Highlights from the cross-examination of Anthony Rotondo after he testified against Junior Gotti in 2005. The full thing is too long to post but these are the best parts.
On Manny Riggi being shelved
25 Q. Now sir, in your 30 or so years of Mafia experience, you
1 have known other captains who have been put on the shelf, isn't
2 that right, put on the shelf, I should say?
3 A. Captains?
4 Q. Yes, sir.
5 A. I don't know of any captains that were put on the shelf.
6 Q. How about Manny Riggi?
7 A. He was self-exiled, yes.
8 Q. Well, isn't it a fact that acting boss John D'Amato in your
9 own family put Manny Riggi on the shelf with the permission of
10 John Riggi, Manny's father?
11 A. It was at the request of John Riggi.
12 Q. But Manny Riggi, a captain, was put on the shelf by the
13 boss of the family?
14 A. Yes he was.
15 Q. Your family; right?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. In the organized crime hierarchy, sir, a boss is superior
18 to a captain; isn't that right?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. So the boss has the power to put the captain on the shelf
21 just like John Riggi did to Manny Riggi?
22 A. For an infraction that he had committed, yes.
On Michael DiLeonardo
Q. Fair enough. Sir, you know a fellow named Michael
3 DiLeonardo; don't you?
4 A. Mikey Scars, yes.
5 Q. Yes, Mikey Scars. He was a captain in the Gambino crime
6 family?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. And you know him from your days together in organized
9 crime; fair to say?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Based on that experience, sir, do you consider
12 Mr. DiLeonardo a benevolent person?
13 A. Benevolent?
14 Q. Peaceable, pacifist.
15 A. Pacifist? He was a tough guy.
16 THE COURT: What does that mean? You don't agree to
17 pacifist?
18 THE WITNESS: No.
19 Q. Was he somebody, to your mind, who did everything he could
20 to keep other people from getting hurt? Is that a fair
21 characterization?
22 A. I heard that Mikey went out of his way to keep peace
23 between people, yes.
24 Q. You knew that he was a killer; right?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. An extremely violent killer; right?
2 A. He was a killer.
3 Q. Cold blooded killer; right?
4 A. He was a killer.
5 Q. Well, he killed at least a couple of people when he was out
6 on the street; didn't he?
7 A. Mafia standards, that's --
8 Q. I --
9 A. He was a killer.
10 Q. He killed at least a couple of people when he was out on
11 the street?
12 MR. McGOVERN: Objection, hearsay.
13 THE COURT: I'll allow it. He's been reporting all
14 along what people are saying in the group, so I will allow him
15 to say it. But he said it four times, he was a killer.
16 THE WITNESS: He was a killer.
17 MR. McGOVERN: Could we get the basis of knowledge?
18 THE COURT: Certainly can.
19 How do you know he was a killer?
20 THE WITNESS: He never told me that he killed anybody,
21 it was just street talk.
On his making ceremony
19 Q. By the way, Mr. Rotondo, you testify yesterday that you
20 became a made member of the Mafia way back in June of 1982. Do
21 you recall that testimony?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. That was over 23 years ago?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Sir, when you rattled off yesterday the names and ranks of
1 all the people that attended your induction ceremony back 23
2 years ago, you had that memorized; didn't you?
3 A. I'll never forget who was there.
4 Q. Did you have it memorized? That's the question.
5 A. Memorized?
6 Q. Memorized.
7 A. I was able to tick off who was there.
8 Q. How many times would you say that you ticked that off in
9 the past?
10 A. A few times.
11 Q. More than five?
12 A. It's possible.
13 Q. Well, more than ten?
14 A. Again, I don't know figure, but it's more than five.
15 Q. You ticked it off at least four prior times in court?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Of the 100 or so preparation sessions you've had with the
18 government, how many times would you say that you rattled off
19 the list of names and ranks of people who attended your
20 induction ceremony in 1982, 23 years ago?
21 A. I don't remember how many times.
22 Q. Back in 1982 -- by the way, you were smoking pot up to five
23 days a week?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Yet you can rattle that off no problem?
1 A. About the pot?
2 Q. No, about the names and ranks of people who attended your
3 induction ceremony 23 years ago while you were smoking dope
4 five days a week?
5 A. Again, that's something that you never forget.
6 Q. Indelibly etched in your mind?
7 A. Yes.
On marijuana and memory
3 Q. Yesterday you told us that you smoked marijuana very often.
4 Do you recall that testimony?
5 A. Every day.
6 Q. Every day for approximately 30 years; right?
7 A. Could be 30 years.
8 Q. Well, you started smoking dope as a teenager; right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And it continued all the way to your arrest?
11 A. 41 or 42 years old.
12 Q. 30 years?
13 A. Give or take.
14 Q. During all the key events in your testimony, or at least
15 until the end of 1999, the fact is you were smoking dope every
16 day; isn't that right?
17 A. Just about, yes.
18 Q. Yet you claim to remember Mafia minutia dating all the way
19 back to the 1960s, over 40 years ago. Didn't you tell us that
20 when you were looking at that photo?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Dope didn't affect your memory from what you were doing
23 back in the '60s?
24 A. Actually that photo came from people that I had known later
25 on in their lives and from what my father told me.
1 Q. So you had no personal knowledge of them back in the 1960s?
2 A. When that photo was taken I was maybe seven years old.
3 Q. So you were parroting what somebody told you?
4 A. What my father told me.
5 Q. Later in your life?
6 A. In the mid '70s, yes.
7 Q. You didn't know them back then at all?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. You knew them as a member of the Mafia back then in the
10 1960s?
11 A. I just later learned they were.
12 Q. You were young and spoking dope?
13 A. Not at seven years old.
14 Q. Let's see. When were you born?
15 A. '57.
16 Q. Fair enough. When did you start smoking dope, how old were
17 you?
18 A. 16 years old.
On made members being "goons"
4 Q. Typically while you were a captain you sent goons and thugs
5 to do your bidding for you; isn't that right?
6 A. People in my crew, yes.
7 Q. People like Anthony Capo?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. He was a goon; wasn't he?
10 A. He was a made member of the Mafia.
11 Q. I didn't ask if he was a made member of the Mafia. Made
12 members can be goons; can't they?
13 A. Made members can be goons?
On robberies
20 Q. One of your victims was a New Jersey clothing store; am I
21 right?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Your underlings held it up with guns?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Pushed people down?
1 A. They might have.
2 Q. Maybe tied them up?
3 A. It's possible.
4 Q. Took between 5 and $10,000?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Your share was maybe $1,000?
7 A. Somewhere around there.
8 Q. And also took some suits?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. People could have been killed; right?
11 A. It's possible.
12 Q. All at your direction?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. All for a thousand bucks and some suits?
15 A. In the end result, yes.
16 Q. You directed three hoodlums to stick up a van in Brooklyn;
17 isn't that right?
18 A. A van?
19 Q. A van.
20 A. A delivery, yes.
21 Q. It was carrying the drugstore payroll; right?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Took about 15 grand?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Again at gunpoint?
1 A. I believe so, yes.
2 Q. Again, somebody could have been killed?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Again, your end was a few thousand bucks?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Sir, you're going to help me with this name, Louis Talese?
7 A. Talese.
8 Q. Do you know him?
9 A. I did, yes.
10 Q. He was a soldier in the DeCavalcante family and a member of
11 your crew?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. He had a cousin named Victor Sasson?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. You allowed Mr. Sasson to use one of your associates, I
16 believe Joseph Garafano, in an armed robbery?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Stole a leather satchel of jewelry from a defenseless
19 courier?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Stuck him up with guns?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. The jewelry was worth about $10,000?
24 A. Something like that, yes.
25 Q. Which you received maybe $1,500?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Just for letting your associate participate?
3 A. That was their respect to me, yes.
4 Q. I'm sorry?
5 A. That was their respect to me as the captain, yes.
6 Q. The poor courier also could have been killed?
7 A. It's possible.
8 Q. All for 1,500 bucks?
9 A. Yes.
Another robbery
10 Q. Turning to your guilty plea, Mr. Rotondo, you also admitted
11 that you broke into and robbed a Long Island home; isn't that
12 correct?
13 A. I was part of a team. I didn't go in the house, I was on
14 the scene, yes.
15 Q. That was around 1998; right?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. And as you just told us, once again you didn't actually
18 invade the home yourself; correct?
19 A. Correct.
20 Q. As usual, you directed your lackeys to do your dirty work
21 for you?
22 A. People with me.
23 Q. Including a charming fellow known as Beast, Frank Scarbino?
24 A. Frankie the Beast was on the scene.
25 Q. During the home invasion if you sent five associates,
1 including the Beast, to the door carrying guns and disguised as
2 cops.
3 A. Two people went in.
4 Q. Not five?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Well, they totally fooled the unsuspected victim, didn't
7 they, disguised as cops?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. The victims fell for the ruse, opened the door, and the
10 robbers poured right in?
11 A. That's correct.
12 Q. Once inside, to your knowledge the robbers trained their
13 guns on this poor family and literally subdued them; isn't that
14 true?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. And made off with some 30, $40,000 in jewelry and roughly
17 the same amount of cash?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. And from this 60, $80,000, you walked away with 15 grand?
20 A. Between 10 and 15,000, yes.
21 Q. Innocent victims walked away, if they walked at all,
22 traumatized for life; isn't that right?
23 A. I would assume so, yes.
The bomber
7 Q. Well, you decided to enlist a guy called the Bomber; right?
8 A. That's what they called him, yes.
9 Q. You weren't told to enlist the Bomber; were you?
10 A. No, I wasn't told to enlist the Bomber.
11 Q. You did that, you reached out to the Bomber through another
12 guy?
13 A. Went to associate of mine and he reached out to the Bomber.
14 Q. And you had him torch the competitor's office?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Sir, New Age's principal paid you $10,000 for that job?
17 A. We cut up $10,000, yes.
18 Q. And you also got some more fraudulent insurance money?
19 A. I didn't, no.
20 Q. Who did?
21 A. I didn't receive any fraudulent insurance money.
22 Q. Who did?
23 A. I would say the people that owned the building.
24 Q. So somebody received fraudulent insurance money?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. As a result of the Bomber's handiwork; right?
2 A. I would assume they did, I don't know if they did.
3 Q. Well, you know they did; right?
4 A. I don't know if they did, I didn't own the building.
5 Q. So if you told the government about that, where would that
6 come from that someone received fraudulent insurance money?
7 A. It's possible that one of the guys on the other side told
8 me that they did.
9 Q. Sir, after this bombing, New Age actually put you on the
10 payroll; didn't they?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Called you a salesman?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Gave you $500 a week in benefits?
15 A. $500 with benefits, yes.
16 Q. 25,000 a year, about?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. For a two-year period?
19 A. Around two years, yes.
20 Q. Sir, you had no experience selling medical supplies and
21 services; did you?
22 A. No.
23 Q. No qualifications whatever in that field?
24 A. No.
On the Fred Weiss murder
1 Q. The day before the murder, sir, you saw a yellow station
2 wagon in Mr. Weiss's Staten Island neighborhood; isn't that
3 right?
4 A. In Danny Annunziatta's neighborhood.
5 Q. In Staten Island?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. You saw Mikey Scars DiLeonardo and Frank Fappiano inside
8 that station wagon?
9 A. I saw Frankie and I was 99 percent sure that I saw Michael.
10 Q. As you later learned they were looking to kill Mr. Weiss,
11 too?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. On the day of the murder, sir, you personally gave one
14 participant a fully loaded .45 caliber gun, didn't you?
15 A. No, not to participate in the murder. He had asked me for
16 in gun previously to this day.
17 Q. Notwithstanding he asked you for the gun previous to this
18 day, you didn't give him the gun previous to that day?
19 A. It was that morning I handed it to him.
20 Q. Gave him a .45 caliber gun just happened to do if on
21 morning of the murder.
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Two of your executioners gunned down this total stranger
24 right outside his own home; isn't that a fact?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. Slaughtered him in cold blood, right, sir?
2 A. He was killed.
3 Q. Slaughtered in cold blood. Left him to rot in the street.
4 Isn't that what happened?
5 A. He was killed.
6 Q. Did you leave him to rot in the street?
7 A. Did I?
8 Q. Did your executioners leave him to rot in the street?
9 A. They shot him in the street.
10 Q. Left him to rot there; right?
11 A. If you say so.
12 Q. It is not what I say?
13 THE COURT: They didn't take him away after they shot
14 him?
15 THE WITNESS: I assume they left him at the crime
16 scene for some time.
17 Q. All in broad daylight?
18 A. Yes. It was early in the morning.
19 Q. To your knowledge the shots could be heard from blocks
20 away, couldn't they?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Afterward you brought all the fellows home for some coffee
23 and cake?
24 A. We went to change cars at my house.
25 Q. Did you bring them for coffee and cake?
1 A. We had coffee.
2 Q. Went to Nathan's a little later?
3 A. We had to meet John D'Amato and Philip Abramo.
4 Q. You went to Nathan's a little later?
5 A. That is where John D'Amato told him to meet him, yes.
6 Q. You had no problem eating after your first murder?
7 A. I didn't eat at Nathan's.
8 Q. You ate some coffee and cake?
9 A. I had coffee.
10 Q. Killing a man works up an appetite?
11 A. I won't know that.
12 Q. You won't know. You had just killed somebody and you had
13 some coffee and cake; right?
14 A. I had a cup of coffee.
15 Q. And cake?
16 A. I didn't have any cake.
17 Q. Were you hungry after the murder?
18 A. Not really.
19 MR. McGOVERN: Your Honor, at some point.
20 THE COURT: I agree.
On the plot to murder Annunziatta and Vastola
16 Q. Mr. Rotondo, you also pled guilty to conspiring to kill two
17 fellows named Danny Annunziatta and Gaetano Corkie Vastola?
18 A. That is correct.
19 Q. That conspiracy grew out of the Weiss homicide?
20 A. The conspiracy to kill Danny did, yes.
21 Q. Mr. Annunziatta was friendly with Weiss?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. He was supposed to lure Weiss to his house so Weiss could
24 be killed there; am I right?
25 A. That was the original plan, yes.
1 Q. Annunziatta didn't want to do that, did he, sir?
2 A. No, sir.
3 Q. He was dragging his feet?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. That was his big sin?
6 A. And not taking the boss's order, yes. That was his biggest
7 sin.
8 Q. He offered to assist in any other way, but he didn't want
9 his friend killed in the new house he was building?
10 A. He didn't want to kill anyone in his house.
11 Q. He actually did assist you in killing Mr. Weiss, didn't he,
12 just not in his house?
13 A. He did show us Fred Weiss's place of business and his
14 residence, yes.
15 Q. He took you to Weiss's office?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Identified Weiss's vehicle?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. Physically described Weiss?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Even showed you Weiss's house, which became the actual
22 murder scene; isn't that right?
23 A. His building, yes.
24 Q. All that wasn't enough, was it, sir?
25 A. I am sorry.
1 Q. It wasn't enough. You were directly ordered Annunziatta to
2 lure Weiss to his own house so you could kill him there.
3 A. That wasn't my plan. That came from John Riggi.
4 Q. But you were the one who gave him the order?
5 A. No, sir.
6 Q. Not John Riggi?
7 A. John Riggi was the one who gave him the order.
8 Q. John Riggi spoke to Annunziatta directly?
9 A. Through his caporegime Rudy Farone.
10 Q. He sent you to speak to Mr. Weiss; is that a fact?
11 A. To remind him of that, yes.
12 Q. So you were the one who conveyed the order to Mr. Weiss;
13 isn't that right?
14 MR. McGOVERN: I think we are talking about Mr. Weiss?
15 THE COURT: Do you mean Mr. Weiss?
16 Q. Mr. Annunziatta?
17 A. I guess I carried John Riggi's message again, yes.
18 Q. He still refused?
19 A. He did.
20 Q. He reiterated he was there a hundred percent to help, but
21 begged you not to taint his new house with his friends murder.
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. You had known Mr. Annunziatta at the time for many years?
24 A. Since my childhood.
25 Q. He was a soldier in your own family?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Even attended your 1982 induction ceremony according to
3 your testimony yesterday?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Yet you lied to him right to his face, didn't you, sir?
6 A. How did I lie to him?
7 Q. You told him you would try to help him find a different
8 way?
9 A. We did.
10 Q. In fact, you and your confederates had already decided that
11 he would pay for his disobedience?
12 A. When I reported it to John Riggi, he told let me worry
13 about Danny. He is going to go later on.
14 Q. It had already been decided that he would pay for his
15 disobedience?
16 A. His boss decided that, yes.
17 Q. And he would pay with his life?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. A little while later, sir, you learned that Mr. Annunziatta
20 had taken it upon himself to enlist Corkie Vastola in the Weiss
21 murder plot?
22 A. That is correct.
23 Q. So if anything this gesture underscored his commitment to
24 helping you kill Mr. Weiss, just not in his own house?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. Yet you considered that a security breach, didn't you?
2 A. John Riggi did, yes.
3 Q. I am talking about you, sir. Not John Riggi. You.
4 A. Did I consider it a breach?
5 Q. At the time you considered it, you, Anthony Rotondo
6 considered it a security breach?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. That is not what you told Mr. Annunziatta, is it, sir?
9 A. I didn't tell Danny anything about that.
10 Q. You told him to go back to his house and you would be in
11 touch with him later. You did tell him that?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Other bald-faced lie?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. As you just said the die had already been cast for
16 Mr. Annunziatta?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Sir, Corkie Vastola, he was another soldier in your family?
19 A. In the DeCavalcante Family.
20 Q. You also known him a long time; isn't that correct?
21 A. Since childhood.
22 Q. In fact, you were inducted into the family together on the
23 very same night; isn't that true?
24 A. That is correct.
25 Q. Yet you ran straight to Rudy Farone with this information
1 that in your view Annunziatta had improperly involved Vastola
2 in the Weiss murder scheme; do I have that right?
3 A. Rudy Farone and John D'Amato.
4 Q. And Farone was a powerful captain in the DeCavalcante
5 Family?
6 A. He was a captain, yes.
7 Q. He was a well respected old-timer from your father's year?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Mr. Rotondo, you knew exactly what would happen when you
10 reported this news to Mr. Farone, didn't you, sir?
11 A. When I reported to John D'Amato I knew what would happen.
12 Q. And Farone and D'Amato were together?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. You were pretty much signing death warrants for Annunziatta
15 and Vastola; isn't that right, sir?
16 A. It wasn't my business to decide what the penalty was. I
17 had to report what was happening.
18 Q. He just told us that you knew exactly what would happen
19 once you gave the report?
20 A. According to Mafia law, yes.
21 Q. I didn't ask about Mafia law. I am asking about your state
22 of mind.
23 A. I knew what would happen, sure.
24 Q. So you were basically instigating a double-murder plot
25 against two of your brothers in crime?
1 A. I didn't instigate anything. I reported the truth of what
2 happened there.
3 Q. When you reported the truth, you knew exactly what would
4 happen right when you did that?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And Farone and D'Amato redacted just as you expected,
7 didn't they?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. In particular, Farone sent a hit squad to kill Annunziatta
10 and Vastola; isn't that right?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. They were lucky enough to flee?
13 A. Yes, they did.
14 Q. Sir, Annunziatta wasn't as lucky later on, was he?
15 A. I am sorry?
16 Q. Well, you met with him and he begged you once again not to
17 use his house to kill Weiss; is that correct?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. He implored you to help me out in any way that you could;
20 isn't that correct?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Yet again you lied to him right to his face, didn't you
23 sir?
24 A. Well, Fred Weiss wasn't killed in his house.
25 Q. You assured him that you were going to help him out, you
1 would take care of it, not to worry about it?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. That was another bald-faced lie?
4 A. No. Fred Weiss wasn't killed in his house.
5 Q. He had already been marked for death, Mr. Annunziatta?
6 A. John Riggi did.
7 Q. And you were involved in that as well, weren't you?
8 A. Yes. I would taken any order he gave me, yes.
9 Q. In reality the only way you could have helped
10 Mr. Annunziatta out was by attending several more meetings over
11 the next few months about killing him and Mr. Vastola. That is
12 how you helped him out?
13 A. There were several meetings, yes.
14 Q. Meetings in which you participated?
15 A. Oh, yes.
On the murder of Joseph Garofano
16 Q. Mr. Rotondo, you also pled guilty to killing a man named
17 Joseph Garofano; is that correct?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. This was another murder you helped plan, manage and
20 supervise?
21 A. In part, yes.
22 Q. It also grew out of a Weiss homicide?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Garofano was one of the participants in that crime?
25 A. He was to identify Fred Weiss and drive a crash car.
1 Q. You felt he made a number of mistakes in carrying the crime
2 out?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. You heard he was running around saying things like, I am
5 not going down for this alone. If I go, I am taking everyone
6 with me?
7 A. Along with a number of other people, yes.
8 Q. I am sorry?
9 A. Along with a number of other people that heard the same
10 thing, yes, I did.
11 Q. You heard it; right?
12 A. I did.
13 Q. Now, Mr. Rotondo, you never actually heard Mr. Garofano say
14 those words, did you?
15 A. No.
16 Q. Somebody else just told you he said them?
17 A. A couple people did, yes.
18 Q. To your knowledge those couple of people never actually
19 heard Mr. Garofano say those words either?
20 A. One of them.
21 Q. Who was that?
22 A. Jimmy Cirillo a Gambino soldier.
23 Q. Jimmy Cirillo wasn't the one who told you this, it was
24 Anthony Capo's mother and wife?
25 A. That was like the third time I heard it.
1 Q. Capo's mother never heard it to your knowledge?
2 A. She heard it from Anthony's father-in-law.
3 Q. She never heard Garofano say it?
4 A. I would think no.
5 Q. And Capo's mother-in-law to your knowledge never heard
6 Garofano say that either?
7 A. Capo's mother-in-law? I would think not.
8 Q. Someone else just told them that Garofano had said those
9 things?
10 A. Anthony Capo's father-in-law along with Jimmy Cirillo were
11 there when Jimmy went.
12 Q. The father-in-law never told you about it?
13 A. Told me personally, no.
14 Q. It was Capo's wife and his mother or mother-in-law?
15 A. Capo's wife wasn't right there, no.
16 Q. But the mother was?
17 A. Third time I heard it, yes.
18 Q. Sir, you knew Mr. Garofano quite well at this time, didn't
19 you?
20 A. A number of years.
21 Q. 10 years?
22 A. Approximately.
23 Q. Since he was a 17-year-old kid?
24 A. It could have been, yes.
25 Q. You committed many crimes together?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. He was a pretty close associate of yours?
3 A. He was in our crew.
4 Q. Once again you didn't even bother to investigate these
5 rumors about Garofano for yourself, did you, sir?
6 A. No.
7 Q. You took no independent steps to verify them; right?
8 A. That would have come from the underboss. It wasn't my
9 business it to.
10 Q. I am not asking about the underboss. I am asking about you
11 because you were charged with carrying the murder out. You,
12 Anthony Rotondo, took no independent steps to verify what you
13 heard?
14 A. That wasn't my job to, no, sir?
15 Q. I didn't ask whether it was your job. I am simply asking
16 you whether you took any steps to verify what you heard.
17 A. No.
18 Q. Instead you accepted what you heard at face value?
19 A. From my superiors, yes.
20 Q. Well, you didn't hear it from your superiors, you heard it
21 from Capo's mother or mother-in-law?
22 A. That was the third time I heard it. I heard it from my
23 underboss first.
10 Q. When you ran to Farone with the news about Mr. Garofano,
11 sir, he acted pretty much as you expected, didn't he?
12 A. Rudy's reaction, yes.
13 Q. He agreed in substance that Mr. Garofano had to go, didn't
14 he?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. So you met Garofano a few days later in Brooklyn mall; is
17 that right, sir?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. When Mr. Garofano arrived, a 27-year-old guy, he was
20 visibly nervous, wasn't he?
21 A. Bundle of nerves.
22 Q. So nervous he was physically shaking; isn't that right?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. He apologized for his mistake in the Weiss murder?
25 A. Yes, he did.
1 Q. Still you went ahead and lied to this 27-year-old man who
2 you had known about a decade, right to his face?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. You told him a completely phony story; correct?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. With no trouble at all?
7 A. I told him the story.
8 Q. No trouble at all; right?
9 A. I told him the story.
10 Q. You told him more than a story. You told him not to worry,
11 it wasn't his fault, everything would be okay; right?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. You told him you were going to take him to right Farone?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. And that Mr. Farone would give him money, a car and a place
16 to stay?
17 A. Correct.
18 Q. So he could hide out until the police pressure eased?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Pure fabrication, right, sir?
21 A. Pure.
22 Q. You had no intention of doing anything of the kind, did
23 you?
24 A. Oh, no, sir.
25 Q. In fact, you and your coconspirators had already marked
1 Mr. Garofano for death; isn't that right?
2 A. Yes.
15 Q. To your knowledge, sir, not only did he believe you, he
16 actually welcomed your assistance?
17 A. I would say so, yes.
18 Q. In fact, you were so persuasive that he even showed up a
19 few days later with a suitcase; isn't that correct?
20 A. After being preinstructed where to be, yes.
21 Q. You didn't give the preinstruction, did you?
22 A. Yes, I did.
23 Q. He showed up with a suitcase at your instruction?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. So you successfully tricked an experienced gangster, a
1 veteran in the world of lies and deception about a very
2 important matter in his own life; is that fair to say?
3 A. A veteran, I don't know. He did show up.
4 Q. He wasn't the only one you tricked that day was he, sir?
5 A. He was the only one that was supposed to die that night.
6 Q. He wasn't the only one you tricked, there was also Victor
7 DiChiara, the guy who brought Garafola to the mall?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. He was another long-time Mafia associate; right?
10 A. A few years at that point, yes.
11 Q. Another veteran in the world of lies and deception?
12 A. A veteran, I don't know. He was around us for a few years.
13 Q. He was a few-year veteran?
14 A. He knew the score.
15 Q. He was also Garofano's cousin?
16 A. No, sir.
17 Q. He was not?
18 A. No.
19 Q. He managed to keep the plan to kill Garofano from him, that
20 is DiChiara as well?
21 A. I was told to, yes.
22 Q. You were the one who managed to keep it from him?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Regardless of what you were told?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. As far as you know, DiChiara had no idea what you were up
2 to; isn't that right?
3 A. As far as I know, that is correct.
4 Q. In fact you concealed the plot so effectively you even got
5 DiChiara to drive Garofano to meet you on the day of the
6 murder; is that right?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. When Garofano arrived that day, sir, he put his suitcase in
9 your trunk?
10 A. Trunk of the car we were driving, yes.
11 Q. And another guy drove him to Rudy Farone's house?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. You got out of the car and opened the garage door?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Stood in the driveway, watched the car go into that garage,
16 and shut the door?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Into the garage where two or three other assassins were
19 waiting in ambush?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Safely outside you heard them open fire with many muffled
22 gunshots?
23 A. I heard one of them with a pistol toll yes.
24 Q. As you sit here today, you don't know why you got out of
25 the car, do you, sir?
1 A. No. I don't know.
2 Q. To this day you can't account for your actions?
3 A. No.
4 Q. How about this explanation, sir: You were leaving the
5 dirty work to your underlings again; sound about right?
6 A. I don't remember saying that, no.
7 Q. I didn't ask you if you said that. I am asking you if that
8 is what you did?
9 A. I was a captain. There was no reason for me to be on the
10 scene but --
11 Q. You were on the scene?
12 A. I was on the scene.
13 Q. Drove him to his death?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. You had your underlings do the actual killing?
16 A. They were directed.
17 Q. By you?
18 A. Partially, yes.
19 Q. So your testimony here is that you killed a total stranger
20 in Fred Weiss?
21 A. He was a stranger to me, yes.
22 Q. You also killed a 10-year associate in Garofano; is that
23 correct?
24 A. Approximately 10 years, yes.
25 Q. Made no difference to you one way or another, did it?
1 A. That is nothing do with La Cosa Nostra business.
2 Q. You were an equal opportunity killer, isn't that a fact,
3 sir?
4 A. I was given orders and had them carried out.
On the murder of Louis LaRasso
9 Q. Mr. Rotondo, the next murder you pled guilty involved a
10 victim named Luis Larasso?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. That occurred in late 1991?
13 A. Yes. November of '91.
14 Q. Its origin was a meeting you had in a Motts Street social
15 club here in Manhattan?
16 A. Originally that is where it started.
17 Q. During that meeting Mr. Larasso and several others were
18 introduced as new captains in the DeCavalcante Family; is that
19 right?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. That promotion took you by surprise, didn't it, sir?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. It upset and disappointed you; fair statement?
24 A. Along with us and others, yes.
25 Q. I am not asking about others just about your own response.
1 It upset and disappointed you, Anthony Rotondo?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Left you shocked and floored?
4 A. I never used those adjectives before, but I was
5 disappointed.
6 Q. You never used those adjectives before?
7 Sir, did you testify in this courthouse in May of
8 2003.
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. At 1215 you were asked these questions and did you give
11 these answer -- this is a xerox that was produced by the
12 government --
13 "Q. On your direct testimony I think you said that looked
14 like, quote, news to you?
15 "A. Yes, it was.
16 "Q. In fact, sir, were you and Venny Palermo not floored and
17 shocked by the promotions?
18 "A. That is a way of describing it, yes.
19 A. That is a way of describing it.
20 Q. Sir, you viewed Mr. Larasso as a troublemaker, didn't?
21 A. Larasso, yes.
22 Q. You thought the family's power base was shifting from New
23 York to New Jersey; is that right?
24 A. The power base was in New Jersey. John Riggi was the boss.
25 Q. Have you ever told the government that you thought the
1 family's power base was shifting away from the Brooklyn faction
2 over in New Jersey?
3 A. Power base as far as original Administration, yes.
4 Q. You were part of the New York faction; is that correct?
5 A. We were referred to that way, yes.
6 Q. So Larasso's promotion was a potential threat to your own
7 power; is that right?
8 A. In a sense, yes.
9 Q. You felt increasingly isolated and shut out of the family;
10 isn't that true?
11 A. No. I wouldn't say that.
12 Q. You didn't say that you -- you didn't feel increasingly
13 isolated and shut out of the family?
14 A. Shut out of the family, no. I never felt shut out of the
15 family.
16 Q. Did you feel you were being shut out?
17 A. I felt he was another guy who was trying to overthrow the
18 boss, yes.
19 Q. You and another guy ran straight to Rudy Farone with your
20 concerns?
21 A. We reported to him.
22 Q. Stirring the pot again?
23 A. Reporting what was going on, yes.
24 Q. Trying to instigate another murder plot?
25 A. Reporting to whim what was going on.
1 Q. You knew what would happen; right?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. This time you were agitating against a live-long friend; is
4 that right?
5 A. He wasn't a live-long friend of mine.
6 Q. In November 2004 you testified at a proceeding in this
7 building; is that right, sir?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. You gave testimony under oath about the Luis Larasso
10 murder, is that right?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. You didn't describe him as a life-long friend of yours?
13 A. He was several years older and he was a live-long friend of
14 my father's. I knew him all my life, but he wasn't my friend.
15 Q. You were asked these questions and did you give these
16 answer:
17 "Q. Who was Luis Larosso?
18 "A. He was an underboss of the DeCavalcante Family, later a
19 caporegime.
20 "Q. I don't mean in the mob sense, but was he a friend of
21 yours?
22 "A. A friend of mine.
23 "Q. A real friend of yours.
24 "A. And I knew him a good part of the my life."
25 Were you asked those questions?
1 A. I knew him all my life.
2 Q. You described him under oath as, quote, a friend of mine;
3 is that right?
4 A. It is possible I said that, yes.
5 Q. You have known him since you were 10 years old?
6 A. Perhaps before that.
7 Q. Is this how you treat your friends?
8 A. That is how the Mafia treats their friends.
9 Q. We are not talking about the Mafia. We are talking about
10 you, Anthony Rotondo. Is this how you treat your friends?
11 A. When I was a member of the Mafia, yes.
12 Q. You had a great moral transformation since you signed the
13 cooperation agreement?
14 A. I am not in the Mafia any longer.
15 Q. Would you be in the Mafia had you not been arrested for
16 your crimes and incapacitated?
17 A. It is possible.
18 Q. Would you be in the Mafia if you weren't facing a life
19 sentence today?
20 A. Again, possible.
21 Q. Would you have retired from the Mafia, would you have
22 voluntarily quit?
23 A. No.
24 Q. But would you be in the Mafia since your arrest?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. There has been no moral transformation. You are trying to
2 get out from under it?
3 A. Something like that.
4 Q. As I said how you treat your friends a guy like Larasso is
5 by double crossing?
6 A. He had maybe 20 or 30 bodies under his belt.
7 Q. Because he was a killer it made it okay for you to wipe him
8 out?
9 A. Again, members of the Mafia, I was given an order and that
10 is what we do.
11 Q. Do you know what a rationalization is?
12 A. Sure.
13 Q. Is that a rationalization?
14 A. At that time, yes, I guess it was.
15 Q. What about now?
16 A. No. It doesn't make any sense now.
17 Q. It doesn't make in a sense at all?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Two wrongs don't make a right?
20 A. That's correct.
21 Q. You stabbed him in the back, didn't you, sir?
22 A. I was one of the captains that voted for his death.
23 Q. Stabbed him in the back, your life-long friend?
24 A. I was one of the captains that voted for his life.
25 Q. I didn't ask about other captains. He was your life-long
1 friend?
2 A. I knew him all my life, yes.
3 Q. You secretly worked to undermine him at every turn?
4 A. I voted for his death.
5 Q. You don't consider that undermining him?
6 A. In the Mafia undermining is not a part of it.
7 Q. Forget about the Mafia. If you have a friend and you go
8 behind his back and you vote to kill him, is that undermining?
9 A. Again, at that point that was the Mafia way of life.
10 THE COURT: It wasn't supporting him?
11 THE WITNESS: Of course not.
12 Q. And you considered Mr. Larasso a troublemaker?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Anyway when you brought your concerns to Mr. Farone, he
15 agreed that something had to be done; is that right?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. But he told you in substance to wait a little while?
18 A. He said that Jake Amari and Steve Vitabile would have to be
19 told along with Joe D'Amato.
20 Q. He told you to wait a little while in substance.
21 A. He may have said that.
22 Q. I'm paraphrasing. You were not entirely satisfied with
23 that response, were you, sir?
24 A. At that point, I wasn't interested either way what he said.
25 Q. Well, you just told us earlier you thought he was a threat
1 to your authority; isn't that right?
2 A. Not to my authority, to John D'Amato and John Riggi's
3 authority at that point.
4 Q. Sir, let's see if we can back up here. You testified
5 earlier that you thought the power base was shifting from New
6 York to New Jersey; am I right?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. You were a member of the New York faction; isn't that
9 correct?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. So you felt he was a threat to the authority of you and the
12 rest of the New York faction?
13 A. Along with some other people.
14 Q. I didn't ask about other people. I asked about you. Your
15 authority and the rest of New York family?
16 A. I guess as a captain, yes.
17 Q. So you weren't interested?
18 A. Disinterested in what Rudy Farone had to say.
19 Q. You brought it to John D'Amato?
20 A. Just to term hill what John D'Amato.
6 Q. So you went to a man named John D'Amato and demanded an
7 explanation for Larasso's promotion; is that what you did, sir?
8 A. That was prior to that.
9 Q. Well, at some point you went to D'Amato and demanded an
10 explanation for Larasso's promotion; right?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Was that an act of insubordination?
13 A. No.
14 Q. You told us before that you were just following orders from
15 bosses and underbosses?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. D'Amato was the underboss?
18 A. John Riggi was the boss.
19 Q. I am not asking about John Riggi. I am asking about
20 D'Amato. He was the underboss?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Did you demand an explanation from the underboss?
23 A. I wanted to know what happened.
24 Q. You weren't following an order, you demanded an
25 explanation?
1 A. Oh, yes.
2 Q. That was an act of insubordination?
3 A. Not really. I wasn't disrespectful.
4 Q. I didn't ask you if you were disrespectful. You pledged
5 allegiance to the Mafia, you follow the orders?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. You demanded an explanation, didn't you?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. That was a breach of Mafia protocol?
10 A. Might have been.
11 Q. You told us before you were supposed to carry out the
12 orders?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. The boss is the boss. You don't argue with him?
15 A. Correct.
16 Q. But you did?
17 A. He wasn't the boss.
18 Q. He was the underboss and your superior?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Sir, when you spoke to D'Amato and other people in the
21 Mafia, did you speak in a cool, calm and collective
22 business-like manner like you are doing today right now?
23 A. I try to.
24 Q. Never raised your voice to anybody in the Mafia?
25 A. I might have.
1 Q. So when you went to D'Amato you said, Excuse me, sir, I
2 would like an explanation for Mr. Larasso's promotion. Can you
3 please provide that to me?
4 A. Those weren't my words, no.
5 Q. You were so exercised about the promotion, you confronted
6 D'Amato directly?
7 A. Vinny Ocean and myself did, yes.
8 Q. You and Vinny Ocean?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Sometime after that confrontation you went back do see
11 Mr. Farone; isn't that right?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. In time you agreed that Larasso should be killed?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. And you ran right back to Mr. D'Amato to report this news?
16 A. News?
17 Q. That Farone was signed on now?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. You then arranged a meeting with the DeCavalcante Family
20 Administration; isn't that right, sir?
21 A. John D'Amato did, yes.
22 Q. You arranged it at D'Amato's behest?
23 A. I didn't call all the other captains in. John D'Amato set
24 up a meeting and I was there.
25 Q. You had no role in arranging a meeting, sir?
1 A. I might have told Vinny and Rudy to be at my mother's house
2 where John wanted to meet.
3 Q. You did have a role in arranging the meeting?
4 A. As far as place, yes.
5 Q. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Mr. Larasso's
6 murder?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. As you just alluded to, the meeting took place in your
9 mother's basement?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. You served some cold cuts that day?
12 A. I might have, yes.
13 Q. Those present at the meeting voted unanimously to kill
14 Mr. Larasso?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Including yourself, sir?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. So you, among others ordered the murder?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Naturally leaving the dirty work, the actual execution,
21 clean up and body disposal ot others?
22 A. No. To underlings, yes.
23 Q. Your testimony is that you decided to take a man's life
24 over cold cuts in your own mother's house; isn't that true?
25 A. We decided to vote at Administration meeting.
1 Q. And the result of the meeting?
2 A. He was to be murdered.
3 Q. In your own mother's house with cold cuts?
4 A. Cold cuts came later, yes.
5 Q. The home outside where your own father had been murdered
6 execution style a few years back?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. This vote you mentioned, sir, you alluded to this on direct
9 basically was a complete charade?
10 A. Right.
11 Q. You told us yesterday the outcome was preordained?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. That is because anybody loyal to Larasso, anyone who might
14 have generally wanted to spare him was deliberately excluded
15 from the meeting?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. That is the only reason the vote was unanimous?
18 A. Yes. They left out a couple captains.
19 Q. All for show?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Like you told us yesterday a mere formality?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Soon after that fateful meeting in your mother's basement,
24 someone in the family told you Larasso was gone?
25 A. That Lucious was gone.
1 Q. Lucious was gone. That wasn't enough assurance for you,
2 was it, sir?
3 A. After it was reported to me, I don't remember what we did
4 after that.
5 Q. You were so anxious to be rid of him you sought further
6 confirmation from another source in Elizabeth, New Jersey?
7 A. I went out to Elizabeth, New Jersey to see what was going
8 on.
Q. Mr. Rotondo, you claimed yesterday that my client's father
10 John Gotti, Sr. somehow sanctioned the 1991 Larasso hit?
11 A. That came from John D'Amato.
12 Q. You told us yesterday that John Gotti, Sr. essentially
13 signed off on it?
14 A. Yes.
Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
Moderator: Capos
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
On the murder of John D'Amato
19 Q. Sir, you also pled guilty to killing the man you referred
20 to a little earlier John D'Amato?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Also in late 1991?
23 A. Yes, November.
24 Q. Another murder you helped plan, manage and supervise?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. At the time, sir, D'Amato was the DeCavalcante Family's
2 official underboss?
3 A. He was appointed as that.
4 Q. He was the official underboss?
5 A. He was appointed by John Riggi.
6 Q. Is there some reason he wasn't the official underboss if
7 the boss had appointed him?
8 A. Once he overthrew John Riggi, he took himself out of that.
9 Q. Just about the underboss. He was the official underboss.
10 A. At one time, yes.
11 Q. In your mind in D'Amato committed a cardinal sin?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. In your opinion, he unilaterally declared himself acting
14 boss?
15 A. Official boss.
16 Q. Unilaterally did he claim himself to be the official boss?
17 A. He said he was the boss.
18 Q. Without proper authorization; is that right?
19 A. Correct.
20 Q. You consider this a major infraction, sir?
21 A. That is a major infraction of La Cosa Nostra.
22 Q. You felt he was trying to take over the family?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. And in the process push you aside?
25 A. That was an idea.
1 Q. You felt he was shutting you out?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Essentially reducing you to an outsider?
4 A. I might have felt that way at that time.
5 Q. Made you angry?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Caused you great discontent?
8 A. Might have.
9 Q. So you basically began plotting a coup against Mr. D'Amato?
10 A. Along with others, yes.
11 Q. You quietly began working to overthrow him?
12 A. Yes, we did.
13 Q. Without notice to or approval from the other five Mafia
14 families of a so-called ruling commission?
15 A. That is correct.
16 Q. Even though Mr. D'Amato was commonly known by them as the
17 DeCavalcante acting boss; is that true?
18 A. I don't know how he was known by them. He was the
19 underboss.
20 Q. You were referring to him as the acting boss regardless of
21 what you may have believed about his legitimacy. You were
22 referring to him as the acting boss?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Among other things, you heard Mr. D'Amato borrowed a lot of
25 money from other crime families falsely claiming it was for the
1 DeCavalcantes; right?
2 A. Close to a million dollars.
3 Q. You also heard he looted the family kitty?
4 A. True.
5 Q. According to Anthony Capo, a soldier in your crew,
6 D'Amato's girlfriend reported he was abusing cocaine and
7 engaging in bizarre sexual behavior; is that right?
8 A. That was one of the sources, yes.
9 Q. Including public sex orgies; right?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. You never bothered confirm these rumors with the girlfriend
12 herself, did you, sir?
13 A. No.
14 Q. Once again, you just accepted what Capo said at face value;
15 isn't that right?
16 A. I wasn't interested in what Capo said.
17 Q. Exactly what Capo said was just window dressing to you?
18 A. To the whole plot, it was a window dressing.
19 Q. After all you were a pretty heavy drug user?
20 A. I smoked marijuana then.
21 Q. As we will discuss later.
22 You two were involved in the world of pornography,
23 adult entertainment and kinky sex?
24 A. That is true. Some people around me had clubs that engaged
25 in that kind of stuff, yes.
1 Q. We will talk about that later.
2 You were involved in it as well?
3 A. I received extortion payments from them.
4 Q. You did more than that. So the sex and drug rumors was a
5 pretext for your own personal grudge against D'Amato?
6 A. Something to do with it, yes.
7 Q. That grudge steps from his allegedly taking down the boss
8 and cutting you out, that was the main reason you came to
9 resent him, sir?
10 A. That he took down a boss, yes.
11 Q. Nevertheless you seized on this pretext and you told Capo
12 in substance that we must report the girlfriend's allegations
13 to good old Rudy Farone; is that right?
14 A. That was part of the things that were mentioned, yes.
15 Q. You went ahead and you did just that, didn't you?
16 A. We went to Rudy, yes.
17 Q. Marched straight to Rudy with what you heard from the
18 girlfriend through Mr. Capo?
19 A. Yeah, we did.
20 Q. By reporting the sex and drug rumors to Farone, you knew
21 you were basically signing D'Amato's death warrant?
22 A. Well, the fact that he took down the boss and stole all the
23 money from the other families, that was what signed his death
24 warrant.
25 Q. I understand. But by reporting these embarrassing sex and
1 drug allegations, you were furthering that purpose?
2 A. There was talk on street from other families to that
3 effect, yes.
4 Q. So you were instigating again?
5 A. Instigating?
6 Q. Instigating, you know what that means?
7 A. The fact that he had done these other things that was his
8 death warrant.
9 Q. I understand. But you furthered those purposes by going to
10 Farone with the sex and drug allegations. I am not quarreling
11 with you.
12 A. We mentioned it, yes.
13 Q. You were scheming and stirring up trouble; isn't that
14 right, sir?
15 A. We agreed that John D'Amato had to go, yes.
16 Q. Your strategy provoked the desired response that you just
17 indicated?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. You, Farone and a third individual Vinny Palermo soon
20 resolved that D'Amato should be killed for his sins that he had
21 to go?
22 A. We went to Steve Vitabile and Jake Amari.
23 Q. I am talking about you, Palermo and Farone. You three
24 resolved that D'Amato should be killed for his sins?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. So Farone and Palermo agreed to join what you set in
2 motion?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. You then arranged a meeting with an Administration
5 representative without D'Amato who was out of town to seek
6 ratification of the murder; is that right, sir?
7 A. I am sorry. Repeat that again.
8 Q. After speaking with Farone and Palermo, you arranged a
9 meeting with an Administration representative -- I think it was
10 Jake Amari?
11 A. It Steve Vitabile.
12 Q. There were two meeting. Originally it was Amari?
13 A. Right.
14 Q. To seek ratification of the murder?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. After the meeting with Amari, your efforts culminated a
17 meeting with at least two Administration members at a Staten
18 Island construction site?
19 A. There were more than two.
20 Q. At least two?
21 A. Oh, yes.
22 Q. During this meeting, sir, the parties discussed D'Amato's
23 financial improprieties?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. The girlfriend's sex and drug allegations?
1 A. That was brought up, yes.
2 Q. You never mentioned the real reason you were there, did
3 you, sir?
4 A. As far as him overthrowing the boss, maybe not.
5 Q. You never mentioned what you felt D'Amato had done with the
6 Administration in shutting you out and trying to takedown a
7 boss?
8 A. Correct.
9 Q. When the meeting ended, the knew underboss Jake Amari said
10 he wanted to raise the matter with a full administration?
11 A. Well, that was after he had given authorization to kill
12 John D'Amato.
13 Q. I didn't ask about authorization. What he said was that he
14 wanted to raise the matter with the full Administration. Did
15 he say that, yes or no?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. So someone else said in substance you should sleep on it.
18 Yes or no?
19 A. Someone might have.
20 Q. You had no intention of sleeping on it?
21 A. No.
22 Q. As it turned out D'Amato was flying back to New York that
23 very day; is that true?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Anthony Capo and another guy were going to meet him at the
1 airport; am I right?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. So you decided to go ahead and kill D'Amato right then and
4 there; is that true?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. You personally told Capo the murder was a go; right?
7 A. Yes.
11 Q. You went to a drugstore and bought some latex gloves?
12 A. After the murder, yes.
13 Q. You bought the gloves after the murder?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. For cleaning up purposes?
16 A. To handle the body, wrap up the body.
17 Q. Up didn't handle the body?
18 A. No.
19 Q. You handed Capo a .22 caliber gun; right?
20 A. We did, yes.
21 Q. You did. I am not asking if anybody else did. I am asking
22 about you.
23 A. Might have. It might have been me or Vinny Ocean.
24 Q. The two of you were together?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. You were certainly handling the weapon?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. You gave him the actual murder weapon?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. And you Anthony Rotondo directly ordered Capo to shoot
6 D'Amato dead?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. To your knowledge Capo and the other guy then went and
9 assassinated D'Amato right near his girlfriend's home?
10 A. They shot him in the car.
11 Q. Near his girlfriend's home?
12 A. It might have been driving back from her house. I don't
13 know exactly where.
14 Q. Afterwards, sir, you refused to drive upstate with Farone
15 and Palermo to help dispose of the body?
16 A. That night, yes.
17 Q. Just couldn't bring yourself to do that, could you?
18 A. No.
19 Q. You didn't have the stomach for it; right?
20 A. Possible.
21 Q. Is it not possible that is what you previously testified
22 to; right?
23 A. Yeah.
24 Q. You had plenty of stomach to have somebody else rub out
25 your enemy for you, you had plenty of stomach for that?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. So you ducked out and went home?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Leaving the dirty work to the others again; right?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. The next morning you also refused to help clean Farone's
7 garage where the body was briefly taken after the murder; is
8 that right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Couldn't bring yourself to do that either?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. In fact, you sent your subordinates Capo and DiChiara to
13 clean up your mess for you; is that true?
14 A. To clean up the mess, yes.
15 Q. This angered Farone and Palermo?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Along with Capo they later accused you of performing
18 dishonorable in orders and they wanted little to do with you?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Sir, your Mafia nickname was Yellow Face?
21 A. I never heard that before.
22 Q. Never heard yourself referred to by others in the Mafia as
23 Yellow Face?
24 A. Never.
25 Q. In any event, Mr. Rotondo, you also attended another
1 meeting at construction site the Caldors construction site the
2 day after the murder?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. That was an administration meeting?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Jake Amari the underboss laid out some complaints against
7 Mr. D'Amato; is that true?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. He again reviewed D'Amato's financial impropriety?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Repeated the girlfriend's sex allegations?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. He didn't say D'Amato had crowned himself acting boss, did
14 he, sir?
15 A. No.
16 Q. He didn't say D'Amato had taken over the family?
17 A. I don't believe he did.
18 Q. He didn't say D'Amato had pushed you aside and the rest of
19 the New York faction?
20 A. No.
21 Q. He didn't say D'Amato had taken down the official boss, did
22 he?
23 A. No.
24 Q. What he did do was call for a vote on whether D'Amato
25 should live or die; is that correct?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. A vote was actually taken wasn't?
3 A. They did take a vote.
4 Q. Actually went ahead and voted to kill him.
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. All the while withholding the fact that he was already
7 dead?
8 A. That is correct.
9 Q. All the while withholding the fact that you had already
10 killed him the day before; is that right?
11 A. That we killed him.
12 Q. You purposely concealed the truth from your own criminal
13 partners; is that a fair statement?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. You intentionally misled them?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. These were members of Mafia?
18 A. Some of them.
19 Q. Veterans of am organization where lies and deception are
20 every day occurrences; isn't that true?
21 A. Some of them, yes.
22 Q. People experienced in separating truth from fiction?
23 A. Correct.
24 Q. To your knowledge, they have no idea you were hiding
25 anything, did they?
1 A. To my knowledge, no they didn't.
2 Q. As far as you could tell, they have no idea you were
3 concealing D'Amato's murder and your own responsibilities for
4 it?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. After all, had they known he was dead, a vote on whether to
7 kill him would have been senseless and unnecessary; isn't that
8 right?
9 A. Unofficially, yes.
10 Q. What do you mean unofficially?
11 A. Steve Vitabile who ordered the murder a day before called
12 for an official vote. That is what he did.
13 Q. He called for an official vote because you didn't tell him
14 he was already dead?
15 A. Vitabile knew he was already dead.
16 Q. How did he know?
17 A. Rudy had told him.
18 Q. How do you know?
19 A. Rudy told me he had told him.
17 Q. Sir, you also attended yet another Administration meeting
18 the following day?
19 A. I believe so, yes.
20 Q. You have to help me with this name. This was in the home
21 the Steve Vitabile, family consigliere?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. You brought along Capo to that meeting?
24 A. They asked to see Anthony Capo.
25 Q. Did you bring him along?
1 A. I brought him because he was his captain.
2 Q. Before the meeting you explicitly instructed Capo to lie to
3 his fellow family members right to their faces?
4 A. Yes, we did.
5 Q. In particular, you told him not for admit that D'Amato was
6 dead or his own involvement in the killing.
7 A. Correct.
8 Q. Capo followed your instructions?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Actually claimed he had dropped D'Amato off at the airport
11 after his last visit?
12 A. That is correct.
13 Q. Completely false; right?
14 A. Completely.
15 Q. After Capo spoke another vote was taken?
16 A. They took another vote.
17 Q. You participated in the vote?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. And you again voted to kill D'Amato?
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. All the while you and Capo never said a word about having
22 already murdered him; is that true?
23 A. That is true.
24 Q. Never so much as mentioned that D'Amato had already been
25 killed on your order?
1 A. That is correct.
2 Q. To your knowledge, sir, none of these long-time mobsters,
3 all veterans of the world of lies and deception had the
4 slightest inkling that you and Capo were such pressing these
5 facts?
6 A. To my knowledge.
7 Q. Your knowledge.
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Capo totally fooled the group?
10 A. I think he did.
11 Q. With your assistance?
12 A. Of course.
Q. Sir, you and Capo really concealed the murder of these
3 meetings because you had no prior permission from the
4 Administration to kill D'Amato?
5 A. Just from Steve Vitabile, consigliere.
6 Q. This was an unauthorized hit?
7 A. Steve Vitabile was the boss running the family and we had
8 his permission.
9 Q. Even though you had his permission, you felt you needed to
10 conceal the murder from two Administration meeting?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. You killed D'Amato for clearly personal reasons?
13 A. No, sir.
14 Q. You resented his perceived effort to reduce your influence
15 in the family?
16 A. I did.
17 Q. You bumped him off to settle the score; isn't that a fact
18 sir?
19 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. Well, you skillfully managed to keep your actions from the
3 family administration; didn't you?
4 A. I didn't trust anybody at this point, yes.
5 Q. You successfully lied to deceived them; isn't that right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. That's what really happened here; isn't it?
8 A. What really happened?
9 Q. You successfully lied and deceived them?
10 A. We did.
11 Q. If anyone took down the boss it was you, Anthony Rotondo;
12 isn't that the truth, sir?
13 A. John Riggi is still the boss, as far as I know. He was the
14 boss until the time I was incarcerated.
15 Q. You took down John D'Amato, right, broke the number one
16 rule in the Mafia, you took him down.
17 A. We killed him.
18 Q. You wanted the underboss position yourself; didn't you,
19 sir?
20 A. Never in my life.
21 Q. Well, Vinny Palermo thought you did, to your knowledge?
22 A. He did at one point, yes.
23 Q. How do you know that?
24 A. I heard from somebody.
On the plot to murder Frank D'Amato
25 Q. Mr. Rotondo, the last murder related crime you pled guilty
1 to was conspiracy to kill a man named Frank D'Amato; correct?
2 A. That's correct.
3 Q. This is the brother of John D'Amato; am I right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Same John D'Amato killed by Capo on your order; right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Sir, around 1998, '99, Capo approached you with Palermo and
8 said the FBI had warned him that Frank D'Amato was out to kill
9 him; right?
10 A. That's correct.
11 Q. Capo wanted to kill D'Amato first, Frank D'Amato; right?
12 A. He did.
13 Q. You encouraged Capo and Palermo to bring the matter to the
14 administration; didn't you?
15 A. Well, at that point Anthony was with Vinny in Vinny's
16 decine and he wanted me to assist them, and I told them that
17 anything to this effect would have to be brought to Steve
18 Vitabile.
19 Q. You didn't try to squash it; did you?
20 A. No.
21 Q. You were fanning the flames again?
22 A. I heard that Frankie was out to kill me also.
23 Q. Frankie was out to kill you?
24 A. Yeah.
3 Q. Sir, you have attended three administration meetings on the
4 subject, the subject of murdering Frank D'Amato?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And in most of all these meetings Palermo and/or Capo
7 recounted this alleged FBI warning; am I right?
8 A. Yes, they did.
9 Q. Three unanimous votes were taken to kill D'Amato; correct?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Each time you voted yes?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Again, these votes were largely for show; isn't that true?
14 A. Correct.
15 Q. Again, anyone close to D'Amato was deliberately excluded;
16 am I right?
17 A. That's correct.
18 Q. In addition, sir, you personally met with an administration
19 member at a Garden State Parkway rest area, do you recall that?
20 Jimmy Palermo --
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. -- asked how you really felt about Capo's claim; right?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. And you said in substance that there was merit to it and
25 that you felt he, Capo, was telling the truth; right?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. In fact, sir, you really didn't believe the FBI had
3 identified Mr. D'Amato as the source of the threat; did you?
4 A. I really didn't, I wasn't sure.
25 So as you're testifying here today, you believe the
1 fact that an FBI agent actually told Mr. Capo who the source of
2 his threat was?
3 Answer: I really didn't believe he was told that, but
4 I went along with it, yes.
5 Were you asked that question and did you give that
6 answer?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. So you really didn't believe it; did you, sir?
9 A. Again I wasn't sure, and I went along with it, yes.
10 Q. Well, you didn't say that you weren't sure last time; did
11 you?
12 A. If that's what it says there.
13 Q. You said you didn't believe it; right?
14 A. If that's what it says there, yes.
15 Q. In other words, sir, you didn't believe the bureau had
16 actually told Capo that D'Amato was behind the alleged threat;
17 correct?
18 A. Again, if that's what it says there.
19 Q. After all, sir, you knew that D'Amato and Capo had served
20 jail time together; right?
21 A. They had been in prison together, yes.
22 Q. You knew they had been loansharking partners in the 1980s.
23 A. They had a loansharking business.
24 Q. You knew when Capo got out of jail he pushed loansharking
25 money with the still-imprisoned Mr. D'Amato; isn't that
1 correct, sir?
2 A. Yes, it was, sir.
3 Q. But despite all this knowledge and despite disbelieving the
4 FBI really attributed the threat to D'Amato, you went along
5 with Capo's story anyway; isn't that right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Two or three times Palermo and/or Capo repeated their
8 account of the FBI warning to the administration; isn't that
9 right?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. And two or three times you said nothing to dispute it;
12 isn't that right?
13 A. Correct.
14 Q. Three times the administration unanimously voted to kill
15 Frank D'Amato; isn't that correct?
16 A. That's correct.
17 Q. And three times you said nothing about doubting the truth
18 of Mr. Capo's allegations; isn't that right?
19 A. That's correct.
20 Q. Sir, by your silence you helped Palermo and Capo perpetuate
21 a story that you believed to be substantially false; correct?
22 A. By my silence, yes.
6 Q. Well, three times you affirmatively voted to kill D'Amato;
7 right?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Once you personally lied by telling an administration
10 member, Vinny Palermo, that you felt Capo was speaking the
11 truth; right?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And you did all this because you wanted D'Amato dead for
14 your own reasons; isn't that so?
15 A. Partially, yes.
16 Q. You and he were on opposite sides and an intrafamily
17 conflict; isn't that true?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. You saw him as a threat that had to be eliminated; isn't
20 that right, sir?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. You had a gut feeling he should be slated to die; isn't
23 that true?
24 A. I was told that he was a serious person and that he should
25 die, yes.
1 Q. Your gut feeling was that he was a serious person that
2 should be slated to die?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. You felt he had this coming to him; right, sir?
5 A. Yes.
On the sex / porn business
11 Q. Mr. Rotondo, I would like to move on to another area. As
12 we touched on earlier, you were also in the illicit sex
13 industry; weren't you?
14 A. Some people were around me, yes.
15 Q. We're talking about you.
16 THE COURT: Were you or weren't you?
17 THE WITNESS: Associates of mine.
18 THE COURT: Wait, the question is: Were you?
19 THE WITNESS: Ultimately, yes.
20 Q. You were in the adult entertainment and pornography
21 business; right?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. You extorted a strip club called Scarlett's; isn't that
24 correct?
25 A. Correct.
1 Q. To the tune of about $12,000 a year?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. For about four years?
4 A. Give or take, yes.
5 Q. From 1994 through '97?
6 A. I think it was a little earlier than '94, but yes.
7 Q. Around $48,000 total?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. All cash?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. You extorted another strip club called Uncle Charlie's in
12 Linden, New Jersey?
13 A. All that money was part of Scarlett's money, yes.
14 Q. You had an ownership interest in a place called The Vault
15 in Manhattan's meat packing district; isn't that right?
16 A. Associates of mine had it, yes, I extorted money from
17 there.
18 Q. Well, you had an ownership interest in it; didn't you, sir?
19 A. I didn't have an ownership interest in the club, no.
20 Q. Sir, do you recall telling the government on March 18th,
21 2002, that you, Billy Perrotta, and a guy called David Wachtell
22 or Waxtell owned 50 percent of the business?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. You owned 50 percent of the business?
25 A. Along with Billy Perrotta and David Wachtell.
1 Q. So you had an ownership interest?
2 A. I guess you could say it was a secret ownership.
3 Q. But you were partners in it?
4 A. Yes.
17 Q. Now, sir, this Vault was a hardcore S & M club; wasn't it,
18 sir?
19 A. Among other things.
20 Q. It catered to fetishes involved in bondage and domination?
21 MR. McGOVERN: I don't know what the relevance is.
22 THE COURT: Sustained. It's not a matter of
23 relevance, it's a matter that we don't need that level of
24 detail.
25 Q. It was a pretty extreme place; wasn't it, sir?
1 MR. McGOVERN: Objection.
2 THE COURT: That I'll allow.
3 A. Very extreme.
4 Q. You received $1,000 a week from the Vault for a two-year
5 period?
6 A. Approximately, yes.
7 Q. $104,000 total?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. All cash?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. From around 1995 through '97?
12 A. Around there, yes.
13 Q. That's when the city condemned the place, sir?
14 A. Condemnation, yes.
15 Q. Gave you and your partners at least one million dollars in
16 tax payer money as compensation?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Your share was around $224,000?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. You used part of the money for living expenses?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. You had at least $100,000 left after your arrest; isn't
23 that true?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. You had put that money in your mother's bank account?
1 A. Yes, I did.
2 Q. Again, to hide it from the public, the authorities and the
3 IRS; right, sir?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Including the same government you're testifying for today;
6 isn't that right?
7 A. That's correct.
21 Q. Mr. Rotondo, you were also a 50\50 partner in a place
22 called Privileges?
23 A. Yes, I was.
24 Q. That was an upscale strip club in Manhattan; isn't that
25 right, sir?
1 A. It was turned into that, yes.
2 Q. You described it previously as a high end lap dance bar?
3 A. I might have.
4 Q. Someone else's name was on the lease, cabaret and liquor
5 licenses?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Again to hide your interest from the public, the
8 authorities, the IRS?
9 A. To hide our interests, yes.
10 Q. The club opened in December 1999, around the time of your
11 arrest?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Drugs were sold on the premises?
14 A. I don't know. I was never inside it while it was opened, I
15 don't know.
16 Q. Well, you know the valet was selling drugs on the premises?
17 A. I heard that, yes.
18 Q. And you received $3,000 a month over a six month period;
19 correct?
20 A. I received 750 a week for a few months.
21 Q. That's about 3,000 a month?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. From around March through August of 2000?
24 A. Something like that.
25 Q. You received another $2,000 a month for an eleven month
1 period; sound about right?
2 A. Something like that.
3 Q. Around February through December 2001; am I right?
4 A. Maybe around that time period, yes.
5 Q. So about $40,000 combined, sir?
6 A. Sure.
7 Q. All cash?
8 A. Oh, yes.
9 Q. Your partner in this Privilege was Johnny Juliano, another
10 organized crime figure; am I right?
11 A. A Gambino captain, yes.
14 Q. Now Mr. Rotondo, you also extorted various distributors of
15 pornographic magazines, sex toys and fetish tapes; fair?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. You even got one of them to lease a car for you?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. And on at least one occasion, around 1996, '97, you met
20 face to face with Mikey Scars DiLeonardo regarding the porn
21 business. Do you remember that, sir?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Don't remember that.
24 You also owned stock in a pornographic film company
25 called Down Home Video; isn't that true?
1 A. We did have stock, yes.
2 Q. You held that stock in your wife's name, sir?
3 A. I think they did put it in my wife's names.
4 Q. And you did that to hide your interest from the public and
5 the authorities and the IRS; isn't that true?
6 A. It was in my wife's name, it really wasn't too hidden.
7 Q. Did your wife even know you put this porn stock in her name
8 or did you do that on your own?
9 A. Probably not.
10 Q. In sum, sir, your testimony is that you committed dozens of
11 sex-related extortions and other crimes over the years; isn't
12 that right?
13 MR. McGOVERN: Objection to sex-related extortions.
14 THE COURT: Extortions of businesses involving sex
15 entertainment.
16 THE WITNESS: Yes, Judge.
17 Q. Yet the government didn't make you plead guilty to a single
18 one of those sex-related extortions; did you?
19 THE COURT: Again, it's not sex related, extortions of
20 businesses in the sex entertainment industry.
21 MR. FERNICH: Pretty much a mouthful.
22 THE COURT: I don't think so.
On Gotti's role in his father's murder
1 Q. In fact, sir, you blamed Mr. Gotti's father for your own
2 father's murder; isn't that true?
3 A. No, that's not true.
4 Q. Sir, did you meet with the government on July 29th, 2003?
5 A. It's possible.
6 Q. Do you recall telling the government that even though Gotti
7 was responsible for your father's murder; do you recall making
8 that statement?
9 A. No, I don't.
10 Q. You don't remember everything that you told the government
11 in your hundreds of debriefing sessions; do you?
12 A. No, I don't think I do.
13 Q. You don't specifically remember what you told them on
14 July 29th, 2003, two some years ago?
15 A. I don't remember making that statement, no.
2 Q. Let me that take that back from you.
3 So you had a feeling it was the five families; right?
4 A. At one point, yes.
5 Q. Well, you know for certain that the murder was mob related;
6 don't you?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. And you believe the Mafia ruling commission in New York
9 felt your father was too powerful; isn't that true?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. And you suspect the commission killed them for that reason;
12 don't you?
13 A. It was one the suspicions, yes.
14 Q. Mr. Gotti's father, as then boss of the Gambino family, was
15 a member of the ruling commission; wasn't he?
16 A. Correct.
17 Q. A powerful and influential member; isn't that right?
18 A. Yes, sir.
19 Q. Sir, Rudy Farone was a close friend and confidant of your
20 father; wasn't he?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. John Riggi was boss of the DeCavalcante family when your
23 father was killed?
24 A. He was.
25 Q. To your knowledge, sir, Mr. Farone believed Gotti, Sr.
1 definitely told Mr. Riggi the reason for the killing; isn't
2 that right?
3 A. That was a possibility that we believed that, yes.
4 Q. Well, Farone specifically told you that; didn't he?
5 A. Yes, but that was just his suspicions.
6 Q. By the way, Mr. Rotondo, after your father's murder you
7 went full speed ahead with your life in the Mafia; didn't you,
8 sir?
9 A. Yes, I did.
10 Q. Kept right on stealing and extorting; right?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Didn't stop for a moment; did you?
13 A. No.
14 Q. In fact you actually accepted a promotion to the rank of
15 captain; didn't you?
16 A. I did.
17 Q. Captain of your dead father's crew; correct?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. Sir, even assuming there was no way out of the La Cosa
20 Nostra, as you claimed yesterday, you certainly didn't have to
21 except a promotion; did you?
22 A. I didn't have to.
23 Q. You did that of your own free will; right?
24 No one put a gun to your head?
25 A. No.
On the Gambino family controlling the DeCavalcantes
1 Q. You also told us yesterday that many Gambino members and
2 associates, maybe about 30 to 40, attended your father's wake.
3 Do you recall that testimony?
4 A. 20 to 30, yes.
5 Q. Yet my client, John A. Gotti, wasn't among them; was he,
6 sir?
7 A. John, Jr.?
8 Q. Yes, John, Jr.
9 A. I don't believe so, no.
10 Q. Now Mr. Rotondo, besides blaming the commission, of which
11 John Gotti, Sr. was a member, for killing your father, you
12 believe Gotti, Sr. took over your own DeCavalcante family by
13 force in the late 1980s; agreed?
14 A. There wasn't any force required.
15 Q. Well, you testified previously that the Gambinos came to
16 your father's wake in a show of force; correct?
17 A. Just that show was enough, yes.
18 Q. So there was some force involved?
19 A. Implied, yes.
20 Q. In your view, sir, Gotti, Sr. relegated the DeCavalcantes
21 to a mere satellite of his own Gambino family; isn't that
22 right?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. He made the DeCavalcantes totally subservient to himself
25 and the Gambinos; isn't that true?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. He even directed your family to reinduct many of its
3 members; isn't that right?
4 A. Yes, we had to reinduct all of our members.
5 Q. He claimed the original induction ceremonies were
6 unorthodox and invalid; true?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. In fact, you yourself had to go through a second induction
9 ceremony; isn't that right?
10 A. That's correct.
11 Q. Even though you were already a captain; right?
12 A. Yes, that's true.
13 Q. All, to your mind, at John Gotti, Sr.'s direction?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Mr. Rotondo, you also believed Gotti, Sr. and the Gambinos
16 muscled in on at least two lucrative businesses that you and/or
17 the DeCavalcantes were shaking down; correct?
18 A. There were sit downs and we lost.
19 Q. Interstate Industrial Corp?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. South Shore Country club?
22 A. That's correct.
23 Q. And in your opinion, sir, Gotti, Sr. also installed John
24 D'Amato as his own hand-picked underboss of the DeCavalcante
25 family; isn't that right?
1 A. Yes, he did.
2 Q. Indeed, as you told us yesterday, he actually made D'Amato
3 report to him three times a week as well; right?
4 A. Two or three times a week.
5 Q. Sir, you also believed Gotti, Sr. was behind D'Amato's push
6 to appoint himself acting boss, take over the DeCavalcante
7 family and reduce you to a rank outsider; isn't that correct?
8 A. We were told that, yes.
9 Q. That's what you believed; right?
10 A. We were told that, I believed it, yes.
11 Q. Sir, the DeCavalcantes were a proud crime family; weren't
12 they?
13 A. At one time.
14 Q. Well, they were the oldest Mafia family in the country;
15 yes?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. So as a high-ranking member of the family, all the actions
18 that you ascribed to Mr. Gotti's father humiliated and upset
19 you; fair statement?
20 A. A lot of members, yes.
21 Q. How about you?
22 A. Myself, yes.
23 Q. In fact, as you told us earlier, they made you so angry
24 that you actually killed D'Amato; correct?
25 A. As far as him taking over as boss and robbing money from
1 the other families, yes.
2 Q. Despite killing him -- I should say despite or because of
3 the fact that he was basically Gotti, Sr.'s puppet; correct?
4 A. That wasn't the reason.
5 Q. Well, you killed him even though he was Gotti, Sr.'s
6 puppet; right?
7 A. Yes.
On Frank Salemme
25 Q. How about a guy named Cadillac Frank Salemme?
1 A. A one-time boss of the Boston Mafia family.
2 Q. You met him in the summer of 2002 in the federal prison in
3 Fairton, New Jersey; isn't that right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. And he told he testified for the government to get back at
6 someone he thought had framed him. He told you that; didn't
7 he?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And he bragged about how great his testimony went and said
10 he expected to get out within days. Didn't he tell you that?
11 A. He might have said something like that, yes.
12 Q. Then one day he just up and walked out the door; isn't that
13 true?
14 A. Correct.
15 Q. After requesting half a million dollars from the
16 government; right?
17 A. He did say something about monetary satisfaction, yes.
18 Q. These encounters with Salemme occurred before you ever
19 testified for the government at any trial; correct?
20 A. Yeah, I think so.
21 Q. Summer 2002?
22 A. Yeah.
19 Q. Sir, you also pled guilty to killing the man you referred
20 to a little earlier John D'Amato?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Also in late 1991?
23 A. Yes, November.
24 Q. Another murder you helped plan, manage and supervise?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. At the time, sir, D'Amato was the DeCavalcante Family's
2 official underboss?
3 A. He was appointed as that.
4 Q. He was the official underboss?
5 A. He was appointed by John Riggi.
6 Q. Is there some reason he wasn't the official underboss if
7 the boss had appointed him?
8 A. Once he overthrew John Riggi, he took himself out of that.
9 Q. Just about the underboss. He was the official underboss.
10 A. At one time, yes.
11 Q. In your mind in D'Amato committed a cardinal sin?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. In your opinion, he unilaterally declared himself acting
14 boss?
15 A. Official boss.
16 Q. Unilaterally did he claim himself to be the official boss?
17 A. He said he was the boss.
18 Q. Without proper authorization; is that right?
19 A. Correct.
20 Q. You consider this a major infraction, sir?
21 A. That is a major infraction of La Cosa Nostra.
22 Q. You felt he was trying to take over the family?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. And in the process push you aside?
25 A. That was an idea.
1 Q. You felt he was shutting you out?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Essentially reducing you to an outsider?
4 A. I might have felt that way at that time.
5 Q. Made you angry?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Caused you great discontent?
8 A. Might have.
9 Q. So you basically began plotting a coup against Mr. D'Amato?
10 A. Along with others, yes.
11 Q. You quietly began working to overthrow him?
12 A. Yes, we did.
13 Q. Without notice to or approval from the other five Mafia
14 families of a so-called ruling commission?
15 A. That is correct.
16 Q. Even though Mr. D'Amato was commonly known by them as the
17 DeCavalcante acting boss; is that true?
18 A. I don't know how he was known by them. He was the
19 underboss.
20 Q. You were referring to him as the acting boss regardless of
21 what you may have believed about his legitimacy. You were
22 referring to him as the acting boss?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Among other things, you heard Mr. D'Amato borrowed a lot of
25 money from other crime families falsely claiming it was for the
1 DeCavalcantes; right?
2 A. Close to a million dollars.
3 Q. You also heard he looted the family kitty?
4 A. True.
5 Q. According to Anthony Capo, a soldier in your crew,
6 D'Amato's girlfriend reported he was abusing cocaine and
7 engaging in bizarre sexual behavior; is that right?
8 A. That was one of the sources, yes.
9 Q. Including public sex orgies; right?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. You never bothered confirm these rumors with the girlfriend
12 herself, did you, sir?
13 A. No.
14 Q. Once again, you just accepted what Capo said at face value;
15 isn't that right?
16 A. I wasn't interested in what Capo said.
17 Q. Exactly what Capo said was just window dressing to you?
18 A. To the whole plot, it was a window dressing.
19 Q. After all you were a pretty heavy drug user?
20 A. I smoked marijuana then.
21 Q. As we will discuss later.
22 You two were involved in the world of pornography,
23 adult entertainment and kinky sex?
24 A. That is true. Some people around me had clubs that engaged
25 in that kind of stuff, yes.
1 Q. We will talk about that later.
2 You were involved in it as well?
3 A. I received extortion payments from them.
4 Q. You did more than that. So the sex and drug rumors was a
5 pretext for your own personal grudge against D'Amato?
6 A. Something to do with it, yes.
7 Q. That grudge steps from his allegedly taking down the boss
8 and cutting you out, that was the main reason you came to
9 resent him, sir?
10 A. That he took down a boss, yes.
11 Q. Nevertheless you seized on this pretext and you told Capo
12 in substance that we must report the girlfriend's allegations
13 to good old Rudy Farone; is that right?
14 A. That was part of the things that were mentioned, yes.
15 Q. You went ahead and you did just that, didn't you?
16 A. We went to Rudy, yes.
17 Q. Marched straight to Rudy with what you heard from the
18 girlfriend through Mr. Capo?
19 A. Yeah, we did.
20 Q. By reporting the sex and drug rumors to Farone, you knew
21 you were basically signing D'Amato's death warrant?
22 A. Well, the fact that he took down the boss and stole all the
23 money from the other families, that was what signed his death
24 warrant.
25 Q. I understand. But by reporting these embarrassing sex and
1 drug allegations, you were furthering that purpose?
2 A. There was talk on street from other families to that
3 effect, yes.
4 Q. So you were instigating again?
5 A. Instigating?
6 Q. Instigating, you know what that means?
7 A. The fact that he had done these other things that was his
8 death warrant.
9 Q. I understand. But you furthered those purposes by going to
10 Farone with the sex and drug allegations. I am not quarreling
11 with you.
12 A. We mentioned it, yes.
13 Q. You were scheming and stirring up trouble; isn't that
14 right, sir?
15 A. We agreed that John D'Amato had to go, yes.
16 Q. Your strategy provoked the desired response that you just
17 indicated?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. You, Farone and a third individual Vinny Palermo soon
20 resolved that D'Amato should be killed for his sins that he had
21 to go?
22 A. We went to Steve Vitabile and Jake Amari.
23 Q. I am talking about you, Palermo and Farone. You three
24 resolved that D'Amato should be killed for his sins?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. So Farone and Palermo agreed to join what you set in
2 motion?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. You then arranged a meeting with an Administration
5 representative without D'Amato who was out of town to seek
6 ratification of the murder; is that right, sir?
7 A. I am sorry. Repeat that again.
8 Q. After speaking with Farone and Palermo, you arranged a
9 meeting with an Administration representative -- I think it was
10 Jake Amari?
11 A. It Steve Vitabile.
12 Q. There were two meeting. Originally it was Amari?
13 A. Right.
14 Q. To seek ratification of the murder?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. After the meeting with Amari, your efforts culminated a
17 meeting with at least two Administration members at a Staten
18 Island construction site?
19 A. There were more than two.
20 Q. At least two?
21 A. Oh, yes.
22 Q. During this meeting, sir, the parties discussed D'Amato's
23 financial improprieties?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. The girlfriend's sex and drug allegations?
1 A. That was brought up, yes.
2 Q. You never mentioned the real reason you were there, did
3 you, sir?
4 A. As far as him overthrowing the boss, maybe not.
5 Q. You never mentioned what you felt D'Amato had done with the
6 Administration in shutting you out and trying to takedown a
7 boss?
8 A. Correct.
9 Q. When the meeting ended, the knew underboss Jake Amari said
10 he wanted to raise the matter with a full administration?
11 A. Well, that was after he had given authorization to kill
12 John D'Amato.
13 Q. I didn't ask about authorization. What he said was that he
14 wanted to raise the matter with the full Administration. Did
15 he say that, yes or no?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. So someone else said in substance you should sleep on it.
18 Yes or no?
19 A. Someone might have.
20 Q. You had no intention of sleeping on it?
21 A. No.
22 Q. As it turned out D'Amato was flying back to New York that
23 very day; is that true?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Anthony Capo and another guy were going to meet him at the
1 airport; am I right?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. So you decided to go ahead and kill D'Amato right then and
4 there; is that true?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. You personally told Capo the murder was a go; right?
7 A. Yes.
11 Q. You went to a drugstore and bought some latex gloves?
12 A. After the murder, yes.
13 Q. You bought the gloves after the murder?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. For cleaning up purposes?
16 A. To handle the body, wrap up the body.
17 Q. Up didn't handle the body?
18 A. No.
19 Q. You handed Capo a .22 caliber gun; right?
20 A. We did, yes.
21 Q. You did. I am not asking if anybody else did. I am asking
22 about you.
23 A. Might have. It might have been me or Vinny Ocean.
24 Q. The two of you were together?
25 A. Yes.
1 Q. You were certainly handling the weapon?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. You gave him the actual murder weapon?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. And you Anthony Rotondo directly ordered Capo to shoot
6 D'Amato dead?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. To your knowledge Capo and the other guy then went and
9 assassinated D'Amato right near his girlfriend's home?
10 A. They shot him in the car.
11 Q. Near his girlfriend's home?
12 A. It might have been driving back from her house. I don't
13 know exactly where.
14 Q. Afterwards, sir, you refused to drive upstate with Farone
15 and Palermo to help dispose of the body?
16 A. That night, yes.
17 Q. Just couldn't bring yourself to do that, could you?
18 A. No.
19 Q. You didn't have the stomach for it; right?
20 A. Possible.
21 Q. Is it not possible that is what you previously testified
22 to; right?
23 A. Yeah.
24 Q. You had plenty of stomach to have somebody else rub out
25 your enemy for you, you had plenty of stomach for that?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. So you ducked out and went home?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. Leaving the dirty work to the others again; right?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. The next morning you also refused to help clean Farone's
7 garage where the body was briefly taken after the murder; is
8 that right?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Couldn't bring yourself to do that either?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. In fact, you sent your subordinates Capo and DiChiara to
13 clean up your mess for you; is that true?
14 A. To clean up the mess, yes.
15 Q. This angered Farone and Palermo?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Along with Capo they later accused you of performing
18 dishonorable in orders and they wanted little to do with you?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Sir, your Mafia nickname was Yellow Face?
21 A. I never heard that before.
22 Q. Never heard yourself referred to by others in the Mafia as
23 Yellow Face?
24 A. Never.
25 Q. In any event, Mr. Rotondo, you also attended another
1 meeting at construction site the Caldors construction site the
2 day after the murder?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. That was an administration meeting?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Jake Amari the underboss laid out some complaints against
7 Mr. D'Amato; is that true?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. He again reviewed D'Amato's financial impropriety?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Repeated the girlfriend's sex allegations?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. He didn't say D'Amato had crowned himself acting boss, did
14 he, sir?
15 A. No.
16 Q. He didn't say D'Amato had taken over the family?
17 A. I don't believe he did.
18 Q. He didn't say D'Amato had pushed you aside and the rest of
19 the New York faction?
20 A. No.
21 Q. He didn't say D'Amato had taken down the official boss, did
22 he?
23 A. No.
24 Q. What he did do was call for a vote on whether D'Amato
25 should live or die; is that correct?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. A vote was actually taken wasn't?
3 A. They did take a vote.
4 Q. Actually went ahead and voted to kill him.
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. All the while withholding the fact that he was already
7 dead?
8 A. That is correct.
9 Q. All the while withholding the fact that you had already
10 killed him the day before; is that right?
11 A. That we killed him.
12 Q. You purposely concealed the truth from your own criminal
13 partners; is that a fair statement?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. You intentionally misled them?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. These were members of Mafia?
18 A. Some of them.
19 Q. Veterans of am organization where lies and deception are
20 every day occurrences; isn't that true?
21 A. Some of them, yes.
22 Q. People experienced in separating truth from fiction?
23 A. Correct.
24 Q. To your knowledge, they have no idea you were hiding
25 anything, did they?
1 A. To my knowledge, no they didn't.
2 Q. As far as you could tell, they have no idea you were
3 concealing D'Amato's murder and your own responsibilities for
4 it?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. After all, had they known he was dead, a vote on whether to
7 kill him would have been senseless and unnecessary; isn't that
8 right?
9 A. Unofficially, yes.
10 Q. What do you mean unofficially?
11 A. Steve Vitabile who ordered the murder a day before called
12 for an official vote. That is what he did.
13 Q. He called for an official vote because you didn't tell him
14 he was already dead?
15 A. Vitabile knew he was already dead.
16 Q. How did he know?
17 A. Rudy had told him.
18 Q. How do you know?
19 A. Rudy told me he had told him.
17 Q. Sir, you also attended yet another Administration meeting
18 the following day?
19 A. I believe so, yes.
20 Q. You have to help me with this name. This was in the home
21 the Steve Vitabile, family consigliere?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. You brought along Capo to that meeting?
24 A. They asked to see Anthony Capo.
25 Q. Did you bring him along?
1 A. I brought him because he was his captain.
2 Q. Before the meeting you explicitly instructed Capo to lie to
3 his fellow family members right to their faces?
4 A. Yes, we did.
5 Q. In particular, you told him not for admit that D'Amato was
6 dead or his own involvement in the killing.
7 A. Correct.
8 Q. Capo followed your instructions?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Actually claimed he had dropped D'Amato off at the airport
11 after his last visit?
12 A. That is correct.
13 Q. Completely false; right?
14 A. Completely.
15 Q. After Capo spoke another vote was taken?
16 A. They took another vote.
17 Q. You participated in the vote?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. And you again voted to kill D'Amato?
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. All the while you and Capo never said a word about having
22 already murdered him; is that true?
23 A. That is true.
24 Q. Never so much as mentioned that D'Amato had already been
25 killed on your order?
1 A. That is correct.
2 Q. To your knowledge, sir, none of these long-time mobsters,
3 all veterans of the world of lies and deception had the
4 slightest inkling that you and Capo were such pressing these
5 facts?
6 A. To my knowledge.
7 Q. Your knowledge.
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Capo totally fooled the group?
10 A. I think he did.
11 Q. With your assistance?
12 A. Of course.
Q. Sir, you and Capo really concealed the murder of these
3 meetings because you had no prior permission from the
4 Administration to kill D'Amato?
5 A. Just from Steve Vitabile, consigliere.
6 Q. This was an unauthorized hit?
7 A. Steve Vitabile was the boss running the family and we had
8 his permission.
9 Q. Even though you had his permission, you felt you needed to
10 conceal the murder from two Administration meeting?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. You killed D'Amato for clearly personal reasons?
13 A. No, sir.
14 Q. You resented his perceived effort to reduce your influence
15 in the family?
16 A. I did.
17 Q. You bumped him off to settle the score; isn't that a fact
18 sir?
19 A. Yes, sir.
2 Q. Well, you skillfully managed to keep your actions from the
3 family administration; didn't you?
4 A. I didn't trust anybody at this point, yes.
5 Q. You successfully lied to deceived them; isn't that right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. That's what really happened here; isn't it?
8 A. What really happened?
9 Q. You successfully lied and deceived them?
10 A. We did.
11 Q. If anyone took down the boss it was you, Anthony Rotondo;
12 isn't that the truth, sir?
13 A. John Riggi is still the boss, as far as I know. He was the
14 boss until the time I was incarcerated.
15 Q. You took down John D'Amato, right, broke the number one
16 rule in the Mafia, you took him down.
17 A. We killed him.
18 Q. You wanted the underboss position yourself; didn't you,
19 sir?
20 A. Never in my life.
21 Q. Well, Vinny Palermo thought you did, to your knowledge?
22 A. He did at one point, yes.
23 Q. How do you know that?
24 A. I heard from somebody.
On the plot to murder Frank D'Amato
25 Q. Mr. Rotondo, the last murder related crime you pled guilty
1 to was conspiracy to kill a man named Frank D'Amato; correct?
2 A. That's correct.
3 Q. This is the brother of John D'Amato; am I right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Same John D'Amato killed by Capo on your order; right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Sir, around 1998, '99, Capo approached you with Palermo and
8 said the FBI had warned him that Frank D'Amato was out to kill
9 him; right?
10 A. That's correct.
11 Q. Capo wanted to kill D'Amato first, Frank D'Amato; right?
12 A. He did.
13 Q. You encouraged Capo and Palermo to bring the matter to the
14 administration; didn't you?
15 A. Well, at that point Anthony was with Vinny in Vinny's
16 decine and he wanted me to assist them, and I told them that
17 anything to this effect would have to be brought to Steve
18 Vitabile.
19 Q. You didn't try to squash it; did you?
20 A. No.
21 Q. You were fanning the flames again?
22 A. I heard that Frankie was out to kill me also.
23 Q. Frankie was out to kill you?
24 A. Yeah.
3 Q. Sir, you have attended three administration meetings on the
4 subject, the subject of murdering Frank D'Amato?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And in most of all these meetings Palermo and/or Capo
7 recounted this alleged FBI warning; am I right?
8 A. Yes, they did.
9 Q. Three unanimous votes were taken to kill D'Amato; correct?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Each time you voted yes?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Again, these votes were largely for show; isn't that true?
14 A. Correct.
15 Q. Again, anyone close to D'Amato was deliberately excluded;
16 am I right?
17 A. That's correct.
18 Q. In addition, sir, you personally met with an administration
19 member at a Garden State Parkway rest area, do you recall that?
20 Jimmy Palermo --
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. -- asked how you really felt about Capo's claim; right?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. And you said in substance that there was merit to it and
25 that you felt he, Capo, was telling the truth; right?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. In fact, sir, you really didn't believe the FBI had
3 identified Mr. D'Amato as the source of the threat; did you?
4 A. I really didn't, I wasn't sure.
25 So as you're testifying here today, you believe the
1 fact that an FBI agent actually told Mr. Capo who the source of
2 his threat was?
3 Answer: I really didn't believe he was told that, but
4 I went along with it, yes.
5 Were you asked that question and did you give that
6 answer?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. So you really didn't believe it; did you, sir?
9 A. Again I wasn't sure, and I went along with it, yes.
10 Q. Well, you didn't say that you weren't sure last time; did
11 you?
12 A. If that's what it says there.
13 Q. You said you didn't believe it; right?
14 A. If that's what it says there, yes.
15 Q. In other words, sir, you didn't believe the bureau had
16 actually told Capo that D'Amato was behind the alleged threat;
17 correct?
18 A. Again, if that's what it says there.
19 Q. After all, sir, you knew that D'Amato and Capo had served
20 jail time together; right?
21 A. They had been in prison together, yes.
22 Q. You knew they had been loansharking partners in the 1980s.
23 A. They had a loansharking business.
24 Q. You knew when Capo got out of jail he pushed loansharking
25 money with the still-imprisoned Mr. D'Amato; isn't that
1 correct, sir?
2 A. Yes, it was, sir.
3 Q. But despite all this knowledge and despite disbelieving the
4 FBI really attributed the threat to D'Amato, you went along
5 with Capo's story anyway; isn't that right?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Two or three times Palermo and/or Capo repeated their
8 account of the FBI warning to the administration; isn't that
9 right?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. And two or three times you said nothing to dispute it;
12 isn't that right?
13 A. Correct.
14 Q. Three times the administration unanimously voted to kill
15 Frank D'Amato; isn't that correct?
16 A. That's correct.
17 Q. And three times you said nothing about doubting the truth
18 of Mr. Capo's allegations; isn't that right?
19 A. That's correct.
20 Q. Sir, by your silence you helped Palermo and Capo perpetuate
21 a story that you believed to be substantially false; correct?
22 A. By my silence, yes.
6 Q. Well, three times you affirmatively voted to kill D'Amato;
7 right?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Once you personally lied by telling an administration
10 member, Vinny Palermo, that you felt Capo was speaking the
11 truth; right?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And you did all this because you wanted D'Amato dead for
14 your own reasons; isn't that so?
15 A. Partially, yes.
16 Q. You and he were on opposite sides and an intrafamily
17 conflict; isn't that true?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. You saw him as a threat that had to be eliminated; isn't
20 that right, sir?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. You had a gut feeling he should be slated to die; isn't
23 that true?
24 A. I was told that he was a serious person and that he should
25 die, yes.
1 Q. Your gut feeling was that he was a serious person that
2 should be slated to die?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. You felt he had this coming to him; right, sir?
5 A. Yes.
On the sex / porn business
11 Q. Mr. Rotondo, I would like to move on to another area. As
12 we touched on earlier, you were also in the illicit sex
13 industry; weren't you?
14 A. Some people were around me, yes.
15 Q. We're talking about you.
16 THE COURT: Were you or weren't you?
17 THE WITNESS: Associates of mine.
18 THE COURT: Wait, the question is: Were you?
19 THE WITNESS: Ultimately, yes.
20 Q. You were in the adult entertainment and pornography
21 business; right?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. You extorted a strip club called Scarlett's; isn't that
24 correct?
25 A. Correct.
1 Q. To the tune of about $12,000 a year?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. For about four years?
4 A. Give or take, yes.
5 Q. From 1994 through '97?
6 A. I think it was a little earlier than '94, but yes.
7 Q. Around $48,000 total?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. All cash?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. You extorted another strip club called Uncle Charlie's in
12 Linden, New Jersey?
13 A. All that money was part of Scarlett's money, yes.
14 Q. You had an ownership interest in a place called The Vault
15 in Manhattan's meat packing district; isn't that right?
16 A. Associates of mine had it, yes, I extorted money from
17 there.
18 Q. Well, you had an ownership interest in it; didn't you, sir?
19 A. I didn't have an ownership interest in the club, no.
20 Q. Sir, do you recall telling the government on March 18th,
21 2002, that you, Billy Perrotta, and a guy called David Wachtell
22 or Waxtell owned 50 percent of the business?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. You owned 50 percent of the business?
25 A. Along with Billy Perrotta and David Wachtell.
1 Q. So you had an ownership interest?
2 A. I guess you could say it was a secret ownership.
3 Q. But you were partners in it?
4 A. Yes.
17 Q. Now, sir, this Vault was a hardcore S & M club; wasn't it,
18 sir?
19 A. Among other things.
20 Q. It catered to fetishes involved in bondage and domination?
21 MR. McGOVERN: I don't know what the relevance is.
22 THE COURT: Sustained. It's not a matter of
23 relevance, it's a matter that we don't need that level of
24 detail.
25 Q. It was a pretty extreme place; wasn't it, sir?
1 MR. McGOVERN: Objection.
2 THE COURT: That I'll allow.
3 A. Very extreme.
4 Q. You received $1,000 a week from the Vault for a two-year
5 period?
6 A. Approximately, yes.
7 Q. $104,000 total?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. All cash?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. From around 1995 through '97?
12 A. Around there, yes.
13 Q. That's when the city condemned the place, sir?
14 A. Condemnation, yes.
15 Q. Gave you and your partners at least one million dollars in
16 tax payer money as compensation?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Your share was around $224,000?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. You used part of the money for living expenses?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. You had at least $100,000 left after your arrest; isn't
23 that true?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. You had put that money in your mother's bank account?
1 A. Yes, I did.
2 Q. Again, to hide it from the public, the authorities and the
3 IRS; right, sir?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Including the same government you're testifying for today;
6 isn't that right?
7 A. That's correct.
21 Q. Mr. Rotondo, you were also a 50\50 partner in a place
22 called Privileges?
23 A. Yes, I was.
24 Q. That was an upscale strip club in Manhattan; isn't that
25 right, sir?
1 A. It was turned into that, yes.
2 Q. You described it previously as a high end lap dance bar?
3 A. I might have.
4 Q. Someone else's name was on the lease, cabaret and liquor
5 licenses?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Again to hide your interest from the public, the
8 authorities, the IRS?
9 A. To hide our interests, yes.
10 Q. The club opened in December 1999, around the time of your
11 arrest?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Drugs were sold on the premises?
14 A. I don't know. I was never inside it while it was opened, I
15 don't know.
16 Q. Well, you know the valet was selling drugs on the premises?
17 A. I heard that, yes.
18 Q. And you received $3,000 a month over a six month period;
19 correct?
20 A. I received 750 a week for a few months.
21 Q. That's about 3,000 a month?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. From around March through August of 2000?
24 A. Something like that.
25 Q. You received another $2,000 a month for an eleven month
1 period; sound about right?
2 A. Something like that.
3 Q. Around February through December 2001; am I right?
4 A. Maybe around that time period, yes.
5 Q. So about $40,000 combined, sir?
6 A. Sure.
7 Q. All cash?
8 A. Oh, yes.
9 Q. Your partner in this Privilege was Johnny Juliano, another
10 organized crime figure; am I right?
11 A. A Gambino captain, yes.
14 Q. Now Mr. Rotondo, you also extorted various distributors of
15 pornographic magazines, sex toys and fetish tapes; fair?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. You even got one of them to lease a car for you?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. And on at least one occasion, around 1996, '97, you met
20 face to face with Mikey Scars DiLeonardo regarding the porn
21 business. Do you remember that, sir?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Don't remember that.
24 You also owned stock in a pornographic film company
25 called Down Home Video; isn't that true?
1 A. We did have stock, yes.
2 Q. You held that stock in your wife's name, sir?
3 A. I think they did put it in my wife's names.
4 Q. And you did that to hide your interest from the public and
5 the authorities and the IRS; isn't that true?
6 A. It was in my wife's name, it really wasn't too hidden.
7 Q. Did your wife even know you put this porn stock in her name
8 or did you do that on your own?
9 A. Probably not.
10 Q. In sum, sir, your testimony is that you committed dozens of
11 sex-related extortions and other crimes over the years; isn't
12 that right?
13 MR. McGOVERN: Objection to sex-related extortions.
14 THE COURT: Extortions of businesses involving sex
15 entertainment.
16 THE WITNESS: Yes, Judge.
17 Q. Yet the government didn't make you plead guilty to a single
18 one of those sex-related extortions; did you?
19 THE COURT: Again, it's not sex related, extortions of
20 businesses in the sex entertainment industry.
21 MR. FERNICH: Pretty much a mouthful.
22 THE COURT: I don't think so.
On Gotti's role in his father's murder
1 Q. In fact, sir, you blamed Mr. Gotti's father for your own
2 father's murder; isn't that true?
3 A. No, that's not true.
4 Q. Sir, did you meet with the government on July 29th, 2003?
5 A. It's possible.
6 Q. Do you recall telling the government that even though Gotti
7 was responsible for your father's murder; do you recall making
8 that statement?
9 A. No, I don't.
10 Q. You don't remember everything that you told the government
11 in your hundreds of debriefing sessions; do you?
12 A. No, I don't think I do.
13 Q. You don't specifically remember what you told them on
14 July 29th, 2003, two some years ago?
15 A. I don't remember making that statement, no.
2 Q. Let me that take that back from you.
3 So you had a feeling it was the five families; right?
4 A. At one point, yes.
5 Q. Well, you know for certain that the murder was mob related;
6 don't you?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. And you believe the Mafia ruling commission in New York
9 felt your father was too powerful; isn't that true?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. And you suspect the commission killed them for that reason;
12 don't you?
13 A. It was one the suspicions, yes.
14 Q. Mr. Gotti's father, as then boss of the Gambino family, was
15 a member of the ruling commission; wasn't he?
16 A. Correct.
17 Q. A powerful and influential member; isn't that right?
18 A. Yes, sir.
19 Q. Sir, Rudy Farone was a close friend and confidant of your
20 father; wasn't he?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. John Riggi was boss of the DeCavalcante family when your
23 father was killed?
24 A. He was.
25 Q. To your knowledge, sir, Mr. Farone believed Gotti, Sr.
1 definitely told Mr. Riggi the reason for the killing; isn't
2 that right?
3 A. That was a possibility that we believed that, yes.
4 Q. Well, Farone specifically told you that; didn't he?
5 A. Yes, but that was just his suspicions.
6 Q. By the way, Mr. Rotondo, after your father's murder you
7 went full speed ahead with your life in the Mafia; didn't you,
8 sir?
9 A. Yes, I did.
10 Q. Kept right on stealing and extorting; right?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Didn't stop for a moment; did you?
13 A. No.
14 Q. In fact you actually accepted a promotion to the rank of
15 captain; didn't you?
16 A. I did.
17 Q. Captain of your dead father's crew; correct?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. Sir, even assuming there was no way out of the La Cosa
20 Nostra, as you claimed yesterday, you certainly didn't have to
21 except a promotion; did you?
22 A. I didn't have to.
23 Q. You did that of your own free will; right?
24 No one put a gun to your head?
25 A. No.
On the Gambino family controlling the DeCavalcantes
1 Q. You also told us yesterday that many Gambino members and
2 associates, maybe about 30 to 40, attended your father's wake.
3 Do you recall that testimony?
4 A. 20 to 30, yes.
5 Q. Yet my client, John A. Gotti, wasn't among them; was he,
6 sir?
7 A. John, Jr.?
8 Q. Yes, John, Jr.
9 A. I don't believe so, no.
10 Q. Now Mr. Rotondo, besides blaming the commission, of which
11 John Gotti, Sr. was a member, for killing your father, you
12 believe Gotti, Sr. took over your own DeCavalcante family by
13 force in the late 1980s; agreed?
14 A. There wasn't any force required.
15 Q. Well, you testified previously that the Gambinos came to
16 your father's wake in a show of force; correct?
17 A. Just that show was enough, yes.
18 Q. So there was some force involved?
19 A. Implied, yes.
20 Q. In your view, sir, Gotti, Sr. relegated the DeCavalcantes
21 to a mere satellite of his own Gambino family; isn't that
22 right?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. He made the DeCavalcantes totally subservient to himself
25 and the Gambinos; isn't that true?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. He even directed your family to reinduct many of its
3 members; isn't that right?
4 A. Yes, we had to reinduct all of our members.
5 Q. He claimed the original induction ceremonies were
6 unorthodox and invalid; true?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. In fact, you yourself had to go through a second induction
9 ceremony; isn't that right?
10 A. That's correct.
11 Q. Even though you were already a captain; right?
12 A. Yes, that's true.
13 Q. All, to your mind, at John Gotti, Sr.'s direction?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Mr. Rotondo, you also believed Gotti, Sr. and the Gambinos
16 muscled in on at least two lucrative businesses that you and/or
17 the DeCavalcantes were shaking down; correct?
18 A. There were sit downs and we lost.
19 Q. Interstate Industrial Corp?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. South Shore Country club?
22 A. That's correct.
23 Q. And in your opinion, sir, Gotti, Sr. also installed John
24 D'Amato as his own hand-picked underboss of the DeCavalcante
25 family; isn't that right?
1 A. Yes, he did.
2 Q. Indeed, as you told us yesterday, he actually made D'Amato
3 report to him three times a week as well; right?
4 A. Two or three times a week.
5 Q. Sir, you also believed Gotti, Sr. was behind D'Amato's push
6 to appoint himself acting boss, take over the DeCavalcante
7 family and reduce you to a rank outsider; isn't that correct?
8 A. We were told that, yes.
9 Q. That's what you believed; right?
10 A. We were told that, I believed it, yes.
11 Q. Sir, the DeCavalcantes were a proud crime family; weren't
12 they?
13 A. At one time.
14 Q. Well, they were the oldest Mafia family in the country;
15 yes?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. So as a high-ranking member of the family, all the actions
18 that you ascribed to Mr. Gotti's father humiliated and upset
19 you; fair statement?
20 A. A lot of members, yes.
21 Q. How about you?
22 A. Myself, yes.
23 Q. In fact, as you told us earlier, they made you so angry
24 that you actually killed D'Amato; correct?
25 A. As far as him taking over as boss and robbing money from
1 the other families, yes.
2 Q. Despite killing him -- I should say despite or because of
3 the fact that he was basically Gotti, Sr.'s puppet; correct?
4 A. That wasn't the reason.
5 Q. Well, you killed him even though he was Gotti, Sr.'s
6 puppet; right?
7 A. Yes.
On Frank Salemme
25 Q. How about a guy named Cadillac Frank Salemme?
1 A. A one-time boss of the Boston Mafia family.
2 Q. You met him in the summer of 2002 in the federal prison in
3 Fairton, New Jersey; isn't that right?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. And he told he testified for the government to get back at
6 someone he thought had framed him. He told you that; didn't
7 he?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And he bragged about how great his testimony went and said
10 he expected to get out within days. Didn't he tell you that?
11 A. He might have said something like that, yes.
12 Q. Then one day he just up and walked out the door; isn't that
13 true?
14 A. Correct.
15 Q. After requesting half a million dollars from the
16 government; right?
17 A. He did say something about monetary satisfaction, yes.
18 Q. These encounters with Salemme occurred before you ever
19 testified for the government at any trial; correct?
20 A. Yeah, I think so.
21 Q. Summer 2002?
22 A. Yeah.
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
What stands out to me:
- Like D'Arco, he claims that the DeCavalcantes were the first mafia family in the US. Not sure what to think. I know last time this came up the historians provided a lot of great info showing why this was unlikely, but keep in mind this doesn't mean that the first family was in Jersey, only that some incarnation of the DeCavalcante family be it in NYC or another part of the country may have been an early family. It has extra weight coming from Rotondo who unlike D'Arco was a member of this family and pretty knowledgeable of its history.
- Them secretly killing John D'Amato before the vote was in, even though once they voted it was rigged by only including anti-D'Amato captains. Some really shady stuff there. Inviting only the captains who would agree with them is a practice they would use for more than one hit. Also, I've never heard of a family giving a bunch of captains a vote on whether a member would be murdered. Maybe it was because the official boss was in jail.
- It's also pretty clear from this that D'Amato's girlfriend and Capo's claims about D'Amato being a gay drug user was never verified by the administration and was just used as justification to kill him when in reality it was because he was gaining more power and according to Rotondo had started calling himself official boss. That is two acting bosses that got close to John Gotti and ended up claiming the official boss position only for it to end poorly (Orena being the other)... seems like more than a coincidence.
- In one part it sounds like the day previous when he was first testifying they showed a 1960s group photo of DeCavalcante members who he identified. I am thinking this could be the the Ribera club member photo from the early 1960s that has been posted here. Would be cool to get his identifications and a transcript of his testimony from the previous day as that's when the prosecutor walked him through his history and a lot about the DeCavalcante family.
- Rotondo says LaRasso was killed shortly after his promotion because it was worried he would try to take over the family. He also claims John D'Amato told him the LaRasso hit was sanctioned by Gotti. My guess is that Gotti/D'Amato didn't want LaRasso to pose a threat to their attempt to take over the family.
- Like D'Arco, he claims that the DeCavalcantes were the first mafia family in the US. Not sure what to think. I know last time this came up the historians provided a lot of great info showing why this was unlikely, but keep in mind this doesn't mean that the first family was in Jersey, only that some incarnation of the DeCavalcante family be it in NYC or another part of the country may have been an early family. It has extra weight coming from Rotondo who unlike D'Arco was a member of this family and pretty knowledgeable of its history.
- Them secretly killing John D'Amato before the vote was in, even though once they voted it was rigged by only including anti-D'Amato captains. Some really shady stuff there. Inviting only the captains who would agree with them is a practice they would use for more than one hit. Also, I've never heard of a family giving a bunch of captains a vote on whether a member would be murdered. Maybe it was because the official boss was in jail.
- It's also pretty clear from this that D'Amato's girlfriend and Capo's claims about D'Amato being a gay drug user was never verified by the administration and was just used as justification to kill him when in reality it was because he was gaining more power and according to Rotondo had started calling himself official boss. That is two acting bosses that got close to John Gotti and ended up claiming the official boss position only for it to end poorly (Orena being the other)... seems like more than a coincidence.
- In one part it sounds like the day previous when he was first testifying they showed a 1960s group photo of DeCavalcante members who he identified. I am thinking this could be the the Ribera club member photo from the early 1960s that has been posted here. Would be cool to get his identifications and a transcript of his testimony from the previous day as that's when the prosecutor walked him through his history and a lot about the DeCavalcante family.
- Rotondo says LaRasso was killed shortly after his promotion because it was worried he would try to take over the family. He also claims John D'Amato told him the LaRasso hit was sanctioned by Gotti. My guess is that Gotti/D'Amato didn't want LaRasso to pose a threat to their attempt to take over the family.
Last edited by B. on Sat May 07, 2016 12:55 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Hailbritain
- Full Patched
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Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
This is awesome B. Thanks for posting
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
No prob.
The other thing that gets me is what a treacherous, dirty guy Rotondo was. I was always under the impression that Rotondo was a fairly laid back guy who got caught up with sociopaths like Vinny Palermo and Anthony Capo. Turns out Rotondo supervised a lot of nasty operations and crimes and was constantly getting guys in trouble / killed, even when if it required lying through his teeth. We see a pattern of him going to other captains like Rudy Farone and Vinny Palermo and creating the initial spark that results in murder or murder conspiracy, then letting Farone / Palermo / whoever do the rest of the legwork to get the administration on board. And this is all from his own testimony.
The other thing that gets me is what a treacherous, dirty guy Rotondo was. I was always under the impression that Rotondo was a fairly laid back guy who got caught up with sociopaths like Vinny Palermo and Anthony Capo. Turns out Rotondo supervised a lot of nasty operations and crimes and was constantly getting guys in trouble / killed, even when if it required lying through his teeth. We see a pattern of him going to other captains like Rudy Farone and Vinny Palermo and creating the initial spark that results in murder or murder conspiracy, then letting Farone / Palermo / whoever do the rest of the legwork to get the administration on board. And this is all from his own testimony.
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Hailbritain
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Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
Yeah from what I've read the guy was very sneaky , do you know the real reason his father was murdered ?? And who the shooters were ?? Not sure if that ever came out
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
Sounds like the reason is that John Gotti was pushing for John D'Amato to take over the family and Jimmy Rotondo was gaining too much traction, so they decided to kill him. I don't know who the shooters were or whether it was a Gambino or DeCavalcante hit crew.Hailbritain wrote:Yeah from what I've read the guy was very sneaky , do you know the real reason his father was murdered ?? And who the shooters were ?? Not sure if that ever came out
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
great read thanks
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Pogo The Clown
- Men Of Mayhem
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- Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2014 7:02 am
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
As B. said this is a great source of information.
I wonder who else was made and present at that June 1982 ceremony. Sounds like it was talked about in his previous testimony. We know Rotondo, Corky Vastol and James Gallo were among those inducted. I read that Joe Sclafani was made in 1982 so he was most likely made in this ceremony as well.
Pogo
I wonder who else was made and present at that June 1982 ceremony. Sounds like it was talked about in his previous testimony. We know Rotondo, Corky Vastol and James Gallo were among those inducted. I read that Joe Sclafani was made in 1982 so he was most likely made in this ceremony as well.
Pogo
It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
The part in bold about the DeCavalcantes being the oldest family in the country, I wonder if that has anything to do with what D'Arco mentioned in his book about the first family originating in New Jersey?
All roads lead to New York.
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
I thought New Orleans was the oldest family?
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Five Felonies
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Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
i think new orleans was just the first point of entry for any sizable number of sicilians, which obviously included criminals.toto wrote:I thought New Orleans was the oldest family?
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
Al D'Arco also claimed that NJ was the first Family. I don't know where they're getting this info from. Until recently they all knew that New Orleans was the first:
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... _family%22
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... _family%22
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... _family%22
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... _family%22
Re: Anthony Rotondo 2005 cross-examination
I guess they mean from the East coast area.