Gang Land News - 8/5/21

[mafiastudent]

Decades-old Sex Abuse Charged Against Priest Who Advocated For His Mobster Brother

Gang Land Exclusive!

Father Louis Gigante, the longtime spokesman and apologist for his late Mafia boss brother Vincent (Chin) Gigante, allegedly molested a nine year old boy 45 years ago when he was a parish priest in the South Bronx, according to a lawsuit that the alleged victim has filed against the Archdiocese of New York and the St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church.

Gigante, now 89, allegedly assaulted the boy "repeatedly" during a Bible Study class that Father Gigante taught at the church in 1976 and 1977, according to a Bronx Supreme Court lawsuit that seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages that are "fair, just and adequate."

"Plaintiff was forced to endure prolific and profound abuse" from Father Gigante, lawyer Antigone Curis alleges in a complaint she filed in May. "Father Gigante would find ways to get Plaintiff alone after bible study and repeatedly performed oral sex on him," the attorney wrote.

"The risk of sexual abuse" to her client, Curis wrote in a 13-page complaint, "was open and obvious and known by many students, children, clergy, and administration, yet the defendants failed to take any action to stop and/or prevent the abuse from occurring."

In addition, she wrote, "the archdiocese knew or should have known that Father Gigante was sexually abusing children and/or had the propensity to do so," and the archdiocese and St. Athanasius "knew or should have known of the abuse that (her anonymous client) and other young children were suffering at the hands of their clergy."

In addition to seeking compensation "for the emotional and physical suffering he endured" through the "negligence and recklessness" of the Archdiocese and St. Athanasius, Curis wrote that her client filed his lawsuit "to make sure no other child is forced to suffer the abuse and physical and mental trauma he felt and continues to feel."

For years law enforcement officials suspected that Gigante funneled millions of dollars in construction contracts to companies that were controlled by his brother Vincent's Genovese crime family through SEBCO, the Southeast Bronx Community Organization he formed in 1968.

But Gang Land has never heard a whisper that Father Gigante was an alleged pedophile. If anything, the word on "Father G" was that he enjoyed a quiet, longtime relationship with a member of the opposite sex, a union that — despite his priestly vows — allegedly produced a child.

Rev Gigante in the pulpitThe Archdiocese and St. Athanasius have not responded to the lawsuit, for which Judge Llinet Rosado has scheduled a conference for September 7. Gang Land was unable to reach the retired Bronx priest. Curis declined to answer any questions, including what triggered her client's decision to report alleged sexual abuse against Father Gigante 45 years later — which seemed like an awful long time to Gang Land.

But attorney Adam Horowitz, a Miami-based attorney who specializes in sex abuse cases, said that would not be an uncommon occurrence.

"Believe it or not, most clients I hear from are in their 40s and 50s," said Horowitz. "I don't know anything about this case but that's my experience."

"Delayed reporting about sexual abuse is the norm, not an unusual aspect," the lawyer said. "There's a lot of embarrassment, shame, and humiliation associated with sex abuse, and that's particularly true when the perpetrator is an authority figure who's respected."

"Kids are often worried they won't be believed, that they'll be ostracized," the lawyer continued, stressing that he had no insight about the lawsuit against Father Gigante and was speaking in general. "A lot of charges of sexual abuse comes from people who know the family well, and who are on the surface friendly. They're not the stranger that pops out of the alleyway."

"There's a grooming process that takes place, where they gain the trust of the child, or the parents," Horowitz continued. "It's confusing for the child: On the one hand there's this priest or teacher who may be showering them with attention or gifts or taking an interest in them. On the other hand they're engaging in sexual contact with the child. So when you take all those factors into consideration, the shame, the fear of not being believed, (a long delay) is not unusual."

Being the first person to accuse a well-known, and popular figure is difficult, Horowitz said.

"It's easier to come forward when someone else has accused them," the attorney said. "When people accused Bill Cosby, it made it easier for more people to come forward."

"But in a case where no one has come forward, it is very hard to be the first one," Horowitz continued. "People will cast doubt on you; they'll question your motives. So people keep it in."

And often, the lawyer noted, a public charge of sexual abuse follows prior, but private accusations that are related to a close friend, relative or other confidante.

"Just because they're just coming forward publicly now doesn't mean they didn't tell anybody" before then, Horowitz added. "They may have told a sibling, or a therapist. So I don't know whether this person kept it quiet for 45 years. There may have been a small circle of friends, or relatives or therapist, he told."

Father Gigante, who served two terms as a City Councilman from the Bronx, has long been a revered figure in the South Bronx. As New York Daily News reporter Larry McShane wrote last week, when he disclosed the sexual abuse allegation against the brother of the late Genovese family boss: "A statue honoring the activist priest was erected in the area, and he was honored in 2017 for his rebuilding efforts in the South Bronx."

But Father Gigante did his best to help his brother Vincent keep mob busters at bay for years by helping him feign mental illness by walking arm-in-arm with the pajama-clad Mafia boss through Greenwich Village during the years before the feds finally convicted him of racketeering in 1997.

The priest did his level best for Chin, up until and during the racketeering trial in Brooklyn Federal Court that would bring him down.

At a news conference outside the courthouse after a jury that would later convict Vincent was selected, Father Gigante ripped the government for spending millions of dollars to bring charges against his brother since there was no way Chin could have committed all the crimes he was charged with.

"I know my brother very well," said Father Gigante, pointing out that Chin was "mentally ill" and had an I.Q. of 70. "My brother was a street kid but to label him as a boss of a conglomerate that extorts is ridiculous. He didn't run anything because he couldn't run anything."

The priest was proven to be dead wrong on that score. Now he's the focus of serious allegations. It remains to be seen how the charges against him will shake out.

Judge To Huck: No Compassion; You Deserve The 70-Year Sentence You Got

Age hasn't exactly mellowed Colleen McMahon. The venerable Manhattan Federal Court judge became a septuagenarian this year and in April she relinquished her post as Chief Judge, assuming "senior judge" status. But she's still got little compassion for convicted Gambino crime family mobsters.

Last week, McMahon informed ailing 73-year-old wiseguy Thomas (Huck) Carbonaro that he's almost certainly going to die behind bars. In order to ever see freedom, Huck would have to surpass the record set by legendary Colombo wiseguy John (Sonny) Franzese who was the oldest living incarcerated mobster when he was released from prison back in 2017 at age 100. Huck would have to beat Sonny's record by 15 years.

That's because for Carbonaro to get out of prison, Huck, who's been locked up since 2003, will have to spend another 42 years in stir before he "maxes out." That's what it will take to complete the 70 year term he got for being involved in two murder conspiracies and the failed plot to whack superstar snitch Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano back in 2001.

Judge McMahon conceded that Carbonaro is "not a well man" and "suffers from a plethora of ailments."

In addition to rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, asthma, anemia, hypoglycemia, and cataracts, the judge noted that Huck has had both knees replaced, and may need additional knee surgery. She must have taken a breath before adding that Carbonaro also "suffers from hip joint pain that may require bilateral hip replacement," and "lives with a 'loop recorder' in his chest to monitor his heart."

But despite those and other ailments, McMahon determined that since Carbonaro's Bureau of Prisons "medical records reflect that he largely functions independently and is receiving appropriate medical treatment," his "medical conditions" were not "extraordinary and compelling circumstances warranting his immediate release."

But even if Huck had "extraordinary and compelling" reasons that did justify an early release, the judge would still turn him down. She wrote that the "nature and circumstances" of the conviction, "the history and characteristics of the defendant" and the need "to protect the public from further crimes" by Carbonaro "weigh against granting such relief."

As she did last year, when she turned down an early release for Carbonaro's codefendant, former Mafia boss Peter Gotti, who succumbed to a myriad of ailments in February, McMahon cited the late Judge Richard Conway Casey's words when he sentenced Huck to 70 years in denying his motion for a compassionate release.

"Only the maximum penalty that the law permits is sufficient in this case," said Casey, noting that Huck had "repeatedly shown his willingness to murder other human beings" and that his "criminal history unmistakably demonstrates that he is unlikely to lead a law-abiding life if released from custody."

In her 10-page decision, McMahon ignored the gangster's claim that his sentence was way out of line with the 25-year prison term Casey had given Gotti, along with his lawyer's request to re-sentence Carbonaro to the same 25-year stretch, which would not mean an immediate release since Huck had been behind bars for 18 years.

In making his pitch for Carbonaro under the First Step Act of 2018, attorney Harlan Protess stated that his client's "sentence is significantly out-of-line with those of his co-defendants" and should be reduced to "avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct. "

The lawyer had also noted that in imposing the 70-year-term, Judge Casey had negated findings by the jury and ignored a 30-year prison term that was recommended by the probation department.

"Only the maximum penalty that the law permits is sufficient," McMahon wrote. "Given the multiple lives taken at the hands of defendant and his co-conspirators, his involvement in loan sharking and extortion, and his extensive criminal history, the 70-year sentence imposed by Judge Casey was wholly appropriate. This Court will not disturb that sentence."

Carbonaro was convicted of racketeering charges for driving a crash car in the 1990 murder of mob associate Edward Garofalo, and for serving as part of the conspiracy to kill FBI informer Frank Hydell, who was shot to death in 1998. Finally, he was also nailed for the failed plot to whack Gravano, which ended in 2001 when the turncoat mobster was nabbed on drug dealing charges in Arizona.

Big Dom Marrano, A Gentle Bear Of A Man, Checks Out At 74

Dominick Marrano, a former New York Post colleague and a pal from the 'hood who refused any credit whenever he helped Gang Land check out a factoid or two, lost a battle with lung cancer and emphysema this week. He was 74.

Marrano, whose wife Janet died in 2012, is survived by a dozen nieces and nephews and countless friends.

A gentle bear of a man who was chief paginator for the newspaper, Marrano earned his Gang Land bona-fides quietly. But he stepped out as Big Dom in this memorable July 23, 2000 account when he carried out his lone assignment outside the three buildings he worked at in the 37 years he toiled for The Post.

'BIG DOM' MUSCLES IN - OUR MAN JOINS MOB FOR A ROLE ON 'SOPRANOS'

By Big Dom Marrano

Un-friggin'-buhlievable! Last time I saw this many Italians was at a Jimmy Rosselli concert.

Gravesend, by Joseph DittaMy wiseguy bosses at The Post had "suggested" I drive out to Harrison, N.J., yesterday to the open casting call for "The Sopranos," the HBO show about the Mafia that everybody loves.

I thought they were nuts, because if I made it, there was no way I was going back to work.

I grew up in Gravesend, and I'm not unfamiliar with these people and the things that go on. With my looks and my background, I figured my chances were as good as anyone's. And I wanted to be a wannabe in the worst way.

So yesterday morning, this 53-year-old boy from Brooklyn threw on his best "Mafia casual" clothes — black pants, black T-shirt, and black loafers. Without socks, of course.

Then fellow Postie Joey Amari — also a Brooklyn boy — and I hopped in my car and headed across the river.

I had practiced my best Brooklynese, even worked on a tag line: "No, how YOU doin'?"

The plan was to pull up to Harrison HS like a suave, slick-haired hood, strut inside and blow them away.

Instead, the roads to Harrison were jammed for miles with cars from Florida, West Virginia, you-name-it. And on the sidewalk, every two-bit mook with a swagger and a snarl lined up, for blocks, preening and performing for no one but each other.

There was nothing organized about this crime scene. It was a total zoo.

Pinkie rings were a dime a dozen, and the stench of monster cigars and cheap cologne was everywhere. One guy even wore handcuffs.

More than 13,000 people were there, dying to become the next Big Pussy, the character who was rubbed out last season.

Bensonhurst and Staten Island must have been ghost towns, because everybody from there was here.

Joey took one look at the line stretching out for blocks and said, "We gotta get to the front of the line."

So we barreled past everyone and into the auditorium. Never in my life have I been a line-jumper, but I figured if I wanted to play a tough guy, I better start acting like one.

Problem was, the place was so overrun with people, they weren't even holding auditions — just taking our mug shots and hustling us out. And they stopped taking pictures very soon, leaving a lot of people looking for a bit of mob justice.

Joey had his own line he wanted to use on the HBO big shots: "Who da f- is running this place?"

I had envisioned telling the HBO people about having grown up in Gravesend and the guys I knew. But after that circus, I think they're just going to go through all these pictures and pick out a face.

What had sounded like a decent shot at the big time suddenly seemed more like a mug-shot lottery. A lot of people got all dressed up, but ended up with no place to go.

Still, it was a lot of fun, almost like a crook convention. Or the world's biggest Mafia wedding.

[mafiastudent]

Could very well be I didn't catch and take out some of the photo captions from that Marrano piece but here are the pics to go along (except for a Gravesend one that won't upload for some reason)...and Judge McMahon.

[Southshore88]

Thanks for posting

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for posting.

[FriendofHenry]

Good stuff...An enjoyable read

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the post MS.

[Shellackhead]

Why is Huck Carbonaro in jail for?

[Pogo The Clown]

Why is Huck Carbonaro in jail for?

The plot to kill Gravano in Arizona as well as some murders.


Pogo