Gangland 4/22

[Dr031718]

By Jerry Capeci

Sammy Bull: Gambino Hitman Joe Watts Was A 'Rat' Against John Gotti

Gang Land Exclusive!Joseph WattsIn an angry tirade that confirms a much-denied Gang Land exclusive that the New York Daily News published 25 years ago, turncoat underboss Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano has outed longtime Gambino crime family hitman Joseph Watts as an "incredible informant" for the FBI against John Gotti in the early 1990s. Watts, 79, was released from prison and placed in a Bronx halfway house in December.

In a 15-minute rant, Gravano stated that FBI agents told him before he was released from prison in early 1995 that Watts was a secret snitch. He also stated that he was prepared to finger Watts "as a rat" from the witness stand a year later on the day that Watts interrupted his trial and pleaded guilty to the 1989 rubout of mobster Thomas (Tommy Sparrow) Spinelli.

The guilty plea, on February 15, 1996, short circuited a major confrontation between Sammy Bull and lawyer F. Lee Bailey, a high-flying member of the Dream Team that won a stunning acquittal a few months earlier for O.J. Simpson in his ex-wife's murder, according to The New York Times and other news outlets. But the only reason Watts had opted for trial, says Gravano, was the belief of Watts and his attorney that Sammy Bull would not appear as a witness.

That's because, The Bull says on his podcast, Watts and his attorney had old, dated info about the case — namely that the feds were not going to call Gravano to the stand to testify. Originally, that was true, says Gravano. The feds had balked at using him at the trial because he had threatened to expose Watts as "a rat" if his lawyer called Sammy Bull a lying rat, like attorneys at Gotti's trial and six others had done in an effort to discredit him.

Sammy Bull-Joe Watts Podcast But the feds later reversed that plan and decided to allow Gravano to testify, regardless of the consequences. Just how that turnabout happened is an Only in Gang Land story: Seated in a leather chair along with a glowing bull and a make believe glowing fireplace — the usual setting of his one-person podcast — Gravano gave no indication that he knew that Bailey represented Watts when he threw in the towel. In a brief talk this week, he told Gang Land that he didn't, and doesn't recall ever knowing that Bailey represented Watts.

"If I knew F. Lee Bailey was his lawyer," Gravano laughed, "I would have said it. All I remember about that (day)," he said, "was that I was in the back room getting ready to walk into court when one of the agents walked in and said, 'Forget about it Sammy. He took a plea.'"

On the podcast, Sammy Bull said that Watts obtained current information about Gambino crime family doings from Gotti in secure legal telephone calls that the jailed-for-life mob boss would make to an unidentified lawyer who would then pass the phone to Watts for a private conversation with the Dapper Don.

"Right after he gets off the phone with John, he excuses himself, goes into the bathroom and calls them up," said Gravano, who fingered former FBI supervisor Bruce Mouw and agent George Gabriel as the G-men who told him that Watts was an informer while The Bull was still behind bars serving the five year sentence he received in return for his cooperation.

(Gang Land didn't have a mobile back then, but it's more than likely that Watts, who was earning $30,000 a week from his loansharking business, and could afford one, had a top of the line Motorola or Nokia, or some other top-quality phone that he could have used to call the agents.)

John GottiThe agents "were excited," Gravano said, and boasted that "someone else" had also cooperated when they visited him, stating, "You're not the only one." At first they declined to name their new snitch, but he said he got them to change their minds and swear him to secrecy when he pouted and told them he was "not cooperating anymore."

"I tried to act like a three year old to force them to tell me who was cooperating," he said, "and they told me."

Contacted by Gang Land, the ex-agents — Mouw retired in 1997; Gabriel in 2006 — denied telling The Bull that Watts was an informer. They declined to discuss the 1993 murder indictment of Watts and five mobsters, including capos James (Jimmy Brown) Failla and Daniel Marino, and a close pal of Watts, soldier Dominic (Fat Dom) Borghese.

In my December 1, 1996 Daily News story, I wrote that based on numerous sources, Watts became an FBI informant after his 1993 indictment. On one occasion, I wrote, he relayed info to the FBI after speaking with "Gotti for about 15 minutes after the crime boss called a lawyer."

George Gabriel"In secret meetings" after the Spinelli indictment was filed, I wrote, prosecutors Geoffrey Mearns, Laura Ward, Mouw, Watts and Bailey concocted a plan that enabled Watts to work as an informer: Prosecutors would offer them hard to resist seven year plea deals, which Watts would reject and insist on going to trial to expose "Gravano as a liar" and "fight the case for himself, and for Gotti," whose lawyers were working on an appeal of his 1992 conviction.

Eventually, the plan worked, and all five wiseguys pleaded guilty in April of 1994. But sources said there were some anxious moments when one of the mobsters said he'd fight too.

"Watts reportedly said," I wrote, "No good . . . The feds won't go for the deal . . . They don't really care about me. I'm not Italian."

The deal fell apart after 13 months. But sources told me then, that while Watts was cooperating, he told the FBI that John (Junior) Gotti was the family's acting boss, and that capos Peter Gotti, John (Jackie Nose) D'Amico and Nicholas (Little Nick) Corozzo were assisting the erstwhile Junior Don in running the crime family.

Bruce MouwGang Land found Bailey, who was disbarred in 2001 and is working as a legal consultant in Yarmouth, Maine, on Monday, the day he "sent to the printer" a book he has written about the O.J. case that is due out in June, The Truth About the O.J. Simpson Case: As Told By the Architect of the Defense, he said.

The flamboyant barrister declined to discuss details of the 25-year-old case. But he told Gang Land that he agrees with some of the things that Gravano stated in his podcast and disagrees with others. Still, he declined to comment about the main thrust of Sammy Bull's podcast: Whether Bailey knew that Joe Watts was an "incredible informant" for the FBI in the 1990s, when he was his attorney.

"I pleaded Joe Watts guilty," said Bailey, explaining that when prosecutors "came down on their demand for time for Joe, he decided not to roll the dice." Watts agreed to cop a guilty plea that would also cover his role as "a backup shooter" in the Paul Castellano murder and several other killings for a recommended prison term of six years, said Bailey.

"Their concern was that I would damage Gravano enough on lies he had told in prior cases" and jeopardize prior convictions, including Gotti's, said Bailey, insisting that was "the only reason they brought the offer down" that low.

F. Lee Bailey, O.J. Simpson"His story is bullshit," said Bailey. Asked if he denied Gravano's claim that Watts was an FBI snitch back then, Bailey punted. "If any part of that were true, I couldn't talk about that," he said. "I'm simply saying that Gravano is full of shit. That story has nothing to do with Joe's decision to plead guilty in the case. They had wanted 20 years, they came down to six."

On his podcast, Sammy Bull stated that "Joe Watts was an incredible informant" who "doesn't know how to tell the truth" and "bullshitted" both Gotti and "the agents." Eventually though, Gravano said, the agents got prosecutors to cancel Watts's deal and push him to go to trial when they realized that "this guy is lying to us."

But Sammy Bull said he "fucked them up something fierce" when the agents told him not to testify that he knew about "this back door deal" with Watts. He refused, he said, telling them: "As soon as his lawyer opens his mouth, and calls me a rat, I'm gonna tell the lawyer that you're representing a rat and I'm gonna spill the fucking beans on your people."

When they responded, "You can't do that," Gravano said he countered: "Don't tell me what I can't do. From the beginning you've been telling me I'm supposed to tell the truth. I never lied. That was our deal. What do you want to do, make me a liar now?"

Michael DiLeonardoGravano's defiance, he says, prompted prosecutors to offer Watts "a tremendous deal" to induce him to plead guilty. But then, he adds, "Watts's lawyer finds out what's going on and tells him, 'Don't take the deal. They're stuck, Sammy can't talk, they can't put him on the stand.'"

But when Watts insisted on going to trial in February of 1996, the agents turned The Bull loose, he said, telling him: "When you take the stand, say whatever you want to say."

The guilty plea prevented Sammy Bull from calling Watts a rat 25 years ago. But now there are no holds barred: After ex-capo Michael (Mikey Scars) DiLeonardo and others made positive comments about Watts, who made millions for the crime family, and himself, Gravano decided to speak out. The Bull not only fingered Watts as an informant, but also called him a wimp who paid inmates to protect him in prison. The defiant ex-mobster also suggested Watts should come visit him in Arizona if he wanted to tell Gravano anything about that.

Joseph WattsAt the time of the trial, reporters were eagerly awaiting what New York Times reporter Joseph Fried described as a "face-off between the combative and cocksure lawyer and the stone-cold Mr. Gravano." When the bout was called off at the last minute, the press sought answers to the the question, "Who threw in the towel?"

The feds pointed to Watts. Fried quoted U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter as stating, "He pled guilty on the eve of Mr. Gravano's taking the stand. That speaks for itself."

Daily News reporter Helen Peterson had the same assessment. She used an even stronger quote by Carter to counter an assertion by defense lawyer Alan Futerfas that the feds "feared Gravano would not survive Bailey's cross-examination and offered to hammer out a deal" to resolve the case.

"That's absolutely, positively and unequivocally false," said Carter. "The defense attorneys approached the government and asked if the case could be disposed of."

Salvatore GravanoAttorney Mathew Mari, who has known Joe Watts for more than 50 years, says he thinks Gang Land had it wrong back in the 1996 story, and has an even stronger negative vibe about Gravano's current claim.

"All the people I know," said Mari, "don't believe Sammy; they believe Joe. They say Joe is not a rat, and never was a rat. And that's my unequivocal belief. I don't believe Sammy the Bull. He's a major league manipulator, who's manipulated the underworld, the government, and now he's manipulating everyone in social media. And Joe Watts is walking around with his head up high."

Since Joe Watts is headed back to freedom, Gang Land wants him to know we welcome his take on the Great Courtroom Rumble that wasn't.

Editor's Note: After posing a few questions to F. Lee Bailey on Monday, Gang Land responded to more than a few queries from crack newspaper reporter turned radio host Tom Robbins on Deadline NYC, which airs at 5PM every Monday on WBAI 99.5 fm

Judge Goes Easy On A Drug-Dealing Grandson Of A Late Luchese Underboss

Americo MiglioreThe late Aniello (Neil) Migliore was a pretty well-respected guy in his day, a low-key wiseguy who was a good earner on his home base on Long Island. His grandson? He's got some work ahead of him.

Still, Americo (Ricky) Migliore, the boastful, drug-addicted grandson of the late Luchese crime family underboss, got a big break this week from a federal judge after pleading guilty to selling thousands of oxycodone pills with a street value of $120,000 over a three and a half year stretch on Long Island.

Noting that the defendant was a "smart individual," and citing the "totality of the circumstances" of the case, Central Islip Federal Judge Denis Hurley sentenced Migliore, who has been detained as a danger to the community since his arrest in March of last year, to 40 months in prison. He'll also serve two years of post-prison supervised release that includes regular substance abuse monitoring and treatment.

Migliore, 33, had faced a recommended prison term between 57 and 71 months according to his plea agreement with the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office that also covered his "attempted shipment of a firearm and ammunition" to himself in the Dominican Republic in 2019.

Aniello MiglioreMigliore, who had told his ex-wife in a text that he "was a fucking criminal" who had shot and killed an official of the Dominican Republic — something that was never proven and is believed to have been a drug-induced boast — would not have been able to appeal a sentence as high as 78 months, according to the agreement.

Assistant U.S. attorney Bradley King didn't mention Ricky's mob pedigree or his weapons infraction during the virtual sentencing session. But the prosecutor argued strongly for a sentence up to 71 months in order to send a message to Migliore and others that those who peddle "culture of death" opioid drugs face "severe consequences."

"He may be an oxycodone user," said King, but Migliore also engaged in "deadly serious conduct" and was caught "laughing out loud that his wife was confronted with the fact that he was deceiving her and using her name to obtain oxycodone that he was peddling to other people who could have died from it. It's not something to ever laugh out loud about."

Judge Hurley stated that despite the "very troubling" volume of drugs Migliore sold, "in the neighborhood of 4000 30-milligram tablets of oxycodone" from February 2016 to August of 2019, he was convinced, in large measure, by a "very well composed letter" to the Court from Migliore that he had made peace with his wife and was "endeavoring to straighten his life out."

After hearing Hurley speak so glowingly about his letter, Migliore decided to leave well enough alone when the judge asked him if wanted to address the court.

"I truly expressed my feelings about this situation in my letter to the court, and I have nothing further to add," he said.

In the letter, Migliore stated that he took "full responsibility" for his actions, writing that "being incarcerated has been a wake-up call" that has "saved my life by stopping the runaway freight train of self-destruction I was riding" and by teaching him "the 3 Es to personal growth" that he wasn't taught in school, "evaluate, educate, and evolve."

Enduring the COVID pandemic behind bars and the "constant lockdown, suicide and violence" that he saw at the Metropolitan Detention Center has been a life changing experience that has made him recognize and accept his past failures and become a better father to his two young daughters, he wrote.

"While in MDC," wrote Migliore, he completed education programs for parenting and for "living a healthy lifestyle" that have motivated him to "strive every day to move forward with positive momentum, learn from my past (and) continue my journey, and grow to be a better person."

Hurley said he was "not clairvoyant" and didn't know if Migliore's written sentiments were accurate, but while imposing his lenient the judge said "he certainly has said the right thing, and I have no reason to disbelieve him."

Did He Say Louis or Louie? Frankie Loc's Fate May Hang On Sammy Bull's Brooklyn Accent

Frank LocascioImprisoned for life Gambino crime family wiseguy Frank (Franke Loc) Locascio is still hoping he'll be able to get the same superstar government witness who helped send him to prison nearly 30 years ago to take the witness stand again in Brooklyn Federal Court, this time to help send him home.

But there's a deadline for any Gravano return engagement in the courtroom of Judge I. Leo Glasser where he once stared down John Gotti. For Locascio, it's a real one.

The 88-year-old Frankie Loc is slowly wasting away in a federal prison hospital in Ayer Massachusetts these days, suffering a host of debilitating ailments.

But in one more bid to get The Bull back to Brooklyn, his lawyers have called on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to again grant Locascio permission to appeal the latest denial of his motion to set aside his conviction of the murder of mobster Louis DiBono on the grounds that he is innocent of the crime.

They have appealed Glasser's December decision dismissing Locascio's second habeas corpus motion that seeks to vacate his murder conviction. The appeals court had granted Locascio's second so-called "2255 motion" to go forward on the grounds that an affidavit by Gravano constituted "newly discovered evidence" that Frankie Loc was wrongly convicted of DiBono's 1990 killing.

In a 27-page filing, the appeals attorneys argue that virtually all of Judge Glasser's reasons for denying Locascio a hearing on his motion to vacate his conviction are "illogical" or "unreasonable" and ask the appeals court to order the judge to conduct a hearing and hear testimony by Gravano.

The lawyers asked the appeals court to reverse Glasser's finding that Sammy Bull's affidavit is not "newly discovered evidence," and to grant Locascio a full-blown hearing on Gravano's assertion that "LoCascio played no role in the murder, did not want DiBono to be killed, (and) made his view clear to Gotti, was likely to convince the jury that LoCascio was not involved in, and not guilty of, the murder."

Judge I. Leo GlasserIn arguing that Glasser was unreasonable and made "specious" findings to deny Frankie Loc a hearing, Locascio's legal team, headed by retired Boston Federal Judge Nancy Gertner, cited the judge's decision to hold the correct spelling of Louis DiBono's name in Gravano's affidavit against Locascio.

In his ruling, Glasser noted that on the witness stand, Gravano referred to DiBono as Louie, rather than Louis, as he is named in the indictment. The judge wrote that the use of Louis and not Louie in Gravano's affidavit "raised significant questions about the credibility and validity of the declaration."

Gernter noted that "Louie" is "presumably, the stenographer's rendition of Gravano's pronunciation, 'LOO-EE,'" and that "Louis" is "presumably pronounced, 'LOO-ISS'." Glasser's "argument tears down a straw man," she wrote.

"Gravano testified at trial about his preferred oral pronunciation of DiBono's first name" but "said nothing about his preferred written spelling," wrote Gertner. The Bull's "written declaration," she noted, "used DiBono’s proper written name – 'Louis' – which could be pronounced any number of ways" and had been written "with the assistance of counsel, who confirmed its contents orally, line-by-line."

"At most," Gertner wrote, "the supposed discrepancy would be a subject for cross-examination of Gravano at a hearing, not a basis for wholesale rejection of the Declaration. The District Court’s treatment of the issue was unreasonable, partial, and inconsistent with the legal framework governing" Locascio's motion to vacate his conviction on the grounds that he is innocent of the crime.

[Chopper]

I had no idea F. Lee Bailey was headed for a confrontation with Gravano. That would be fun to watch lol.

Thanks for posting

[Tony Monte]

Wasn’t the Joe Watts ratting brought up few years ago on here?

[dack2001]

Good column. I find it revealing that Bailey refuses to confirm or deny Watts was an informant. Could be that he doesn't remember and took the lawyer sidestep or could be where there is smoke there is fire... That said, I find it very odd that Watts would feed information of such sensitive nature and then go ahead and serve almost 15 years in prison since the mid-90's. Not very effective cooperation though could be Sammy has a beef against him for some reason.

[elasticman]

Great, now Gangland news has stooped to just reporting what Sammy says on his podcast.

[dack2001]

Didn't read the column did you? There is quite a bit more in it than what lying Sammy says...

[Amershire_Ed]

If you think Sammy’s head is big and his ego is inflated now, watch what happens if Frankie Loc gets to come home. He’s gonna milk that shit for all it’s worth. God I can already picture the YT comments.....”wow what a gentleman, Sammy, you sure are a standup guy”

[Tonyd621]

Why is Capeci reporting what Sammy the bull says as a credible source to confirm facts?

[Chopper]

Good column. I find it revealing that Bailey refuses to confirm or deny Watts was an informant. Could be that he doesn't remember and took the lawyer sidestep or could be where there is smoke there is fire... That said, I find it very odd that Watts would feed information of such sensitive nature and then go ahead and serve almost 15 years in prison since the mid-90's. Not very effective cooperation though could be Sammy has a beef against him for some reason.

Bailey remembers. The man is old but still sharp as a whip. Big mind, huge ego. And a legendary thirst

[mafiastudent]

Why is Capeci reporting what Sammy the bull says as a credible source to confirm facts?

Think about the juxtaposition in this column with the two Gravano-related articles. If he's to be believed in Locascio's case then why shouldn't he be believed about Watts?

But maybe all truths or lies about Watts will be revealed when he appears on Staxx's show...lol.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Great, now Gangland news has stooped to just reporting what Sammy says on his podcast.

Thought the same thing.

Thanks for posting anyway Dr.

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for posting Dr.

Does anyone know where you can listen to Capeci's interview with Robbins?

[mafiastudent]

Thanks for posting Dr.

Does anyone know where you can listen to Capeci's interview with Robbins?

https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=21340

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for posting Dr.

Does anyone know where you can listen to Capeci's interview with Robbins?

https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=21340

Thank you.

[Dave65827]

Frankie Locs going to die in prison regardless of Gravano. It will be a cold day in hell before a high ranking LCN member is released from prison on a life sentence


Gravano is going to put on a sad show on his YouTube channel and avoid the subject that he sent Frankie to die in prison The End