Gasper Valenti testimony notes (Asaro Trial)

[PaddyWhack]

This was excellent, greatly appreciate you posting it..

[Dante]

Valenti wearing a dress and a wig is one of the funniest mob related things I’ve read in quite a while

[bosslt]

Love these trial notes, great historical reading.

[B.]

- After Mike Palmaccio was inducted into the Bonanno family, there was an issue because Palmaccio put a photo of himself shirtless on the internet and also posted the quote "A friend will help you move, but a real friend will help you move a body." This was a source of embarrassment for the crew and soldier John Ragano and captain Vincent Asaro were recorded commenting on it to Gary Valenti.

Q - Ragano says, "He's on the Internet with his T-shirt off, and a friend will help you move, but a real friend will help you move a body." What was your understanding of what Ragano was telling you and the defendant?
A - That a wiseguy-- a normal friend will help you move, but a wiseguy will help you move a body.
Q - But who would put that on the Internet?
A - Palmaccio.
Q - And who had his shirt off on the Internet?
A - Palmaccio.
Q - Then at line 32, the defendant (Asaro) says, "What is he even doing on the Internet?" What was your understanding of why Mike Palmaccio was not supposed to be on the Internet?
A - You don't advertise that life.

After discussing Palmaccio's internet activities, Ragano said: "I'll go to jail in five minutes, but I don't want to go to jail for these stupid motherfuckers, Vin."

Jerry Asaro decided to shelve Palmaccio for the shirtless internet photo. Vincent Asaro was recorded telling Valenti that Jerry didn't have the right to shelve Palmaccio, only the boss could do it. Jerry attempted to drive Palmaccio out of the neighborhood and Vincent Asaro told Palmaccio to sell his house.

Yes, this is was all because of a shirtless internet photo.

[HairyKnuckles]

- After Mike Palmaccio was inducted into the Bonanno family, there was an issue because Palmaccio put a photo of himself shirtless on the internet and also posted the quote "A friend will help you move, but a real friend will help you move a body."

Found it!

a.jpg

[NothingNew44]

- After Mike Palmaccio was inducted into the Bonanno family, there was an issue because Palmaccio put a photo of himself shirtless on the internet and also posted the quote "A friend will help you move, but a real friend will help you move a body."

Found it!

a.jpg

[chin_gigante]

- After Mike Palmaccio was inducted into the Bonanno family, there was an issue because Palmaccio put a photo of himself shirtless on the internet and also posted the quote "A friend will help you move, but a real friend will help you move a body." This was a source of embarrassment for the crew and soldier John Ragano and captain Vincent Asaro were recorded commenting on it to Gary Valenti.

Wiseguy social media profiles are usually cringe fests punctuated with "ok boomer" moments but this takes the biscuit.

[B.]

Imagine telling Asaro that in a couple of years Neil Migliore would be on social media, too. No shirtless photos of Migliore, though.

Or what came out of the Stango case about the Stango and Oliveri crews sending photos and insults to each other through text message and Facebook.

Makes me wonder, has anyone come across any made members of the Bonanno family on social media? I've seen Bonanno associates on there and we've seen photos of made members posted by their relatives, but not sure I've seen an account for a made Bonanno member themselves. Makes you wonder if they still take the "no internet" rule seriously.

One of Vincent Asaro's concerns about Palmaccio was that other families would see or hear about what he was posting online and it would cause even more embarrassment to the Bonanno family. The Asaros literally told Palmaccio to sell his house and leave the neighborhood. Meetings were held.

Reminds me of the six-man sitdown over Charles Carneglia's beard. These sound like comic relief sub-plots from the Sopranos.

These guys would lose their minds in Philadelphia. The boss himself is posting shirtless photos all the time.

It's hypocritical, too, because both Asaros and Giallanzo, all made members, have matching "Death before dishonor" tattoos. You're not supposed to "advertise the life" online, but it's okay to advertise it permanently on your body? It's not like this doesn't matter, as the prosecution brought up the tattoos in court.

[moneyman]

Philip Navarra comes to mind as a Bonnano member with an active Facebook profile. He’s friends with Catalano relatives which is interesting.

[B.]

- When Valenti initially began cooperating he had little to no contact with Vincent Asaro. The first year of Valenti's cooperation was mainly aimed at his cousin in Las Vegas, Bonanno member Tommy Ferreri, which generated personal gossip and little criminal discussion.

- When Vincent Asaro ranted about his son Jerry as has been widely reported (i.e. "Jerry's for Jerry", etc.), it was in the context of the open consigliere position that Tommy DiFiore was trying to fill.

- Asaro told Valenti that he (Asaro) and Jack Bonventre had been out to visit the new acting boss Tommy DiFiore. At this meeting, DiFiore said he wanted to promote Asaro to consigliere. Asaro turned it down and instead suggested Jack Bonventre, but Bonventre wasn't interested either.

- Upon being told about this later by Asaro, Gary Valenti asked Asaro why he didn't suggest his son Jerry Asaro as the consigliere candidate. This immediately prompted Asaro to rant about how his son is only out for himself, how he lost his son when he made him an acting captain, and how his son is the "last person in the world to get anything" from him. Asaro was saying he would never suggest his son Jerry as consigliere because of the way his son snubbed him.

--

- Both Asaro and Valenti complained about how their sons didn't talk to them. Valenti's son Anthony "Sammy" had been proposed by Jerry Asaro and inducted into the Bonanno family, which Vincent Asaro didn't support because he felt the younger Valenti had done nothing to earn membership. Valenti may have been protecting his son, but he testified that Sammy had no criminal history. Asaro was critical of Antonino Bonventre's membership for similar reasons.

- Throughout his cooperation, Gary Valenti continued to press Asaro and others for membership in the Bonanno family. Valenti had previously been proposed for membership but was never made due to his issues with paying back money and his tendency to flee to Las Vegas when in trouble.

- Valenti had a long history of borrowing money from high-ranking mafia members, including Vic Amuso, and not paying it back, with Vincent Asaro protecting him from retribution. Asaro told Valenti that if he became a member he would get in too much trouble.

- At one point, Valenti also pressed Jack Bonventre for membership but Bonventre brushed it off. Valenti had previously attempted to take part in a bookmaking operation under Bonventre but Bonventre told Valenti there was no room for him. Valenti had an outstanding unpaid loan to Bonventre the second time he fled to Vegas and when he returned to NYC he gave $500 to Bonventre as a partial payment but Bonventre had given up on the loan and no longer wanted the money.

- Valenti's issues as a degenerate gambler with unpaid loans can't be understated. At one point during his cooperation he visited Bonanno soldier Sandro Aiosa, who he had known since the 1960s (when Aiosa was a close associate of Mickey Zaffarano), but due to an unpaid loan Aiosa wanted nothing to do with Valenti. Most of the loansharks who Valenti ripped off no longer wanted repayment, they simply wanted nothing to do with him.

--

- Vincent Asaro didn't approve of Mike Padavona being proposed for membership and was planning to knock his name down. Asaro explained to Valenti that he had to wait until they circulated the list of proposed members including Padavona, at which point Asaro would demand to see the list and attempt to stop Padavona's induction. When it came time, however, Asaro did not follow through.

- As mentioned before, associate Robert "Bam" Catrone was proposed for membership along with other Asaro associates who were inducted during this period. Catrone had previously been an associate on record with Vincent Asaro and was given to Jerry Asaro as a "gift", as Catrone's lucrative loan sharking operations were a major source of income. Catrone was knocked down from membership after he began telling people he was already a made member. He had also given out "off the record" loans, forcing Asaro to demand that he (Catrone) receive explicit approval for all future loans.

--

- As mentioned in the Vitale thread, there are rules concerning the introduction of a newly promoted member. A member who is promoted to captain or higher cannot officially tell anyone his new rank, even if he already knows them formally as "amico nostra". A third party must introduce them with their new rank similar to basic membership introductions.

- When Asaro was promoted to capodecina, for example, Jack Bonventre was there so that he (Bonventre) could serve as a third party and make future introductions for Asaro with his new rank. Vitale said when he was promoted to underboss years earlier by Massino they did the same, with a third member in attendance to carry out the same function as Bonventre.

- Asaro was strict about following this protocol, but found ways around it to let people know he was promoted. For example, he told Gasper Valenti (an associate) about the promotion right away and the two men went for a visit with Lucchese soldier Danny Rizzo afterward. Asaro had Valenti meet with Rizzo first to tell him that Asaro was now a captain so that when Asaro came inside Rizzo would already know the news. Asaro and Rizzo were longtime friends who knew each other as "amico nostra", yet Asaro couldn't tell him directly that he was promoted. The irony is that he used a non-member associate to unofficially spread the news just so that his friend would know about the promotion. Sort of the mafia in a nutshell -- honoring protocol on the one hand, while breaking it in a different way with the other.

[Philly d]

Valenti comes off as a real degenerate loser

[Tonyd621]

Imagine telling Asaro that in a couple of years Neil Migliore would be on social media, too. No shirtless photos of Migliore, though.

Or what came out of the Stango case about the Stango and Oliveri crews sending photos and insults to each other through text message and Facebook.

Makes me wonder, has anyone come across any made members of the Bonanno family on social media? I've seen Bonanno associates on there and we've seen photos of made members posted by their relatives, but not sure I've seen an account for a made Bonanno member themselves. Makes you wonder if they still take the "no internet" rule seriously.

One of Vincent Asaro's concerns about Palmaccio was that other families would see or hear about what he was posting online and it would cause even more embarrassment to the Bonanno family. The Asaros literally told Palmaccio to sell his house and leave the neighborhood. Meetings were held.

Reminds me of the six-man sitdown over Charles Carneglia's beard. These sound like comic relief sub-plots from the Sopranos.

These guys would lose their minds in Philadelphia. The boss himself is posting shirtless photos all the time.

It's hypocritical, too, because both Asaros and Giallanzo, all made members, have matching "Death before dishonor" tattoos. You're not supposed to "advertise the life" online, but it's okay to advertise it permanently on your body? It's not like this doesn't matter, as the prosecution brought up the tattoos in court.

Good stuff here. This Ferreri guy, is he just a made guy who resides in Vegas or has real estate portfolio and lives there from time to time? Does it indicate there is a crew out there or details are slim?

[B.]

Tommy Ferreri is from Ozone Park like his relatives, but is/was living full-time in Las Vegas. Gasper Valenti spent years in Vegas and maintained regular phone contact with Ferreri after Valenti returned to NYC. No clue who Ferreri reported to, maybe Jerry Asaro like the other relatives unless the west coast guys were with other captains. He may have been made in the 1990s like many Asaro relatives.

Asaro relatives who were members during this general period:

Vincent Asaro
Jerry Asaro
Nana Bonventre
Jack Bonventre
Thomas Ferreri
Sammy Valenti
Ronald Giallanzo

Gasper Valenti was proposed twice but screwed up so badly and repeatedly that he didn't get in. He easily could have been yet another made Asaro relative if he had cleaned up his act slightly.

While Asaro was an abusive tyrant who lorded over Valenti (and others), you get the impression from Valenti's testimony and tape transcripts that Asaro was fond of Valenti and wanted him to do better. The defense used this to their advantage and I believe it helped Asaro win the case, as it made Valenti a less sympathetic character.

It's actually incredible what Valenti got away with, by his own admission:

- Stole money owed to Anthony Spero and lied, saying one of Spero's own men stole it, resulting in a major controversy.
- Borrowed money from Vic Amuso and never paid any of it back.
- Borrowed money from other ranking mafia members in various families, never paid it back.
- Used Asaro's name in order to borrow more money despite his reputation for shirking on payment.
- Stole extra money from the stash of Lufthansa cash he was tasked with hiding, lied to Asaro about it.
- Fled to Las Vegas without approval to avoid retribution for all of his unpaid loans and misconduct.
- Repeated his earlier habits after returning to NYC, borrowing more money from Bonanno members that went unpaid.
- Fled to Vegas a second time, this time telling Asaro a fake story about going on the lam after committing a double murder related to a drug deal.

That's just off the top of my head. Valenti likely would have been maimed or even killed for some of his behavior had it not been for Asaro's protection. It's surprising Asaro put his neck out as much as he did.

Valenti even showed personal disrespect to the Asaros:

- Valenti was close to his uncle, Vincent Asaro's father Jerry, who as mentioned Valenti was originally on record with in the Bonanno family. When the elder Jerry Asaro died, his car was given to Valenti. Vincent Asaro also had a custom ring made for Valenti that was modeled after Jerry Asaro's signature cuff links.

- Valenti never made a single payment on the car and it was repossessed. After receiving the custom ring, Valenti almost immediately pawned it. It's not clear if Asaro knew about the ring, but he would have been aware of the car disappearing.

That said, Valenti is honest about his own degeneracy on the stand. You could tell he knew he was a piece of shit and didn't try to hide it. While I found him a pathetic character who won't achieve Nirvana in this soul cycle, I believe most of his testimony was truthful, especially when it came to background info on the Asaros and Valenti's activities with them.

[B.]

Related to the Vegas question, Joe Massino testified that the Bonanno family was active in the following areas when he was boss:

New York
Montreal, Canada
Las Vegas
New Jersey
Connecticut

[Pogo The Clown]

Interesting that he included places like Connecticut and LV but didn't mention Florida.


Pogo