Gangland March 2nd 2023

[Dr031718]

Turn Me Loose, Says Skinny Teddy: I'm Not a Danger & My Fiancé Needs Me At Home

In an intriguing appeal of his 18-month-long detention before trial, Colombo capo Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico claims that a magistrate judge wrongly denied him bail "for the reasons stated on the record." This is intriguing because while it was a tape-recorded session, no formal record exists because no transcript of the session was ever produced.

Persico and his lawyer insist the transcript screwup hurts them because "a transcript would have shown" that the judge's ruling was a close call. Coupled with added discovery they have since received, bail would be warranted. That's because the only evidence of possible wrongdoing the feds have is that Skinny Teddy may have violated supervised release. Even if that were true, argues attorney Joseph Corozzo, his client has already served more time than is called for.

He is also needed at home: Persico's long-time fiancé, Nicole Russo, with whom he was living in Dyker Heights before he was arrested, needs his help in caring for her, she wrote in a letter to the court. He’s needed as well to help her mother and his own mother, who both live under the same roof with her. "He is my one and only support system, my motivation, my strength, and I count on him in every aspect of my life," she wrote.

The wiseguy's appeal motion got a surprisingly quick reply. Last week, a day after it was filed, Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Rachel Kovner, who is assigned to Persico's supervised release (VOSR) case, ordered prosecutors to file their reply tomorrow with her, and also with Judge Hector Gonzalez, who is handling the criminal case, which is scheduled for trial in October.

Corozzo acknowledged that Persico's "criminal history is relevant and not to be taken lightly," but states that "it is only one facet of his history." He argues the Court should also consider that he "has been devoted to his fiancé, whom he has been in a relationship with for approximately 15 years," and with whom he had been living following his release from prison in 2020.

Russo, who is no relation to the late Colombo crime family boss, Andrew (Mush) Russo, "runs her own business, Vintage Collision, Inc., the Staten Island body shop where Persico was employed until his arrest," the lawyer wrote.

In her letter, parts of which are sealed because they contain "sensitive health information" about her condition, "Ms. Russo explains how crucial Mr. Persico had been in caring for her, not to mention his mother, and her mother," Corozzo wrote. "Theodore stepped up and took on the role of being that support that I needed," when he was released from prison, she wrote.

"We are advised," Corozzo wrote, "that with the defendant incarcerated, there is no one to help her look after the defendant's mother," who is 82 and ailing. Persico, 59, is "her only surviving child," and since his arrest, Ms. Russo has been hard pressed to care for herself and their mothers, the lawyer wrote.

In addition, Corozzo wrote, the 59-year-old Persico is suffering from undisclosed ailments that have plagued his family for years that the Metropolitan Detention Center has failed to treat adequately. He argued that the "MDC's inaction" toward his client's medical ailments is another factor that the Court should weigh when "considering Mr. Persico's renewed bail application."

Corozzo declined to discuss Persico's or his fiancé's medical issues. But back in 2016, Persico's brother, Daniel, died at age 54, following a seven-year-long battle with cancer.

In his filing, the attorney asserts that arguments he made in Persico's still pending motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that an FBI agent knowingly lied when he stated in affidavits that Skinny Teddy was the boss of the family are also relevant and germane in his client's request for bail.

The "misinformation" that Persico was the Colombo family boss that FBI agent Joseph Costello used to obtain wiretaps and a search warrant has "colored" virtually all the allegations that the prosecutors have lodged against Persico, the lawyer contends. That includes their efforts to keep Skinny Teddy detained as a danger to the community, when he is not.

Even after the "premise" of Persico as boss "was refuted" when the indictment and detention memo each named Mush Russo as family boss, prosecutors "continued to lump Mr. Persico in with the administration" of the family, and maintain that he must be detained even though his alleged superiors, Russo and the family underboss and consigliere were granted bail.

The FBI and prosecutors "were so unable to separate their theory from the actual facts" that they insisted that Persico attended a restaurant meeting in Brooklyn with Russo and others about the alleged extortion of a labor union on November 10, 2020 even though they had "evidence" that Persico was in Staten Island at the time and could not have attended the session, Corozzo wrote.

Prosecutors often accuse Persico of "giving instructions to others in the extortion scheme," including top family members who outrank him, without "clarify(ing) what any of those orders would have been," Corozzo wrote. Instead, they say he is "alleged to have been in contact with other alleged members of the enterprise, despite the terms of his supervised release," he wrote.

Corozzo wrote that his client's VOSR allegations "admittedly do not reflect well upon the defendant." But he argues that under the Bail Reform Act, Persico is entitled to bail even if the Court finds that he is "not inherently trustworthy," as long as there are "conditions that will reasonably ensure the safety of the community and the defendant's return to court."

"No one would have contended that Bernie Madoff could have been inherently trusted without imposing external conditions of release" when he was accused of stealing billions of dollars from investors, but Madoff was "granted bail and the court imposed additional conditions of release" rather than revoke his pre-trial release on bond, Corozzo wrote.

In order to deny bail, Corozzo wrote, the Court must first find that Persico poses either a flight risk or a danger to the community, and must then find that there are no possible combination of conditions that will reasonably ensure both the defendant’s return to the Court and the safety of the community.

A $5 million bond, partially secured by six properties with an estimated net equity of more than $4.5 million, co-signed by 10 individuals, including his fiancé's parents, Persico's mother, and other relatives, should assure the Court that Perscio will not endanger anyone and guarantee that he will appear in court to answer the charges, Corozzo wrote.

"In spite of the allegations against Mr. Persico in this matter and in the VOSR proceeding," the lawyer wrote, "all of these individuals trust Mr. Persico to abide by conditions to be set by the Court, and to put their money and the previously proposed properties on the line."

His client agrees to be confined to his home 24-7, confirmed by GPS monitoring, except to appear in court, or for visits with his attorney or for medical emergencies, Corozzo wrote. Persico "is open" to additional proposals from the Court, the government, or Pretrial Services, the lawyer wrote.

Court officials declined to answer any questions yesterday about the failure of court employees to download and preserve the recording of the March 23, 2022 bail hearing before Brooklyn Magistrate Judge James Cho, or say whether any other recorded proceedings have been lost.

Feds: We're Prosecuting Mob Turncoat-Turned Liar For All 12 Sunshine State Violations

Federal prosecutors have decided to try one more time to convince a judge that turncoat gangster Gene Borrello belongs back in prison for at least two and a half more years for "breach(ing) the Court's trust over and over and over again," Gang Land has learned.

Their reasoning? For starters, they say Borrello is a liar who has committed crime after crime since he got out of prison in 2019 and deserves a far longer sentence than the six months that the judge doled out to the former cooperating witness last month.

At that proceeding, Judge Frederic Block fumed that Borrello's antics have made the judge look "foolish" and "like a sucker" for believing the tales Borrello told in court. But after letting off all that steam, the judge gave him just a half year behind bars, while allowing that he would revisit the situation if the feds insited.

And they seem to have done so. Assistant U.S. attorney Matthew Galeotti informed Block in a court filing last week that "the government intends to pursue" all 12 violations of supervised release (VOSR) charges, including extortion, stalking, domestic abuse, and burglary allegations that were filed against Borrello while he was in Florida. Seven were lodged on September 12, 2022; five were filed on January 20, 2023.

The specific allegations, and their sentencing guidelines, are sealed. But Galeotti cited many details about the new VOSRs – the third and fourth set that the Probation Department has filed against Borrello since he was released from prison — in a sentencing memo in which he asked Block to send the former Bonanno family associate back to prison for three years.

After moving to Florida, Galeotti wrote, Borrello "engaged in repeated violent and aggressive conduct with two separate victims" and he "discussed the use of firearms" in taped talks. "He personally used controlled substances" and "lied to the Court and Probation" and he "has demonstrated to the Court how he will treat second, third, and fourth chances," he wrote.

Block agreed with Galeotti that he was allowed to consider that info as relevant conduct before imposing sentence for the 2021 VOSR. But he stated he wouldn't because Borrello claimed he was innocent. Block said he'd deal with them at a later hearing, noting three times that he'd be surprised if Galeotti decided to prosecute all the allegations, twice misstating them as 15 charges.

"I don't think 15 charges necessarily are warranted here," Block said at one point. After making the same point a second time, the judge told Galeotti that he was "going to have to really decide what you want to go to trial on."

"You're going to advise me before (the May 9 hearing date) as to which of those many charges the government really wishes to pursue," Block told the prosecutor at another point, reminding him to make sure he gave Borrello's lawyer all the disclosure info she was entitled to.

Many of the charges that Galeotti laid out in his sentencing memo concerned stalking and domestic abuse allegations against Borrello’s then girlfriend. When the woman told Borrello that she was going to call the police after they got into an argument, he "manhandled" her, grabbed her cell phone and "smashed it on the ground and stomped on it," the prosecutor wrote.

Both crimes, "simple battery" and "tampering with a witness,"Galeotti wrote, "were committed in the Middle District of Florida, despite the fact that, in May of 2022, Borrello had never received permission to leave the Eastern District of New York."

In July, police responded to another argument between Borrello and his girlfriend who then obtained "an order of protection against Borrello in local court," the prosecutor wrote.

Borrello was arrested on September 8, 2022 for "violating the order of protection" she had filed against him, the prosecutor wrote. Then he "went through (her) cellular telephone without her permission," and he later called and texted her "incessantly," Galeotii stated, noting that the defendant "contacted the victim 58 times between 1:41pm and 2:08pm."

On October 23, his girlfriend "told police that she was fearful of Borrello after yet another domestic incident which had taken place" two days earlier, Galeotti wrote.

It's hard to fathom Borrello, whose two prior VOSRs included threats against a former girlfriend from Howard Beach and her family members, getting a pass on the stalking and domestic abuse allegations involving his Florida paramour from Block. The judge chided Borrello about them at his sentencing last month.

"This girlfriend thing, that's going to be the basis of those other charges," said Block. "It looks like a love/hate relationship. You beat her up," the judge continued. "You have anger management problems and all sorts of terrible things," said Block. "But she loves you, she forgives you, she knows she's a battered woman," the judge said.

But predicting what a judge will do is risky business.

During the same sentencing session, after Block said he wanted to make a final decision on the new Florida-based VOSR charges that Borrello faces during the six month stretch that he is serving now, the judge stated: "It may not be more, it may be more; I am not in a position to make judgment today, but we have to process it and get this beyond us."

The Florida-based allegations included tape recorded talks in which Borrello discussed buying guns. He also used steroids and threatened a bartender and others who crossed him, Galeotti wrote. Borrello also used a second cell phone to keep the feds from monitoring his illicit activities, and lied to probation officials about the second phone and numerous other things, the prosecutor wrote.

The alleged transgressions continued all year and into 2023. On December 10, Borrello "was arrested on burglary charges in Pinellas County," the prosecutor wrote. And on January 11, 2023, Galeotti wrote, "the defendant was again arrested by the Pinellas County Police Department for stalking."

All In The Family: Gangster Who Followed His Granddad Into The Family Business Wins A Sentence Reduction As Granddaughter Of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Asks For More Time

Joseph Cutaia, a third generation Luchese family gangster, has been behind bars more than 13 years thanks to his active role in a home invasion crew led by his mobster father and grandfather. He was slated to spend another five more years there, but he's going home any day now following an emotional resentencing last week in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Tears of joy streamed down the cheeks of both Cutaia and his ailing mother when Judge Eric Vitaliano meted out a hefty-sounding 15-year term that amounts to a virtual "time served" sentence for the 44-year-old Cutaia under the sentencing protocol used by the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP.)

Cutaia's mom had told the judge that the only time she had seen her son in the 13 plus years since he was arrested and jailed back on December 16, 2009 was on March 2, 2012, 11 years ago today. She was in court that day and heard him get sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release when he got out. "He never wanted me to see him in prison," she said.

Cutaia is the only one of five convicted Cutaia family members in the case who is still behind bars. His late grandpa, capo Domenico (Danny) Cutaia; his father, Salvatore, and two brothers, Anthony and Salvatore Jr., all received lesser sentences and were released years ago. The next highest term went to his dad, Salvatore, 63, who got seven and a half years.

The date of Joseph Cutaia's release is a closely guarded BOP secret, and his lawyer did not respond to repeated calls. But he could be home as early as today, since his 15-year sentence calls for about 153 months behind bars, according to the usual BOP calculations, and he's been in one prison or another for almost 159 months, according to court records.

Cutaia was also ordered to pay $28,142 in restitution to a woman identified as Jane Doe who had "stored a substantial sum of money" she had received in a divorce settlement. The victim was tortured and remained tied up for more than 24 hours after Cutaia and his accomplices invaded her Poughkeepsie home and emptied her safe of coins, jewelry and cash in an October 2009 home invasion robbery. He was also ordered to pay $7500 to her insurance company.

The grisly details of the crime were spelled out in a sentencing memo by federal prosecutor Dana Rehnquist. If the name sounds familiar, it's because her grandfather, William Rehnquist, was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1971 to 2005, the last 20 years as Chief Justice. AUSA Rehnquist, who like her famous grandpa, got her law degree at Stanford, joined the U.S. Attorney's office in 2020, according to her LinkedIn posting.

In her memo, Rehnquist made sure the judge recalled the brutality of Cutaia's crimes. "Armed with guns, the defendant" and his cohorts broke into her home and "used zip ties to restrain Jane Doe," Rehnquist wrote. Cutaia and his cohorts then "cut Jane Doe's phone lines to prevent her from calling the police and left her tied to a chair" where she was found by police the following day when they raced to her home following an anonymous 911 call about the robbery.

Rehnquist asked that Cutaia be resentenced to 188 months, the high end of his sentencing guidelines. That sounds like a lot, but even if Judge Vitaliano had agreed with the prosecutor, Cutaia's release date would be a month or two later, at the most.

The reduced sentence is the latest break Cutaia has gotten since he faced more than 30 years for taking part in the Jane Doe robbery and a slew of home invasions and commercial robberies from 2002 to 2009 in which victims were shot and they and their family members were threatened with death.

His first sentencing break came when his lawyer wrangled a plea agreement that led to a 20 year term when his actual sentencing guidelines were 27 years but miscalculated by prosecutors when he agreed to plead guilty to several robberies and weapons possession in 2011.

In 2021, he got the break that led to his resentencing on Jane Doe's robbery when Vitaliano threw out a controversial gun conviction that added a mandatory 10 years to his sentence for the Jane Doe robbery and one of the owner of a Brooklyn electronics store that same year and ordered the resentencing on the two robbery convictions.

Whatever his final release date, Cutaia will be required to steer clear of other ex-cons and reputed organized crime members or associates for three years — or risk a return to the slammer.

[CornerBoy]

Were the Cutaia's robbing dealers, bookies, loansharks? or were they targeting regular citizens? if its the latter, what fucking low lives

[Shellackhead]

Thanks for posting

[Dr031718]

Were the Cutaia's robbing dealers, bookies, loansharks? or were they targeting regular citizens? if its the latter, what fucking low lives

Based on the old articles I went back and reread it was a home invasion crew. Mainly seemed like they were robbing regular folks who they found out had valuables at home ie the Jane doe in the article and an electronics store owner mentioned in one of the old GL

[AntComello]

Damn I live in Poughkeepsie I don’t remember ever hearing about the cutaia home invasion till nowz

[Tonyd621]

The Cutaias were underneath Lubrano, supposedly. They were seen meeting up with Lubrano on a weekly basis to give him his share of whatever score they did

[Hired_Goonz]

Thanks for posting. The Borello saga is a little confusing to me, I can't understand why the judge didn't throw the book at him. He clearly isn't gonna change his ways and that fake ass letter from the roofing company in Florida was a slap in the face to the court. Normally in these situations with rats we see the feds begging for mercy and the judge is the one who comes down on them but here it's the reverse, really weird.

I'm also surprised that Cutaia only got 20 years for a RICO with such a brutal home invasion where a woman was tied up and tortured! Here in Canada you would get a very light sentence for a similar crime of course but as I understand it they take it very serious in the US when you break into someone's home and confine them. I remember watching those "Lockdown" prison documentaries or whatever in Netflix and they showed guys getting decades for that. I remember seeing multiple guys who got life for that in California, I also recall an 18 year old kid getting 60 years for the same crime in Indiana. I get that these are state courts but when you look at how brutal the sentences mob guys get sometimes for chickenshit crimes from the feds this is a head-scratcher. I guess it was some kind of global plea deal or whatever to convict a whole bunch of guys and they were willing to compromise.

[Tonyd621]

Thanks for posting. The Borello saga is a little confusing to me, I can't understand why the judge didn't throw the book at him. He clearly isn't gonna change his ways and that fake ass letter from the roofing company in Florida was a slap in the face to the court. Normally in these situations with rats we see the feds begging for mercy and the judge is the one who comes down on them but here it's the reverse, really weird.

I'm also surprised that Cutaia only got 20 years for a RICO with such a brutal home invasion where a woman was tied up and tortured! Here in Canada you would get a very light sentence for a similar crime of course but as I understand it they take it very serious in the US when you break into someone's home and confine them. I remember watching those "Lockdown" prison documentaries or whatever in Netflix and they showed guys getting decades for that. I remember seeing multiple guys who got life for that in California, I also recall an 18 year old kid getting 60 years for the same crime in Indiana. I get that these are state courts but when you look at how brutal the sentences mob guys get sometimes for chickenshit crimes from the feds this is a head-scratcher. I guess it was some kind of global plea deal or whatever to convict a whole bunch of guys and they were willing to compromise.

Was she physically tortured or is emotionally tortured? To me that makes me difference. Physically tortured deserves far far more time in prison imo.

[Hired_Goonz]

Thanks for posting. The Borello saga is a little confusing to me, I can't understand why the judge didn't throw the book at him. He clearly isn't gonna change his ways and that fake ass letter from the roofing company in Florida was a slap in the face to the court. Normally in these situations with rats we see the feds begging for mercy and the judge is the one who comes down on them but here it's the reverse, really weird.

I'm also surprised that Cutaia only got 20 years for a RICO with such a brutal home invasion where a woman was tied up and tortured! Here in Canada you would get a very light sentence for a similar crime of course but as I understand it they take it very serious in the US when you break into someone's home and confine them. I remember watching those "Lockdown" prison documentaries or whatever in Netflix and they showed guys getting decades for that. I remember seeing multiple guys who got life for that in California, I also recall an 18 year old kid getting 60 years for the same crime in Indiana. I get that these are state courts but when you look at how brutal the sentences mob guys get sometimes for chickenshit crimes from the feds this is a head-scratcher. I guess it was some kind of global plea deal or whatever to convict a whole bunch of guys and they were willing to compromise.

Was she physically tortured or is emotionally tortured? To me that makes me difference. Physically tortured deserves far far more time in prison imo.

I don't know the specifics as this article is the first I ever heard of it. But just breaking into a woman's home and tying her up and leaving her like that for 24 hours is psychological torture in and of itself, and I feel that anyone guilty of that deserves decades in prison.

[Amershire_Ed]

Thanks for posting.

Feels like there’s a decent chance that when Ronnie G gets out in 2028 that Borello is behind bars. Whatever sentence they give him he will 100% do something prison worthy immediately upon release. Borello’s stupidity knows no bounds.

[Little_Al1991]

Thanks for posting.
I wonder if Cutaia gets back into the life…

[Southshore88]

Thanks for posting

[AntComello]

Borello is such a fuckin Moron, kid was better off not ratting if he still wanted to be a criminal. He’s gonna end up doing the same amount of time he would of from his case for being a stupid fuck/women beater/stalker.

[johnny_scootch]

Thanks for posting.
I wonder if Cutaia gets back into the life…

Of course he will, it’s in his blood it’s all the Cutaia’s know. Plus now he has a long stretch under his belt and all the relationships he formed in prison with other gangsters over the years. It probably won’t happen right away but his next step is getting straightened out.

[Shellackhead]

I remember I had found his brother on IG years ago, talking maybe 2018 he was a nice guy, his name was Dominick or Domenico, but his sons name is also Domenico too.