Notes on Sal Vitale testimony (Asaro trial)

[Bklyn21]

Great stuff!

For the "induction ceremonies" section, I would guess that 101st Avenue and Rockford Blvd. is actually 101st Avenue and Rockaway Blvd. Just a guess.

Interesting but not surprising that Massino had his new recruits inducted near there.

So everyone standing out on the corner of 101 ave. And Rockaway ,Sponsors and inductees ! All waiting to be driven off somewhere ? That had to be some sight , And they never thought this would raise any suspicions ?

[Bklyn21]

Nice Post B. , Wish we could get those Master lists . That's gotta be the FBI'S Holy grail

[Pogo The Clown]

The following induction list was obtained by the FBI and is described as follows, with the proposed members on the left and deceased members on the right:

Vito Grimaldi / Leo Giarino '89
Joe Cammarano / John Fiordilino '89
Vincent D'Antoni / Armando Pollastrino '90
Pete Cosoleto / Bobby Lino '89
Anthony Frascone / Paul DiCocco '89
Jimmy Barbieri / Vito DeFilippo '89
John Mirabile / Mario Campanella '90
Peter Ligammari / Giuseppe Buccellato '90
Jerry Asaro / Pat Messina '90

Does anyone have any other reference for Leo Giarino? I'm pretty sure this list is the only reference to him I've ever seen. Perhaps one of the names Vitale got from a phone book?


Pogo

[Hired_Goonz]

Incredible thread. The anecdote about Vitale meeting with Rastelli at the park was interesting to me. Hard to imagine a boss fresh out of prison meeting with an associate like that and thanking him for participating in a triple murder lol but it was a different era. It just speaks to how big of a stink Asaro must have made about him, I guess Rusty probably wanted to meet Massino's guy but the main motivation for the meeting was this beef Asaro was making. Vinny is such a hothead.

Was Jimmy the Gent really on record as an associate with the Columbos? I always assumed he was with the Lucchese family.

[Eld]

Does anyone have any other reference for Leo Giarino? I'm pretty sure this list is the only reference to him I've ever seen. Perhaps one of the names Vitale got from a phone book?


Pogo

LCNbios has him as a Leo Giardina (1905-1989).

- Leo Gardini (No. 6) resided in East Village and worked as a plasterer. Possible match with Leo Giardina (1905-1989), who in turn may be 'Leo Giarino' included in the deceased section of a Bonanno induction list from 1991.

https://lcnbios.blogspot.com/2018/08/ob ... -pt-1.html

[B.]

Thanks Eld.

Mario Campanella is another one I didn't recognize. There was a Mario Campanella born in 1920 who died in 1990 on Staten Island, so that would fit. The Bonannos had other Campanellas who were connected to Staten Island.

[Pogo The Clown]

Mario Campanella is another one I didn't recognize. There was a Mario Campanella born in 1920 who died in 1990 on Staten Island, so that would fit. The Bonannos had other Campanellas who were connected to Staten Island.

That is probably him. JD has a Mario Campanella/59 in his Bonanno Summer 1979 chart.


Thanks for the info Eld.


Pogo

[newera_212]

They burned the building down after the 3 Capos murder in Bad Blood.


Pogo

worth watching? i tried but wasnt able to get into it for some reason, felt a little off. but im damn near running out of shit to watch and am looking for something new. bad blood worth sticking it out?

great thread by the way. ive poured over massino’s basciano-santoro trial testimony. i remember when the trial happened, bits and pieces of the testimony took shape in the form of a few daily news articles . but, its great to see everything in one place. i feel like vitale’s testimony is a lot more interesting though, way less of a cut and dry perspective. im hoping we can pull down lino and coppa’s testimony too some day. lino had a “customer’s” point of view of the 3 capos murder before he bolted and can offer a totally different perspective

[Pogo The Clown]

If you get hung up on accuracy or even a realistic portrayal of OC than skip it. If you don't mind a little cheese it is worth a watch as it is entertaining and moves along pretty fast. Basically if you enjoyed Mobsters with Christian Slater, The Last Don 1&2, The Untouchables, Witness to the Mob and Boss of Bosses you should enjoy this series. The second season is much better than the first.


Pogo

[newera_212]

If you get hung up on accuracy or even a realistic portrayal of OC than skip it. If you don't mind a little cheese it is worth a watch as it is entertaining and moves along pretty fast. Basically if you enjoyed Mobsters with Christian Slater, The Last Don 1&2, The Untouchables, Witness to the Mob and Boss of Bosses you should enjoy this series. The second season is much better than the first.


Pogo

awesome thanks. makes sense with those comparisons. ill eventually give it another spin

[Bklyn21]

Incredible thread. The anecdote about Vitale meeting with Rastelli at the park was interesting to me. Hard to imagine a boss fresh out of prison meeting with an associate like that and thanking him for participating in a triple murder lol but it was a different era. It just speaks to how big of a stink Asaro must have made about him, I guess Rusty probably wanted to meet Massino's guy but the main motivation for the meeting was this beef Asaro was making. Vinny is such a hothead.

Was Jimmy the Gent really on record as an associate with the Columbos? I always assumed he was with the Lucchese family.

I thought that was really interesting and weird that Jimmy Burke was on record with the Colombos . If he's correct about that who the hell was Burke with in the Colombo family ?

[Bklyn21]

The only Colombo mobsters I could think of from Ozone Pk. , Woodhaven , Richmond Hill areas that Burke would be on record and affiliated with were the Cataldo's , Lil Dom and his brother and that crew who had Sal Polisi and were involved with Gotti and Company

[B.]

Burke was reportedly associated with the Queens / Long Island element of the Colombo family, specifically the Aloi crew. His close friend and partner Checko Brown Fusco was with this crew. Burke's close associate Angelo Sepe was described by Gasper Valenti as a Colombo associate, too.

Other sources have called Burke a Colombo associate, but this is all Vitale said:

Q. Who was Jimmy Burke?
A. Jimmy Burke was an Irish guy that was around the Colombo Family.

In Gasper Valenti's testimony he refers to Burke as a Lucchese associate during the Lufthansa heist and says Paul Vario received a cut of the score. He only refers to Burke as a Lucchese associate. I've seen Burke referred to as a Gambino associate also but can't remember offhand where it came from.

Burke also worked closely with the Bonanno family, being inseparable from Vinny Asaro for many years when the two were partners in a number of legitimate and illegitimate businesses. Asaro's loansharking operation was funded by borrowing from Burke's larger operation. Burke's daughter also married a Bonanno member.

So he was very close to all of the families around the Queens / Brooklyn border, but the strongest info points to him being associated with the Colombos and maybe later the Luccheses. I can't say for sure what the arrangement was with confidence.

[gohnjotti]

One potential connection I can think of regarding Burke and the Colombos is the fact that the Varios have close ties to members of the Cutolo crew, particularly Ronald Califano, who was indicted in 1993 on charges of running a multi-million dollar sports betting operation with Paul Vario Jr. Ronald's son, Roger, himself a sports betting tycoon, is the brother-in-law of Lucchese associate Giovanni "John" Galluzzo, who is related to the Varios IIRC.

[B.]

One potential connection I can think of regarding Burke and the Colombos is the fact that the Varios have close ties to members of the Cutolo crew, particularly Ronald Califano, who was indicted in 1993 on charges of running a multi-million dollar sports betting operation with Paul Vario Jr. Ronald's son, Roger, himself a sports betting tycoon, is the brother-in-law of Lucchese associate Giovanni "John" Galluzzo, who is related to the Varios IIRC.

Good to know. Didn't know the Varios connected to that crowd.

Dominick Cataldo who was mentioned definitely fits in. Cataldo had a restaurant next to a nightclub owned by Jimmy Burke and they closely associated.

Michael Franzese shows up in Goodfellas, which I assume is more or less accurate given the Franzese crew was part of that Queens / Long island Colombo element Burke associated with. It looks like Pasquale Fusco was operating in Florida and stayed close with the Alois after Burke went away.