GL NEWS 7/23/20

[Bklyn21]

This Week in Gang Land
By Jerry Capeci

'Escaped' Bank Robber Facing 20 Years Heeds Mom; Gets 'Time-Served' Term Of 38 Months
Gang Land Exclusive!The luckiest day in the mixed up life of David Evangelista may have been the day he landed in the same cellblock as a Luchese mobster facing murder charges. Evangelista, a drug-abusing bank robber, had been facing 20 years in prison at the time. But in exchange for his highly suspect testimony against four Luchese gangsters who were convicted last fall of the gangland-style slaying of former Purple Gang leader Michael Meldish, Evangelista has been quietly rewarded with a sentence of 38 months, Gang Land has learned.

The details of the proceeding are sealed, but Manhattan Federal Court Judge Ronnie Abrams sentenced Evangelista, 45, to "time-served" five months ago for two bank robberies he pulled off in November of 2016. His criminal record is a bit more complicated since he also pleaded guilty to escaping from federal custody for leaving a federal halfway house in order to score heroin never returning.

And three years ago, in May of 2017, when he was mistakenly released from his federal lockup due to a bumbling Bureau of Prisons mixup, he took his mom's advice and turned himself in. This led directly to the lucky break he caught when he landed in the same federal lockup with mobster Christopher Londonio — then only a suspected member of the Meldish hit team whom the feds were eager to discuss with the longtime jailhouse snitch.

Judge Ronnie AbramsBefore that, Evangelista's efforts to wangle a deal to inform against several alleged killers, including his brother, and a former halfway house pal when he was arrested by deputy U.S. Marshals for his "escape" and the bank jobs in December, 2016, had failed miserably.

But in a series of events that would be difficult to swallow if they didn't involve the scandal-scarred lockup in Manhattan where the infamous sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein was able to kill himself while he was on a suicide watch — Evangelista was able to sell himself as a cooperating witness and win the "time-served" sentence he pined for at the Meldish murder trial.

Evangelista became the government's key witness regarding the Meldish rubout last year when prosecutors dumped Frank Pasqua III, the mob associate whose believability was suspect from day one when he wrongly fingered his father as the gunman, was caught dealing drugs for the second time by the feds.

Frank Pasqua IIILike she had done with Pasqua, trial judge Cathy Seibel also questioned Evangelista's credibility in pretrial hearings, wondering aloud if jurors would believe that Londonio, who hadn't admitted any role in the Meldish murder with Pasqua, a gangster who said he was part of the same murder plot, would "implicate himself to somebody he just met in the jail?"

Turns out the judge was a bit prophetic. While all four defendants were convicted of the Meldish murder, the jury didn't buy the song that Evangelista sang about Londonio's plans to escape from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he was housed.

In September of 2017, Londonio was charged with attempting to escape from the MDC, based on information Evangelista gave the feds in August.

Evangelista's arrival as the top gun in the government's arsenal began on May 12, 2017, when Evangelista was mistakenly released from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, according to his uncontested testimony. That happened despite protests to his case manager, and other MCC staffers, including a Special Investigative Service agent and psychology service workers that he was not "supposed to be released" that day.

Christopher LondonioIt was the Friday before Mother's Day, which just happened to be his mom's birthday, so where else would Evangelista go when he unexpectedly found himself all alone on Park Row in downtown Manhattan?

"I went to go see my mother," he told assistant U.S. attorney Alexandra Rothman. "It was my mother's birthday."

But when he got to his mom's home, he learned that his jailers had finally realized their mistake and had notified the same U.S. Marshal's office in Manhattan that had nabbed him five months earlier following his halfway house "escape," to bring him back, he testified.

"She told me the marshals called, that they made a mistake. They weren't supposed to release you," she told him, Evangelista testified. "She told me to call my brother" who helped him arrange his return to custody when he couldn't reach his attorney, he testified. "I didn't want to get into trouble. I self-surrendered to the marshals."

Judge Cathy SeibelOn his way back to the MCC, Evangelista, who had often worked as a jailhouse informer while serving 151 months for a string of bank jobs in 2005, testified that since he expected guards at the MCC to blame him for being released by mistake, he "asked the marshals if they can get me moved" to the MDC.

When he got back to the MCC, Evangelista testified, he got "a lot of blow back from" correction officers as well as fellow inmates. But he managed to evade any serious problems for the 10 days it took for him to get to the MDC where he was introduced to his get-out-of-jail card, Chris Londonio, by "an Albanian guy named RB, somebody that knew me from MCC," he testified.

During the next few months, they became fast friends, Evangelista testified, and Londonio told him he was going to use dental floss to saw through a prison window, and showed him bedsheets he was going to use to lower himself from his eighth floor cellblock. Londonio also went "on a very strict diet" to lose weight so he could fit through the bars, he said.

"He was losing a lot of weight because he was just running up and down the stairs, eating bran flakes all the time, getting (other) people's bran flakes," he testified.

Steven CreaFrom late May until August 1, 2017, when Evangelista told the feds that Londonio was planning to escape, Londonio also confessed he was the getaway driver and that associate Terrence (Ted) Caldwell was the gunman in the Meldish murder and that top Luchese honchos Matthew (Matty) Madonna and Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea had ordered the slaying, Evangelista testified.

On cross-examination, lawyers for Londonio and Caldwell got Evangelista to admit that five months before he met Londonio, he met with the feds in a failed effort to sell himself as a cooperating witness in murders committed by a former halfway house pal, or his brother, the same one who had helped him surrender.

Attorneys John Meringolo and George Goltzer also got him to admit he tried but was unable to get a deal to help the feds make a case against an inmate with ties to ISIS, or get them to use him as a snitch against Nick Tartaglione, the former Briarcliff Manor cop who was awaiting trial for a 2016 quadruple drug murder.

The lawyers also got Evangelista to admit being a stool pigeon throughout his years behind bars and that he was hoping to get a "time served" sentence when the trial was over rather than up to 45 years that he could have received for his bank robbery and escape convictions.

John MeringoloBut the lawyers were unable to shake his testimony that Londonio had not only told Evangelista about his planned escape, but also about his involvement in the Meldish rubout as well as the roles of his three codefendants.

According to the docket sheet, Evangelista was also given three years of supervised release and dunned $600 in court costs when he was sentenced on February 19. In response to a Gang Land request to unseal the sentencing documents, prosecutor Rothman wrote that she would submit redacted versions of the documents to Judge Abrams tomorrow.

Prosecutors Rothman and Hagan Scotten, and defense lawyer David Wikstrom declined to comment about Evangelista's sentencing, or the jury's decision to acquit Londonio of the escape charge.

Attorney Meringolo also was mum about Evangelista's sentence. But the lawyer wasn't bashful about Evangelista's trial testimony, or the jury's acquittal of his client on the escape charge.

"Anyone with a minimum of common sense who witnessed Evangelista testify would know that he was untruthful," said Meringolo. "The only count that was based on his word alone was completely disregarded by the jury. And it's my belief that the convictions regarding the Meldish murder had nothing to do with his fabricated testimony."

No Compassion For Frankie Loc
Frank LocascioBrooklyn Federal Judge I. Leo Glasser has resoundingly rejected the notion that Frank (Frankie Loc) Locascio deserved a compassionate release from his prison term. The judge's ruling seems to forecast that the 87-year-old Gambino wiseguy will suffer the same inglorious demise behind bars that befell his codefendant in the so-called Mob Trial of the Century, Mafia boss John Gotti.

Locascio still has an appeals court-authorized motion to reverse his conviction for an October 1990 murder of which he claims to be innocent. But in his damning 12-page decision last week, Judge Glasser seemed to undercut even that longshot claim in an unmistakable reference to Frankie Loc's conviction for the Gotti-ordered rubout of Gambino mobster Louis DiBono.

And the venerable 96-year-old jurist did it without ever mentioning the name of DiBono, the Gambino soldier who "didn't rob nothing," as Gotti famously told Locascio in a taped talk 10 months before it happened. DiBono, said the then-Teflon Don, was "gonna die because he refused to come in when I called."

Glasser wrote that "for more than 60 years, virtually all his adult life," Locascio "swore fealty" to the Gambino family and lived by the "the law of the mob, not the law of society." Glasser noted that the crime family's commandments had "sanctioned the murder of the victim who didn't 'come in.'"

Locascio, he added, "took an oath of loyalty to the Family" which was "the most notorious" in New York in "criminal activity which ran the gamut from bookmaking to murder" in the 1980s and "exercised control over labor unions, the trucking, garbage and construction industries among others" through "violence and fear."

Judge I. Leo GlasserIn 1987, Locascio became "the second in command to Gotti," the judge stated, and "in his capacity as underboss he was considerably more than a casual, occasional observer of the Family's interests and involvements."

Glasser wrote that the 30 years that Locascio has spent behind bars and his age make him eligible for release under the First Step Act of 2018. But while his ailments are considerable, the judge opined, they are not "terminal" and for that reason alone, he doesn't qualify for a compassionate release.

But even if what his lawyers described as a "likely lung cancer" mass was determined by a biopsy that Locascio refused to have performed turned up positive, and his condition became terminal, that meant only that Frankie Loc qualified for a compassionate release, not that one was mandated, Glasser wrote.

The judge would then be required to consider "the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant," Glasser wrote, which he knew very well from having presided over his six week trial and the years of post-trial efforts by Locascio to overturn his conviction and sentence.

"I have considered those factors," Glasser wrote, "and conclude that they negate a reduction in sentence."

Salvatore GravanoAnd "the threat of exposure to the coronavirus does not invite an extraordinary and compelling reason to warrant granting a petition for compassionate release" for Locascio, who was convicted of racketeering, murder, obstruction of justice, as well as conspiring to commit each of those crimes, as well as tax evasion, on April 2, 1992, the judge wrote.

"At his sentencing" on June 23, Glasser wrote, Locascio "vehemently rejected the verdict of a jury that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and the Court is unaware of a syllable of remorse that has fallen from his lips since. To grant this petition," the judge concluded, "would be to depreciate the immeasurable negative impact upon society to which he has devoted his life."

In considering Frankie Loc's wrongful conviction motion, Glasser is currently weighing whether to grant the aging gangster a hearing and permit former star government witness Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano to testify about Locascio's alleged innocence. That's what Locascio's attorney, retired Boston Federal Judge Nancy Gertner, argues. He can also simply dismiss the motion out of hand, as prosecutor Kevin Trowel contends. Based on Glasser's tough rebuke of the much simpler request for a bit of compassion, Frankie Loc shouldn't get his hopes up.

Meldish Murder Wiseguys: It's Too Dangerous For Us To Go To Court; Sentencings Next Week — Uh, Maybe
Matthew MadonnaAfter months of postponements due primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sentencings of the four Luchese gangsters convicted of the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish were all set to go next week. The men would all face their fate on the same day in White Plains Federal Court — as prosecutors wanted — and at separate times, as the defendants and their lawyers preferred.

But following a flurry of letters by defense lawyers and prosecutors and deferred rulings yesterday by White Plain Federal Court Judge Cathy Seibel, it's now anybody's guess whether the sentencings of some or all four defendants will take place in court, or remotely. It's also an open question as to whether it will happen on their currently scheduled day of reckoning — Monday, or whether some or all would be put off for another day.

Before yesterday's activity, Seibel had scheduled them to "take place one at a time to minimize the number of individuals in the courtroom at any one time." Underboss Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea, and acting boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna would be sentenced in the morning; associate Terrence (Ted) Caldwell and soldier Christopher Londonio would get their own justice in the afternoon.

Yesterday, however, lawyers for the three mobsters, each citing different reasons related to the coronavirus crisis, stated that their clients have waived the right to be sentenced in court and asked to be sentenced remotely, as permitted under the CARES Act, a request that prosecutors agreed with.

Terrence CaldwellMadonna, 84, is recovering from the COVID-19 virus and wants "to minimize the risk of re-infection." He also seeks to avoid the 14-day quarantine following his court appearance that is required before he can be assigned to a prison hospital where he can continue to recover from the coronavirus and receive care he needs for his other medical ailments.

Like Madonna, the 73-year-old Crea wants to be transferred from the MDC to a "COVID free" Bureau of Prisons facility as soon as possible and also avoid a mandatory 14 day quarantine.

Londonio, 46, also wishes to avoid a post-court appearance quarantine, and while he doesn't have "the same age and health issues" as the older wiseguys, his parents do and "they could safely listen to his sentencing" if it were done remotely, the lawyers wrote.

Caldwell, 62, however, does not consent to remote sentencing. Instead, the hit man, a cancer survivor and a type 2 diabetic, requests a medically necessary adjournment because he is awaiting results of a COVID-19 test. Caldwell was required to take the test so he can be hospitalized to check a "numbness on the right side of his body," says attorney George Goltzer.

George GoltzerCiting the pending test results, the mandatory 14-day quarantine revolving around inmate movements, and because Caldwell will not know in advance about his hospital transfer for "security reasons," Goltzer asked Seibel to postpone Caldwell's sentencing until "any date after September 10," a request that prosecutors oppose.

Seibel deferred ruling on the remote sentencing for the three mobsters pending an explanation by lawyers on both sides on whether she can rule "that public health currently requires remote proceedings when in-court proceedings are starting up." She also wants them to weigh in on "why there would be serious harm to the interests of justice" by putting off the sentencings.

Seibel also told prosecutors to explain why they oppose putting off Caldwell's sentencing in light of his serious medical issues. The judge asked Goltzer if sentencing could proceed Monday if Caldwell's pending medical issues are resolved over the weekend, stressing that she does "not want Mr. Caldwell's medical examination or treatment to be delayed" by his sentencing.

When all is said and done, whenever it happens, and no matter how sick they are, all four defendants will receive mandatory life sentences

[Pmac2]

I wo der what Caldwell got for killing meldish. Seems they were very good friends for along time. He even avenged meldish getting beat up in Harlem. He went and shot a bonanno made guy. Maybe he was pissed about meldish leaving him at the scene when he shot the bonanno guy. But I'm guessing he was given something to kil meldish. Maybe they wiped out a loan he owed someone or a shipment of drugs something. He was never gonna get his button lol

[AntComello]

I wo der what Caldwell got for killing meldish. Seems they were very good friends for along time. He even avenged meldish getting beat up in Harlem. He went and shot a bonanno made guy. Maybe he was pissed about meldish leaving him at the scene when he shot the bonanno guy. But I'm guessing he was given something to kil meldish. Maybe they wiped out a loan he owed someone or a shipment of drugs something. He was never gonna get his button lol

It was always so weird to me that Caldwell was So deeply involved in both those hits. He must have been very respected and trusted to be tasked with that.

[bronx]

scumbag judge..

[Uncle Pete]

I agree about Caldwell. Seems like an interesting guy. I wonder if he knew or even cared if that Bonnano he shot was made?

Was there ever any talk of Bonnano retaliation for that shooting?

[mafiastudent]

scumbag judge..

Which one?

[AntComello]

I agree about Caldwell. Seems like an interesting guy. I wonder if he knew or even cared if that Bonnano he shot was made?

Was there ever any talk of Bonnano retaliation for that shooting?

Madonna and Crea had his back I doubt he cared that Stagno was a made man. I feel like matty and crea we’re real old school respected guys who obviously had no problem ordering murders.

[Rocco]

Gangland writes about the same old stories again and again. We know they were convicted by rats who will get out jail. We know they are looking at life. We know they are gonna let Frankie out. And we know the whole story inside and out of both Frankie and Maddona and Crea etc. They just fill up space to push out an article that has been written 100x ...

[Extortion]

I agree about Caldwell. Seems like an interesting guy. I wonder if he knew or even cared if that Bonnano he shot was made?

Was there ever any talk of Bonnano retaliation for that shooting?

A lot Black people especially ones his age Are tough as fuck. They survived a lot and NYC was violent back then in the black community

[Extortion]

Gangland writes about the same old stories again and again. We know they were convicted by rats who will get out jail. We know they are looking at life. We know they are gonna let Frankie out. And we know the whole story inside and out of both Frankie and Maddona and Crea etc. They just fill up space to push out an article that has been written 100x ...

Agreed

[mlm0047]

agree with the repetitiveness. Would accept every other week

[SonnyBlackstein]

I understand the requirement for turncoats and incentivizing criminals to flip in order to catch worse criminals and/or hurt OC organizations but for Evangelista and Pasqua to get rewarded for their blatant bullshit makes a mockery of the whole process. Farcical.

[SonnyBlackstein]

scumbag judge..

Elaborate bronx

[mafiastudent]

I understand the requirement for turncoats and incentivizing criminals to flip in order to catch worse criminals and/or hurt OC organizations but for Evangelista and Pasqua to get rewarded for their blatant bullshit makes a mockery of the whole process. Farcical.

100% this.