yes.
Q. When did you see the knife again?
A. Big John had gave it to me.
Q. At a later date?
A. Yeah.
Q. Did he say why?
A. He said, “Keep this as a souvenir, a souvenir.”
The first to speak was “Matty”:
Q. So, after you were seated at this table, what happened?
A. Matty spoke to me.
Q. Do you remember what Matty said? Take us through it, as best you can.
A. He asked me if I knew why I was, why I was there.
Q. And what did you say?
A. I said I did not.
Q. Didn’t you know why you were there?
A. I did.
Q. Why did you say you didn’t?
A. You’re not supposed to say that you know why you’re there.
Q. And how did the ceremony go from there?
A. He said that I was there to be considered becoming a member of, of the — their Family, that they were Lucchese Crime Family, and if I wanted to become a member.
Q. What did you say?
A. I said yes.
Q. What happened next?
A. He, he asked me if, if I would kill, if asked, for the Family.
Q. Madonna asked you that?
A. Yes.
Q. What did you say?
A. I said yes.
Q. What happened next?
A. He said that if my child was dying in the hospital, and I got a call from anyone in the Family, I would have to leave my child and go to the Family, and would I do that.
Q. Did you agree?
A. I did.
Of course, the worst scenario possible – a child dying in the hospital. We also need to mention that all of the above and all of the below is almost verbatim from Special Agent Carillo’s testimony on day one when he described “Mafia” protocols, including the making ceremony. If you would like a visual of a “making ceremony,” you can check out this one from HBO’s The Sopranos.
Matty then asked him for his “trigger finger” (he’s right-handed), then “Big John had the diabetic needle and he poked my finger, and Matty took my hand and they dropped some blood on the saint.” Then they lit the saint and he moved “the saint from hand to hand while it was on fire.” While that was happening he was to repeat after Matty:
Q. And what did he say? What do you recall?
A. He said that if I was to betray any member of the Family, that my soul would burn like the saint is burning.
Q. And did the saint, the picture of the saint actually finish burning?
A. It did.
After the saint picture stopped burning, Matty explained “the rules:”
Q. And as best you can remember, what did he say about rules?
A. He said that we were — as a member of the Family, I was never to go after or try to date anybody’s wife or another member’s wife or girlfriend, for that matter; that I was not to put my hands on any other member, but if they put their hands on me, just kill them and we would sort it out afterwards.
At this point, we have to mention that it appears if someone has a problem with someone else within their family, they can just “kill them” and it will be sorted out “afterwards” but only “if they put their hands on” you first.
Other rules included not getting involved “in drug dealing or have anything to do with drugs. And we’re not to get involved with any kinds of lawsuits or stocks or bonds.” Scotten didn’t bother to ask why “members” couldn’t get involved with stocks and bonds, so that’s a mystery.
And then this:
Q. Did he say anything about money?
A. Yes.
Q. What, what did Madonna tell you about money?
A. He said that they were not there to shake us, shake us down. And that if, for instance, I owned a business, that, that money was mine. They was not gonna take legitimate money. But he said that anything I made on the strength of this was to — a percentage would go to the Family.
MR. SCOTTEN: If the record could reflect that when the witness said, “the strength of this,” he pointed to his — that’s his left breast pocket.
THE COURT: Okay. It will so reflect.
Q. What does it mean to say “the strength of this” and sort of grab or point to your left breast pocket?
A. It means button.
Q. What does button mean?
A. Button means a made member.
Q. Do you know where that term comes from?
A. Yes.
Q. Where does it come from?
A. Years ago, they used to call made members button men, and they would say that if an order was given to kill somebody, they would push a button.
Q. And, so, what does it mean to make money on the strength of your button?
A. Anything done illegally.
Q. And did Madonna say why you had to pay a percentage, some part of the money you made illegally, to the administration?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say?
A. He said that we were the ones who had — meaning the administration, were the ones who would have bull’s-eyes on them.
Q And did you understand what bull’s eye was a reference to?
A. Target for the government.
Q. Law enforcement investigations?
A. Law enforcement.
So, let’s briefly recap. People talk outside so law enforcement can’t hear about their illegal activities. When the “administration” calls on you to kill someone, you have to do it, even if your kid is dying in the hospital. You kick up money from your illegal activities because the “administration” is the target of law enforcement with the bull’s eye on their back. And if they weren’t doing anything illegal, they wouldn’t have to keep things secret and worry about being a target. Oh, and don’t forget the “making ceremony” because that’s all part of the secretness of this society.
When it was all over, introductions were made. As you read this, think about Pennisi’s previous testimony about who he met and when:
Q. Introductions to everybody. Do you remember the first introduction?
A. It was, it was introduction to Matty.
Q. By who?
A. Joe DiNapoli.
Q. So, this is the introduction you described at the beginning of your testimony?
A. Yes.
Q. Once DiNapoli introduces you to Madonna, what does Madonna do?
A. He introduces me to Joe.
Q. And was that the only introduction that day?
A. No. I was introduced to the whole table.
Q. And you said before —
THE COURT: May I just ask a question?
MR. SCOTTEN: Please.
THE COURT: Some of these people, you’d met before, right?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: So, what’s the point of introducing you again?
THE WITNESS: Because they’re introducing me as a, as a member of the Family now, not as meeting somebody.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Since Pennisi had never spoken about “Joe” before, Scotten clarified that Joe was “Joe Cafe,” an alleged “captain” in the Family. It also allowed Scotten to highlight how alleged members of the “Mafia” are not “normal” – further painting a sinister picture.
Q. So, to be clear, when you had met — had you met Joe Cafe before, as in a personal sense, like, hey, this is Joe?
A. Yes.
Q. And in that introduction, in the way normal people use it, was anything said about Joe Cafe’s status in the Family?
A. He was a captain.
Q. I know. But when you first met him, before you were inducted — okay?
A. Before? No.
Q. Yeah.
A. No.
Q. Similar to the kind of introduction normal people might engage in?
MR. GOLTZER: Objection.
THE COURT: Don’t use the word “normal.” Why don’t you say everyday.
Q. Was it similar to an everyday introduction you might have with anyone?
A. Yes.
Q. When you were introduced to Joe Cafe after the ceremony, what was said, to the best you recall?
A. “This is Joe Cafe. Joe is a captain with the Family. This is John, amica nostra.”
Q. And what is the purpose of doing this kind of — that kind of introduction, the one where you say amica nostra and state the person’s rank, if they have one?
A. Well, first, that’s how you introduce each other. And, second, is I need to know who he is.
Q. Why do you need to know who he is?
A. You need to know. You need to know who the captains are, who’s a soldier, who’s your administration.
Scotten then showed Pennisi more pictures for him to identify by name and rank, including Paul Cassano. He also provided information as to crews and who was in which crew and where the crew was based out of. Pennisi was like the government’s own Mafia encyclopedia. When they were finished, all those pics were placed on that hierarchy board of the government’s.
And, then the questions began about the government’s favorite topic – Steven L. Crea:
Q. Now, you said earlier in testimony that you were introduced to Crea, this Crea, the Defendant, at the club. Was he present at your ceremony?
A. He was not.
Q. Was anything said about him at your ceremony?
A. Yes.
Q. What was said — well, who said it, first?
A. Joe DiNapoli.
Q. And what did Joe DiNapoli say to you?
A. He said that Stevie couldn’t be here, but Stevie’s your official Underboss.
Q. And you said earlier, when you were introduced to him in the formal sense, it was either one of two people. Who was it who introduced you to Stevie Crea?
A. It was either Big John or Johnny Side Burns. I don’t remember which one.
Q. And when they did introduce you, did they state his position?
A. Yes.
Q. And what position did they state?
A. Underboss.
The power of recollection is strong with this one because, if you recall, Pennisi couldn’t remember who had first introduced him to Crea. But now we know. And isn’t it strange that he previously testified that he had already been told “Stevie’s” alleged position? I get that it’s a “making ceremony” and that’s a different kind of introduction, but nothing like the government hammering it home for the jury.
And, of course, Scotten had to revisit the subject of “Chris.” Have to establish that relationship,too.
Q. Now, you also said you were introduced to Chris at some point. Do you know Chris’s last name?
A. Yes.
Q. What’s Chris’s last name, as best you remember it?
A. Londonio.
Q. Do you remember where you were introduced to him?
A. Yes.
Q. And where was that?
A. At a wake.
Soon after Pennisi was inducted, he was given his very first job which was to give a “hospital beating” to the ex-son-in-law of Crea. He was given Davidson’s picture and address by Big John, who told him to get the job done. However, Pennisi was having a hard time getting the job done.
Even though he had someone install a GPS device on Davidson’s car (he couldn’t do it himself because he had a bad back,) he hesitated because every time he thought it was the right time, he noticed cameras everywhere, and he didn’t want to get caught. Eventually, he became so paranoid, he removed the device from Davidson’s car and destroyed the laptop he was using to track the guy.
By this point, Big John was getting extremely frustrated with Pennisi. So, Pennisi and the Guzzo (who was assigned the job with him) decided that maybe shooting a warning shot at Davidson while he was getting in his car might be a good idea, but then they changed their mind.
When Big John heard about it, he was not too happy and called Pennisi into “the club.”
Q. And what did John say when he met with you about this?
A. He — excuse me my language. He said, “Who the fuck told you to shoot anybody? That’s not what you were told to do.” And I said, “Well, I don’t know what to do anymore because it’s just — you know, I gotta keep hearing it from you all the time.” He said, “So get it done, you won’t hear me.”
But the pressure Pennisi was feeling wasn’t going away, especially any time he went to “the club.”
Q. I want to ask you a bit more about that pressure from John. Were there particular times you noticed that pressure?
A. Yes.
Q. And when was that?
A. Well, after a while, I — I noticed it. Not in the beginning, but I — I — it was when we went up to the club in the Bronx.
Q. And when you went up to the club in the Bronx, did you see what Castellucci did there?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he do?
A. He went and took a walk with Stevie outside.
Q. After Castellucci walked with Stevie, how would you describe the pressure?
A. Well, when we would — when we would leave the club and get back to Staten Island, he would — he would start putting pressure on, saying that — he said, “yous are embarrassing us, this is got to get done. It’s becoming an embarrassment.”
Yous – first and only time that was ever said in any of the recordings or testimony in this case. Yous…funny. Can’t you just hear Big John saying that?
Eventually, Pennisi found out why this was such an important job.
Q. Yes or no. Did you ever learn where the order for this was coming from?
A. Yes.
Q. And how did you learn?
A. Johnny Side Burns.
Q. And what did Johnny Side Burns tell you?
A. Well, originally, we thought that this had something to do with one of the Long Island crews, and we figured that they were using us because, you know, people in Long Island knew them better than they knew us. But Johnny Side Burns came back from the club one day and he said, “Now I know why you’re getting all this pressure.”
Q. Okay.
A. I said, “Why?” He said, “This is for Stevie.” And I was a little confused because the guy, he looks like this, you know, innocent pudgy guy. I — I was — I couldn’t understand, like how would he — this guy be involved with Stevie. Then he said it has something to do with a lawsuit. So I — I thought maybe it was a construction thing or something like that.
At some point, Pennisi was told to back off because Davidson had a court appearance and Big John didn’t want Davidson all bruised up at court. As it turns out, Pennisi never had to worry about the Davidson job again because someone else got the job done.
Q. Did Castellucci ever tell you whether it was accomplished?
A. He did.
Q. Did he say who accomplished it?
A. He called me one day and I met with him and we took a walk in Staten Island and he said, “Remember that thing that you took over a year to get done?” And I said, “Yes.” And he says, “Well, my brother Spanky got it done in two days. Not a year, two days,” he said.
In October 2018, Pennisi’s shining star started to dim – at least that’s what he thought. When he was at a wake, everyone he had previously been chummy with was ignoring him. He got paranoid and thought he might be in some trouble. Why? He wasn’t sure but thought maybe people were suspicious of him because some guy had lifted up his shirt to signify he had “no wire” which gave Pennisi the impression people were thinking he was a rat. So, he took off to Georgia and went into hiding for a bit before going back to New York to walk up the stairs into the FBI’s big building in the Manhattan sky.
And since Pennisi had all of this knowledge about the Lucchese Family and because all of these people he knew so much about were recently indicted, the FBI scooped up their new prize. On May 14, 2019, he signed a cooperation agreement, and soon after testified in another trial associated with alleged “members” of the Lucchese Family. That particular trial might have had more to do with him visiting the FBI than his paranoia about people thinking he was a rat. He also believed his girlfriend at the time was seeing another guy – Eugene Castelle – but it was just another Pennisi delusion.
It’s hard to believe there’s anymore to tell about Pennisi’s sorry tale, but the defense was able to pull more out of him, including his alleged knowledge of the “Mafia” and more details about that Coddington Club incident.
Madonna’s lawyer, Joshua Dratel was first at bat, and although he didn’t clarify why he was asking these particular questions, it’s clear that Pennisi wasn’t the Mafia encyclopedia the government thought he was.
Q. The Genovese Family is considered the most powerful Family in New York?
A. I don’t know.
Q. Is it the largest, as far as you know?
A. Possibly, yeah.
Q. And — so, during the period when you were made a member, when you were an associate and thereafter until the change in leadership, Vic Amuso remained the Boss of the Family, right?
A. Correct.
Q. And, in fact, he was able to do certain things even from prison in terms of issue orders and directives?
A. I guess if he wanted to.
Q. Well, did he take Johnny Joe Spirito off the shelf?
A. Excuse me?
Q. Did Amuso take Johnny Joe Spirito off the shelf?
A. I don’t know if he took him off the shelf. I don’t know.
Q. And he didn’t — you didn’t — withdrawn. He didn’t send a note to take Johnny Joe Spirito off the shelf?
A. I just said I didn’t know that he did that.
So, the alleged “boss” of one Family can put an alleged “soldier” of another Family on the shelf? That’s something new.
During the next day of testimony before the jury was brought into the courtroom, Scotten got his panties in a bunch when he learned that Franklin was going to make a board of his own. Scotten’s disdain for Crea was becoming more and more apparent as the trial went on.
MR. SCOTTEN: Mr. Franklin has informed me that during his cross-examination of Mr. Pennisi, he wishes to post a poster board on which Mr. Franklin is then going to write things. Mr. Franklin informs me he has done this in State Court. I’ve never seen it done. He wasn’t able to provide a rule of evidence that supports it. I think it is likely to lead to all kinds of arguments about characterization since Your Honor has established that we’re going to be very careful about any pedagogical aid only being put up if it’s supported by the evidence. I’m sure Mr. Franklin is going to want to phrase things in ways that he thinks are fair but we think are not, and, therefore, we shouldn’t be arguing about did he write it right, et cetera, et cetera, and there’s a transcript for
that. If he wants to have something read back, there is a very able court reporter.
THE COURT: Well —
MR. FRANKLIN: Your Honor —
THE COURT: — he is doing it with this witness. He’s not going to be writing things other witnesses said. So, we will be able to compare the witness’s answer to whatever Mr. Franklin writes to see if it’s —
MR. FRANKLIN: I’m not — just so we’re clear, we had a very brief conversation. I didn’t fully explain to him what I’m doing. There’s a section of his testimony where there are a lot of different names of people that he’s dealing with. So, when he says Jimmy and Joey, that was what I was going to write down, just so we have on a sheet who was involved in a particular transaction. I’m not characterizing it, I’m merely writing down what he would say. I believe earlier he had —
THE COURT: Sounds like the Defendant’s version of the board. It sounds all right to me.
MR. FRANKLIN: Exactly. I’ve done this for 30-something years in state and federal courts. I’ve never had an issue with it. I’m not characterizing anything. I’m merely putting down what the witness says. Sometimes we have the witness do it and he had the police officers doing that. But that’s — there is no characterization. I’m merely going to be taking names that he puts in and to show relationships and that sort of thing.
MR. SCOTTEN: If there is no characterization, we won’t object. We will object if we think there’s something wrong.
THE COURT: Sounds good. Let’s get the jury.
MR. FRANKLIN: Your Honor, I’m sorry I caused a misunderstanding.
THE COURT: No problem.
So, Scotten is arguing about “characterizations?” Gotta love the government.
If Pennisi’s testimony sounded rehearsed, there was a good reason as Franklin discovered.
Q. Before you testified yesterday, did you prepare with the prosecutors and the agents to give your testimony as to questions that would be asked, the answers that you would give?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now, there were pictures that we were shown yesterday of various people. Were you shown those pictures during your preparation session?
A. Some.
Q. I said “preparation session.” Was it more than one session to prepare you for your testimony here?
A. Yes.
Considering all the times Pennisi said he was at the Coddington Club, Franklin had some additional questions. One thing that should be noted is that the prosecution had two hours of video showing the comings and goings of people at the club. They only showed the jury snippets that fit with their narrative. Later during the trial, the defense brought their own witness to the stand, a woman who had worked at the club for many years. Her testimony, although given on a different day, will be shared below Pennisi’s.
Q. You said you had been in the Coddington club on occasion, correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And you say you’ve been there many times?
A. Yes.
Q. Inside the club, correct?
A. Inside the club.
Q. Can any member of the public go into this club?
A. I don’t — I didn’t see any, but I don’t know.
Q. What are the requirements for going into this club?
A. I mean, there was only members of the Family when I was there. I don’t know if it was requirements.
Q. I’m sorry. Going back to that same exhibit, which I seem to have lost again.
MR. FRANKLIN: May I approach the witness, Your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
Q. This is on Page 4- — 3509-42, Page 420.
A. Okay.
Q. Now that you’ve had a chance for your recollection to be refreshed, can any member of the public go into the club?
A. I said no, but it’s — that was just my opinion. I mean, I don’t know if people walk in off the street and they get chased out or they’re welcomed. I don’t — I don’t believe so.
Q. Well, didn’t you say, “People from the street just don’t walk in there”?
A. I never seen anybody just walk in there.
Q. But you said those words?
A. Yeah.
Q. And you were under oath at the time?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And every time that you were there inside the club, there were not people from the outside, other than people related to organized crime, where you said there was one woman that would cook and do things like that?
A. There was two women that served and helped cook, yeah.
Q. But other than those two women, it would just be men from — people that you knew from your crew or a different crew, as you have described it?
A. Yes. And then sometimes some guys would be playing cards, sometimes with Stevie. I don’t know who, I don’t know who they were. I never was introduced to them. They were not, as far as I know, members. Maybe they were associated to somebody, but —
Didn’t he testify that he met everybody at the club? Or was it only the people that really mattered? And since he was there so often, wouldn’t he have known who these other people were since it was all “connected” people who hung out there? Also, he’s a court-approved expert now, so he can offer his “opinion?”
Q. And you don’t talk business in the club because you’re afraid that it might be bugged or tapped in some way?
A. I don’t talk? I mean, basically —
Q. Before that — criminal business is not discussed in the club because you’re fearful that the club might be bugged and people could — the FBI could hear it?
A. Yes.
Q. And you’ve also testified that, as a result of that, when people want to discuss business, they walk outside and talk outside and then they come back?
A. Usually.
Q. That’s what I’m referring to.
A. Usually. Sometimes there were conversations that were — that went on, and sometimes there wasn’t. Sometimes people went outside.
Q. Did you speak with other people in the Family generally about where to talk about things and where not to talk about things?
A. Um, not, not really. We used to kid around about it. Don’t talk too loud in here, or whatever.
Q. And did you ever discuss why not to talk in there?
A. I mean, it was common knowledge why we wouldn’t talk in there.
Q. Is the reason why you didn’t talk in there because you were worried about law enforcement listening?
A. Absolutely.
Q. Did you have a solution for that if you wanted to talk business?
A. We would go outside if we had to talk.
Sometimes they talked outside and sometimes they didn’t. Yet, during his testimony with Scotten, he was firm in his answer that no one talked inside the club. It’s too bad the defense wasn’t able to prepare Pennisi as well as the prosecution did.
On October 31, 2019, a few days after Pennisi’s testimony, the defense called Tomasa Viscuso to the stand. She worked at the Coddington Club for ten years. In her testimony, she explained that the Coddington Club had moved from its Coddington Avenue location to another location around 2013 or 2014, something that Pennisi never even mentioned, even though he claimed he had been going there regularly since 2012.
Viscuso was shown numerous interior pictures of the club when it was at Coddington Avenue, and she identified numerous people by name as well as gave some history on who they were – most of them were retired men and women from the neighborhood who got together to play cards and eat. She was also asked about Crea.
Q. Okay. Now, do you know Steve Crea?
A. Yes.
Q. How do you know him?
A. Friend.
Q. And have you also seen him at the club?
A. Yes.
Q. And when it was the Coddington Club, how often would you say he was at the club?
A. Every day.
Q. Would he leave at a particular time?
A. He left about 4:00, 4:30.
Q. And do you know why he would leave at around that time?
A. Yes.
Q. Why is that?
MR. SCOTTEN: Objection.
A. He had a sister —
THE COURT: No, no. When somebody objects, you wait for me to rule. If I say, sustained, you don’t answer. If I say, overruled, you do. And I say sustained. Sounds like it calls for hearsay.
MR. FRANKLIN: Okay. Can we put up Government Exhibit 12, please.
BY MR. FRANKLIN:
Q. Ma’am, have you ever seen that person?
A. No.
Q. Has that person ever been in the Coddington Club when you
were there?
A. No
Who was the person in Government Exhibit 12? John Pennisi. And why did the prosecution object before Viscuso could explain why Crea left at the same time every day? Well, apparently, the defense can’t use “hearsay” testimony the same way the prosecution can (as we mentioned earlier) – such as when Pennisi described what he “heard” about the alleged Coddington Club incident.
In the order of fairness...the first thing I'm going to do is "reprint" the story as it was written so that it can be viewed in full context as it was intended......because I couldn't quite figure out how all those different pieces were fitting together as Chin presented it. I will also say that I went through the testimony and wrote this part of that overall story as it occurred at trial. So, we'll start here....a bit later I'll go through Chin's points point by point:
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John Pennisi was an alleged “soldier” in the Lucchese Family who had a criminal past that included a 1990 manslaughter conviction. He was only 20-years-old at the time. In 1989, he and another man were dating the same girl. When the other boyfriend found out Pennisi was at her house, he went there to confront her, but her father sent him away. He left and went to a bar.
Pennisi was upset that the other man had the nerve to show up the girl’s house, so Pennisi called up a friend and hunted the other boyfriend down, shooting him in the chest and killing him. It was never determined which one of the two friends killed the other man, but Pennisi took off and went into hiding for months. He was finally arrested, brought to trial and sentenced to 17 years behind bars.
However, he had lied during his testimony at that 1990 trial to protect him and his co-defendant. This “false narrative” was brought to light at the May 2019 trial of alleged Lucchese “soldier” Eugene Castelle when the government admitted this fact to the Court, saying in part: “CW-2 has admitted to the Government that during his testimony in the 1990 trial, he deliberately made false statements in an effort to shield himself and his co-defendant from liability.”
While in prison, Pennisi had many problems. He tried committing suicide because he couldn’t deal with prison life. He was a very paranoid and jealous man, too. He required his former girlfriend to “answer him on FaceTime (even if she was traveling on a highway or otherwise unable to use her phone at that moment) to ensure that another man was not present with her” and had burned her hair and knocked her teeth out with his fist.
However, the defense wasn’t allowed to ask about any of this because it wasn’t relevant to his credibility. So, what was relevant to his credibility?
It seemed that the main purpose of having Pennisi testify was so the government could complete its special hierarchy board for the jury to see. His testimony mostly consisted of identifying people in pictures and providing background information on the “Mafia” and Lucchese Family activities because he, apparently, knew everything and everybody even though he was a self-described “nobody.”
But despite being a “made” member from approximately 2013 to 2017 and knowing all the players allegedly involved, the prosecution didn’t even ask about the main plot of the trial – the murder of Michael Meldish.
Even Gang Land commented on it in their October 24, 2019 column, stating, “You’d think that a wiseguy who’d been made before the hit, and was active for more than four years after it took place, would have heard some scuttlebutt tying Crea or former acting boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna to the slaying.”
Nonetheless, he had heard about the Coddington Club incident. And he also provided the jury with some interesting information, including step-by-step detail about his “making ceremony” and many other side stories that fit with the government’s and perhaps even the public’s image of what the “Mafia” is all about.
Before being sent to prison for that 1989 murder, Pennisi claimed he had a relationship with “the mob,” specifically the Gambino Family as explained to our favorite prosecutor, Scotten:
Q. Was there any particular person or people in the Gambino Family you had a relationship with?
A. Yes.
Q. Who?
A. Tony Moscatiello and John Jr.
Q. And do you know John Jr.’s last name?
A. Gotti.
Right off the bat, let’s name drop a big name because even if the jury didn’t know much about the “Mafia,” they probably had heard of that famous name, right?
Q. Did you have any kind of a formal relationship with them? Were you just friends, or was there something more?
A. We were friends and I was associated to them.
Q. In the terms used at the time, how would you have been referred to?
A. I was with them.
Q. How long were you around the Gambinos on the street?
A. Since I was maybe 14, 15 years old.
He went on to describe that while in prison, he maintained his close relationship with “the Mob.” “There was a lot of guys locked up with us,” he said. “We were, we were mostly Italian guys.”
When Pennisi got out of prison in 2007, he got a job in construction because he was on parole until 2012. At some point, he ended up getting into a fight with some Colombo guys at a restaurant owned by the girlfriend of his friend Anthony Guzzo. This conflict happened because, apparently, the Colombo guys didn’t want to pay their check.
Although he and Guzzo “won the fight,” Pennisi was concerned there might be a problem, so he went to speak with his childhood friend Joey DiBenedetto, who was allegedly a member of the Lucchese Family, for help. After the conflict was resolved, Pennisi was “put on record” with Joey. Later, he met an alleged “capo” by the name of John Castellucci, and then the doors to the Lucchese Family swung wide open.
Q. During this period when you’re on record with DiBenedetto, did you ever meet anybody more senior than Castellucci?
A. Yes.
Q. Who did you meet?
A. The administration and other members.
Q. And who was in the administration at the time you met them?
A. Matty, Stevie, Joe D.
Q. And what’s Joe D’s full last name?
A. Excuse me?
Q. What’s Joe D’s full last name?
A. DiNapoli.
Scotten then asked about how Pennisi met the various members of the “administration.” It gets a little loopy, but let’s try to follow along. Pennisi first talks about how he met Madonna. Then he’s asked about Crea and others. Scotten shows him pictures to identify and they immediately go up on the government’s poster board.
Q. How were you introduced to Madonna?
A. I was introduced to him – I was introduced to him by Joe DiNapoli. And he said, “This is Matty. He’s the Acting Boss of the Family.” And he said, “Matty, this is John, amica nostra.” That’s how it was done.
Q. Other than just saying, “Hey, this is Matty,” is there significance to that? What is the purpose of such an introduction?
A. I don’t – what was the purpose?
Q. Yes.
A. Well, it had to be done.
Q. Why did it have to be done?
A. I was just inducted into the Family.
Q. Were you also introduced to Stevie Crea?
A. Yes.
Q. And do you recall who it was who introduced you to Stevie Crea?
A. It could have been one of two people. I don’t, I don’t exactly remember which one.
Q. Do you remember where you were introduced to Stevie Crea?
A. Yes.
Q. Where were you introduced to him?
A. At the club in the Bronx.
Q. And I’ll ask you more about the club in the Bronx in a minute. What was said when you were introduced to Stevie Crea? What was said?
A. How did —
Q. Yeah.
A. Like I said, I don’t know – it was one of two people who, who, who introduced us. They said, “This is Stevie. He’s the official Underboss of the Family. And this is John. Amica nostra.”
So, the first time he meets “Stevie,” this nobody is told Crea’s supposed position in the Family? Who would have guessed? And just to point out something else rather nifty…notice how Scotten refers to Crea as “Stevie”…just like he knew him personally.
And just so Londonio wouldn’t feel left out, because, you know, the government had given him so much attention for so long, Pennisi talked about him, too. The only one he didn’t talk about was Caldwell.
Q. And then, finally, when you were introduced to Chris, was anything said about Chris’s position? Was he introduced as a boss or an underboss or anything like that?
A. He was not.
Q. So, what does that mean?
A. He was a soldier.
Q. What was your rank at the time?
A. Soldier.
Q. All right. This wasn’t the first time you met the administration, was it?
A. No.
And “Chris” must be a close personal friend of Scotten’s as well since he refers to him by his first name. By the way, are you catching the government’s trickery here? Pennisi never says he was introduced to “Chris” as a “soldier” but he could infer that was Londonio’s position because he wasn’t identified “as a boss or underboss or anything like that.” How does he know he wasn’t an “associate?”
Q. Where did you first meet Madonna, Crea, and DiNapoli?
A. At the club in the Bronx.
Q. And how did you end up at the club in the Bronx for the first time?
A. John and Joey took me.
Q. John Castellucci and Joe DiBenedetto?
A. Yes.
Q. Did they say why you were going?
A. No.
Q. What happened when you got there?
A. They introduced me to everybody.
Q. Any women?
A. Excuse me?
Q. Were there any women there?
A. There was a woman like serving. One woman.
Q. Other than her?
A. Any —
Q. Any women other than her?
A. No.
Because it’s a “boy’s club,” you know. No women allowed. But this will be proven false as well, which we’ll see shortly.
Q. And you said you were introduced to people. Who do you remember meeting that day?
A. I met, I met — like I said, I met the administration and whoever else was, was there.
Q. No. I’m asking you if you met them. You weren’t introduced in the sense you talked about before, were you?
A. No.
Q. And why, why is that?
A. I wasn’t, I wasn’t a member of the Family.
The problem with his testimony is that he says he met all of the administration and a whole bunch of other people at the club but wasn’t introduced to them formally because he wasn’t yet a made member. But, yet, he still met all of the supposed important people anyway, complete with full names and alleged titles. Also, he testified when he met Madonna, he had been inducted, but then said it wasn’t the first time he had met him because he met him initially at the Coddington Club. He was also introduced to Londonio, but apparently that wasn’t at the Coddington Club, either, but at a wake.
While it might not seem like a big issue, the way the testimony was presented made it seem like Pennisi was “in the know” and that everything else that followed was true and factual even though his testimony was conflicting from one segment to the next.
Let’s see what happened after he met everyone that big day at the Coddington Club:
Q. And after you met, in the informal sense, everyone there, what did you do?
A. What did I do?
Q. What did you do? Did you stand around? Did you get something to eat? What did you do?
A. We were just talking, and then eventually I think we ate.
Q. Where did you sit?
A. At, at the table that they were sitting at.
Q. And can you describe the conversation in general terms?
A. It was just friendly talk. It was, you know, not — talk about prison or whatever.
Q. And were you an equal partner in that conversation?
A. At times, yes.
Q. Now, you said there were people there other than Madonna, Crea, DiNapoli, and Castellucci?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you remember any of their names today?
A. Yeah. A few. Richie, Richie DeLuca was there. Frankie, Carmin.
He then talked about how things work at the club – almost as if he had just read the pages of a movie script:
Q. Now, did you go to the club on subsequent occasions?
A. On what?
Q. Later occasions. Is that the only time you were in the club?
A. No.
Q. And, generally, what was going on there when you were there?
A. Just guys talking and eating. A lot of eating.
Q. Did you ever discuss any criminal activity in the club?
A. Did I? No.
Q. Did you hear it discussed?
A. Not really.
Q. And do you know if there’s a reason for that?
A. Everyone was leery of bugs.
Q. Did you speak with other people in the Family, generally, about where to talk about things and where not to talk about things?
A. We — so, you don’t really talk in there. If you had —
Q. And did you ever discuss why not to talk in there?
A. We were worried about law enforcement listening.
Q. Did you have a solution for that, if you wanted to talk business?
A. You could go outside, if you wanted to.
Q. What did you do outside?
A. Have the conversation you wouldn’t have inside.
Q. Did you do a lot of that up at the club?
A. Did I do that? No.
Q. Did you see others doing it?
A.Yes.
Q. Who did you most often see doing that at the club?
A. Stevie.
Q.Who would Stevie talk with?
A.Mainly captains.
Q. And, to be clear, when you’re saying “Stevie, you’re referring to the Defendant here in court, Stevie Crea?
A.Yes.
So, according to this testimony, “Stevie” must obviously be engaging in criminal activity because he wouldn’t talk inside the club about anything important, only outside. And the reason he did this was because law enforcement might be listening. So, the logical conclusion would be if Crea was innocent then why would he have to hide his conversations? See how that works?
Also, think about this. Pennisi was at the club quite often, knew everything about it, and why people were there, but isn’t it strange that in all that time, he never talked or heard anyone else ever discuss any criminal activities? So, was he just a hanger-on who had some special magical quality that all the supposed important people always wanted him around?
He then discusses the “incident” at the Coddington Club – the only thing relevant to the charges against Crea.
Q. Did you ever learn of any confrontations that occurred at the club?
A. Yes.
Q. And at the time you learned of this confrontation, were you a member of the Family?
A. Yes.
Q. Who told you about the confrontation?
A. Well, several, several people brought, brought it up.
Q. What was the status of those people in the Family?
A. Also members.
Q. And what did they tell you about the confrontation in the club?
MR. DRATEL: Objection, Your Honor, hearsay.
THE COURT: I think you can lay a foundation for who these people are and purpose for the conversation.
MR. SCOTTEN: I think he’s stated they were members of the Family. And I’ll ask, Your Honor —
THE COURT: And when you say “members, you mean inducted members?
THE WITNESS: Correct.
Q. And when these people told you about the conversation, were you still doing Family business with them?
A. Yes.
Q. Did the confrontation concern matters of concern to the Family?
MR. FRANKLIN: Objection, Your Honor. This witness wasn’t — he wasn’t there. He doesn’t know, except what he may have been told.
THE COURT: His own conversation he has been there for. You can answer. Did — from what you were told, was this confrontation that occurred at the club something that was of concern to the Family?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: Overruled. You can answer.
It appears that gossip has a role when trying to prove someone’s guilt. However, considering the number of times Scotten asked Pennisi about this guy and that guy, it seems a bit odd that in this particular instance, he didn’t bother asking which “made” guys told Pennisi the tale – maybe Scotten didn’t need any more pictures for his board? Another point to remember as we continue through the trial is how the government was allowed to use hearsay testimony and gossip to present their case while the defense wasn’t allowed to do the same.
Let’s continue with the Coddington Club incident:
Q. So, what did these members of the Lucchese Family tell you about the confrontation at the club?
A. There was an incident prior to the confrontation where Matty had told members of the Bonanno Family that we — our Family didn’t recognize a boss that was away in prison.
Q. Before you go on, where was the Bonanno Family’s boss at the time?
A. He was in federal prison.
MR. DRATEL: Can we get a name, instead of just titles?
THE COURT: No. If you want, you can ask on cross.
Q. Do you remember his name?
A. Yes.
Q. What was his name?
A. Mikey Nose.
Q. And why did saying — well, what did they say about — Matty said about Mikey Nose?
A. Just, just that, that — that’s what the problem was over, that he said that we didn’t recognize a boss that was in prison.
Q. And how did that lead to a confrontation?
A. They took it as a sign of disrespect, being that our own boss was also in prison at that time. And they decided to confront — they got together, a whole bunch of them, and, and came into the club.
Q. Did they have anything with them when they came in the club?
A.Some had weapons.
Q.Was there any actual violence in the club that day?
A.Excuse me?
Q. Was there any actual violence in the club that day?
A. I was — no. I was told that there was no actual violence.
Basically no questions about anything of relevance. No date, no questions about what was supposedly said by Crea. No mention of Crea at all or even Ulzheimer. And why bring Madonna into it when he wasn’t even charged with anything related to this supposed “incident?”
So, after meeting everyone under the sun in 2012 for no apparent reason, he talks about how he came to be inducted into the Family in 2013. Apparently, there was a fight with some Genovese guys at a strip club. Although no one was hurt, Pennisi was summoned back to the Coddington Club the next day to explain himself because he wasn’t a made member and the incident caused some embarrassment. But it did speed up his induction into the Family.
A. I believe it was the next day I was told I had to go to the Bronx, to the club.
Q. By who? Who told you?
A. Little Joey.
Q. And what did Joe DiBenedetto do at that time? Did he go too?
A. Yeah, he took me there.
Q. And what happened when you and DiBenedetto got to the club in the Bronx?
A. He, he told me that we had to explain what happened, and he wanted me to explain what happened.
Q. Did, did DiBenedetto say why he wanted you to explain?
A. He said he wasn’t a good talker, and he just — he — and he — Little Joey was inside the club at the time that all of this took place outside. He wasn’t there. And he didn’t know what I just told you. He wasn’t part of that. So, he wanted me to explain that.
Q. And who did you end up explaining to at the club?
A. There was a group of — the administration was at the club. A group of guys also with them.
Q. Well, go ahead and give the names, as best you remember.
A. Matty, Stevie, Joe DiNapoli, Richie. Big John was there, myself, Freddy Boy —
Q. Okay. So —
A. — Little Joey.
Q. Sorry. Go ahead.
A. I said Little Joey was with me too.
Q. And so, Richie is the Richie DeLuca we discussed before?
A. Yes.
Q. And Big John is John Castellucci?
A. Yes.
Q. Have we mentioned Freddy Boy before?
A. No.
Q. Okay. Did you, in fact, explain what had happened to this group?
A. I did.
Q. And did the group say anything to you?
A. Occasionally, they would ask a question.
Q. Other than that, did you receive any information from the group?
A. Yes.
Q. Who told you what?
A. Stevie said who Ralphie and the other guy was.
Q. He explained to you their position in the Genovese Family?
MR. DRATEL: Objection, leading.
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q. What did he say when he said who Ralphie and the other guy was?
A. They were with the Westside.
Q. And did Stevie say anything further?
A. He said that Ralphie said I misrepresented myself.
Q. What did you understand misrepresented to mean?
A. That he was trying to say that I was talking like I was a wise guy when I was not.
Q. Did Crea say anything about whether this would be a problem? Did Stevie say anything about whether this would be a problem?
A. They, they didn’t feel that I misrepresented myself. And they — he said that he also told Ralphie that my name was on a list to be straightened out, so I could talk to him any way I wanted to talk to him.
So, wait a minute? First, Pennisi was admonished for misrepresenting himself but then, at the same time, it was okay what he did because he was on a list to be “straightened out?” And why wasn’t there a “sit-down?” Isn’t that part of “Mafia legend” when there’s a problem between two Families?
Q. So, couple things there. What does straightened out mean?
A. Inducted into the Family.
Q. And what does on the list mean?
A. When a person is gonna be inducted into the Family, his name is put on the list, and it’s passed around within that Family and then to the other Families.
Q. And, so, what did you understand him to mean when Stevie said you could speak to Balsamo however you wanted because you were on the list to get inducted?
A. That’s not the way he said it. He, he said, even if this Ralphie was, was, was telling the truth, that I spoke like that, I could speak like that. But he didn’t believe that I spoke like that either, from what I, what I explained happened.
Q. And was there going to be — did he say anything about future interactions with the Genovese Family?
A. We were told we couldn’t retaliate.
Q. Did Stevie say why?
A. He says it was settled.
Q. And did you speak with Matty at all about — Matty Madonna at all about this incident?
A. Yes.
Q. What did Madonna say?
A. He said that he, he told — he, he said he told the —
Q. Well —
A. — the West Side that — excuse me?
Q. I was just waiting for the court reporter. Go ahead.
A. He said he told the West Side that if they had sent us there to shake the place up like they believed, and we showed up in suits and a limousine, that we would be leaving in a hearse.
Q. And when we started this, you said this incident affected the timing of you getting straightened out?
A. Yes.
Q. How did it affect the timing of you getting straightened out?
A. It pushed it forward faster.
Q. Why?
MR. DRATEL: Objection.
Q. What is your understanding of why?
THE COURT: Well, first of all, what was the basis of the understanding, and then why.
Judge Siebel just helping out the over-enthusiastic and snotty Scotten before Pennisi continues with his tale because she needs to make sure the government keeps its facts straight…wouldn’t want to miss any important detail in their narrative.
Q. How did you come to believe that this moved forward the timing?
A. They were concerned about the West Side also maybe looking to sneak and hurt us.
Q. When you say they were concerned, who was concerned?
A. Our administration.
Q. How do you know your administration was concerned?
A. Because they pushed to straighten us out right away, like within a week or so.
Because in the world of the “Mafia,” they just needed this dumbbell to help them out in case there was a “sneak.” Also, notice how Pennisi always says “our administration” – proof positive that he was, indeed, “in the club.”
Q. So, do you remember the date that you were inducted?
A. Yes.
Q. What date was that?
A. April 2nd.
Q. Of what year?
A. 2013.
Q. Did you know beforehand that this was going to happen?
A. Yes.
Q. How did you know?
A. I was on a trip in — to Saint Thomas with a girl, and I got a telephone call.
Q. From who?
A. Anthony Guzzo.
Q. And what did — what occurred during that call that caused you to believe you were gonna be inducted?
A. He asked me where I was, and I told him. I asked him 1 where he was. He said he was at the club in the Bronx and that he needed my mother’s maiden name.
Q. And what does that have to do with getting inducted?
A. Obviously, if your last name is Italian, that’s your father’s name. So, having your mother’s maiden name is — your whole bloodline is Italian.
Q. Did you also discuss getting made with anybody before it happened? Or did anybody discuss it with you?
A. Yes.
Q. Who discussed it with you?
A. Johnny Side Burns.
Q. And what did Johnny Side Burns tell you?
A. He was joking and he said, “Stay out of trouble because it’s any day now.” I knew what he meant.
Well, didn’t he already know he was going to be inducted because “Stevie” had told him his name was on a list? So, if his name was already on a list, why would Guzzo need to call him to ask for his mother’s maiden name? Wouldn’t “the administration” have wanted to know that before he was put on that special “list?”And if Pennisi was “on record” with Joey DiBenedetto, why was Guzzo calling him for that information? Why not his “sponsor” or Crea or Madonna, for that matter, since he had such a great relationship with everyone already?
Pennisi then talked about his special day, going into excruciating detail about how it all went down from which expressway he took to get to the house in Staten Island all the way through to when he received his special souvenir knife from Big John. We’re not going to post the entire segment of testimony because it’s extremely lengthy, but here are parts of how it happened.
First, he and “Little Joey drove to Anthony’s house and picked up Anthony, and then we met Spanky at a diner in Staten Island.” They all got in Spanky’s car with another guy named “Patty or Patsy” and jumped on and off the “Korean War Veteran expressway” and “went through streets and then got to a house.”
He, Anthony, and Patty were brought “down to a basement” and then were called “one at a time” to go “upstairs.” When he got to the “top of the stairs” Spanky brought him “over to sit at a, at a dining room table.”
“There was a whole, a whole table full of guys” including “Matty, Little John, Joe DiNapoli, Joe Cafe, John Brody, Patty, the guy — Spanky. Little Joey.”
Scotten was a bit confused about John Brody and asked for clarification. He wanted to know if that was “his nickname” and whether “John Brody was, in fact, Italian.” He was – have to keep that “Mafia” image going.
No one spoke. “They were just sitting there.” On the table was “a gun, a knife, a picture of a saint, a lighter and a, like a diabetic needle.”
Q. A diabetic needle? What do you mean by that?
A. Just, I guess, what the diabetic people use to take their blood, test their blood.
Q. Oh, like to prick your finger?
A. Yeah.
He then talked about the knife, which Pennisi eventually turned over to the government:
Q. Did you ever see the knife again?
A. Yes.
Q. When did you see the knife again?
A. Big John had gave it to me.
Q. At a later date?
A. Yeah.
Q. Did he say why?
A. He said, “Keep this as a souvenir, a souvenir.”
The first to speak was “Matty”:
Q. So, after you were seated at this table, what happened?
A. Matty spoke to me.
Q. Do you remember what Matty said? Take us through it, as best you can.
A. He asked me if I knew why I was, why I was there.
Q. And what did you say?
A. I said I did not.
Q. Didn’t you know why you were there?
A. I did.
Q. Why did you say you didn’t?
A. You’re not supposed to say that you know why you’re there.
Q. And how did the ceremony go from there?
A. He said that I was there to be considered becoming a member of, of the — their Family, that they were Lucchese Crime Family, and if I wanted to become a member.
Q. What did you say?
A. I said yes.
Q. What happened next?
A. He, he asked me if, if I would kill, if asked, for the Family.
Q. Madonna asked you that?
A. Yes.
Q. What did you say?
A. I said yes.
Q. What happened next?
A. He said that if my child was dying in the hospital, and I got a call from anyone in the Family, I would have to leave my child and go to the Family, and would I do that.
Q. Did you agree?
A. I did.
Of course, the worst scenario possible – a child dying in the hospital. We also need to mention that all of the above and all of the below is almost verbatim from Special Agent Carillo’s testimony on day one when he described “Mafia” protocols, including the making ceremony. If you would like a visual of a “making ceremony,” you can check out this one from HBO’s The Sopranos.
Matty then asked him for his “trigger finger” (he’s right-handed), then “Big John had the diabetic needle and he poked my finger, and Matty took my hand and they dropped some blood on the saint.” Then they lit the saint and he moved “the saint from hand to hand while it was on fire.” While that was happening he was to repeat after Matty:
Q. And what did he say? What do you recall?
A. He said that if I was to betray any member of the Family, that my soul would burn like the saint is burning.
Q. And did the saint, the picture of the saint actually finish burning?
A. It did.
After the saint picture stopped burning, Matty explained “the rules:”
Q. And as best you can remember, what did he say about rules?
A. He said that we were — as a member of the Family, I was never to go after or try to date anybody’s wife or another member’s wife or girlfriend, for that matter; that I was not to put my hands on any other member, but if they put their hands on me, just kill them and we would sort it out afterwards.
At this point, we have to mention that it appears if someone has a problem with someone else within their family, they can just “kill them” and it will be sorted out “afterwards” but only “if they put their hands on” you first.
Other rules included not getting involved “in drug dealing or have anything to do with drugs. And we’re not to get involved with any kinds of lawsuits or stocks or bonds.” Scotten didn’t bother to ask why “members” couldn’t get involved with stocks and bonds, so that’s a mystery.
And then this:
Q. Did he say anything about money?
A. Yes.
Q. What, what did Madonna tell you about money?
A. He said that they were not there to shake us, shake us down. And that if, for instance, I owned a business, that, that money was mine. They was not gonna take legitimate money. But he said that anything I made on the strength of this was to — a percentage would go to the Family.
MR. SCOTTEN: If the record could reflect that when the witness said, “the strength of this,” he pointed to his — that’s his left breast pocket.
THE COURT: Okay. It will so reflect.
Q. What does it mean to say “the strength of this” and sort of grab or point to your left breast pocket?
A. It means button.
Q. What does button mean?
A. Button means a made member.
Q. Do you know where that term comes from?
A. Yes.
Q. Where does it come from?
A. Years ago, they used to call made members button men, and they would say that if an order was given to kill somebody, they would push a button.
Q. And, so, what does it mean to make money on the strength of your button?
A. Anything done illegally.
Q. And did Madonna say why you had to pay a percentage, some part of the money you made illegally, to the administration?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say?
A. He said that we were the ones who had — meaning the administration, were the ones who would have bull’s-eyes on them.
Q And did you understand what bull’s eye was a reference to?
A. Target for the government.
Q. Law enforcement investigations?
A. Law enforcement.
So, let’s briefly recap. People talk outside so law enforcement can’t hear about their illegal activities. When the “administration” calls on you to kill someone, you have to do it, even if your kid is dying in the hospital. You kick up money from your illegal activities because the “administration” is the target of law enforcement with the bull’s eye on their back. And if they weren’t doing anything illegal, they wouldn’t have to keep things secret and worry about being a target. Oh, and don’t forget the “making ceremony” because that’s all part of the secretness of this society.
When it was all over, introductions were made. As you read this, think about Pennisi’s previous testimony about who he met and when:
Q. Introductions to everybody. Do you remember the first introduction?
A. It was, it was introduction to Matty.
Q. By who?
A. Joe DiNapoli.
Q. So, this is the introduction you described at the beginning of your testimony?
A. Yes.
Q. Once DiNapoli introduces you to Madonna, what does Madonna do?
A. He introduces me to Joe.
Q. And was that the only introduction that day?
A. No. I was introduced to the whole table.
Q. And you said before —
THE COURT: May I just ask a question?
MR. SCOTTEN: Please.
THE COURT: Some of these people, you’d met before, right?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: So, what’s the point of introducing you again?
THE WITNESS: Because they’re introducing me as a, as a member of the Family now, not as meeting somebody.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Since Pennisi had never spoken about “Joe” before, Scotten clarified that Joe was “Joe Cafe,” an alleged “captain” in the Family. It also allowed Scotten to highlight how alleged members of the “Mafia” are not “normal” – further painting a sinister picture.
Q. So, to be clear, when you had met — had you met Joe Cafe before, as in a personal sense, like, hey, this is Joe?
A. Yes.
Q. And in that introduction, in the way normal people use it, was anything said about Joe Cafe’s status in the Family?
A. He was a captain.
Q. I know. But when you first met him, before you were inducted — okay?
A. Before? No.
Q. Yeah.
A. No.
Q. Similar to the kind of introduction normal people might engage in?
MR. GOLTZER: Objection.
THE COURT: Don’t use the word “normal.” Why don’t you say everyday.
Q. Was it similar to an everyday introduction you might have with anyone?
A. Yes.
Q. When you were introduced to Joe Cafe after the ceremony, what was said, to the best you recall?
A. “This is Joe Cafe. Joe is a captain with the Family. This is John, amica nostra.”
Q. And what is the purpose of doing this kind of — that kind of introduction, the one where you say amica nostra and state the person’s rank, if they have one?
A. Well, first, that’s how you introduce each other. And, second, is I need to know who he is.
Q. Why do you need to know who he is?
A. You need to know. You need to know who the captains are, who’s a soldier, who’s your administration.
Scotten then showed Pennisi more pictures for him to identify by name and rank, including Paul Cassano. He also provided information as to crews and who was in which crew and where the crew was based out of. Pennisi was like the government’s own Mafia encyclopedia. When they were finished, all those pics were placed on that hierarchy board of the government’s.
And, then the questions began about the government’s favorite topic – Steven L. Crea:
Q. Now, you said earlier in testimony that you were introduced to Crea, this Crea, the Defendant, at the club. Was he present at your ceremony?
A. He was not.
Q. Was anything said about him at your ceremony?
A. Yes.
Q. What was said — well, who said it, first?
A. Joe DiNapoli.
Q. And what did Joe DiNapoli say to you?
A. He said that Stevie couldn’t be here, but Stevie’s your official Underboss.
Q. And you said earlier, when you were introduced to him in the formal sense, it was either one of two people. Who was it who introduced you to Stevie Crea?
A. It was either Big John or Johnny Side Burns. I don’t remember which one.
Q. And when they did introduce you, did they state his position?
A. Yes.
Q. And what position did they state?
A. Underboss.
The power of recollection is strong with this one because, if you recall, Pennisi couldn’t remember who had first introduced him to Crea. But now we know. And isn’t it strange that he previously testified that he had already been told “Stevie’s” alleged position? I get that it’s a “making ceremony” and that’s a different kind of introduction, but nothing like the government hammering it home for the jury.
And, of course, Scotten had to revisit the subject of “Chris.” Have to establish that relationship,too.
Q. Now, you also said you were introduced to Chris at some point. Do you know Chris’s last name?
A. Yes.
Q. What’s Chris’s last name, as best you remember it?
A. Londonio.
Q. Do you remember where you were introduced to him?
A. Yes.
Q. And where was that?
A. At a wake.
Soon after Pennisi was inducted, he was given his very first job which was to give a “hospital beating” to the ex-son-in-law of Crea. He was given Davidson’s picture and address by Big John, who told him to get the job done. However, Pennisi was having a hard time getting the job done.
Even though he had someone install a GPS device on Davidson’s car (he couldn’t do it himself because he had a bad back,) he hesitated because every time he thought it was the right time, he noticed cameras everywhere, and he didn’t want to get caught. Eventually, he became so paranoid, he removed the device from Davidson’s car and destroyed the laptop he was using to track the guy.
By this point, Big John was getting extremely frustrated with Pennisi. So, Pennisi and the Guzzo (who was assigned the job with him) decided that maybe shooting a warning shot at Davidson while he was getting in his car might be a good idea, but then they changed their mind.
When Big John heard about it, he was not too happy and called Pennisi into “the club.”
Q. And what did John say when he met with you about this?
A. He — excuse me my language. He said, “Who the fuck told you to shoot anybody? That’s not what you were told to do.” And I said, “Well, I don’t know what to do anymore because it’s just — you know, I gotta keep hearing it from you all the time.” He said, “So get it done, you won’t hear me.”
But the pressure Pennisi was feeling wasn’t going away, especially any time he went to “the club.”
Q. I want to ask you a bit more about that pressure from John. Were there particular times you noticed that pressure?
A. Yes.
Q. And when was that?
A. Well, after a while, I — I noticed it. Not in the beginning, but I — I — it was when we went up to the club in the Bronx.
Q. And when you went up to the club in the Bronx, did you see what Castellucci did there?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he do?
A. He went and took a walk with Stevie outside.
Q. After Castellucci walked with Stevie, how would you describe the pressure?
A. Well, when we would — when we would leave the club and get back to Staten Island, he would — he would start putting pressure on, saying that — he said, “yous are embarrassing us, this is got to get done. It’s becoming an embarrassment.”
Yous – first and only time that was ever said in any of the recordings or testimony in this case. Yous…funny. Can’t you just hear Big John saying that?
Eventually, Pennisi found out why this was such an important job.
Q. Yes or no. Did you ever learn where the order for this was coming from?
A. Yes.
Q. And how did you learn?
A. Johnny Side Burns.
Q. And what did Johnny Side Burns tell you?
A. Well, originally, we thought that this had something to do with one of the Long Island crews, and we figured that they were using us because, you know, people in Long Island knew them better than they knew us. But Johnny Side Burns came back from the club one day and he said, “Now I know why you’re getting all this pressure.”
Q. Okay.
A. I said, “Why?” He said, “This is for Stevie.” And I was a little confused because the guy, he looks like this, you know, innocent pudgy guy. I — I was — I couldn’t understand, like how would he — this guy be involved with Stevie. Then he said it has something to do with a lawsuit. So I — I thought maybe it was a construction thing or something like that.
At some point, Pennisi was told to back off because Davidson had a court appearance and Big John didn’t want Davidson all bruised up at court. As it turns out, Pennisi never had to worry about the Davidson job again because someone else got the job done.
Q. Did Castellucci ever tell you whether it was accomplished?
A. He did.
Q. Did he say who accomplished it?
A. He called me one day and I met with him and we took a walk in Staten Island and he said, “Remember that thing that you took over a year to get done?” And I said, “Yes.” And he says, “Well, my brother Spanky got it done in two days. Not a year, two days,” he said.
In October 2018, Pennisi’s shining star started to dim – at least that’s what he thought. When he was at a wake, everyone he had previously been chummy with was ignoring him. He got paranoid and thought he might be in some trouble. Why? He wasn’t sure but thought maybe people were suspicious of him because some guy had lifted up his shirt to signify he had “no wire” which gave Pennisi the impression people were thinking he was a rat. So, he took off to Georgia and went into hiding for a bit before going back to New York to walk up the stairs into the FBI’s big building in the Manhattan sky.
And since Pennisi had all of this knowledge about the Lucchese Family and because all of these people he knew so much about were recently indicted, the FBI scooped up their new prize. On May 14, 2019, he signed a cooperation agreement, and soon after testified in another trial associated with alleged “members” of the Lucchese Family. That particular trial might have had more to do with him visiting the FBI than his paranoia about people thinking he was a rat. He also believed his girlfriend at the time was seeing another guy – Eugene Castelle – but it was just another Pennisi delusion.
It’s hard to believe there’s anymore to tell about Pennisi’s sorry tale, but the defense was able to pull more out of him, including his alleged knowledge of the “Mafia” and more details about that Coddington Club incident.
Madonna’s lawyer, Joshua Dratel was first at bat, and although he didn’t clarify why he was asking these particular questions, it’s clear that Pennisi wasn’t the Mafia encyclopedia the government thought he was.
Q. The Genovese Family is considered the most powerful Family in New York?
A. I don’t know.
Q. Is it the largest, as far as you know?
A. Possibly, yeah.
Q. And — so, during the period when you were made a member, when you were an associate and thereafter until the change in leadership, Vic Amuso remained the Boss of the Family, right?
A. Correct.
Q. And, in fact, he was able to do certain things even from prison in terms of issue orders and directives?
A. I guess if he wanted to.
Q. Well, did he take Johnny Joe Spirito off the shelf?
A. Excuse me?
Q. Did Amuso take Johnny Joe Spirito off the shelf?
A. I don’t know if he took him off the shelf. I don’t know.
Q. And he didn’t — you didn’t — withdrawn. He didn’t send a note to take Johnny Joe Spirito off the shelf?
A. I just said I didn’t know that he did that.
So, the alleged “boss” of one Family can put an alleged “soldier” of another Family on the shelf? That’s something new.
During the next day of testimony before the jury was brought into the courtroom, Scotten got his panties in a bunch when he learned that Franklin was going to make a board of his own. Scotten’s disdain for Crea was becoming more and more apparent as the trial went on.
MR. SCOTTEN: Mr. Franklin has informed me that during his cross-examination of Mr. Pennisi, he wishes to post a poster board on which Mr. Franklin is then going to write things. Mr. Franklin informs me he has done this in State Court. I’ve never seen it done. He wasn’t able to provide a rule of evidence that supports it. I think it is likely to lead to all kinds of arguments about characterization since Your Honor has established that we’re going to be very careful about any pedagogical aid only being put up if it’s supported by the evidence. I’m sure Mr. Franklin is going to want to phrase things in ways that he thinks are fair but we think are not, and, therefore, we shouldn’t be arguing about did he write it right, et cetera, et cetera, and there’s a transcript for
that. If he wants to have something read back, there is a very able court reporter.
THE COURT: Well —
MR. FRANKLIN: Your Honor —
THE COURT: — he is doing it with this witness. He’s not going to be writing things other witnesses said. So, we will be able to compare the witness’s answer to whatever Mr. Franklin writes to see if it’s —
MR. FRANKLIN: I’m not — just so we’re clear, we had a very brief conversation. I didn’t fully explain to him what I’m doing. There’s a section of his testimony where there are a lot of different names of people that he’s dealing with. So, when he says Jimmy and Joey, that was what I was going to write down, just so we have on a sheet who was involved in a particular transaction. I’m not characterizing it, I’m merely writing down what he would say. I believe earlier he had —
THE COURT: Sounds like the Defendant’s version of the board. It sounds all right to me.
MR. FRANKLIN: Exactly. I’ve done this for 30-something years in state and federal courts. I’ve never had an issue with it. I’m not characterizing anything. I’m merely putting down what the witness says. Sometimes we have the witness do it and he had the police officers doing that. But that’s — there is no characterization. I’m merely going to be taking names that he puts in and to show relationships and that sort of thing.
MR. SCOTTEN: If there is no characterization, we won’t object. We will object if we think there’s something wrong.
THE COURT: Sounds good. Let’s get the jury.
MR. FRANKLIN: Your Honor, I’m sorry I caused a misunderstanding.
THE COURT: No problem.
So, Scotten is arguing about “characterizations?” Gotta love the government.
If Pennisi’s testimony sounded rehearsed, there was a good reason as Franklin discovered.
Q. Before you testified yesterday, did you prepare with the prosecutors and the agents to give your testimony as to questions that would be asked, the answers that you would give?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now, there were pictures that we were shown yesterday of various people. Were you shown those pictures during your preparation session?
A. Some.
Q. I said “preparation session.” Was it more than one session to prepare you for your testimony here?
A. Yes.
Considering all the times Pennisi said he was at the Coddington Club, Franklin had some additional questions. One thing that should be noted is that the prosecution had two hours of video showing the comings and goings of people at the club. They only showed the jury snippets that fit with their narrative. Later during the trial, the defense brought their own witness to the stand, a woman who had worked at the club for many years. Her testimony, although given on a different day, will be shared below Pennisi’s.
Q. You said you had been in the Coddington club on occasion, correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And you say you’ve been there many times?
A. Yes.
Q. Inside the club, correct?
A. Inside the club.
Q. Can any member of the public go into this club?
A. I don’t — I didn’t see any, but I don’t know.
Q. What are the requirements for going into this club?
A. I mean, there was only members of the Family when I was there. I don’t know if it was requirements.
Q. I’m sorry. Going back to that same exhibit, which I seem to have lost again.
MR. FRANKLIN: May I approach the witness, Your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
Q. This is on Page 4- — 3509-42, Page 420.
A. Okay.
Q. Now that you’ve had a chance for your recollection to be refreshed, can any member of the public go into the club?
A. I said no, but it’s — that was just my opinion. I mean, I don’t know if people walk in off the street and they get chased out or they’re welcomed. I don’t — I don’t believe so.
Q. Well, didn’t you say, “People from the street just don’t walk in there”?
A. I never seen anybody just walk in there.
Q. But you said those words?
A. Yeah.
Q. And you were under oath at the time?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And every time that you were there inside the club, there were not people from the outside, other than people related to organized crime, where you said there was one woman that would cook and do things like that?
A. There was two women that served and helped cook, yeah.
Q. But other than those two women, it would just be men from — people that you knew from your crew or a different crew, as you have described it?
A. Yes. And then sometimes some guys would be playing cards, sometimes with Stevie. I don’t know who, I don’t know who they were. I never was introduced to them. They were not, as far as I know, members. Maybe they were associated to somebody, but —
Didn’t he testify that he met everybody at the club? Or was it only the people that really mattered? And since he was there so often, wouldn’t he have known who these other people were since it was all “connected” people who hung out there? Also, he’s a court-approved expert now, so he can offer his “opinion?”
Q. And you don’t talk business in the club because you’re afraid that it might be bugged or tapped in some way?
A. I don’t talk? I mean, basically —
Q. Before that — criminal business is not discussed in the club because you’re fearful that the club might be bugged and people could — the FBI could hear it?
A. Yes.
Q. And you’ve also testified that, as a result of that, when people want to discuss business, they walk outside and talk outside and then they come back?
A. Usually.
Q. That’s what I’m referring to.
A. Usually. Sometimes there were conversations that were — that went on, and sometimes there wasn’t. Sometimes people went outside.
Q. Did you speak with other people in the Family generally about where to talk about things and where not to talk about things?
A. Um, not, not really. We used to kid around about it. Don’t talk too loud in here, or whatever.
Q. And did you ever discuss why not to talk in there?
A. I mean, it was common knowledge why we wouldn’t talk in there.
Q. Is the reason why you didn’t talk in there because you were worried about law enforcement listening?
A. Absolutely.
Q. Did you have a solution for that if you wanted to talk business?
A. We would go outside if we had to talk.
Sometimes they talked outside and sometimes they didn’t. Yet, during his testimony with Scotten, he was firm in his answer that no one talked inside the club. It’s too bad the defense wasn’t able to prepare Pennisi as well as the prosecution did.
On October 31, 2019, a few days after Pennisi’s testimony, the defense called Tomasa Viscuso to the stand. She worked at the Coddington Club for ten years. In her testimony, she explained that the Coddington Club had moved from its Coddington Avenue location to another location around 2013 or 2014, something that Pennisi never even mentioned, even though he claimed he had been going there regularly since 2012.
Viscuso was shown numerous interior pictures of the club when it was at Coddington Avenue, and she identified numerous people by name as well as gave some history on who they were – most of them were retired men and women from the neighborhood who got together to play cards and eat. She was also asked about Crea.
Q. Okay. Now, do you know Steve Crea?
A. Yes.
Q. How do you know him?
A. Friend.
Q. And have you also seen him at the club?
A. Yes.
Q. And when it was the Coddington Club, how often would you say he was at the club?
A. Every day.
Q. Would he leave at a particular time?
A. He left about 4:00, 4:30.
Q. And do you know why he would leave at around that time?
A. Yes.
Q. Why is that?
MR. SCOTTEN: Objection.
A. He had a sister —
THE COURT: No, no. When somebody objects, you wait for me to rule. If I say, sustained, you don’t answer. If I say, overruled, you do. And I say sustained. Sounds like it calls for hearsay.
MR. FRANKLIN: Okay. Can we put up Government Exhibit 12, please.
BY MR. FRANKLIN:
Q. Ma’am, have you ever seen that person?
A. No.
Q. Has that person ever been in the Coddington Club when you
were there?
A. No
Who was the person in Government Exhibit 12? John Pennisi. And why did the prosecution object before Viscuso could explain why Crea left at the same time every day? Well, apparently, the defense can’t use “hearsay” testimony the same way the prosecution can (as we mentioned earlier) – such as when Pennisi described what he “heard” about the alleged Coddington Club incident.