GL NEWS 7/29/20

[Bklyn21]

This Week in Gang Land
By Jerry Capeci

As A Teen, He Was Blinded By A Gangster's Wild Bullet. Now, His Remarkable Letter Of Forgiveness Helps Set His Shooter Free.
Robert GallagherGang Land Exclusive!With the blessings of the grown-up 15-year-old boy he shot in the head as the teenager sat on a park bench 28 years ago during a bloody mob war, convicted Colombo associate Robert Gallagher got out of prison last week, more than eight years before he was due to go free.

The decision to release Gallagher was ordered by a Brooklyn Federal Court Judge who listened as the government prosecutor read a heart-wrenching "victim impact statement" in which Daniel Norden, now 44, recalled the horrors of "the June 4, 1992 drive-by shooting" that left him partially blind and caused him to "develop a drug and alcohol problem for 15 years, which caused me emotional, mental, physical and spiritual pain that I endured."

"But I am clean and sober now going on 14 years," wrote Norden, who began his letter by stating that the shooting "left me partially blind in my right eye," and with "a plate on the right side of my skull and a visible scar across the top of my head from ear to ear. As a result," he continued, "I have a lazy eye and have severe traumatic brain injuries that can result in seizures," and "I still have to take medicine for the rest of my life which I have been taking for over 28 years now."

Thomas McLaughlinIn his amazing letter, Norden repeatedly softened the horrific reality of the terrible suffering he has endured since his near-fatal head injuries. The injuries resulted from a bullet wound to the head that Norden suffered when Gallagher and other rebels in the upstart Victor Orena faction tried to kill Persico loyalist Thomas McLaughlin during the bloody 1991-1993 Colombo war in which ten mob rivals and two innocent victims were killed.

"I haven't had a seizure in almost nine years," Norden wrote, stating that he believes he has "overcome adversity" he suffered for many years only because of "God's grace and mercy."

"They say life and change is an inside job but I took advantage of that change and did an abundance of soul searching over the course of my life," wrote Norden, who cited a meaningful quote that he had picked up from the late Japanese actor, Noriyuki (Pat) Morita, who starred in Happy Days in the 1970s and early 1980s and played Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid movies.

"Pat Morita said a person without forgiveness in their heart lives a life (that is) much worse punishment than death," he wrote. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am no longer filled with rage, self-hate, bitterness, resentment, and most of all, being unforgiving."

Joseph ScopoBack in 1992, Bobby Gallagher, then 25, was helping capo Joseph Scopo run the Cafe On N, an Orena faction social club on Avenue N that Scopo owned. He was much more than a coffee boy there. He was also involved in six Colombo war murder conspiracies, according to testimony at his August 1995 racketeering and murder trial. His codefendants, mobster Louis (Bobo) Malpeso and capo Joseph Amato were also convicted.

Malpeso, who was sentenced to 85 years, was 64 when he died in prison in 2003. Amato, 61, received 17 and a half years, and was released in 2008. He has been back behind bars years since October when he was arrested along with three mobsters and a dozen associates who were hit with racketeering, gambling, and loansharking charges going back to 2014.

On that fateful June day in 1992, Gallagher was riding around with Scopo, who would become a wartime fatality a year later. Also in the car were, Malpeso and others, all of them looking to kill any Colombos loyal to the family's jailed-for-life boss Carmine (Junior) Persico. When Gallagher spotted McLaughlin riding in a black Lincoln, he opened fire, shooting at the Persico loyalist through an open car window, according to trial testimony.

McLaughlin and his cohort jumped out of their car and split up. Gallagher also jumped from his own vehicle. Blazing bullets, he chasedafter them. One of his bullets struck McLaughlin. as Another struck young Danny Norden, who was sitting on a nearby park bench, according to the testimony of cooperating witness Christopher Liberatore.

Louis MalpesoFound guilty of conspiring to murder McLaughlin, and the assault of Norden, and two weapons charges, Gallagher was sentenced to a total of 39 years in prison. He recently won a new sentencing when one of the so-called 924C counts, which carried a mandatory sentence of 20 additional years, was reversed.

At his resentencing Friday, Judge Frederic Block indicated early in the proceeding that he was considering a "time-served" sentence of 25 years that was being sought by defense lawyer Jeremy Iandolo. The judge noted that Gallagher had an excellent prison record, with only one infraction 17 years ago, and had already served 30 months more than the current recommended maximum of 270 months.

Prosecutor Michael Keilty argued against it. "The government's position is that the original sentence of 39 years is appropriate in light of the collateral consequences Gallagher's choices," he told the court.

Joseph Amato"If this was just a shooting of Tommy McLaughlin, a victim who was an associate of the Colombo family," Keilty said, "and Danny Norden wasn't on that park bench in 1992, maybe 25 years was enough. But the fact that that bullet shattered a 15 year-old boy's head," justified the original sentence, which was slated to end in 2028, the prosecutor argued.

Keilty also invoked a victim impact statement submitted at Gallagher's original sentencing, a letter penned by Norden's mother. "Perhaps the most compelling reason to re-impose the previous sentence," Keilty argued, were her words in that letter: "While this man will sit in his cell in state prison, Daniel will be in his own prison for the rest of his life," the grieving mom wrote. "This man's punishment could never equal my son's."

In his own "victim impact statement" 28 years later, Daniel Norden agreed with his mom's poignant assessment. But he also noted that while time did not heal his wounds, and that he was down in the dumps for years, he had managed to turn his life around, and if he could, "so can anyone else," including Gallagher.

"My mother wrote a statement during the trial she shared with the court that her son, me, would have punishment for the rest of my life far worse than Mr. Gallagher," Norden wrote. "She was right. I am reminded every day when I wake up and look in the mirror and I still see a broken shattered little boy to whom this thought was her fright."

Judge Frederic Block"My mother was a good woman and did her best to protect me from the streets," the letter continued. "Unfortunately, a bullet changed and shifted the course of my life. However, I did not die and new possibilities will always arise for me and my family."

"I'll say just one last thing in closing," he said. "Since God was so graceful and merciful in my life, why not show some to others who battle demons no one knows about, so they can live on and have a better life. I guess what I'm trying to say is if I can change so can anyone else."

"That's an outstanding letter," said Judge Block. "He sounds like an exceptional person."

Block told Keilty he was "sympathetic" to the government position but was going to impose a "time-served" sentence without supervised release. The judge noted that probation officials were overwhelmed by the large number of inmates who've been released during the COVID-19 crisis and that Gallagher seemed to have turned his life around, and might not need supervision.

The judge ultimately went along with the prosecutor's contention — which Gallagher and his attorney disagreed with — that a period of structured supervised release was appropriate, and would help the inmate integrate into society after his long stretch behind bars. Block gave Gallagher one year of supervised release.

Gallagher, whose father died while he was behind bars, according to his court filings, will be living with his sister, his mother and a daughter who was 10 months old when he was arrested. He was released from the federal prison complex in Fort Dix on Friday, a few hours after his resentencing, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

In his very brief remarks Friday, Gallagher, 53, stated that Norden had written "a very moving letter" and that his current "intentions are to make the most out of whatever life is ahead of me."

'Mafia Is A Very Bad Thing,' Says Judge Who Gives Life Sentences To Trio In Mob Rubout
Judge Cathy SeibelThree men convicted of the sensational 2013 gangland-style slaying of former Purple Gang leader Michael Meldish have been sentenced to life behind bars by a federal judge who skewered the American Mafia as a feared, violence-prone entity that still exists and "is a very bad thing for society."

Judge Cathy Seibel imposed a life sentence for the triggerman, mob associate Terrence (Ted) Caldwell, 62, in her White Plains courtroom on Monday morning. She meted out the same term to getaway driver Christopher Londonio and acting Luchese boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna, 84, who was convicted of having ordered the hit.

The afternoon sentencings took place via telecommunications links that were employed after some of the defendants and attorneys expressed concern about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fourth defendant convicted of the Meldish homicide, underboss Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea, was also slated to be sentenced electronically Monday, but since no court appearance slots were available for inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center, his sentencing was put off until next week.

Terrence CaldwellIn each of the proceedings, as Judge Seibel has done in every prior sentencing of a wiseguy or mob associate in the 19-defendant indictment who pleaded guilty to one or more racketeering crimes, she voiced an inability to understand why many New Yorkers don't view the mob with the same anger as other ethnic crime groups, like the Crips, Bloods and Latin Kings.

In her opening remarks regarding Londonio's involvement in the 2013 murder of Meldish, Seibel noted it was a "particularly cold blooded one, since Meldish, Londonio and Caldwell were all friends." She also declared it "an incredibly serious offence, because it was done to further the interests of a Mafia family as I have had reason to say before."

"Part of the reason why the Mafia is such an effective moneymaking organization in our society," the judge said, "is because of its reputation for violence that is well deserved."

Matthew MadonnaAnd although Londonio, 46, was only a soldier in the Luchese crime family, Seibel stated he was a very important aspect of the mob's ability to make money through a variety of schemes.

"The loansharking, the extortion, the labor racketeering: the reason why that all works for the mob," Seibel said, "is because people are afraid of the mob's violence, and they wouldn't be if there weren't people like Mr. Londonio who are willing to go out and commit those crimes."

"That is a very important and necessary aspect of the Mafia's ability to do harm," the judge continued, noting that "without people like Mr. Londonio who are willing to do the dirty work, the Mafia would have never achieved the level of terror it has today. Luckily, it's not what it used to be, but," she warned, "people like Mr. Londonio and the next generation coming up are doing the best they can to keep it alive."

Londonio attorney Louis Freeman cited the mobster's willingness to plead guilty and accept a government offer of a 30 year sentence, and asked Seibel to declare that in his client's case, the mandatory life term violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of "cruel and inhuman punishment" and "sentence him to a term of years that would give him hope for the future."

Christopher Londonio"It's unfortunate," said Freeman, that "because his codefendants did not agree," the government rescinded a guilty plea offer that had earlier been made to Londonio. He said that move dashed his client's hopes for a future in which he would rehabilitate himself, a process he began while he was behind bars awaiting the start of his trial and continued after his conviction last fall.

"He's not perfect, but he has worked hard to be a model prisoner," said Freeman. "He's been in jail for five years, but for the last two years he has been that model prisoner. If he had the opportunity to rehabilitate himself and be rewarded for it, which I think would be a just and humane thing, then he would be on his way to doing that as he has shown in the last two years."

Even on that score, Seibel wasn't giving an inch.

"Maybe he was a model prisoner for the last couple of years," said Seibel, who went on to note that while his client was "acquitted" of escape charges she had concluded that Londonio "was at least planning to try to escape from prison."

In any event, the judge said, Londonio's situation was "a bad one" that was brought on by his decision to join a crime family whose members "got in the way" of his intentions to "take a plea" that would have least given him a glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel. "I hope that will be a lesson to others who are thinking of taking an oath to a crime family," Seibel said.

Geezer Genovese Gangster Chuckie Tuzzo Cashes In His Chips
Charles TuzzoCharles (Chuckie) Tuzzo, a grizzled Genovese capo, cashed in his chips last week while he was still ahead in the long-running game he'd been waging with the law for the last six years.

Tuzzo, who was 86, had managed to stay out of prison since 2005, a few years after he had followed the lead of the late family boss Vincent (Chin) Gigante and copped a plea deal to waterfront labor racketeering charges in a 2002 Brooklyn Federal Court case.

In 2014, Tuzzo, was arrested and charged as the head of a New Jersey-based crew that made upwards of $12 million in illegal profits for the Genovese family through gambling, loansharking and money laundering schemes that he operated out of two Newark businesses..

But the aging gangster was judged too ill to proceed to trial and was free on a $400,000 bond at the time of his death.

Vito AlbertiThe low-key gangster died of natural causes at his Queens home last week, officially beating the rap that had been hanging over his head for six years, and ending the prosecution by the Waterfront Commission and the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

Eight indicted members of Chuckie's crew, including the New Jersey-based mobster who was Tuzzo's key underling in the scheme, Vito Alberti, copped guilty pleas and received sentences up to five years in prison in plea deals that called for related tax charges against three women relatives of the crew members to be dismissed.

"Chuckie was a respectful, old school gentleman," said lawyer Gerald McMahon. "He came to court in a jacket and tie, he didn't pretend to be anything he wasn't, and he was respected on both sides of the fence," said McMahon. "I was heartened that the prosecutor asked me to extend condolences to his family."

Michael GenerosoSources say that like his late mob mentor, onetime acting underboss Michael (Mickey Dimino) Generoso, Tuzzo was a low-key and very private wiseguy who kept as many secrets as he could from his underlings, and even some of his peers, while rising in stature in the powerful crime family.

It's not a coincidence, said one source, that Tuzzo was part of the same lucrative extortion scheme to shake down the "owners, officers, employees and agents of businesses operating at the piers in the New York metropolitan area, northern New Jersey and Miami, Florida" from 1994 through 2002 as Chin Gigante, his son Andrew and other top Genovese wiseguys.

"He was a very-well respected wiseguy," said a law enforcement source tasked with tailing him in his day.

"He was super-surveillance conscious," the source continued. "He would leave for a meeting ten hours ahead of time figuring that he would either lose his tail before he got to his meeting or we'd get hungry or tired and let him go."

Liborio (Barney) BellomoTuzzo, like the current Genovese boss, Liborio (Barney) Bellomo, and the crime family's "street boss," Michael (Mickey) Ragusa, copped a plea deal to using "the threat of economic harm" through the crime family's control of the International Longshoremen's Association to extort regular payoffs from various victims who made their living on the docks.

He was sentenced to 30 months. Following his release from federal prison into a halfway house in 2005, Tuzzo managed to avoid any further hassles with the feds. But he couldn't escape the joint probe dubbed "Operation Fistful" by Garden State prosecutors and the Waterfront Commission.

"I will miss him," said Tuzzo's former attorney and longtime friend, Mathew Mari. "Charles was a serious man. He always spoke his mind and you never had to guess where he stood. No nonsense! He was one of a kind. He will be missed."

Funeral services and Tuzzo's burial were private, and neither Mari nor current attorney McMahon would discuss them, or his next of kin.

[Wiseguy]

The last third of the article definitely interesting. Tuzzo dead. Ragusa the street boss.

[Bklyn21]

The last third of the article definitely interesting. Tuzzo dead. Ragusa the street boss.

I guess its confirmed? This is about the 2nd or the 3rd time he's reported Ragusa as the street boss

[JohnnyS]

Wow so Ragusa is the Genovese street boss. Cosanostranews were right.

[chin_gigante]

That's quite the way to sneak in confirmation of a new Genovese administration member. Also just a remarkable story about Daniel Norden's ordeal.

[Uncle Pete]

Great column this week. Thanks for posting.

Anyone have any background on Mickey Ragusa?

[Ed]

What a powerful story of mercy and forgiveness. I really hope it turns out well for everyone concerned.

[JohnnyS]

Great column this week. Thanks for posting.

Anyone have any background on Mickey Ragusa?

https://www.cosanostranews.com/2019/11/ ... -from.html

[AntComello]

Any pics of Ragusa?

[JohnnyS]

Any pics of Ragusa?

credit to gmms for the pic

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the post Bklyn.

Amazing scoop by cn news. Well done.

Guy looked way to young to be AB, but it appears true.

[Hailbritain]

Thanks for the post Bklyn.

Amazing scoop by cn news. Well done.

Guy looked way to young to be AB, but it appears true.

Exactly . Genovese bosses are usually pushing 136 in age

[JohnnyS]

btw the age Pogo has for him in the chart is wrong. Ragusa is 55.

[Flushing]

What is Ragusa's background? 116th crew?

[AntComello]

Any pics of Ragusa?

credit to gmms for the pic

Thank u sir