3 January 2005
MDC Brooklyn
- At the time of the conversation, both Massino and Basciano were being housed in the hole at MDC Brooklyn
- It is mentioned that Liborio Bellomo had spent 31 days in the hole
- The prison wanted to take Massino’s sneakers because they argued he could run quicker with them and escape
- Lawyer Thomas Lee and private investigator Vic Juliano had been used to pass messages to and from Massino in prison
- Massino complains that Juliano is a boob and Lee is unreliable as a messenger
- When Massino was in general population, he would also send messages through Joseph Cammarano, Sr.MASSINO: You gotta remember one thing Tommy Lee is a lawyer.
BASCIANO: Right.
MASSINO: So, when he gives you a message he scared shit to talk. He won’t talk in the room.
BASCIANO: Right.
MASSINO: He talks outside by the table. He’s so scared. Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop. Ah you fuckin’ playing with my head.
- Cammarano would pass the messages to his son Dino during visits
- Massino complains however that Dino Cammarano hasn’t got a story right yet
- Basciano gets extra phone calls through a guard named El (ph.) who is getting married at a catering hall owned by Louis Daidone
- Vincent Basciano, Jr. visits his father every Monday and passes messages for him
- Basciano offers to pass messages from Massino through his son
- Massino tells him to pass a message asking what’s going on the street so he can compare it to the messages he gets through Cammarano
- Cammarano complained that Basciano was all about moneyBASCIANO: How you making out with Joe Saunders? Still talkin’ to him or no?
MASSINO: Yeah, hello and goodbye. He’s very bitter.
BASCIANO: Very, listen.
MASSINO: I know he don’t like you.
- Massino defended Basciano, saying he wasn’t “hungry for money” and was the only guy who did the right thing
- Cammarano is worried about his sons getting arrested
- One of his sons cleaned up some blood in a murder
- As far as Massino and Basciano are concerned, if Cammarano didn’t want his sons pinched he shouldn’t have put them up to be members
Tensions on the street
- Alfred Altadonna went to see one of Massino’s daughters three times trying to pass a message through her
- Altadonna reports to Frank Adamo, who’s under Joseph DeSimone
- Altadonna’s message was that there was a lot of tension on the street that was ready to erupt
- Altadonna also wanted to send word to Massino saying, “tell your father Vinnie is in his corner a thousand percent”
- Massino screamed at both his daughters that he didn’t want them passing messages
- Massino didn’t want his daughters to risk getting arrested
- Massino also didn’t know what Altadonna meant by saying that Basciano was in his corner
- Basciano states that Michael Mancuso is in the opposite corner and is the one Altadonna was warning could go off
- Altadonna, Dominick Cicale, and Louis DeCicco are leery of Mancuso
- Basciano had sent word to Cicale to induct Giuseppe Gambina and promote DeCicco to official captain
- Cicale relayed the instructions to Mancuso, who questioned where they came from
- Cicale stated that Massino knew about the orders, but Mancuso pressed him on how he was getting the messages
- Cicale didn’t want to tell Mancuso that they were using Basciano, Jr. as a messenger
- Mancuso sent word to Massino that he wouldn’t move on Basciano’s orders until he heard back from him (Massino)
- Anthony Indelicato saw Massino in the MDC and told him Basciano should never have put Mancuso or Rabito on the administrationMASSINO: But he is at liberty to tell him. He’s on the panel.
BASCIANO: … If he wants to tell him that, that I’m getting messages from my son.
MASSINO: Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
BASCIANO: That’s what they wanted to know. We told them it came from you.
MASSINO: Oh, okay.
BASCIANO: We told them it came from you. He doesn’t know how – With him – Listen…
MASSINO: But what they want to knows is everything that’s being done with this family coming from me.
BASCIANO: … Yes.
MASSINO: No. No it ain’t.
BASCIANO: I told him yeah, beau. I told him since I’m here it is.
MASSINO: But it ain’t. No, we’re not about, talking about. From day one. And that’s not true.
BASCIANO: But I think at this point, Joe, you know we better off doing. I think you better off just saying it did to create less, less confusion at this point.
MASSINO: Yeah, but you can’t give me a bump rap for puttin’ Anthony [Rabito] there and Nicky [Santora] and Michael. C’mon. That’s not my style. And not – You know what you’re doing? These guys know me. Jerry [Asaro] knows me. They all know me. The chief would never do that.
- Indelicato says Basciano is like John Gotti and a bad choice to run the family
- Massino doesn’t know anything about Mancuso but heard he has “the biggest mouth in the world”
- Basciano admits that Mancuso is a “washerwoman”
- Patrick DeFilippo also talked to Massino in the MDC and took Mancuso’s promotion as an insult
- Massino tells Basciano he shouldn’t have taken Mancuso from under DeFilippo while he (DeFilippo) is in prison
- Basciano says that Cicale “caught a delusion” when Mancuso approached him wanting to know what Basciano had on the street
- Basciano thinks Mancuso was looking to grab his (Basciano’s) money if Cicale was arrested
- DeCicco and Altadonna were similarly “uncomfortable” with Mancuso
- Basciano sent a message to Cicale through Tommy Lee telling him to send his love to MancusoBASCIANO: And Alfred says it don’t make sense why did Michael ask me this? And the three of them were uncomfortable.
- Basciano claims the family was “tight” when he got arrested, but Massino has received about five messages since then about tensions
BASCIANO: I tell you one thing Dominick had a big hair up his nose with Michael. I says calm the fuck down. He says Vinnie I’m not going to let Michael abuse me. I said, I said tell Dominick. Listen to me Dominick was (UI) says Vinnie it’s getting out of hand everybody is doing what they want to do.
MASSINO: So, may be this is what the message that I’m getting.
BASCIANO: He told me, Dominick says he wants to get all the captains together.
MASSINO: Dominick?
BASCIANO: Dominick says Vinnie it’s getting out of hand everybody is doing what they want to do. I says check with them first. Check with them. He says everybody is going in their own direction and doin’ what they want to do.
Basciano’s ascension and hierarchy appointments
- Before Cammarano and Anthony Urso were arrested, Massino received a message saying the family wanted to put DeCicco and Jerome Asaro on the panel
- Massino sent back a response saying to hope nobody gets arrested but if they did, he’d tell them who to put up to run the family
- At that point, Basciano was telling people that only Massino could appoint guys to the administration
- After the panel got arrested, Indelicato saw Massino in prison and told him Basciano had taken over the family
- DeFilippo once told Massino he made a mistake by making Basciano acting bossMASSINO: Bruno tells me what you did and I’m lookin’ at Bruno like this, how the fuck did Vinnie do that?
BASCIANO: Yeah.
MASSINO: Hey, what do you want to do? I said I’m not going to undo it because once you keep undoing keep – You look like jerkoffs.
- Basciano asked Vic Juliano to send a message to Massino asking for his blessing to take the reigns
- If Massino approved, Juliano was to beep Basciano 7-1-1
- Massino had no problem with leaving Basciano as acting boss, and Juliano beeped him 7-1-1
- Basciano promoted Mancuso to acting underboss and Rabito to acting consigliere
- Massino disagreed with Basciano’s decision to make Nicholas Santora a captain because Santora is a brokesterMASSINO: Anthony’s as useless as a rubber crutch on a polio victim.
BASCIANO: I believe Anthony. I believe Anthony. You know what I needed? I put Anthony there my thing was he had gray hair, ease the tension – Remember when I got there
MASSINO: Yeah, but he can’t even talk. Try to even the step – Let him go on a sit-down.
BASCIANO: … He doesn’t want.
MASSINO: (Mocking) Der ur ur ur ur uh ur.
BASCIANO: You’re right.
MASSINO: You look like a fuckin’ boob.
- Massino would have instead broken up the regime and divided it between the other captains
- Massino reflects on a mistake he made in the past by making Vincent Asaro, another brokester, a captain
- If Massino had been asked about the appointments in advance, he would have told Basciano not to go through with them
- Instead, after learning about them, Massino chose not to take them down to avoid confusion
- Basciano defends his decisions because he felt he had to maintain the structure of the family
- Basciano also points out there were few guys left on the street at the time
- Basciano took away Peter Calabrese, Anthony Graziano, and Frank Coppa’s crews without telling Massino beforehand
- Basciano defends this move as “temporary”
- Massino says Basciano should have put one guy to watch both regimes instead of promoting SantoraMASSINO: You put different guy. Who’s Lou Electrician got?
BASCIANO: Louie Electric is watching over TG’s dugime. [sic.]
MASSINO: Alright. What about Petey Rabbit?
BASCIANO: (Stutters) Ih ah ah why I put da ah ah Nicky there to watch his dugime.
- Basciano acknowledges if other guys were on the street Santora wouldn’t have been his first choice
- Basciano asks if he should take Santora downMASSINO: Anthony was a captain. Give Anthony a few more guys. He don’t cause no problems give yourself a few more guys eh give ah Dominick a few more guys, other words, my theory, I had twenty-eight guys when I was out there.
BASCIANO: Yeah.
MASSINO: So, if you got twenty or another three or four what’s the difference?
- Massino says to leave him where he is to avoid confusion
- Earlier, Massino warned Basciano not to cause confusion within the family
- Massino tells Basciano he could have put Mancuso and Rabito on a panel without giving them the acting administration positionsMASSINO: We can’t confuse our own people.
BASCIANO: Right.
MASSINO: We gotta confuse the enemy.
BASCIANO: Right.
MASSINO: The other families.
- The instructions Massino left with the panel when he was arrested were that they could make guys on their own, but they could only kill someone if the entire panel agreed on it, and they couldn’t make captainsMASSINO: Yeah, it’s like the Colombos.
BASCIANO: Alright.
MASSINO: Just captains. They’re on a panel. They’re on the administration. They’re on the panel. They don’t need a title.
- Basciano is of the opinion that you have to have faith in one guy as opposed to three
- Massino claims Philip Rastelli taught him the importance of having faith in a panelBASCIANO: I anointed myself, through you, as acting boss. I made Michael acting underboss and Anthony acting consigliere. I told everybody: nobody makes a move without coming to me. All of these guys were coming to me. I let all of these guys know, remember too, there was a lot of bullshit being said. There was a lot of fucking dissension. There was a lot of bitterness. I put all these guys in a position.
MASSINO: Yeah, but that’s the reason why – You have enough of confidence to put that panel in. You’re supposed to sit down with that panel and discuss things like I did, and I was the boss, and I used to sit down with Tony Green and Joe C., hey, discuss things. Then what’s the reason of having, what’s the reason of having a panel? Vinnie?
BASCIANO: … Right. You right. Alright. Okay.
MASSINO: I’m I’m the boss I could do what I want, and I wouldn’t do that.
BASCIANO: Okay.
MASSINO: I would take the panel.
- One thing that happened the right way was Cicale’s promotion to captain
- Basciano asked Massino for permission using Tommy Lee, who got the message right
- Since the last time Basciano met with Massino at a co-defendant meeting, he sent word back to the street okaying DeCicco’s promotion to captain
- Massino doesn’t know DeCicco but is okay with leaving him as a captain if Basciano put him there
- Basciano received word that guys on the street didn’t understand why DeCicco was being made official captain when Joseph Cammarano, Jr. wasn’t
- Basciano sent word back that it wasn’t their business
- Basciano doesn’t feel Cammarano, Jr. is ready to be an official captainMASSINO: … There’s no father and there’s no son, you know my policy. Everybody broke my policy. And I don’t mean to single you out. I’m more hurt because I make the I made the rules I’m the only fucking guy that follows the rules.
BASCIANO: What policy did I break, Joe?
MASSINO: Joe Sanders’s son. Acting captain.
BASCIANO: I didn’t do that. (UI)
MASSINO: I didn’t say that. No, I’m not talking about. I’m talking about guys breaking rules.
BASCIANO: Yeah. Yeah. I know that.
MASSINO: He’s in the street. You can’t handle, you’re acting underboss. What’s so hard about your fuckin’ job that you hadda make your son an acting captain?
BASCIANO: Right. Right.
MASSINO: He went against me.
- Massino tells Basciano to leave Cammarano, Jr. as an acting captain instead of bumping him to official
- Basciano feels DeCicco, on the other hand, is qualified “in more than one way”
- Basciano states that his own position will be enhanced if he makes DeCicco happyBASCIANO: How he brings a message back. Listen…
MASSINO: That’s very important.
BASCIANO: … He’s not – I’m not saying he’s the toughest guy in the world.
MASSINO: You don’t have to, it takes all kinds of meat to make a good sauce.
BASCIANO: Okay, thank you. Thank you.
MASSINO: My formula.
BASCIANO: But I get a message back from him without this, without lifting an eyebrow cause me if you give him (UI)
BASCIANO: Louie Electric is good again. So, you know. I’m not saying – He’s a big strong tough guy but he’s good (UI) messages delivered. Look.
MASSINO: You see you see two cock suckers don’t make a right.
BASCIANO: Tony might not have, Tony Green might not go along with this.
MASSINO: Yes, he will.
BASCIANO: Okay. Alright.
MASSINO: Tony Green will.
Inductions
- When Massino was arrested, he gave the panel the okay to induct new members without consulting him, but they had to be around for at least eight years
- Massino instituted the eight years policy because of the Donnie Brasco investigation
- Massino thought the FBI wouldn’t leave an undercover agent in the family for eight years
- 16 guys were inducted after Massino was arrested
- Some were made by Basciano, and others were made by Urso and Cammarano
- Cicale and Anthony Aiello were both inducted despite not being around Basciano for eight years
- Basciano vouched for Cicale and Massino took his word for it
- Basciano defends his decision to induct Anthony Aiello after only knowing him for two years because Anthony Indelicato and Baldassare Amato knew him for years
- Massino spoke to Amato, who confirmed Aiello was never around him
- Massino heard a rumour that a guy called “Cardboard” would be straightened out when Indelicato comes homeMASSINO: Where does Bruno know him from?
BASCIANO: Right. He told me he knew since he was a baby.
MASSINO: Yeah from where? The visiting room. Hey little boy how are you? C’mon.
BASCIANO: So, Baldo know – Told me Baldo released him to him.
MASSINO: Not true.
BASCIANO: He told me Baldo release him to him.
MASSINO: Listen to me.
BASCIANO: But how could I not believe these guys what they’re telling me, Joe.
MASSINO: Cause you gotta touch base with me.
BASCIANO: Alright.
MASSINO: I asked Baldo. I seen Baldo in here. Baldo had nothin’ to do with that.
- Basciano regrets inducting Alphonse DiPilato
- Basciano claims to have sent a message to Massino through Tommy Lee asking for permission to induct DiPilatoBASCIANO: His cousin Allie should’ve never straightened him out. As soon as (UI) I should have never straightened him out. Never. He comes with five thousand.
MASSINO: You know you see you gotta remember one thing. You put the beef into me, correct?
BASCIANO: Yeah.
MASSINO: You stopped.
BASCIANO: Yeah.
MASSINO: I told Bruno when you get off parole you sit down we’ll talk a while. Next thing I know you straightened him out.
- Lee came back saying he had the okay but Massino claims Lee never asked him
- This leads Massino and Basciano to talk more generally about Indelicato
- Another message Massino got from the street was that Basciano wanted to make Indelicato acting underboss (Basciano strongly denies this)MASSINO: You never did time with Bruno. I was on the floor with Bruno.
BASCIANO: Makes you nuts?
MASSINO: No, everybody on the floor was changing numbers that was with him.
BASCIANO: Yeah. Yeah. Right. He’s a dope. He’s a dope. I hope he don’t get pinched though.
- Massino reiterates that whoever proposes someone has to have known them for eight years
- Basciano had enforced the eight-year policy to knock down someone proposed by Generoso Barbieri
- About six or seven years ago, Joseph Cammarano, Sr. proposed Michael Virtuoso for membership
- Massino got “good information” that Virtuoso used cocaine and told Cammarano, “never in a million years”
- Cammarano went to speak to Virtuoso, who told him he only used drugs on the weekends
- In addition to breaking the policies about inductions, Cammarano and Urso broke a policy by getting James Tartaglione involved when he was still on parole
- Massino’s policy was for guys to stay away while they’re on supervised release
- Massino didn’t do anything when Basciano “jumped on [Urso’s] lap” because he knew Urso needed help running the familyMASSINO: They [Cammarano and Urso] broke the rules too.
BASCIANO: I found out…
MASSINO: They broke the rules too.
BASCAINO: … I straightened out the last bunch of guys.
MASSINO: And when I told Joe, you know what Joe told me? He blamed Tony that you got Tony’s ear.
BASCIANO: … Bullshit. I – Bullshit.
- Massino heard that a lot of the new inductees do cocaine but he speaks highly of Giuseppe Bosco
- Massino reiterates that he “definitely” trusts Amato’s judgement but wouldn’t have trusted Frank Coppa or Frank Lino’s judgementMASSINO: The best one out of all of them guys is I told you. Joey – ah Bosco. Giuseppe Bosco.
BASCIANO: Joe Bosco. Yeah. Yeah.
MASSINO: Baldo loves him. The rest of them…
BASCIANO: Yeah, but just because Baldo loves him too Joe that’s
MASSINO: But you got to know the one thing who knows these guys better than Baldo? And now you see what you just said, I trust your judgement.
BASCIANO: … Yeah.
MASSINO: I trust Baldo’s judgement.
- Massino then clarifies that Bosco wasn’t on record with Amato
- After the last time Massino and Basciano talked, Basciano sent word to the outside to bump DeCicco to captain and induct GambinaMASSINO: and as far as this kid – da Joey Bosco he ain’t –
BASCIANO: Bosca.
MASSINO: … Yeah, he is with Cheech’s kids. Not with Baldo.
- Cicale now wants to hold off on inducting Gambina because of how he conducted himself on the Randolph Pinzolo hit
- Basciano no longer wishes to go through with Gambina’s induction either
Murder of Randolph Pinzolo
- Massino is under the impression that Basciano approved the Pinzolo murder without consulting the rest of the acting administration
- Massino argues that Mancuso or Rabito could start killing guys without consulting Basciano and they’d end up with “three different fucking families”
- Basciano states Mancuso and Rabito would have to check with him if they wanted to kill anyone but he could kill anyone he liked
- Massino asks what would happen if Mancuso found out about the Pinzolo murder
- It’s not until much later that Basciano tells him of Mancuso’s involvementBASCIANO: Michael is not going to do anything. Michael is not going to do a fucking thing.
- Massino questions if the Pinzolo murder was warrantedMASSINO: Yeah, but who gave the okay to clip’em? You did?
BASCIANO: Michael.
MASSINO: Oh.
BASCIANO: (UI)
MASSINO: Aha.
BASCIANO: It wasn’t me. You know what I’m saying?
- Massino states it took him twenty years to put the family together and he could take a life everyday if he wanted to but he wouldn’t gain anything from it
- Massino points out that after his release from prison he only ordered one murder
- Basciano states that everybody had something bad to say about Pinzolo
- Mancuso told Basciano that Pinzolo was a rat
- Basciano had previously sent word to Massino through Tommy Lee wanting to induct Pinzolo, but Massino put a stop to it
- Massino knew Pinzolo shot his (Pinzolo’s) best friend in the back of the legs
- Basciano gave Pinzolo the benefit of the doubt and told him it was his last chance
- Basciano tells Massino about the situation with Joseph Bonelli
- Bonelli is with the Genovese family but he shot up a house belonging to the owner of Villa Sonoma, a restaurant in Whitestone
- The owner was on record with Paul Spina
- Bonelli was also saying “fuck Nicky” in reference to Santora
- Basciano then went to Joseph Cammarano, Jr. and told him to kill Bonelli
- A week after telling him to kill Bonelli, Cammarano “tested” Basciano by telling him Pinzolo had gone into Villa Sonoma drunk with a gun boasting that he was an ex-SEAL and the only one capable of killing anyone in the family
- Massino asks why they didn’t chase him instead
- At Basciano’s instruction, Cicale told Pinzolo he was chased and to go to FloridaBASCIANO: Joey C. Jo-, you want to know why? Because he’s a fuckin’ dangerous kid that don’t fuckin’ listen. He talks stupid. He talks like a fuckin’ jerkoff. He’s a fuckin’ – He just an annoying fuckin’ kid.
- Pinzolo then told Al Perna (described as around Anthony Federici) that he wouldn’t go to Florida
- Basciano thought the Pinzolo murder would be a wake-up call for the rest of the family
- Massino asks if Basciano used Cicale and Giuseppe Gambina to kill Pinzolo
- Basciano thinks Cicale and Aiello carried murder, but he isn’t sure exactly how it played out
- Basciano describes Cicale as a loyal dog and Aiello as his (Basciano’s) Luca Brasi
- Basciano has four other guys he can rely on to do work
- Cicale was high on Gambina but then came back and told Basciano that Gambina didn’t handle himself correctly
- Massino heard a rumour that Gambina is a cocaine addict and is worried he could cause a problem over the murder
- Massino received information from Sandro Aiosa that worried him about Gambina
- Basciano calls Aiosa a punk who feels threatened by him (Basciano)
- Massino agrees that Aiosa is a “piece of shit”
- Aiosa told Massino that Gambina wanted to beat up his own father while high a few years ago
- Massino asked Aiosa why he didn’t give Gambina a beating
- Massino is worried that Basciano used a cocaine addict to kill PinzoloMASSINO: I told Sandro, you didn’t give him a beatin’? You’re the friend. Is he that stupid?
BASCIANO: Yeah.
MASSINO: Give me a stupid look.
- Massino is concerned that people think he gave the okay for the Pinzolo murder and he doesn’t want it to fall on himBASCIANO: If we had to take all the guys in this outfit or these other outfits who were doing coke once in their life and wouldn’t straighten them out, we’d only have six guys.
MASSINO: If they only did it once I go along. But my thing is you don’t use him to do a piece of work. Anybody did work with us, as far as I knew, forget about Bruno, cause Bruno is with his father. Anybody who did work with us.
BASCIANO: I know you are a compassionate guy and I know you believe in giving everybody a second opportunity.
MASSINO: I don’t, I don’t trust – That’s, that’s my – That’s how I feel. To me that’s weak courage. When a guy puts that in his nose. That’s weak courage. That’s how I feel.
- When Massino first saw Basciano in the bullpen in the MDC, he didn’t mention anything about the Pinzolo hitMASSINO: The last thing, what’s the last thing you want? Listen to what, and I talk to you like a brother. I don’t want people takin’ that we clipped Randy. We killed Randy. You killed Randy.
BASCIANO: Nobody, nobody knows that.
MASSINO: So, did you read the paper?
BASCIANO: But we, first of all, we didn’t do it.
[…]
BASCIANO: Right. None of us did it. That’s the bottom line.
MASSINO: It means someone…
BASCIANO: Whoever did it they’ll find out who did it, it wasn’t us.
- Basciano didn’t bring it up until a week later in a co-defendant meeting after it had already happened
- Basciano defends his decision not to ask Massino about Pinzolo because it was already in motion at the time
- Basciano admits Massino is right but doubles down that Pinzolo “deserved it” because he was a thorn who wouldn’t listen to anybodyMASSINO: Why didn’t you mention about Randy to me? You never said a word.
BASCIANO: I didn’t think, well -.
MASSINO: You gotta tell me, beau. You’re not the chief. I got, I’m responsible for everybody.
Greg Andres
- Basciano dances around the topic when Massino brings up the plot to kill Greg Andres
- Massino later goes back to the Andres murder solicitation and Basciano dances around it again, mostly replying by saying “no”, “right”, or “forget about it”MASSINO: We spoke in the bullpen?
BASCIANO: Yeah.
MASSINO: And you want to take the prosecutor out. What are we gonna gain by? What are you gonna gain if we take the prosecutor out?
BASCIANO: Nothing.
MASSINO: What are you going to gain?
BASCIANO: Forget about it.
MASSINO: No, that’s no good. That’s off limits.
BASCIANO: Forget about it. Forget about that.
Operations on the street
- Basciano sent Massino’s wife $60,000 in a bottle of wine
- Another $10,000 is coming from Basciano, and Mancuso has $30,000
- Basciano and Massino each got $65,000 from associate Frank Esposito
- Massino is upset that Peter Calabrese wasn’t paying his war chest money
- Massino says guys like Calabrese abandoned him when it came to paying war chest moneyBASCIANO: Petey, Petey is scared to death. He told me to tell you he’s – (UI) Petey. Cause all these guys are like they pick the one they support when they come home. I said Petey let me ask you a question when you come home I says you want to be a captain? He says nah I want to know this for myself. He says but if you want him there he says he’ll do whatever you want.
- Massino thinks the war chest money comes to a total of $2,800 a month, but Basciano says it’s seven or eight thousand
- Massino brings up DeFilippo and John Spirito and tells Basciano to give their lawyers war chest moneyMASSINO: So, other words, I heard there’s twenty-eight twenty-eight…
BASCIANO: … How could it be? We got still ninety guys on the street. I make sure I collect it from everybody.
MASSINO: … Yeah, but you gotta remember who’s on parole, who’s sick, who ain’t workin’. This is what I’m getting’ money.
- Massino gave DeFilippo $50,000 from the war chest and told him to split it with Spirito
- DeFilippo told Basciano he split the $50,000 equally with Spirito
- Spirito told Massino that DeFilippo kept $40,000 and only gave him $10,000
- Massino and Basciano agree to give them $2,000 a month
- Massino doesn’t think DeFilippo would give him a share of the war chest money if the situation was reversed
- Massino feels DeFilippo is entitled to the war chest money because he did work for the family
- Basciano’s regime kicks up $2,000 a month, and Asaro’s regime kicks up $2,400
- Mancuso kicks in $1,000 a month, and DeCicco kicks in $2,400 a month
- Massino asks Basciano what else is going on in the family
- Gerlando Sciascia had put the “Piazza brothers” in the construction business
- The Piazza brothers were around Sciascia
- Basciano told “Sal” [Montagna?] to get $50,000 from the Piazza brothers but he only came back with $15,000
- Massino got $10,000 and Basciano got $5,000
- Basciano won the Via Aletto restaurant on First Avenue in a sitdown with Federico Giovanelli
- The restaurant was instructed to pay $6,000 at Christmas but only came up with $2,000
- Mancuso won a taxi stand in a beef for the Bonanno family
- The Bonanno family has a labourer’s union in Westchester County
- Jimmy Barbieri has a legitimate beef with Paul SpinaBASCIANO: We won it. I won the beef (UI) whacking up. The union, I told Sal, don’t make me fight with this over here and I use your expression we sit down for a glass of club soda. The union belongs to us that way…
MASSINO: Yeah, but you don’t get nothin’ from the union.
BASCIANO: … Sal wouldn’t listen to me. It’s it’s prestige, beau. I said don’t make me fight for un-…
MASSINO: Listen to me, who the fuck wants prestige you don’t get anything, all’s you’re goin’ to do is get time.
- Massino and Basciano both like Barbieri but acknowledge he has a gambling problem
- Spina’s brother was on record with Barbieri and gave him $10,000 a year
- When Spina was inducted, they put his brother with him and Barbieri lost that $10,000
- Basciano wanted to put a concrete company out in Staten Island
- Barbieri told Basciano that Stillwell Concrete was on record with the Bonanno family and had been with James Tartaglione
- Massino says Stillwell was never on record with the Bonannos but with Colombo member Vincent Russo
- Massino never received any money from Stillwell
- Barbieri told Basciano that Stillwell would do work on his house for free
- There’s a Cadillac place in Middlewood, NJ, that had been on record with Tartaglione
- The other fifty percent from the machines was to go to Massino, but Tommy Lee garbled the message and let Basciano think he was entitled to half of itMASSINO: What’s happening in Jersey with the machines?
BASCIANO: They’re in there. They are there. They been there for weeks now.
MASSINO: Alright. Alright.
BASCIANO: Oh, this is like with the machines, Sally Daz guys Sally Daz put the machines in. Three hundred o-o a week goes through ah ah Sammy (ph) [Joseph Sammartino]. You said you’re aware of that. Am I correct or not? He splits a hundred fifty with him and TG. And then the other half…
- Basciano doesn’t intend to take the half because it’s Massino’s money
- Massino gives $300 a week from his share of the machines to Salvatore Maiorino for collecting the cashMASSINO: Anything that we create – Now, if we were in the street I whack with you. I got no problem. But I can’t give you fifty percent or somethin’ that’s mine, man.
- 60% of the money from the machines goes to the locations
- Massino tells Basciano to find out how much money the machines are making so they can figure out how much to pay Zottola for servicing them
- Since Massino was arrested he hasn’t received any money from his sports betting operation
- Massino gets a thousand a week from the Navarro brothersBASCIANO: … Well, I was going to give you the five hundred a month. I was going to take it from the cocksucker downstairs.
MASSINO: I was getting’ five hundred a week.
BASCIANO: A week. Yeah. And and I always give you (UI) always give you a thousand a month.
MASSINO: But let him keep the five hundred. We put it towards the lawyers. I have no problem with that. Understand I want to be fair.
BASCIANO: He says he’s on record not makin’ no money.
MASSINO: But you can’t take my customers – These are my customers. All the years. And not giving me a fucking dime. I put Patty up on it.
- The Navarro brothers are wealthy and Massino heard they were making twenty or thirty thousand a month
- Massino’s guy at the airport was paying $3,000 a month but asked for a break and went down to $2,000 a month
- Massino is also scheduled to get three to six hundred from construction in New JerseyMASSINO: Everybody wants a break when I went to jail.
- The Lucchese family took away two guys who were with Vincent Asaro
- Massino approved transferring one guy called Mike but didn’t okay another guy in a wheelchair called Glen
Canada
- The first thing Nicholas Santora wanted to know was about Canada
BASCIANO: You know the first thing he wanted to know?
MASSINO: Why?
BASCIANO: Should we send anybody up to Canada. What’s happening with Canada?
MASSINO: Oh yeah, what’s happening with Canada?
BASCIANO: What’s happening with Canada? Nothing’s happening with Canada?
MASSINO: Okay.
BASCIANO: Nothing’s happening with Canada.
MASSINO: Okay.
BASCAINO: Nothing’s happening in Canada. Sal wanted permission to go up there because there was a cousin for some work. I gave him permission to go up there. I says go there. I says you can’t cause any
MASSINO: What’s the story with the kid Sal?
BASCIANO: … Sal the iron-worker? He’s alright, but he’s a little fuckin’ ah ah – He he’s alright.
MASSINO: He’s got that kid Vinnie Vituchio.
BASCIANO: I put Vinnie Vituchio. I told Michael to take Vinnie Vituchio. I told Michael to take Vinnie Vituchio.
MASSINO: You know, that’s another thing you shoulda sent word to me.
BASCIANO: About what?
MASSINO: About Vinnie Vituchio. He’s with me. Nobody asks me anything.
BASCIANO: I but I – Listen, I don’t know this.
MASSINO: Where do, who do you think he was around?
BASCIANO: Well, I sent word to you with Vinnie Vituchio.
MASSINO: I never got it. I got no problem. Let me tell you what happened. -Eh if I remember…
BASCIANO: If I’m (UI) you told before. I told Michael get two thousand or six thousand.
MASSINO: … When when I was in here you was in the street. He report to Louie Restivo.
BASCIANO: Correct.
MASSINO: You’s guy sent me word Canada wanna put Vinnie
BASCIANO: Correct.
MASSINO: Vitucchio with Sal iron-worker.
BASCIANO: Correct.
MASSINO: And I said no.
BASCIANO: Correct.
MASSINO: Alright?
BASCIANO: Correct. That’s correct.
MASSINO: I got a good memory. But I didn’t go fuckin’ go senile yet.
BASCIANO: That’s absolutely correct. That’s correct.
MASSINO: But you can’t take my guys and do what the fuck.
BASCIANO: No.
Patty DeFilippo
- Basciano warns Massino that Patty DeFilippo isn’t his friend
- Massino complains that when you become a boss you have to “become a cocksucker”
- Massino didn’t really know DeFilippo but upped him because Salvatore Vitale was pushing for himMASSINO: I never realize fuck – You can’t make everybody happy. Everybody wants to become a captain. Some people become a captain they want to become the underboss.
- Basciano was leery of DeFilippo when he was on the street
- Basciano sent a message to Massino through Tommy Lee saying that he thought DeFilippo was a rat
- Massino told Lee he wanted Basciano to give him facts rather than opinions
- The message Lee gave to Basciano however was that Massino didn’t care what he did with DeFilippo
- Massino states he received a message from Lee that Basciano wanted to take DeFilippo down from his captain positionMASSINO: What I say?
BASCIANO: You told the lawyer I don’t care what you do with him as far as Patty is concerned.
MASSINO: No, I never said that. No.
BASCIANO: (UI) would have been, that would have been a disaster. That’s what came back to me.
MASSINO: I never said that. That’s number one. Lawy- That’s why lawyers should stay a lawyer.
- Basciano denies ever asking Lee to send a message to take DeFilippo down
- Massino states it’s a bad idea to “kick” someone when they’re in prison
- Massino didn’t take Vincent Asaro down as captain when he was in prison despite the fact that he was running his regime poorly
- DeFilippo talked to Massino in prison and told him Basciano took all his guys from him
- Mancuso sent DeFilippo a message saying, “fuck you you’re not my boss no more”
- Basciano tells Massino not to believe what DeFilippo’s telling him
- Basciano confronted DeFilippo about the things he was telling Massino
- DeFilippo denied telling Massino that Basciano had taken his (DeFilippo’s) guys away from him
- Lee told Massino “if Patty gets out, Vinnie wants to jocko ’em”
- Basciano acknowledges that he sent the message requesting to jocko DeFilippo
- Massino asks if Lee knows that jocko means kill and Basciano says no
- Massino’s response to Lee about DeFilippo was “listen let’s hope he wins the case”
- Basciano believed DeFilippo was going to flip and calls him a “scumbag”MASSINO: At one time he was lookin’ to put your lights out.
BASCIANO: … I know that. Why? I don’t know that. You saved me. Listen
MASSINO: I saved Bruno three times.
- Massino replied that he needed facts not opinions
- Tommy Lee gave this message on a Sunday and DeFilippo was arrested the next Tuesday
- Basciano states that DeFilippo would prove a problem if he gets out of prison
- DeFilippo would rally people around him including Santora and John Spirito
- Mancuso would go “where the wind goes”
- DeFilippo and Santora would socialise at the CasaBlanca after Massino got arrested
- DeFilippo likes Santora, and they were both together when they got the news that Vitale flipped
Salvatore Vitale
- Massino complains that Vitale wanted to kill every captain, including Richard CantarellaMASSINO: My brother-in-law if I could approve I didn’t take him down but everybody knew he was down and I told you that too.
BASCIANO: Right.
MASSINO: If I got pinched tomorrow, he’s officially down.
- Massino says sometimes guys become monsters when they get made or promoted to captain
- Massino brings up Vitale’s involvement in the murder of Anthony Tomasulo
- Massino tells Basciano he found out Vitale and John Gotti were plotting to kill him (Massino)MASSINO: You take the same thing my brother-in-law kills – ah Boots’s son. Why did he kill ‘em?
BASCIANO: Yeah. That was money.
MASSINO: But no, why did they kill ‘em he said, Sal is a scumbag and a punk.
BASCIANO: Right.
MASSINO: You kill a guy for that? You give him a beating and tell him next time I put you in a garbage can.
- The Genovese family told George Sciascia, “We’re not going through another Paul situation. Joe’s the boss”
- Sciascia then came to Massino and told him he was behind him a thousand percent
- Massino thought Sciascia was talking funny and didn’t figure out what he was being warned of until he was arrested
- Massino and Basciano both suspected Vitale had used coke but never knew for sure
MASSINO: You sure what you just said Robert Lino comes in he tells me.
BASCIANO: This cocksucker.
MASSINO: He said chief you know you’re my boss, he’s my underboss. I think yous got no faith in me. He’s know what my belief is. I would never tolerate him doing coke. Especially, an underboss. I wouldn’t tolerate him being a drunk.
The future of the family
- Massino tells Basciano not to sanction anymore murders and Basciano agrees
- Massino tells Basciano he can’t run the family with fear
- The family has to know Basciano is capable of violence, but he also has to be loved
- Massino points out guys are going to be nervous to come in if they think Basciano killed Pinzolo for no good reason
- Massino tells Basciano no more captains are to be made after DeCicco and only guys who have been around for eight years can be inductedBASCIANO: … I will put a moratorium on it. I’ll (UI)
MASSINO: … Yeah, but are they goin’ to believe you which I don’t think so.
- Massino wants to elevate Jerry Asaro to the panel to run the family with Mancuso and Rabito
- Massino also considers Joseph Cammarano, Jr. for the role but settles on Asaro
- Basciano describes Cammarano, Jr. as “scared” but acknowledges he’s “a good kid”MASSINO: Jerry is a good man, right?
BASCIANO: But now yeah. Jerry is a man. Jerry is a good man cause Jerry is a fighter.
MASSINO: Just give him a three-man panel.
BASCIANO: So, you leave Michael Nose, you leave Anthony, and Jerry Asaro. That’s a three-man panel, good.
- Massino tells Basciano to put everything on hold until they see where they’re going
- Massino wants to wait until he gets off the floor to pass the message through Dino Cammarano putting Asaro on the administration
- Massino tells Basciano to let the family elect a new boss if he (Massino) loses his appeals
- Basciano urges Massino to keep hold of the boss position
- Basciano asks what should happen if he cops a plea and gets out after six or seven yearsBASCIANO: This is a selfish statement I’m goin’ to make. You got to be the guy, let me make the shots. You’re the guy.
MASSINO: … But you can’t. Let me tell you why it ain’t going to work. No matter where I go I’m gonna probably have nobody on my visiting list.
BASCIANO: You have to appoint a boss, beau because listen, whoever you appoint, that’ll make them listen.
MASSINO: You come out you got a position.
BASCIANO: Okay. What position would (UI) You want me acting boss? You want me to take the top spot and just overlookin’? What do you want?
MASSINO: Right now I wouldn’t just don’t worry about it.
