GL 1/4

[Cheech]

This Week in Gang Land
By Jerry Capeci

Feds Revoked Bail Of Key FBI Snitch Last March
Gang Land Exclusive!John RubeoFederal prosecutors locked up their own key witness against the mob in a mammoth, 46-defendant case shortly after the FBI started investigating misconduct allegations against three agents who worked on the case, Gang Land has learned.

Gang Land reported exclusively last year that John (J.R.) Rubeo, the key undercover operative in the racketeering case against Philadelphia mob boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino and others, had been put behind bars by the feds — for reasons that were then unclear.

But sources now say that prosecutors quietly revoked bail for Rubeo in March, the same month they disclosed that the FBI was investigating two "case agents" and a supervisor for violating FBI "policy that governs the handling of informants, assets, or cooperating witnesses."

Until then, Rubeo, who flipped in 2011 after he was arrested by the DEA for dealing coke and marijuana for years, had been allowed to remain free on bail in the monstrous case in which 45 of the 46 defendants indicted on racketeering conspiracy charges were rounded up and arrested in August of 2016 — even though his undercover work had ended seven months earlier.

Joseph MerlinoAs Gang Land disclosed in March, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office was furious when its prosecutors learned a few months earlier that Rubeo had deleted all the cell phone talks and texts he had with targets during the last year of the investigation, between August of 2015 and August of 2016.

The timing of Rubeo's incarceration appears to bolster the notion that it was linked to the misconduct allegations against the FBI agents, an assertion that Merlino attorney John Meringolo made last year during a pre-trial session before Manhattan Federal Judge Richard Sullivan.

During the proceeding, Meringolo asked Sullivan to compel prosecutors to preserve "the phone calls, and the emails" that Rubeo used to communicate with relatives and friends "if his bail was revoked" because of the FBI's internal inquiry into dealings that the agents had with Rubeo during the five-year-long probe.

Then-prosecutor Jonathan Rebold declined to say whether J.R. had been jailed, and argued that the government had no obligation to preserve any tapes or emails, even if he had.

John MeringoloBut sources say the feds heeded Sullivan's strong urgings to make sure they did in the event that Meringolo was right.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney's office declined to discuss Rubeo's jailing. Meringolo and lead defense attorney Edwin Jacobs were also mum on the subject. But sources say prosecutors Max Nicholas, Lauren Schorr, and Andrew Chan turned over jailhouse tape recordings to Merlino's lawyers that go back to March of last year. They include phone talks that Rubeo, and a second cooperating witness, Bonanno capo Peter (Pug) Lovaglio, each had with friends and relatives.

Gang Land's sources would not detail any specifics of discussions by either snitch, but usually reliable sources say that "they were not happy" about where they were and constantly "bitched and moaned about being locked up."

In March, Lovaglio, who's been cooperating with the feds since 2015, was given eight years for a violent assault that same year against a Staten Island restaurant owner by a state court judge who refused to give Pug any credit for his undercover work, or stay the execution of his prison term, despite receiving a letter praising his cooperation from prosecutor Nicholas.

In a recent court filing, Merlino's lawyers cited new evidence — gleaned apparently from discovery material they recently received — to press their objections to a government request to bar them from questioning either witness about domestic violence admissions on the grounds that beating your wife or girlfriend has no bearing on truthfulness from the witness stand.

Peter Lovaglio"Significantly," the lawyers wrote, "(Lovaglio) physically assaulted a female during his cooperation with the government" when he was "an agent of the government," and prosecutors should not be able "to exclude such conduct from being offered at trial." This information would be "relevant for the jury to obtain," the lawyers argue, since "that conduct deviated" from proper activity by "cooperating witnesses in an active prosecution."

"The same argument is applicable to (Rubeo,) who also has a history of domestic violence" if he "engaged in such assaults during his cooperation," the lawyers argue. Rubeo began cooperating in November of 2011 and his cooperation will continue at least through the trial, which is slated to begin January 16.

Sullivan is expected to rule next week on those and many other pre-trial motions by both sides in the expected three to four week-long trial, including the testimony and cross-examination of two case agents who worked the investigation, Joy Adam, and William Inzerillo.

Eugene OnofrioProsecutors have asked Sullivan to bar the defense from questioning the agents about the internal probe since neither agent was found to have engaged in any corrupt activity, and that the investigation had nothing to do with the case against Merlino.

Defense lawyers argue that Rubeo's testimony and his tape recordings are the heart of the case against Skinny Joey and the probe of the agents' dealings with JR should be fair game for cross-examination.

In a surprise one-page decision last week, Judge Sullivan severed Merlino's trial from that of his lone remaining co-defendant in the case, Connecticut-based Genovese capo Eugene (Rooster) Onofrio, one of the top three defendants in the huge indictment. The ruling came after a sealed filing in which prosecutors and the attorney for Onofrio had requested the severance.

Merlino will be going it alone, wrote Sullivan, who had previously denied a motion for a separate trial by Rooster, due to "Onofrio's need for medical treatment" that "will likely interfere with his ability to prepare his own defense."

Elderly Gangster Torched by Kidstuff Road Rage
Vincent AsaroVincent Asaro, the aging Bonanno mobster alleged to have been part of one of New York's most notorious heists, was probably right to worry when he voiced concern in open court to his lawyer about pleading guilty to charges stemming from a bad case of senior citizen road rage.

For one thing, despite sentencing guidelines that called for 41 months for his foolish crime, the judge had warned the 82-year-old Asaro that, despite his plea agreement with the government, she could still give the octogenarian gangster up to 20 years in prison.

For another, the judge offering that cautionary message was Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Alynne Ross who had presided over the 2015 trial at which Asaro was acquitted of the storied $6 million Lufthansa Airlines robbery portrayed in the mob movie classic, Goodfellas. And while Asaro beat that rap with the jury's help, the judge had listened carefully to the testimony.

But Asaro pulled the trigger on the plea deal anyway. And last week, he got the results: An eight-year term, one that sounded a lot like a natural life term to the geezer gangster.

Judge Allyne RossOf course, it could've been worse. He didn't get the 20 years the judge threatened, or even the 15 years that prosecutors Lindsay Gerdes, Keith Edelman and Nicole Argentieri had requested, despite the signed plea agreement calling for 31-to-41 months.

It also could have been a lot better: Asaro's attorney Elizabeth Macedonio had urged the judge to sentence her client to "time served," the nine months behind bars he had already done.

Either way, you can bet Asaro was wishing he'd opted to have a jury decide the penalty for torching the car of a motorist who cut him off on a Queens street six years ago.

If he had gone that route, he had to be thinking, he might have gotten lucky all over again: The Lufthansa jury didn't believe the witnesses who tied Asaro and the late James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke, the heist mastermind played on the big screen by Robert DeNiro, to the airport robbery or a 1969 murder. But the judge apparently did, as she let Asaro know as she hit him with more than double the recommended sentencing guidelines for the road-rage arson.

Gaspare Valenti"As the trial judge," said Judge Ross, "I had the opportunity to discern the demeanor of the witnesses and assess their credibility" about the daring pre-dawn 1978 heist and the slaying nine years earlier of suspected informer Paul Katz.

Ross stated she "was particularly impressed" with the "forthright" testimony by Asaro's cousin, Gaspar (Gary) Valenti, about the murder of Katz by Asaro and Jimmy the Gent. The victim's remains were dug up by the FBI in 2013 where Valenti had said he helped Asaro's mobster son Jerome bury them in the 1980s, after a fearful Burke had them dug up from an earlier grave and reburied elsewhere.

The judge said she had "no illusions that Mr. Asaro will be rehabilitated by a prison stint," but was putting him behind bars to protect the public. The trial evidence, combined with his road rage arson that took place at the decidedly mature age of 77, clearly established that Asaro "remains a danger to the public" and deserved a longer sentence than 41 months, said Ross.

In his own pre-sentencing remarks in court, Asaro didn't mention Katz's murder or the Lufthansa heist. But he stressed to Ross that he was "terribly sorry" about getting underlings to torch the car of a motorist who had cut him off in his Howard Beach Queens neighborhood in April of 2012.

James Burke"It was a stupid thing I did," he said. "I was on my way home. It happened. It just got out of hand."

Macedonio argued that the case against her client was a revenge prosecution by the same office and by two of the same prosecutors who had failed to convict Asaro at trial. "It's not about the arson," said the attorney. "It's about the acquittal."

In seeking leniency, the attorney also asserted that the aging mobster would not survive a long prison term. She called the medical staff at the Metropolitan Detention Center incompetent, ticking off a lengthy list of mishaps that she said had put Asaro close to death several times since he was jailed in March.

Macedonio said that Asaro's blood pressure hadn't been properly controlled, and that he had suffered several heart seizures while at the MDC. When he was hospitalized to remove a kidney stone, she said, doctors removed his prostate by mistake.

In a nod to those issues, Ross stated she was going to recommend that Asaro serve his time in an accredited prison hospital. Don't bother, Asaro responded. He asked the judge to recommend a New Jersey or Connecticut facility to make it easier for family members to visit him.

"I don't care what happened to me at this point," said Asaro. "What you sentenced me to is a death sentence anyway."

He could be right. But then again, there is a possible light at the end of the tunnel, even if Vinny loses the planned appeal of his sentence. With credit for the 22 months in prison before his 2015 acquittal, the nine months he served last year, mandatory 15% good time, and a halfway house when he's got a year left on his bid, he could be out in mid-to-late-2021, at the young age of 86.

Ask Andy: Gangs Who Couldn't Shoot Straight
Andy PetepieceWiseguys have a well-deserved reputation for being both discrete and efficient when they decide that someone has to go bye-bye. Usually, as Sammy Bull Gravano testified about the execution of Robert (DeeBee) DiBernardo, they sucker the victim to a private meeting then unload on him. Thankfully for the victim sometimes, however, hitmen blow their assignment big time.

It happened in May of 1963, in the midst of a shooting war between Joe Colombo loyalists and the renegade Gallo brothers in Brooklyn. Carmine (Junior) Pesico was behind the wheel of his car and his buddy Al D'Ambrosio was beside him, when suddenly a van pulled in front of the car and blocked him in.

Before they could react, a gunman with a .22 rifle opened up on the two sitting ducks. Persico was hit in the mouth, hand, and shoulder. D'Ambrosio took one in the hand and another in the shoulder. Amazingly, though, both survived the barrage of bullets, allegedly fired by a Gallo hit team of Nicky Bianco, Tony Bernardo, and Louis Mariani. The botched assassination would plague the Gallo brothers for another decade as Persico exacted revenge and rose to the top.

In the 1970's, the Cleveland family was having a vicious war with non-made rivals in which both sides were using bombs, which are usually prohibited in mob warfare. Rebel associate Enis Crnic wished they had followed the rules. Tasked to blow up mobster John Delzoppo with a car bomb, something went south and the bomb went off in Crnic's face as he lay under Delzoppo's vehicle.

Robert DiBernardoIn the Windy City, longtime Chicago Outfit bookmaker Ken Eto got jammed up on illegal gambling charges and the Outfit powers figured it would be prudent to eliminate any chance that Eto would rat them out and assigned the hit to associates, Jasper Campise, and John Gattuso.

On February 10, 1983, with Eto behind the wheel, Campise riding shotgun, and Gattuso in the back seat, the three headed out to a meeting. When Eto parked, Gattuso fired three shots into Eto's head, and the duo fled. But Gattuso's gun was firing defective bullets, and Eto was alive and talking.

Campise and Gattuso were quickly arrested and in yet another dumb move, agreed to be bailed out. And as you might expect, the bodies of the two men were soon found shot to death in the trunk of a car, and Eto lived to spend years testifying against the Chicago Outfit.

The Philadelphia family under Boss Nicky Scarfo had its share of botched hits. Two involved veteran mobster Harry Riccobene who refused to get into line with Little Nicky. Scarfo ordered his death but fortunately for Riccobene two incompetents were sent to do the job. On June 8, 1982 he was in a phone booth when Wayne Grande approached and opened up on him.

Harry RiccobeneAlthough hit five times Riccobene was able to take the gun from Grande who fled. Two months later Scarfo's men tried again. This time Riccobenne was in his car when a shooter, it's unclear if it was another Grande foulup, opened up through a window. Not one bullet hit him, and Riccobene calmly drove home.

At least Grande, unlike a 1976 Detroit mob hit team, survived his failure.

That July, bookmaker-gambler Ernie Kanakis, a longtime mob associate, was on the outs with the mob. But Kanakis was well-versed with the ways of street life, and on high alert when made man Frank Randazzo asked him to help him move a safe in his basement. Surprisingly Kanakis accepted the invitation, but was prudent enough to strap a gun to his ankle.

As he descended the cellar stairs he was jumped by Randazzo. From the shadows, mobster Joe Siraguse charged and plunged an ice pick into Kanakis's chest. As Kanakis struggled, veteran hit man Nick Ditta, probably there for cleanup duty, jumped in. Oops again! Amazingly, Kanakis was able to break free from his three assailants, pull his gun and kill them all. Although charged with murder, Kanakis won the case by pleading, quite reasonably, self defense. Years later, luck played a big role when he dodged yet another hit attempt by the Detroit group.

As longtime Luchese associate Michael Meldish learned in front of his Bronx home in 2013, if you are targeted by the mob, your chances of survival are slim. However, as our examples show, and as Genovese gangster Joe Bonelli learned a year later in Queens, sometimes lady luck arrives to save the day.

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

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[SonnyBlackstein]

He could be right. But then again, there is a possible light at the end of the tunnel, even if Vinny loses the planned appeal of his sentence. With credit for the 22 months in prison before his 2015 acquittal, the nine months he served last year, mandatory 15% good time, and a halfway house when he's got a year left on his bid, he could be out in mid-to-late-2021, at the young age of 86.

Interesting he actually will get credit for the Lufthansa trial incarceration.


Thanks for the post Cheech.

[Cheech]

I just dont see how that happens

[BobbyPazzo]

I just dont see how that happens

Me either

[willychichi]

Rubeo's incarceration is more fuel for an aquittal. The Feds were asleep at the wheel on this one.

[Chucky]

This will be an interesting trial, shame Anastasia won't be covering it.

[Cheech]

He could be right. But then again, there is a possible light at the end of the tunnel, even if Vinny loses the planned appeal of his sentence. With credit for the 22 months in prison before his 2015 acquittal, the nine months he served last year, mandatory 15% good time, and a halfway house when he's got a year left on his bid, he could be out in mid-to-late-2021, at the young age of 86.

Interesting he actually will get credit for the Lufthansa trial incarceration.


Thanks for the post Cheech.

I am not sure where that info is coming from Sonny. think of it like this. i get arrested, i spend 2 years in jail awaiting trial. i get acquitted. does that mean I can do a crime and not going to jail? i've never ever seen the law work this way.

i can be wrong but i dont see it.

[Cheech]

I just dont see how that happens

Me either

I dont see it, brother.

[dack2001]

I believe it has to do with the Judge crediting the Lufthansa allegations when deviating from the recommended sentencing guidelines. She is sentencing him based upon charges that he was acquitted for at trial, seem backward, unfair and bizarre? Welcome to federal jurisprudence, because the Judge considered conduct for which he was acquitted when sentencing him he gets credit for the time he served awaiting that trial. I bet that came from the Judge herself. If she had not considered Lufthansa in deviating from the guidelines she would not have given him the credit. getting credit for time served ultimately rests with the Judge's discretion unless its a binding plea agreement.

[Cheech]

there you go. that makes sense. although ive never seen being judged for somehing i was acquitted for. this whole thing seems un american. i dont care about the guy but it just doesnt smell right

[Confederate]

there you go. that makes sense. although ive never seen being judged for somehing i was acquitted for. this whole thing seems un american. i dont care about the guy but it just doesnt smell right

Some of these Judges have big fucking egos and they sometimes do strange things in addition to posturing and lecturing in the courtroom.

[UTC]

I think trying to pull her punch will bolster the appeal somewhat, because it makes it easier to say the sentence was retaliation for the acquittal. She should have just sentenced him to whatever would reach mid-2021 and kept her mouth shut. Penalizing for the reason that she disagreed with the result of our jury system of justice is personal judicial misconduct in my book.
Usually judges are just minor leaguers who never had a lucrative legal practice.

[Cheech]

Have any of you legal guys seen before what this judge did? Is it unprecendented?

[Stroccos]

Have any of you legal guys seen before what this judge did? Is it unprecendented?

it happend to oj Simpson