Gangland 6/30/2022

[chin_gigante]

Fat Anthony Is In The Soup — Even Though Judge Blocked Feds From Using Telling Tape Recording In Luchese Loanshark Murder Trial

A month before the murder trial of Gambino gangster Anthony (Fat Anthony) Pandrella began in early June, the feds obtained a dramatically telling tape recording of a conversation between Pandrella and Luchese loanshark Vincent Zito, the old friend he was accused of killing in October 2018, Gang Land has learned.

The tape was secretly recorded by Zito's daughters while their father was convalescing in a hospital room. When they left the hospital room to get a bite to eat, they left a cell phone recorder running and it picked up a cryptic conversation that their dad and Pandrella had about "soup."

"You says you were supposed to give me soup yesterday or the day before," Zito is heard to angrily say on the tape. "Where the fuck am I getting soup from?" the hospital patient adds.

Since this is not how people generally discuss soup, the strong implication, federal prosecutors asserted in court, is that the gangsters were secretly discussing $750,000 that Zito had asked Pandrella to hide for him out of fear that law enforcement might raid his home. The tape, they argued, helped back up their claim that Pandrella had killed Zito so he wouldn't have to fork over the hefty three-quarters of a million dollars of Zito's cash that he was holding for him.

The tape, however, was never played at the trial that resulted this month in Pandrella's conviction after Brooklyn Federal Judge Margo Brodie ruled that it couldn't be used because it was illegally recorded by Zito's daughters.

The coded hospital room conversation took place in August 2018, just two months before the frail 77-year-old loanshark was killed in his Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn home.

The word "soup," said federal prosecutor Matthew Galeotti, clearly referred to "money." Zito was heard telling Pandrella to bring the cash to his home and give it to his son because Zito didn't want the money "in the hospital," Galeotti told Judge Brodie. He asked to play a 35-second clip from the two-hour, 30-minute-long tape during his questioning of Samantha Zito to bolster her testimony that Pandrella had not returned $750,000 he had been holding for her father.

Defense lawyer Jonathan Savella opposed it since neither man consented to be taped and the talk was illegally recorded. If the Court allowed it, he argued, the entire tape should be played to put it into context. "The number one topic" in the converation "was food," he said. A minute before the "snippet about soup," they were "discussing leftovers," he said. "A few minutes later, they're discussing tea and pound cake. Later on they're discussing lentil soup, broccoli, pork chops."

Outside the presence of the jury on Thursday, June 9, Brodie told the prosecutor to continue his questioning without bringing up the taped talk. Since the government, which had gotten the tape a month before the trial began, had not prepared a transcript of it, she ordered Galeotti to give her a copy of the recording so she could listen to it over the weekend, and decide the issue.

The judge sealed her decision, but she apparently ruled for the defense. The tape was never played when trial resumed on Monday June 13. On the stand, Samantha Zito stated that when she and her sister Erica, who lived in New Mexico, flew to New York to visit their father in August of 2018, "My dad said that the money that he kept at Anthony's house was gone, that Anthony stole the money that he kept there."

In the ruling that Brodie filed last week, the Chief Judge wrote that she agreed with the defense claim that the taped evidence was illegally recorded, and she included the 35-second snippet that seems to corroborate the government's contention that "soup" was a coded reference to "money" and that an angry and "frustrated" Zito was heard telling Fat Anthony he wanted his money returned.

VZ: "You didn't give nothin' to Joey yet?"
AP: "What?"
VZ: "You said you'd give it to Joey because I was here."
AP: "What?"
VZ: "You says you were supposed to give me soup yesterday or the day before."
AP: "Eh, I, eh, when you come, I'll bring it to ya. Don't worry about it."
VZ: "No, don't gimme it here. I wanted him to bring it at home. I told you . . ."
AP: "I'll bring it to – all right, I'll bring it home to you."
VZ: "Well, yeah, but what does it have to wait for me to come home?"
AP: "If you don't come home tomorrow, I'll give it to Joey all right?"
VZ: "Give it to him tomorrow anyway, whether I come home or not. Give it to him. Where the fuck am I getting soup from?"

"The substance of the recording does not support an inference that Mr. Zito or (Pandrella) expressly or implicitly consented to being recorded at the time they engaged in the portion of the conversation about 'soup' that the Government seeks to admit," the judge wrote.

"At no point during the thirty-five second clip did either party indicate that anyone else was in the room at that time or that either party knew that they were being recorded," Brodie wrote. The judge blacked out their names, but wrote that Zito's daughters recorded the conversation on a cell phone they placed in their dad's hospital room that remained on when they "left to go eat."

"Zito discovered" that the phone was recording more than "an hour after the 'soup' conversation" and questioned why it was recording, the judge wrote, noting that Zito's grandson Vincenzo was heard confirming his grandpa's discovery. But the tape recording was never deleted and was turned over to the government on May 2, the judge wrote.

Zito, his daughter Samantha, and his grandson VincenzoDuring the sidebar session, Galeotti told Brodie that Zito's daughters made the recording "based on the tensions that were rising between Zito and Pandrella" in the "summer of 2018" but he failed to explain why they waited until May to turn it over to the government.

Galeotti argued that the government should be allowed to use the recording since it had no role in the illegal taping, but Brodie wrote that most federal courts "have determined that there is no government 'clean hands' exception to the receipt into evidence of unlawfully recorded communications," and blocked prosecutors from using it.

As it turned out, Galeotti and co-prosecutor Kristin Mace didn't need the tape recorded evidence that Zito's daughters kept under wraps for nearly four years before giving it to the government. The jury took only 90 minutes to find Fat Anthony Pandrella guilty of the robbery murder of his old pal Vincent Zito on the morning of October 26, 2018.

Pandrella, 62, faces life without parole when he faces the music for his crime in September.

Snow Job: Florida Roofer Says Employment Letter Bonanno Turncoat Filed In Court Is Bogus

The unsigned, undated letter offering Bonanno family turncoat-turned-podcaster Gene Borrello a job as a roofer in Florida to protect homes from rain and snow that was filed with his sentencing memo is a phony, says the man who runs the roofing firm.

The alleged job offer letter was unsealed two weeks ago by Brooklyn Federal Judge Frederic Block. A call to the Florida roofing company has revealed that the letter has more holes in it than a leaky roof.

The "Dear Gene" job offer letter helped win Borrello an adjournment of his sentencing for his second violation of supervised release (VOSR) in less than a year. But when Gang Land reached out to Borrello's would-be employer it was all news to him.

The letter is "a complete fabrication," said Robin Sherer, the co-owner of T&G Roofing of Oldsmar, Florida. "We did not offer this guy a job," he said emphatically.

Sherer was initially cautiously diplomatic when Gang Land first asked if his roofing company, which is in the Tampa Bay region of the Sunshine State, had offered Borrello a job as a roofer. He said he did not, "unless he's the fellow my foreman Francisco told me about, but he's from Texas, not New York. But I don't believe I am hiring that individual."

Sherer, whose company of about 25 workers began doing business in April as Trust Roofing, told Gang Land he'd call back when he contacted his working foreman. But he didn't have to speak to him after he saw the "Dear Gene" letter that purported to be from his company that had offered Borrello a $40,000 a year job as a roofer, citing his "background, skills, experience level and personality."

"This is a fabrication," Sherer began when he called back. "None of this is from us. There is all sorts of stuff in this letter that is wrong," he continued, picking out things that were incorrect or made up, including the phone number of the company as he looked over the one page letter to Borrello that was filed under seal back in April, and unsealed by Judge Block two weeks ago.

"Get paid on a bi-weekly basis; I pay weekly," he said. "We don't use any kind of concrete with any of our roofs; we don't fill any in with cement. We don't use scaffolds."

I do job interviews," he continued. "I have never written a letter like this to a person," he said incredulously. (Readers who want to check out the letter for themselves can do so here.)

"None of this is true," he continued. "No one in my company wrote this."

"It says rain or snow," he cracked. "There's no snow here," said Sherer, 24, who was born decades after the last time anyone ever saw snow on the ground in Tampa Bay 45 years ago, on January 19, 1977.

"It says we install solar energy systems; I don't install solar," he said.

"No one from my company wrote this," Sherer continued. "This is a complete fabrication," he said for maybe the fifth time.

"I don't know why," he continued. "Maybe this Gene guy wanted to tell the court he got a job offer when he didn't, and he picked out a random roofing company and thought we were too small to care. I can't figure it out."
"This is a complete fabrication," Sherer said one more time, before stating: "We did not offer this guy a job."

Borrello insisted the job offer is legit and that there has been a major miscommunication.

"That's bullshit," said Borrello, when we got a hold of the ex-podcaster and told him what the man who would soon be his boss, according to Judge Block's June 15 decision, had told us. In his ruling, Block put off Borrello's VOSR sentencing, and indicated that he was going to give Borrello a no-jail sentence if his new gig and new digs in Tampa kept him out of trouble.

"When I get down there, I'll clean this up," he said. "My friend got me the job; he works in the company. Maybe they denied it because you called and got them nervous," he said. "The job is legit," he insisted, noting that it was also "a way to get me down there. I'm leaving Thursday morning. But when I get down there I have other options. I'm going to be opening up a business as well."

As his lawyer has done in the past, Borrello moved to blame Gang Land for any current troubles that may arise for him due to the phony letter that he gave his lawyer to file.

"Why is Gang Land trying to bury me so bad with these questions," he moaned. "I'm just trying to get out of here. These people (in Howard Beach) hate me."

When Gang Land replied that we didn't file the contested letter with the court; he did, he replied, "I didn't file it, I gave it to my lawyer and she filed it," and then repeated, "I'm going to be opening up my own business very shortly. I leave Thursday morning."

Gang Land wondered why Ennis hadn't bothered to check out the unsigned, undated letter that her client gave her, and what impact the assertion by the owner of T&G Roofing that the letter she filed is "a complete fabrication" might have on her client's VOSR and his relocation to Florida. But the lawyer declined to respond to telephone or email requests for comment.

As Trial Nears, Feds Find New Evidence Against The Big Cheese In The Lottery Winners Ripoff Case

When the $80 Million Lottery Ripoff case jumps off next month, the government wants two of its key witnesses to talk about some Big Cheese: Namely, the kickbacks defendant Jason (Jay) Kurland allegedly received from investments that ripped-off Lottery winners were persuaded to make in an aptly named lending company called Cheddar Capital.

In a pre-trial court filing this week, federal prosecutors cited new kickback evidence that they want their witnesses, Francis (Frank) Smookler, and Frangesco (Frankie) Russo, the grandson of the late Colombo family boss Andrew (Mush) Russo, to tell the jury about.

Kurland, the self-described Lottery Lawyer, is charged with stealing $80 million from three Lottery winners who hired him to protect their winnings. Instead, according to the feds, Kurland and several associates, took the lucky winners to the cleaners, looting them of as much as $80 million.

The newly cited evidence includes testimony as well as texts between Kurland and two unindicted business partners the lawyer had in his scheme.

The government filing came Tuesday, the same day Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis reserved a decision about other proposed direct testimony and cross-examination of Russo, Smookler, and another witness against Kurland, his brother-in-law, cosmetic surgeon Scott Blyer, the "Brazilian Buttlift" expert who calls himself "DrBfixin."

The proposed testimony by Russo and Smookler concerns alleged kickbacks Kurland received for investments that Lottery winners made in Cheddar Capital, a lending company that Dr. Blyer also used to evade taxes on earnings from his lucrative cosmetic surgery practice by investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in Cheddar, according to prior court filings.

In addition to the theft of $80 million, Kurland is charged with fraud for failing to tell his Lottery winner clients that he had a financial interest in Cheddar Capital, and that he was also receiving kickbacks from other businessmen for steering his clients to invest their winnings in Cheddar.

The prosecutors say Russo and Smookler were involved in numerous conversations with Kurland and two other businessmen partners in the lending companies about the kickbacks Kurland received and as coconspirators in the scheme with the Lottery Lawyer, they should be permitted to testify about the kickbacks.

Kurland's attorneys, Telemachus Kasulis and Dennis Dillon, say the prosecutors, Russo and Smookler, "are having trouble getting their story straight." Initially, the lawyers wrote, the feds stated that the duo had "collective or individual presence" in the kickback talks. Then they "backtracked" and stated that the cooperators "were present during some of the conversations" but could also testify about "conversations relayed to them."

Prosecutors Olga Zverovich, Louis Pellegrino and Danielle Kudla countered that the kickback testimony by Russo and Smookler is important relevant testimony that "will be corroborated at trial by contemporaneous text messages between Kurland" and the businessmen "discussing this very topic."

They wrote that on September 6, 2018, the day Kurland signed a retainer agreement with Lottery Victim-1, he began a series of texts with one partner, identified only as CC-1 that led to a 1% kickback from the Lottery winner.

"Just signed up huge lottery winner," Kurland texted in the first snippet. "After taxes, they will net 80 mill," he wrote, and after stating that they "gotta play this right," he stated, "Let's talk tomorrow. I’d like to pick your brain on how to maximize this."

The next day, the business partner texted back: "Can we chat in 30 minutes. I have an idea for cheddar."

A few months later, the prosecutors wrote, on March 6, 2019, the day Lottery Victim-3 invested $10 million in Cheddar, Kurland, who was vacationing at Turks and Caicos, and CC-2 discussed Kurland’s receipt of a 1% kickback, which had already been agreed to by the schemers.

"Hey bud! Good news," Kurland texted. "The 10 mill is coming any minute. 9%. Can you ask Litsa to send the 1% to me? 100K.

"Funds hit," replied CC-2. "Wire will be sent shortly. Thanks man. Enjoy Turks."

"The references to '10 mill' and '9%,'" the prosecutors wrote, referred to "a promissory note that Kurland executed on behalf of Lottery Victim-3 for a $10 million principal investment in Cheddar with a promised interest rate of 9%."

Kurland's request that his business partner's office assistant, Litsa, send his 1% kickback to him, "further supports the reliability of the anticipated testimony" by Russo and Smookler, the prosecutors wrote.

Trial is slated to begin July 11.

Yesterday, Judge Garaufis approved the forfeit of $26,650,000 by Genovese soldier Christopher (Chris) Chierchio, who pleaded guilty to his role in the Lottery Winners Ripoff two weeks ago in a plea deal calling for him to serve five years behind bars.

If convicted of the $80 million theft at trial, Kurland faces up to 20 years behind bars.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Walter Mack, who convicted a gang of serial killers led by Gambino mobster Roy DeMeo, discussed his illustrious career as a U.S. Marine, a mob busting federal prosecutor and police corruption fighter for the NYPD with Tom Robbins, on his award winning radio shows, Deadline NYC, the other day. It's a good listen.

[chin_gigante]

Borrello really can't help himself

[Southshore88]

Thanks for posting

[AntComello]

Thanks for posting…Gene is special lol guy def googles “roofing companies in tampa” and picked the first name he saw

[JohnnyS]

Thanks!

[Ivan]

Here's the Walter Mack interview for anyone who wants to listen.

https://wbai.org/archive/program/episode/?id=32941

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the post.

Surely lodging fraudulent documents with a court is a crime?

[johnny_scootch]

Fucking Borello what a character!

[chin_gigante]

Surely lodging fraudulent documents with a court is a crime?

Hey now, let's not jump to conclusions. After all, the only evidence that this is a forgery is the fake phone number, the fake job description, the wrong pay schedule, and the owner of the company having no idea who Borrello is or ever hiring workers this way.

Haven't we all had a simple miscommunication like this while applying for a job making roofs snow proof in Tampa Bay?

[Snakes]

Lol

[TallGuy19]

Does anyone have a copy of the letter? I wonder if Borello wrote it himself or got someone else to do it.

[chin_gigante]

dear-gene-letter.gif

The Borrello letter

[PolackTony]

I’m not sure that Borrello is capable of actually writing this, probably got a buddy to do it.

So, he just submits this to the court and is like “yeah, these people totally hired me to be a roofer”, and the court is like “Ok, sounds good”? No one checks to actually make sure that it’s legit, or that, say, the phone number even matches the company? I guess I shouldn’t be shocked, but c’mon.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Surely lodging fraudulent documents with a court is a crime?

Hey now, let's not jump to conclusions. After all, the only evidence that this is a forgery is the fake phone number, the fake job description, the wrong pay schedule, and the owner of the company having no idea who Borrello is or ever hiring workers this way.

Haven't we all had a simple miscommunication like this while applying for a job making roofs snow proof in Tampa Bay?

Deer Jujde,
I es hyring Jene for da rufing ere in Tampa. He is gud. I pay hem big moneez. He so gud he soon be bosz of hole cumpany. Pleeze no giv jail as he so gud.

Thankz
Da current bosz.
Tampa rufing cumpany.

[Newyorkempire]

Lol. No company letterhead/logo either.