Gangland 4/29/21

[Dr031718]

The Day F. Lee Bailey Told John Gotti He Was Going Down

F. Lee BaileyGang Land Exclusive!A long-awaited courtroom face-off between F. Lee Bailey and Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano fizzled when Bailey's client, Gambino gangster Joseph Watts, copped a plea deal for murder in 1996. As Gang Land detailed last week, Gravano, who was pumped and ready to testify against Watts, never took the stand to face Bailey's usually withering cross-examination.

But Bailey and Gravano had a memorable face-to-face meeting four and a half years earlier when John Gotti was looking for a top-notch lawyer to represent him in the mob trial of the century, Gang Land has learned.

They met in August of 1991, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. It was three months before Gravano would decide to flip, but Bailey told Gang Land he left the meeting with Gotti, Frank (Frankie Loc) Locascio and Sammy Bull knowing that he wanted no part of the case because he believed that the Dapper Don had decided to throw "Gravano under the bus."

John GottiGotti began the conversation, Bailey recalled, by saying, "Just tell me what day we'll get the acquittal, and I'll arrange a party." But Bailey didn't think there would be any celebrating and he explained why to his would-be client.

"To be frank," Bailey told Gotti, "I don't think we have a very good chance" to beat the case. The problem, the legendary defense lawyer said, was that Gotti was heard talking about taking part in murders on FBI tape recordings. "He said, 'Look, we can do anything. These guys here will take a fall for me,' and I saw Gravano give him an 'Oh yeah?' look. I turned the case down. Gravano called the FBI."

Bailey was blunt with the Teflon Don: "I said, 'John, we got a problem. I'm a fairly competent cross examiner, but I don't know how to cross examine tapes. I might not be able to win the case because I don't know how to cross examine a tape recording where you say, 'Kill him.'"

"When he said, 'These guys will take the fall for me. We're gonna win it alright,' I saw the look Gravano gave him," Bailey continued, "and I said to myself, only myself, 'I don't want this case. These guys are all game players, and Gotti just threw Gravano under the bus.'"

Salvatore GravanoBailey said his MCC meeting was arranged by Gravano's then-attorney Gerald Shargel, who along with Gotti's lawyer, Bruce Cutler, had been disqualified by Judge I. Leo Glasser because they were overheard on tape recordings with Gotti, making them potential witnesses in the case.

It was the only time Bailey met the three Gambino family administration members, he said. But he did see the trio a few times as a spectator at the mob trial of the century in Brooklyn Federal Court in 1992. He told Gang Land he would have liked to cross examine The Bull in 1996, but wasn't sure he would have gotten Watts off if he had gone to trial.

"The number of acquittals in the Eastern District (Brooklyn Federal Court) was always pretty slim," he said.

Joseph WattsGravano, who was a pretty good government witness, would have enjoyed his confrontation with Bailey no matter how the jury voted. That's because The Bull would have been able to announce from the witness stand in 1996, as Gang Land reported last week, that Watts had been a rat against Gotti in the early 1990s, instead of waiting until 2021 to drop that bombshell news.

As for the fabled barrister's account of their 1991 meeting at the MCC, Sammy Bull says Bailey was "not far off." He recalled that the flamboyant lawyer "made statements about the tapes" being "bad news" for Gotti, and that "John didn't like him talking about the tapes, and said we're not going to use him."

"The only thing (Bailey had wrong)," said Gravano, "is that I didn't cooperate until November. That's when I knew he was going to throw me, both of us, me and Frankie, under the bus. I think that meeting (with Bailey) was early in the search for new lawyers," he said.

Frank Locascio"My eyes must have been like silver dollars when (John) said that," Gravano said, referring to the Dapper Don's assertion that Sammy Bull and Frankie Loc "would take a fall" for Gotti.

"At that point," Gravano continued, "I still thought we were fighting together — him, Frankie and me."

That was so, The Bull recalled, even though "Me and Frankie were already arguing with John" about the case. "We were not on good relations with John then," he continued. "I might have stared at John, and Frankie might have too. But he didn't tell me he was going to throw me under the bus until November," he said.

"That's when he tells me right to my fucking face that you're taking the fall. 'I am going to control the lawyers,' he said. 'The tapes make you sound like a fucking monster. You're gonna have to back up the tapes. So the lawyers are going to present that to the jury.' And he wanted me to sit there like a potted plant. That's what did it."

"I was in shock," he said. "It was the government's job to put us in jail. It was our job to be brothers and fight the case together."

A few days later, on November 11, 1991, it was Gotti's turn to be shocked. FBI agents escorted Sammy Bull out of the MCC and he began working for his Uncle Sam instead of the Gambino crime family.

Tale Of The Tape: Despite Video Evidence, Feds Want Alibi Info In Murder Of Luchese Loanshark

Anthony PandrellaA federal judge has ordered the Gambino gangster charged with the robbery murder of Luchese loanshark Vincent Zito in his Brooklyn home on October 26, 2018, to declare whether he has an alibi for the crime — even though he concedes being in the Zito home when prosecutors say the robbery and murder occurred.

In his filings, a lawyer for Anthony Pandrella suggests that the judge's ruling is a head scratcher since he hasn't sought to convince anyone that his client wasn't present in Zito's home between 8:10 and 10:23 AM that day — which is when the government says he killed Zito. He'd have a hard time trying: Home security videos show the burly defendant entering and leaving the Sheepshead Bay home that morning and establish beyond any doubt that he was there during that time frame.

James FroccaroBut prosecutors have insisted on a day-long time line for the crime. They say the murder robbery of Zito began at 7:49 that morning when Pandrella left his East 24th street home, and didn't end until 8:01 PM when he returned home. They want to know if he has an alibi for any of the 16 different times and places where they say he was during that deadly day. They have not explained why he might need an alibi for being at any of those locations.

Defense lawyer James Froccaro says that makes no sense, legally, or otherwise. But Brooklyn Federal Court Chief Judge Margo Brodie says it does. And last week she gave Froccaro until next week to file any notice of an alibi defense, if he has one, which is something that the lawyer has never stated he has, or intends to use.

Last fall, when the feds first asked about a possible alibi defense, Froccaro stated that his client didn't need one because he was in Zito's home on Emmons Avenue during the two hours and 13 minutes when prosecutors say the 78-year-old loanshark was killed. He wrote that he will argue at trial that Zito was killed "after 10:23 am that day," when the home security shows Pandrella leaving the house.

Judge Margo BrodieProsecutors say they are "justified" in asking whether Pandrella has an alibi defense for any of the Brooklyn locations where they claim he was from the time he left his home until he got home that night. They ask him to supply the name, address and contact information of any person he intends to call as an alibi witness at his trial.

In their filings, assistant U.S. attorneys Kristin Mace and Matthew Galeotti say that appeals courts have held that because an alibi is both "compelling" and "easy to concoct," defendants must disclose any planned alibi defense "in advance of trial" to give prosecutors the time to investigate the proposed alibi defense before the trial begins.

But Froccaro has not stated, or implied, that Pandrella intends to present an alibi defense. In November he wrote that his client "has no intention of denying his presence at the victim's home at that time," adding that "the issue at trial will be whether the victim was murdered before or after 10:23 am that day."

Vincent ZitoTo underscore that assertion, Froccaro wrote that according to Black's Law Dictionary, an alibi defense was one "based on the physical impossibility of a defendant's guilt by placing the defendant in a location other than the scene of the crime at the relevant time."

The veteran defense lawyer hasn't given up much of his defense strategy. But it seems pretty clear that the main thrust is that, despite government claims that his client's DNA was found on the weapon that killed Zito, and clear cut evidence that Pandrella was in Zito's house that morning, he didn't shoot and kill his old friend. Instead, he has insisted that Zito was killed after Pandrella left the house.

In his last objection, on April 3, Froccaro told Judge Brodie that since the "charged robbery/murder was between the hours of 8:40 am and 10:23 am," a prosecution "supplemental demand" for him to supply an alibi notice after 10:23 AM was improper, "unless the government is now stating that the robbery/murder took place between the hours of 10:24 am and 3:08 pm."

Anthony Pandrella Closes The Gate On MurderZito, whose death was originally believed by police to have been a suicide, was found dead on the living room floor of his home by a grandson returning home from school.

In their retort asking Judge Brodie to rule in their favor, prosecutors correctly asserted that Pandrella seemed likely to "contest the evidence that the victim was robbed and shot before 10:23 a.m." and would argue that the killer "could have entered the victim's home undetected between 10:23 a.m. and 3:08 p.m. on that date."

Prosecutors also mentioned Pandrella's alleged alibi defense six times in their two page filing, stating that he "wants to prevent the government from investigating his alibi defense before trial" and intends to "assert an alibi defense" regarding the hours between 10:24 AM and 3:08 PM.

But, at least to Gang Land, the one thing Pandrella does not appear to need is an alibi defense for those hours. Since the government's video shows Pandrella leaving the house at 10:23 AM, it makes it pretty clear that he could not have robbed and killed Zito between 10:24 AM and 3:08 PM.

Anthony Pandrella may well have killed his old friend Vincent Zito. But if so, he didn't do it after he left Zito's home at 10:23 AM on October 26, 2018.

Michael Michael Hangs Tough On Gun Charges: Waits For The Other Shoe To Drop

Michael MiljanicReputed Serbian-American gang leader Mileta (Michael Michael) Miljanic has decided to wait and see whether the feds file labor racketeering charges against him and members and associates of the Gambino crime family – as his lawyer expects – rather than cop a plea deal to weapons charges stemming from the rackets probe, Gang Land has learned.

Miljanic, who was implicated by Manhattan federal prosecutors in illicit dealings with Gambino capo Louis Filippelli back in December, was indicted on weapons charges this month by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn. The indictment came after his attorney was unable to resolve gun charges related to the ongoing rackets probe with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.

As Gang Land reported last month, Miljanic, 61, was arrested and jailed without bail in February when FBI-NYPD task force members investigating racketeering activity throughout the New York metro area found a semi-automatic handgun in the bedroom of his Ridgewood Queens apartment during a search for books and records related to the rackets probe.

Louis FilippelliMiljanic, a naturalized citizen, emigrated to the U.S. in 1982. He remains a citizen of Serbia and owns a $400,000 home there. His attorney has insisted that he remains a good bail risk, citing the ongoing racketeering probe by federal prosecutors in Manhattan against his client as evidence that Miljanic was unlikely to flee to his homeland if released on a secure bond.

Noting that the investigation involves "mail fraud, wire fraud and honest services fraud," lawyer Lawrence DiGiansante argued that since federal prosecutors in Manhattan who were "not ready to take down (their) case yet" showed they were not concerned "that Mr. Miljanic would flee" after his home was serached there was no reason for Brooklyn prosecutors to say he would.

In addition, DiGiansante argued that since there were no allegations of violence contained in the search warrant in the Manhattan investigation, it was unfair for prosecutors in Brooklyn to seek his client's "detention on a different ground" or "on a lesser" charge than Miljanic would face in a racketeering indictment.

Assistant U.S. attorney Mathew Miller countered that Miljani's "possession of a firearm and his close relationship with the Gambino family" made him a "danger to the community." Michael Michael has the "means," the "incentive," and a "place" to flee to, said Miller. He said the defendant posed "one of the most serious risk of flight cases" he has ever encountered and should be detained.

James CahillIn addition, Miller told Magistrate Judge Robert Levy, Miljanic had "a history of fleeing from law enforcement," noting that in 2014, after serving four years of a six-year sentence he received for cocaine trafficking in Italy, he "absconded" from a "work release" program and returned to New York.

Miljanic also has "an entire life in another country that he could pick up and move to," the prosecutor said, noting that "it would be a pretty good trade to trade some amount of money here in the U.S. to be able to avoid jail and then pick up (his) life back in Serbia."

In December, Manhattan prosecutors identified Miljanic as the leader of a violent gang known as Grupo Amerika, and linked him to racketeering activity with Filippelli in tape-recorded talks that James Cahill, an indicted former plumbers union official had last year with a cooperating witness in their case.

In the filing, Cahill told the snitch that after he got Filippelli, a longtime associate, "to intervene to address a death threat" against one of Cahill's nephews by a Grupo Amerika member, Filippelli and Miljanic became fast friends.

Jason Swergold"So what does Louis do?" Cahill is quoted as saying in March of last year, "He goes partners with Michael Michael in the construction business, and they're happy as pigs in shit."

Last month, in a response to queries from an attorney in the Cahill case and the judge in the wake of Miljanic's arrest, and the government's earlier disclosures linking Miljanic and Filippelli to Cahill, prosecutor Jason Swergold left open the possibility that the government would seek to add more suspects to the 11-defendant case.

"It is unlikely that there would be a (large) superseding indictment in this case" that might delay the trial, he assured the attorney and the judge.

"You mean a giant superseder that adds 25 new defendants and 54 new counts?" asked the Judge.

"That's correct, your Honor," said Swergold, leaving open the very real possibility that one or more defendants could be added to the case.

[Dr031718]

From the sounds of it a new Gambino indictment, with Filipelli &Camuso, could be dropping soon

[NYNighthawk]

Frankie Locs is an asshole for not going the Garvano route- he is going to die in the can. Gotti even had the Aryan Brothers trying to put a hit on him over the orange caper in the MCC

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the post Dr.

To the board: We should show some more appreciation for a member posting a wide read weekly contribution. Im the first to extend appreciation. C'mon guys, we can extend a better thanks and appreciation than this.

Thanks Dr. Effort noted and thanked.

[AntComello]

I just don’t understand why and how Pandrella thought he was going to get away with wacking zito in the guys own house and on top of that knowing Zito has fuckin security cameras. It really blows my mind, like there has to be more to that story or this Pandrella guy is just a true fuckin idiot. Idk maybe it’s just me but this whole “hit” on zito has baffled me from the very start. If I’m missing something please explain it to me lol thanks In advance

[Dr031718]

Thanks for the post Dr.

To the board: We should show some more appreciation for a member posting a wide read weekly contribution. Im the first to extend appreciation. C'mon guys, we can extend a better thanks and appreciation than this.

Thanks Dr. Effort noted and thanked.

Thanks Sonny

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for posting!

[slimshady_007]

I just don’t understand why and how Pandrella thought he was going to get away with wacking zito in the guys own house and on top of that knowing Zito has fuckin security cameras. It really blows my mind, like there has to be more to that story or this Pandrella guy is just a true fuckin idiot. Idk maybe it’s just me but this whole “hit” on zito has baffled me from the very start. If I’m missing something please explain it to me lol thanks In advance

Thats the thing, Pandrella is a true fuckin idiot lmao. Realistically, Pandrella was probably told to kill Zito (since he was close to him) and he figured that killing him at his home and staging it to look like a suicide would work. Little did Pandrella know there’s something called fingerprints and dna

[AntComello]

I just don’t understand why and how Pandrella thought he was going to get away with wacking zito in the guys own house and on top of that knowing Zito has fuckin security cameras. It really blows my mind, like there has to be more to that story or this Pandrella guy is just a true fuckin idiot. Idk maybe it’s just me but this whole “hit” on zito has baffled me from the very start. If I’m missing something please explain it to me lol thanks In advance

Thats the thing, Pandrella is a true fuckin idiot lmao. Realistically, Pandrella was probably told to kill Zito (since he was close to him) and he figured that killing him at his home and staging it to look like a suicide would work. Little did Pandrella know there’s something called fingerprints and dna

Yea and not to mention he shot the fuckin guy twice
In his head.

[Amershire_Ed]

Thanks for posting!

Has Sammy ever told the story that Bailey tells in this article? That Gotti just said out loud that Sammy and Frankie Loc would take the fall for him? I always thought Sammy just assumed Gotti would do it and Bailey says Gotti was just saying it out loud?

[TallGuy19]

I've always kind of assumed that Sammy was making that up to some extent, but Bailey's story seems to confirm what he said about Gotti's blatant attempt to pin it all on him.

[mafiastudent]

Just to play devil's advocate but maybe Zito wasn't killed during the time frame the government alleges which is why they're requiring this alibi defense?

Not the first time the government tried to pin something in a certain time frame that didn't exactly pan out.

[bluehouse]

Can capeci stop talking about john gotti??????Its like when john gotti was boss in the 80s some reporter talking about albert anastasia and vito genevese every week

[Pmac2]

Did bailey confirm joe watts was working as a informant. I can't understand if that's what the article is implying. Was he or is sammy lying?