Gangland News 2/16/2023

[Dr031718]

Colombo Capo: An FBI Agent's Lies Taint Case Against Me And It Should Be Thrown Out

He may be the heir apparent to the crown, but by all accounts, Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico is not, and has never been boss of the Colombo crime family. But Persico claims that in 2020 and 2021 an FBI agent knowingly lied that he was the boss in several sworn affidavits. Those lies, says Skinny Teddy, fatally taints the resulting racketeering indictment against him and his case should therefore be dismissed.

In a court filing, Persico attorney Joseph Corozzo told Brooklyn Federal Judge Hector Gonzalez that numerous court documents in the Colombo case, as well as the separate Lottery Winners Ripoff case, establish his claim that the agent lied about Persico's rank. He says further that federal prosecutors have tried to coverup the agent's lies by not turning over other documents that back up his claim.

At a minimum, Corozzo argues, Gonzalez should order prosecutors to turn over documents in both cases that they are still withholding, and conduct a hearing. That hearing, the lawyer urges, should determine whether alleged "bad faith" actions by the agent and the prosecutors against Persico during and after the investigation warrant a suppression of some evidence against his client, if not the dismissal of the indictment.

The handful of pertinent documents available in the public realm relating to both cases are either sealed or redacted so drastically as to make them incomprehensible.

But there seems to be no question that, in at least three affidavits for wiretaps, and one for a search warrant, Persico, who was released from prison in 2020 and has been detained since his arrest in September of 2021, is wrongly identified as the boss of the family.

There is also no debate, according to the indictment and the government's September 2021 detention memo, that the late Andrew (Mush) Russo was the boss of the crime family that year as well as in 2020. Persico, who is a nephew of the late boss Carmine (Junior) Persico, was ranked as a captain in the crime family.

The issue is fully briefed, and both sides are awaiting a ruling by Judge Gonzalez.

In a filing last month, prosecutors argue that any errors that FBI agent Joseph Costello made in referring to Persico as the boss in the three cited affidavits were "inadvertent," and that "even assuming that the information about Persico's official role was incorrect," his affidavits had "abundant information" about Persico that established probable cause to obtain the wiretaps.

If that's true, countered Corozzo and co-counsel Angela Lipsman, since it is now some 15 months after a federal grand jury and the government's detention memo established that Russo was the boss of the family and Persico was not, the prosecutors would simply admit that Costello made an honest mistake.

As Gang Land has reported, the feds have known since April of 2021 when mob associate Andrew Koslosky flipped that Russo was the boss of the crime family. But Corozzo claims that since 2020, when the FBI and other prosecutors in Brooklyn were investigating an $80 million ripoff of three Lottery winners, Costello and Persico's prosecution team have known that Russo was the crime family's boss.

Instead of owning up to that, the lawyers wrote, the prosecutors have delayed turning over information about the wiretap and search warrant affidavits, and have refused to turn over affivaits and tape-recorded phone calls from the Lottery winners case are relevant to Persico's defense. They also surmise that rather than admit the big mistake of naming the wrong wiseguy as Colombo boss, prosecutors decided not to renew any of their wiretap applications.

"Rather than concede that the Government was wrong," they wrote, prosecutors "avoided having to submit another progress report (to the federal judges and later to the defendants) by opting not to" seek any further wiretaps "in the last six months of the investigation." And then, they "chose to conceal the misrepresentations from defense counsel for four months after Mr. Persico's arrest."

If the mistakes were innocent, the lawyers wrote, the prosecutors "would simply concede in their opposition that the affidavits misrepresented Mr. Persico's role in the enterprise. Incredibly, the Government is only assuming for the sake of argument that Mr. Persico was not the boss of the racketeering enterprise."

In their filing, prosecutors James McDonald, Devon Lash, Michael Gibaldi, and Andrew Reich wrote that a tape recorded prison statement by Persico on September 30, 2021 that he "never went to two meetings" with top mobsters in November of 2020 backed up a search warrant affidavit claim that he had attended one high-level mob meeting at Brennan & Carr restaurant.

Corozzo and Lipsman dismissed that argument as legal heresy and asked Gonzalez to "strike" the September 30, 2021 telephone call" assertion from the government's brief as "entirely irrelevant" much the way he might strike inappropriate testimony by a belligerent witness from a trial transcript.

"It is elementary that the probable cause needed to validate the issuance of an authorization for a wiretap must exist at the time of issuance," they wrote.

"It is therefore legally impossible for a telephone conversation intercepted on September 30, 2021 to retroactively contribute to probable cause for any of the affidavits at issue, all of which predated that date," they wrote. "Even if the Court accepted the Government's interpretation that the statement, 'I never went to two meetings in a restaurant,' implies proof of attending one meeting, that monitored telephone call did not exist at the time the warrants/orders were issued."

Angela Lipsman"The Government should be well aware that as a matter of law, the statement could not possibly have established probable cause for the wiretap on Mr. Persico's telephone," or for the warrant to search Persico and his place of business, Corozzo and Lipsman wrote.

The lawyers also ridiculed an assertion that plans by two mobsters to complain to Persico about the handling by Russo and consigliere Ralph (Big Ralphie) DeMatteo of a union extortion scheme shows that "Persico had the ability to overrule" the administration's decision by equating the talk by the disgruntled mobsters to one by two prosecutors or defense lawyers, about a supervisor.

"We would welcome the opportunity at a hearing for the Government to explain to the Court what position could possibly be higher than boss of an enterprise, or how someone lower in the hierarchy could overrule the boss and the consigliere," they wrote.

In the tape recorded discussion, capo Vincent (Vinny Unions) Ricciardo and mobster Michael Uvino were overheard discussing the long-running extortion of a Queens-based construction workers union that is the centerpiece of the case and stating they were "planning to visit" Skinny Teddy to complain about the way Russo and DeMatteo were overseeing the shakedown.

There were numerous explanations that would have nothing to do with Persico having the ability "to trump the boss," they wrote. "An alleged captain be(ing) able to overrule the enterprise's boss and consigliere would be contrary to the well-established structure of every racketeering enterprise (in) every racketeering indictment in this and other districts," the lawyers wrote.

If "one Assistant United States Attorney was dissatisfied with directives from her supervisor, and discussed with a fellow AUSA going to speak to a third AUSA about the matter," they wrote, it would "not prove" that the third AUSA has a higher rank "than the supervisor of the first AUSA."

They cited a similar scenario involving two associates in a law firm to complain about a partner, and wrote, "While it may not have occurred to the Government, people have been known to seek advice from peers, and even to vent to peers about how their superiors are handling matters."

Gene Borrello Gets A Tirade from The Judge, And A Mere Six Months For His Second Violation Of Supervised Release

Last week in Brooklyn Federal Court, Judge Frederic Block gave turncoat gangster Gene Borrello some kind of tongue-lashing. Block savaged Borrello for lying to him, for filing a fraudulent letter to the court, one that made the judge look "foolish" and "like a sucker" for giving him break after break at his sentencings. You could almost see the steam coming out of the judge's ears.

But apparently that was mostly what the judge wanted to do — let off a little steam. Block followed up his merciless volley by giving the errant informant just six months in prison. That was less time than called for by Borrello's sentencing guidelines. It was also more than two years less than the sentence requested by prosecutors who clearly wanted the judge to throw the Block — err, book — at their former witness.

The only clear sign at how peeved the judge was came when Block refused to give the gangster-turned podcaster a week to put his affairs in order before going back to prison. The judge remanded him immediately to custody, stating that "under all the circumstances, I'm not comfortable with letting him loose."

But if that move interrupted Borrello's plans for the day, he should still thank his lucky stars. His sentence is 30 months less than what the feds wanted him to receive for his latest violation of supervised release (VOSR) — and two months less than the low end of his sentencing guidelines.

Block said it would be "inappropriate" for him to give Borrello three years as the government requested. His rationale was that such a heavy sentence was based on 12 new VOSR offenses that the feds allege Borrello committed in Florida after the judge allowed him to move there in June to take a job as a roofer based on what the judge called a "phony baloney letter" that Borrello submitted.

The judge noted that Borrello had pleaded innocent to the new charges which include domestic abuse against a new girlfriend. Block stated he would sentence the defendant only for his second 2021 VOSR for threatening family members of an old paramour, and for "glorifying the mob" on a podcast after being ordered to refrain from all online activity involving organized crime. The same offenses earlier that year cost Borrello four months in the slammer.

While Block didn't consider the volatile ex-Bonanno associate's new VOSR charges in meting out a prison term, the judge clearly believes the defendant is guilty of domestic abuse, based on the colloquy they had after Borrello admitted that he violated his supervised release when he went to Florida in May of last year "to see my girlfriend."

This girlfriend thing, that's going to be the basis of those other charges," said Block. "It looks like a love/hate relationship. You beat her up," the judge continued, noting that he had seen videos and read about Borrello's "misbehavior" while he was in the Sunshine State.
"Right," said Borrello.

"You have anger management problems and all sorts of terrible things," said Block. "But she loves you, she forgives you, she knows she's a battered woman," the judge continued. "I get it, love/hate. You know, Romeo and Juliet."
"I did go without permission, your Honor," said Borrello. "She wanted to see me, I did go, yes."

Borrello insisted that he really had been offered a job as a roofer in Florida when Block stated he had "serious concerns whether (Borrello had) been honest and candid with the Court" about that and told the defendant that he did "not like to be made to feel like I've been a sucker."

"I can explain to you the job thing that they're saying," Borrello insisted, "that's a lie. The person that gave me the job told me he had permission to hire me. I never met the boss. He just told me he had permission. He submitted the letter to us. How is that my fault? How did I lie to you? That's all I'm going to say, your Honor, how did I lie to you?"

The judge noted that Borrello had "represented" that he "had a job" and was "responsible for (his) own behavior" for having "submitted a letter that was apparently fraudulent."

"I understand that, but I want to let you know that I did not make up the letter," said Borrello.

Prosecutor Matthew Galeotti told Block that a government investigation into the unsigned and undated letter purporting to be from the T&G Roofing of Oldsmar Florida indicated that Borrello and a buddy had created the phony letter that defense lawyer Nancy Ennis filed with the court stating that her client had been offered a job as a roofer in the Tampa Bay area.

The bogus letter, Galeotti said, "contained the name and address of the true owner of T&G Roofing, but the phone number for a close friend of Mr. Borrello's," noting that the scheme "was to submit a letter to the Court to make it look real and then if Probation called the number on the letter, Mr. Borrello's friend would answer and falsely" confirm that the job offer was real.

"And that telephone number belonged to who?" asked Block.

"It belonged to a person named Michael Huber," said Galeotti. He and Borrello were "close associates" and a "follow-up investigation" established that the duo "had a number of communications back and forth around the time the letter was filed," the prosecutor said. "So I do believe it is disingenuous for Mr. Borrello to say he was unaware that the contents of the letter were false."

"He's given his reason why he thinks it was not," said Block. "He's responsible for the falsity of that."

Noting that Borrello was "facing a lot of other charges," the judge declared that six months "sounds to me like the appropriate sentence here."

The judge ordered Galeotti to detail the specific VOSR offenses he plans to prosecute Borrello for in a letter to the court next week. He told the prosecutor and lawyer Ennis to try and work out a resolution by mid-March, stating that he plans to resolve them one way or another before Borrello completes his six-month sentence.

No Birthday Bash With His Mob Boss This Year, But He Enjoyed Valentine's Day Dinner With His Wife

He's been confined to his home since April, so Ralph (The Undertaker) Balsamo wasn't able to help his Mafia boss celebrate his birthday last month like he did last year. And since the Genovese wiseguy pleaded guilty last week to racketeering in a deal calling for at least three years behind bars, he won't be able the next few years as well. But it's not all bad. Over the objections of the government, Balsamo enjoyed a sweet Valentine's Day dinner with his wife Jennifer.

And all things considered, The Undertaker, a powerful 52-year-old capo and close pal of crime family boss Liborio (Barney) Bellomo — his record includes four prior convictions, including one with Bellomo — didn't fare too badly in the case. That will be true even if Manhattan Federal Judge John Keoltl gives him the full 46 months, the high end of the recommended prison term in his plea agreement.

Balsamo's actual sentencing guidelines in the eleven-year-long racketeering conspiracy that ended in April of last year called for up to eight years in prison, according to a court filing by assistant U.S. attorney Celia Cohen, the prosecutor who signed off on Balsamo's plea deal, which was part of a so-called "global plea" deal involving all six defendants in the case.

The global plea enabled all the defendants — including a fellow capo, two soldiers and two mob associates who pleaded guilty to the same indictment — to earn agreements calling for prison terms much lower than 20 years, the statutory maximum. The recommended sentences range from a low of 18 months for mobster John Campanella to a high of 51 months for associate Michael (Mike Polio) Poli.

Even so, The Undertaker's numbers seemed to shake out very well, especially since he had more priors than any of the others — a factor in computing sentencing guidelines — and he committed his crimes while on post-prison supervised release from a 2018 conviction, according to court filings in the case.

Balsamo will also be required to forfeit $20,000. Poli is on the hook for $175,000, and his father Thomas, and mobster Michael Messina will forfeit $200,000 as part of their pleas. Capo Nicholas (Nicky Slash) Calisi, and Campanella each agreed to forfeit twice as much as The Undertaker, $40,000.

Judge Koeltl will have the final say on their sentences. But the recommended numbers for Mike Poli, 37, are 41-to-51 months; for Balsamo and Messina, 69, they are 37-to-46 months; for Thomas Poli, 64, they are 33-to-41months; for Calisi, 63, they are 27-to-33 months; for Campanella, 47, they are 18-to-24 months in prison.

The sextet was snared last year following a joint probe with the state Organized Crime Task Force and Brooklyn District Attorney's Office that began in January of 2019 when a car service cabby got tired of paying $3070 a week interest to Messina for a $150,000 three-year-old loan and he began tape recording talks with the Connecticut based mobster.

The last straw for the long-suffering loanshark victim, as Gang Land disclosed in October, came that New Year's Eve when Messina punched the cabby in the mouth when he had the audacity to ask the mobster to change his interest-only payments into a "knockdown loan" that would enable him to pay off the debt in about four years.

The global plea deal was finalized last Thursday when the last two defendants, Messina and Balsamo pleaded guilty in proceedings before Koeltl.

Two days later, Balsamo's attorney Gerald McMahon asked the judge to grant his client a three-and-a-half-hour furlough from house arrest on Valentine's Day so Balsamo, his wife, and their son could enjoy dinner at the Tutta Bella Trattoria in Scarsdale. "With travel time," the lawyer wrote, "Balsamo would be out of his home from 7:30 PM to 11 PM."

In his filing, McMahon noted that prosecutor Cohen had not responded to his request and that Pretrial Services office Courtney DeFeo had objected, stating, "Given the level of home confinement that the defendant is subjected to, our office would not consent to that request."

On Monday, February 13, Judge Koeltl's better angels triumphed and he granted Balsamo's application.

Last year, Balsamo, standing at the right, next to Bellomo, helped the mob boss celebrate his 65th birthday along with wiseguys Michael (Mickey) Ragusa and Pasquale (Uncle Patty) Falcetti, at Gigante, an upscale Italian eatery in Eastchester run by Louis Gigante, a nephew of the late Mafia boss, Vincent (Chin) Gigante. For the next couple of years at least, he'll have to make do with a birthday card for the boss. Maybe he can get one of the many fine artists behind bars to craft something special

[Amershire_Ed]

Thx for posting

[Dr031718]

As predicted really light sentences all around for the Genovese guys.

[nizarsoccer]

Nothing on the Bonanno fiasco again....

[AntComello]

Capeci is loving these Borrello filler articles.

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for posting.

[Little_Al1991]

Jerry Capeci never mentioned anything about the issue between Vic Amuso and Frankie Lastorino when writing about Lastorino passing away but Pennisi has publicly disclosed it.In fact, Capeci wrote the article as if he didn’t even recognise that information
Which also would mean that his sources didn’t mention it which could be why he hasn’t mentioned the alleged issues with the Bonanno’s because his sources haven’t told him
Yes, I’m grasping at the straws here
Either his sources are far behind or there is no situation in the Bonanno Family

[TommyGambino]

Jerry Capeci never mentioned anything about the issue between Vic Amuso and Frankie Lastorino when writing about Lastorino passing away but Pennisi has publicly disclosed it.In fact, Capeci wrote the article as if he didn’t even recognise that information
Which also would mean that his sources didn’t mention it which could be why he hasn’t mentioned the alleged issues with the Bonanno’s because his sources haven’t told him
Yes, I’m grasping at the straws here
Either his sources are far behind or there is no situation in the Bonanno Family

Read the end of Capecis last gangland and you’ll see his opinion on Scott’s bullshit

[OcSleeper]

The end of his last Gangland had nothing to do with Scott. As others pointed out several times already in the other thread, he's ended his articles like that several times before and no one was claiming they were digs at Scott then.

[TommyGambino]

The end of his last Gangland had nothing to do with Scott. As others pointed out several times already in the other thread, he's ended his articles like that several times before and no one was claiming they were digs at Scott then.

What thread

[NYNighthawk]

I luved how Balsamo's lawyer - McMahon - crackled after his arrest -" that this is another case of the government going after Italians this week". He also added he was going to make the government pay for his court costs.

[Tonyd621]

Gene Borrello is not even mafia related news imo.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Bonnano house shootings, firebombings, hit teams roaming the streets, shoot on site orders, Bellomo and Mannino pleading with Mancuso to cease to no avail, senior bonanno capos breaking parole to advise Mancuso, Cammarano's gone to the mattresses in safe houses.

Man Jerry's sources are really drying up.

[TommyGambino]

[Ivan]

I luved how Balsamo's lawyer - McMahon - crackled after his arrest -" that this is another case of the government going after Italians this week". He also added he was going to make the government pay for his court costs.

yeah I luved the way he crackled too