Gangland 4/1

[Dr031718]

The Party's Over For Turncoat Gangster Gene Borrello, But He had Fun While It Lasted

Gang Land Exclusive!Gene BorrelloGene Borrello, who parlayed his status as a turncoat Bonanno family gangster from Howard Beach, Queens into a stint as a colorful cohost of a podcast on organized crime for a year, will spend four months behind bars and six months at home for openly thumbing his nose at the U.S. Probation Department.

Judge Frederic Block imposed the sentence in Brooklyn Federal Court after Borrello admitted to publicly associating with former Gambino associate and podcast host John Alite and threatening the husband of an ex-girlfriend, in violation of the conditions of Borrello's sweet plea deal.

A repentant-sounding Gene Borrello who pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Friday was a far cry from the defendant who loudly complained of wrongful treatment at a hearing on the same charges in February. "Why are you doing this to me?" Borrello cried out then to assistant U.S. attorney Lindsay Gerdes as he was arraigned on charges of threatening the husband of his ex-girlfriend.

Lindsay GerdesThis time, Borrello was contrite as he admitted threatening his former sweetheart's husband. He also acknowledged associating with Alite on April 13 on a podcast when the duo talked about Michael Franzese and Nancy Pelosi, as well as associating with the former Gambino gangster turned cooperating witness and other convicted felons on the Johnny and Gene Show from April 2020 to January of 2021.

Clad in a drab prison jumpsuit, Borrello, 36, pleaded guilty to three charges of violation of supervised release (VOSR.) His guilty plea calls for the ex-gangster to enroll in a mental health program to help him control his anger, and to avoid any "podcasts, radio, or internet shows that discuss organized crime" during a three year period of supervised release that is slated to begin on June 21.

In addition to not associating with convicted felons until June of 2024, Borrello was given a sealed list of persons who have order of protection-like status. Under terms of the deal, he is barred from any contact with the unnamed individuals, and prohibited from coming within "350 feet of their homes, schools, businesses or places of employment."

Gene Borrello & John AliteBorrello is also barred from his former home turf of Howard Beach altogether, unless he gets prior permission from the Probation Department.

The formerly garrulous gangster must also "refrain from using or accessing Instagram," the social media platform he admitted using to threaten the husband of the former girlfriend who refused to give Borrello permission to use her picture in a book that he is writing about his life as a criminal and as a cooperating witness. He will be permitted to go back on the picture-sharing site after one year.

No mention was made during the guilty plea of a book, The Life And Times Of Gene Borrello, that Borrello is writing with author Lou Romano. It is not part of the "Special Conditions of Supervision," that were worked out by defense lawyer Nancy Ennis and prosecutor Gerdes.

His book project appears to be the only aspect of his current life that isn't curtailed by the usual or "special" conditions of supervised release that Borrello meekly assured Block he had read and understood and would adhere to before he returned to the Metropolitan Detention Center to conclude the rest of his 120 day prison term.

Judge Frederic BlockIn his own inimitable style, Judge Block, who gave Borrello a "time served" sentence of five years on December 11, 2019 in return for his cooperation against Bonanno mobsters including Vincent Asaro and Ronald (Ronnie G) Giallanzo, warned him not to screw up again.

"You do not exactly have the best track record in the history of the world since you were a little baby, and you are at high risk for maybe spending a considerable amount of the rest of your remaining years in jail if you do not really shape up and get control over your anger problems and your criminal behavior," said Block.

"You have a bad track record," the judge continued. "So this is really maybe the last warning or the last break you are going to get short of putting you in jail for a long, long time. Do you understand? I mean, I am just trying to tell you this for your own best interest because it is serious stuff here."

"Yes, your Honor," said Borrello, adding, "I apologize to everybody. I need help with my anger."

Alite, who told Gang Land he has no current plans to replace his former cohost, said he didn't think that Borrello intended to harm his ex's husband. The sentence was "reasonable," said Alite, adding that Borrello's participation in a mental health program should help him. "He was just shooting off his mouth when he blew his stack. He does that a lot, without meaning it," said the podcast host.

Robert CapersBut Alite, who survived three years of supervised release without any problems, despite several trips to Howard Beach and verbal feuds with former partner-in-crime John (Junior) Gotti, blamed the feds, in particular, the U.S. Department of Probation, for Borrello's problems with the law.

"I blame the Department of Probation for waiting a year before they came down on him for appearing on my show, since he didn't have permission. They should have told him the first day, when he appeared on the VLAD-TV show we did in February, 'Don't do it again.' But instead of nipping it in the bud, they allowed it to go on for a year, and that's why Gene's in a jam."

"And if they missed that one, they should have stopped him when he first came on my show," Alite continued. "Gene had rocks in his head for coming on the show without permission, but they are much more educated than he is, and they should have stopped him. They let him down."

Former Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Robert Capers, who was appointed Chief U.S. Probation Officer in Brooklyn in December of 2019, did not respond to several voice mail and email messages from Gang Land about the Gene Borrello VOSR.

Wiseguy Cites Mystery Illness In Failed Push For Compassionate Release

Eugene CastelleWhile serving 13 months behind bars in three stretches since 2018, Eugene (Boobsie) Castelle seemed to have beaten the odds: He survived the deadly COVID-19 virus, as well as an often fatal Sepsis infection, along with other ailments including pneumonia and bronchiectasis.

But fate apparently isn't done with him yet. The Luchese mobster, who was seeking compassionate release from the federal prison at Danbury, says he recently learned he has a mysterious killer disease or illness, one that his jailers kept secret from him.

Specifics about Castelle's latest effort to get out of prison are hard to come by. His lawyer and prosecutors have blacked out all references to the mystery ailment in their filings. In Gang Land's view, that's inappropriate, since the motion involves a substantial issue not only for Boobsie, but also for the public — most notably in Staten Island — since Castelle is seeking to shave a hefty 64 months off of his 77-month sentence and live there.

Boobsie, who cited his fears of contracting the coronavirus to win a release on bail a year ago only to contract the disease while home in Staten Island, was sent back to Danbury in January when he lost the appeal of his 2019 racketeering conviction.

Hagan ScottenProsecutors object to any reduction of his sentence. They admit Castelle "got very sick" in Danbury last year. Interestingly, they also acknowledge that he was kept in the dark about the mystery illness and undisclosed complications he suffered then. But they insist that he was treated, has recovered, and that the undisclosed ailment no longer poses any problem.

Stating they do not "minimize the seriousness of (the mystery illness) that the defendant suffered," prosecutors Jacob Fiddelman and Hagan Scotten wrote it was "the Danbury medical staff (that) determined medical treatment at a hospital was appropriate" and promptly transferred Boobsie to Danbury Hospital in March of 2020 so he could be treated for all his aliments.

The prosecutors state "it is not clear" why Castelle "was not advised of (his mystery ailment diagnosis) prior to his release on bail pending appeal," noting that "the member of the medical staff who made the notation is no longer employed at Danbury."

In addition, say Fiddelman and Scotten, the 61-year-old mobster is a "dangerous defendant" and "the original sentence is necessary" to protect the public and "hopefully deter him from future criminal conduct."

Jacob FiddelmanThe criminal conduct that sent Boobsie to prison in the first place included one count apiece of illegal gambling and racketeering. Found guilty in a 2019 trial, he beat a charge of attempted extortion, the only accusation involving alleged violence.

Whatever the secret illness is, Castelle's father apparently died from it at age 60, according to his filing. Boobsie was diagnosed with the problem after "he became gravely ill" and "was taken to the hospital" on March 5, 2020 from the Danbury prison where he was housed following his June 2019 conviction, according to attorney Richard Levitt.

In three recent filings, Levitt argues that the "inability or unwillingness" of the Bureau of Prisons to address his client's "extraordinary array of medical conditions," combined with the needs of his six-year-old twin children who spend half their time with him when he is home, "constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons" that warrant Castelle's compassionate release.

Last year, as doctors were treating Castelle for two medical problems that are redacted from his public filings, Levitt argued in court filings that his client's bout with pneumonia and a host of other ailments made Boobsie "uniquely vulnerable" to contracting the deadly COVID-19 virus and sought his release on bail while the appeal of his conviction was pending.

Alvin HellersteinThe government objected. But on March 31, 2020, Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that due to Castelle's "ailing health and the concomitant risk" that he could contract the COVID virus, Boobsie was ordered released on a $500,000 bond.

"Yet when this Court ordered Mr. Castelle's release," Levitt wrote, "Danbury FCI did not tell him of the (redacted) diagnosis, and so he did not know to seek further confirmation and, if necessary, treatment" when he was released on April 1, 2020.

Levitt wrote that he alerted Castelle about that in February when the lawyer received his client's medical records while preparing a motion based on his medical condition and the COVID-19 pandemic. The only ailments he mentioned were "serious tooth pain" from oral surgery that Boobsie had before returning to Danbury "and a rash that has spread through his entire body."

"There is no Medical here," Castelle stated in an email reply, Levitt wrote. "You put in (requests) to see medical or dental and nothing happens. Letters to the Warden get Neglected and never answered," the email continued. "There is not enough medical attention here to assist anyone who is having problems. It's terrible here."

It got even worse last month. Boobsie stated in a March 15 email that "Danbury no longer even has a resident physician," Levitt wrote.

Richard LevittIn the email, Castelle wrote with his CAPS button engaged, that the facility's doctor had resigned and moved to Florida to work "IN A NURSING HOME. SHE SAID SHE WAS LEAVING BECAUSE THE BOP AND PRISON WAS HAND CUFFING HER WITH THE CARE OF INMATES. THE PLACE IS IN A MESS BECAUSE OF THE LAWSUIT AND EVERY ONE AT THE TOP IS POINTING FINGERS AT EACH OTHER FOR THE MESS."

Last year, Levitt wrote, his jailers made Boobsie's prison term "a far harder time than the Court anticipated" by their "inability to ensure he receives proper treatment" while he was in their custody and by failing "to even advise him that he (suffered from that mystery ailment) for nearly a year."

Now that he is back in Danbury, "the cycle of abuse and neglect has continued anew, where he can't even get follow-up treatment for his dental work and the pain he suffers as a result of apparent infection," Levitt wrote. "Prison is a place for punishment; it should not be a place for torture and gross neglect."

The government's claim that Castelle needed to spend 77 months in prison to protect the public "rings hollow," Levitt wrote, citing the dumbest thing his client has done since his 2018 arrest. The lawyer reminded Hellerstein that prosecutors had offered Boobsie a deal calling for 8-to-14 months, that he'd be home with his kids if he had been smart enough to take the plea offer rather than go to trial, and that he could be if the judge granted his release.

Nothing doing, Hellerstein ruled Tuesday. A compassionate release, the judge wrote, "Would provide an undue windfall that would severely undermine the sentence the Court imposed."

ME's Investigator Casts Doubt On The Time Of Death In The Murder Of Luchese Loanshark

Anthony PandrellaA lawyer for Anthony Pandrella, the Gambino gangster charged with gunning down an elderly Luchese family loanshark in his Brooklyn home in October of 2018 says that evidence he just received from the feds indicates that his client couldn't have committed the crime.

Citing the newly received "exculpatory information," attorney James Froccaro made an impassioned pitch to Brooklyn Federal Judge Margo Brodie to set bail for Pandrella, stating that prosecutors had turned over evidence that his client left the scene of the crime at least two hours before 78-year-old Vincent Zito was shot to death.

In a court-filing and during a virtual court session yesterday, Froccaro argued that the finding by an investigator for the city's medical examiner who examined Zito's body "tends to exonerate" his client and asked Brodie to release Pandrella, who has been behind bars for more than two years waiting for trial.

Judge Margo Brodie"The medical investigator who was the first person on the scene to examine the body," Froccaro told Brodie, "estimated that the time of death took place hours after Mr. Pandrella had left the residence." The lawyer argued that this newly obtained information "clearly tends to exonerate him of the murder."

In asking Chief Judge Brodie to reconsider several denials of bail since Pandrella's arrest in March of 2019, Froccaro filed a government summary of an FBI interview of Medical Legal Investigator Kathleen Liggio stating that when she examined the body at about 6:30 PM "she estimated that the victim had been dead less than six (6) hours."

Liggio, who arrived at the Zito Sheepshead Bay home at 6 PM, made her determination after she "turned the victim's body over (looking) for additional wounds." She stated "there was not much rigor mortis," the report said. It notes, however, that Liggio "did not document the amount of rigor mortis." Zito, who was found dead on the living room floor at 2:45 PM by his grandson, was shot twice in the head, according to court records.

Lames FroccaroProsecutors say that Pandrella, 61, who was captured on surveillance video entering the home at 8:10 AM and leaving at 10:23 AM, shot and killed Zito sometime after 8:40 AM, the last time Zito is seen alive on security video, and the time he is seen leaving the house through the front door.

"This new Brady material," Froccaro told Brodie, referring to the exculpatory information the government is required to turn over to the defense as soon as it acquires it, "should give Mr. Pandrella a shot at bail."

Prosecutor Matthew Galeotti countered that the "new information" from the medical investigator was merely a "comment" that "doesn't change the weight of evidence" against the defendant since "no one enters or leaves the home after Mr. Pandrella leaves (and) Pandrella's DNA is on the gun."

Vincent ZitoJudge Brodie sided with the government on the question of bail but she didn't seem happy that the government waited two years to turn over the Brady material.

"I agree that it is exculpatory evidence that the government was obligated to turn over to Mr. Pandrella, but I don't find that the new evidence changes the court's assessment" on the question of bail, she said.

But the judge ordered the government to search its files and "determine whether there is any more exculpatory information that should be disclosed to the defense in this case."

A trial in the robbery murder case, at which Pandrella will also be charged with stealing cash and jewelry from Zito, is not expected to take place until later this year. A trial date is expected to be set at a status conference next month

[JakeTheSnake630]

Any guesses on the "mysterious illness"? Maybe something that could be embarrassing like HIV/Aids, why else all the secrecy and redactions?

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the post Dr.

[Ivan]

all this Borrello news every week is fucking boring

[Stroccos]

Thanks for posting

Maybe Alite can get Roger Vella to cohost

[slimshady_007]

Thanks for posting. No way Pandrella can beat the case. With his DNA on the murder weapon and surveillance footage of him leaving the home, his best option is to take a plea. At least then he’ll have a chance at parole. It’ll be interesting if he cooperates. I wonder if he’s done time before.

[Ivan]

Thanks for posting. No way Pandrella can beat the case. With his DNA on the murder weapon and surveillance footage of him leaving the home, his best option is to take a plea. At least then he’ll have a chance at parole.

He went before a federal judge so I'm assuming this is a federal case and there's no parole for federal crimes.

[outfit guy]

Why is this a federal case? All citizens should then be tried in federal court for homicide, or at least conspiracy.

[newera_212]

im in the small minority here but I really feel bad for Gene. It’s obvious he’s not really cut out for a regular 9-5 type of life and almost seemed to have potentially found his niche with the podcasting. Who knows what that could have turned into down the road. And who knows, maybe his ex’s husband is a huge asshole. Anyway it was pretty stupid of him to not get permission to do the show when the whole thing revolves around physical association with known felons, but Alite had a great point... why wait until now? especially because ir’s been over 6 months since one of their own guests went through the same exact thing

[slimshady_007]

Thanks for posting. No way Pandrella can beat the case. With his DNA on the murder weapon and surveillance footage of him leaving the home, his best option is to take a plea. At least then he’ll have a chance at parole.

He went before a federal judge so I'm assuming this is a federal case and there's no parole for federal crimes.

Ahh yeah ur right forgot there wasn’t parole in the feds. Seems like Pandrella is fucked.

[Ivan]

Thanks for posting. No way Pandrella can beat the case. With his DNA on the murder weapon and surveillance footage of him leaving the home, his best option is to take a plea. At least then he’ll have a chance at parole.

He went before a federal judge so I'm assuming this is a federal case and there's no parole for federal crimes.

Ahh yeah ur right forgot there wasn’t parole in the feds. Seems like Pandrella is fucked.

you were still sort of right though in that if he took a plea he might get out EVENTUALLY instead of dying in jail

[RamshackleMan]

Not associating with convicted felons is a near-standard condition of supervised release - particularly in LCN cases. Gene knew that; no one on the government's side was keeping tabs on it is how it flew under the radar. All this over a picture for a book unlikely to sell many copies.

[Amershire_Ed]

im in the small minority here but I really feel bad for Gene. It’s obvious he’s not really cut out for a regular 9-5 type of life and almost seemed to have potentially found his niche with the podcasting. Who knows what that could have turned into down the road. And who knows, maybe his ex’s husband is a huge asshole. Anyway it was pretty stupid of him to not get permission to do the show when the whole thing revolves around physical association with known felons, but Alite had a great point... why wait until now? especially because ir’s been over 6 months since one of their own guests went through the same exact thing

Yeah I’ve said it before but unless he gets some *serious* mental counseling and anger mgmt, I can’t see him staying on the street long. I think Gene, like a lot of these rats, regrets cooperating. Being a street guy was his whole existence, and now he’s the antithesis of a street guy. He’s a rat. A snitch. Mikey Scars said in that interview with Scott Jenkins that he regrets cooperating every day and wishes he never woulda done it. He said “the gov’t just caught me at a weak moment”.

I will say the first time I actually kinda felt bad for Gene was when he told that story about telling Ronnie that some guy didn’t have the money. And Ronnie punked him and told him to go get a 9-5. So what does Gene do? He goes back to the guy and cracks his head open with a pipe. It’s like, you can tell he has *some* semblance of morality, but that thirst to be in the life completely extinguished it.

[Lou_Para]

Why is this a federal case? All citizens should then be tried in federal court for homicide, or at least conspiracy.

I think it's Federal because when he originally flipped,he testified in Brooklyn Federal Court and was placed on supervised release by a Federal Judge. Therefore any violations of that release would be adjudicated at the Federal level.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Yeah I’ve said it before but unless he gets some *serious* mental counseling and anger mgmt, I can’t see him staying on the street long. I think Gene, like a lot of these rats, regrets cooperating. Being a street guy was his whole existence, and now he’s the antithesis of a street guy. He’s a rat. A snitch. Mikey Scars said in that interview with Scott Jenkins that he regrets cooperating every day and wishes he never woulda done it. He said “the gov’t just caught me at a weak moment”.

I dont 'buy' Scars regret.
He's living in Florida, soaking up the sun, restaurants, the beach, spending holidays with family. Easy to say you feel bad about cooperating in that space. He spent the last twenty-five years in a box, ask him then about if he couldve lived the last twenty outside in the sun with his family.
Keep in mind PG fucked him as well.
DiLeonardo's tears are somewhat crocodile to yours.

I will say the first time I actually kinda felt bad for Gene was when he told that story about telling Ronnie that some guy didn’t have the money. And Ronnie punked him and told him to go get a 9-5. So what does Gene do? He goes back to the guy and cracks his head open with a pipe. It’s like, you can tell he has *some* semblance of morality, but that thirst to be in the life completely extinguished it.

Agree. 5% chance Gene is not doing a dime within 5yrs.

Most of the guys who flip, imo, is not because they're weak, its the betrayl which turns them. DiLeonard, Borello, Pennisi, Gravano etc etc. I know Im different from most but I honestly think if these guys had been supported by the boss and the family, they wouldve done their time, and it was only the betrayl of their 'brothers' that pushed them over the edge. Loyalty is a two way street, cant be one way.
Ive said it before but if LCN would just set up a fund whereby imprisoned members families would get a monthly check, rats would almost cease to exist. My opinion.