Posted By: Willy
Ex-cop in gun rage - 12/09/05 11:45 AM
A strange story:
Ex-cop in gun rage
Friday, December 9th, 2005
A reputed Gambino capo was shot by a retired NYPD cop whose 18-year-old daughter was allegedly groped and then fired from the mobster's Staten Island produce store, authorities said last night.
Patrick Balsamo stormed the Top Tomato on Victory Blvd. in Travis with a bat and a .25-caliber gun bent on revenge Wednesday night, sources said.
Accompanied by his son, Anthony, 27, and two reputed members of the Bonanno crime family, the retired Brooklyn cop started smashing store windows and bashing cars parked in the lot, sources said.
His daughter, Maria, was onhand to watch the mayhem, a source said.
Store co-owner Carmine Sciandra, 52, heard the ruckus and charged into the parking lot with a baseball bat of his own, sources said.
Balsamo, 49, then shot Sciandra once in the stomach, sources said.
Cops matched shell casings at the scene to Balsamo's gun, a police source said.
Balsamo believes Sciandra's younger brother, Salvatore, molested his daughter and then fired her from her cashier's job Tuesday, sources said.
"This is a bizarre and uncalled-for crime - especially since it's a retired police officer," said Carmine Sciandra's lawyer, Joseph Benfante. "He came loaded for bear with a bunch of guys."
Sciandra survived the attack, but has a bullet lodged in his gut and a temporary colostomy bag, his lawyer said.
Sciandra was in the intensive care unit of Staten Island University North hospital last night, under police guard.
Two female relatives spoke with him as eight more loved ones waited outside his room. The visitors declined to comment.
Balsamo's alleged accomplices - reputed Bonanno associates Michael Viga, 52, and Ronald Carlucci, 62 - were caught in their getaway Lexus near Viga's home, cops said. They face assault charges.
Balsamo of Hillman Ave. turned himself in at the 122nd Precinct stationhouse. He was charged with criminal mischief and more serious counts were pending.
Cops were reviewing surveillance tapes taken from the store. "He's bought a world of trouble," a police source said. "Carmine Sciandra is a made guy, one of the top guys." Benfante denied that his client was a mobster.
Balsamo, who worked in Brooklyn's 61st Precinct and in the NYPD court division, retired from the job in the early 1990s, sources said.
I wonder what will happen next!?!
Ex-cop in gun rage
Friday, December 9th, 2005
A reputed Gambino capo was shot by a retired NYPD cop whose 18-year-old daughter was allegedly groped and then fired from the mobster's Staten Island produce store, authorities said last night.
Patrick Balsamo stormed the Top Tomato on Victory Blvd. in Travis with a bat and a .25-caliber gun bent on revenge Wednesday night, sources said.
Accompanied by his son, Anthony, 27, and two reputed members of the Bonanno crime family, the retired Brooklyn cop started smashing store windows and bashing cars parked in the lot, sources said.
His daughter, Maria, was onhand to watch the mayhem, a source said.
Store co-owner Carmine Sciandra, 52, heard the ruckus and charged into the parking lot with a baseball bat of his own, sources said.
Balsamo, 49, then shot Sciandra once in the stomach, sources said.
Cops matched shell casings at the scene to Balsamo's gun, a police source said.
Balsamo believes Sciandra's younger brother, Salvatore, molested his daughter and then fired her from her cashier's job Tuesday, sources said.
"This is a bizarre and uncalled-for crime - especially since it's a retired police officer," said Carmine Sciandra's lawyer, Joseph Benfante. "He came loaded for bear with a bunch of guys."
Sciandra survived the attack, but has a bullet lodged in his gut and a temporary colostomy bag, his lawyer said.
Sciandra was in the intensive care unit of Staten Island University North hospital last night, under police guard.
Two female relatives spoke with him as eight more loved ones waited outside his room. The visitors declined to comment.
Balsamo's alleged accomplices - reputed Bonanno associates Michael Viga, 52, and Ronald Carlucci, 62 - were caught in their getaway Lexus near Viga's home, cops said. They face assault charges.
Balsamo of Hillman Ave. turned himself in at the 122nd Precinct stationhouse. He was charged with criminal mischief and more serious counts were pending.
Cops were reviewing surveillance tapes taken from the store. "He's bought a world of trouble," a police source said. "Carmine Sciandra is a made guy, one of the top guys." Benfante denied that his client was a mobster.
Balsamo, who worked in Brooklyn's 61st Precinct and in the NYPD court division, retired from the job in the early 1990s, sources said.
I wonder what will happen next!?!