Dominick Montiglio, a key government witness in the trial of 10 reputed members of the Gambino crime ring on charges of stealing hundreds of cars, has painted a picture in court papers of his dealings in the upper ranks of organized crime.
Mr. Montiglio, a 37-year-old Vietnam War veteran, admitted to being a collector for the crime group's loan-sharking and extortion activities and a go-between in big narcotics transactions. He also said he could rig a grenade to explode when a car was started.
But, according to recently unsealed court papers that were made available yesterday, he could not bring himself to gun down a man.
''I was supposed to shoot,'' he said, according to transcripts of a court appearance last June. ''I had a pistol on me. I was supposed to shoot with everybody else, but I didn't.''
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He made the remarks in describing an unsuccesful attempt by him and Gambino ''family'' associates to kill Vincent Governara by exploding a grenade in his car in 1975, and the fatal shooting of Mr. Governara the following year in Brooklyn.
Mr. Montiglio, who is to take the stand in Federal District Court in Manhattan today, has been billed by the chief prosecutor, Walter S. Mack Jr., an assistant United States attorney, as the man who can place the Gambino group's reputed boss, Paul Castellano, 70, at the head of the car-theft ring and another defendant, Anthony F. Gaggi, 57, as his second in command.
Bribery Attempts
In the court papers, Mr. Montiglio does not mention Mr. Castellano or car thefts. But he does implicate Mr. Gaggi, his uncle, as well as Joseph C. Testa Jr., 30; Anthony Senter, 30, and Henry Borelli, 37, in extortion, loan sharking and attempts to bribe witnesses in a trial. Those charges are to be the subject of a future trial of many of the 10 now on trial and 13 others.
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The bribery attempt took place, Mr. Montiglio said, in late 1979, when Mr. Gaggi was in jail on Rikers Island awaiting trial on murder charges.
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Patrick Penny was a sceduled witness against Mr. Gaggi. Mr. Montiglio said his uncle sent him, Mr. Testa and Mr. Senter to see a brother of Patrick and ''relay back'' the outcome. ''We offered to start him off, $50,000, and then down the line he would be taken care of no matter where he wanted to go,'' Mr. Montiglio said. ''The idea was that he would not testify and just go away.''
Patrick Penny did testify in the trial, but Mr. Gaggi was acquitted after a juror who prosecutors say was bribed by some of the current defendants asserted that there were irregularities in the deliberations. But on May 13, 1980, Patrick Penny was shot - a killing that the prosecutors have attributed to some of the defendants.
Threat of a Disturbance
Mr. Montiglio, in the court papers, also described how he and others, including Mr. Borelli, extorted money from bar and restaurant owners.
Other members of the group, he said, would go into a place and threaten to start a disturbance and then tell the owner that such things would happen ''more and more and more.''
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''Then I would get together with the owner and I would say I could probably straighten that out,'' he said, adding that owner would subsequently pay him to prevent trouble.
Mr. Montiglio, who is divorced and has two children, is now in the Federal witness protection program and has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with bribery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, prostitution and dealing in stolen goods. He is awaiting sentencing.
Last edited by Primo; 08/16/21 11:39 PM.
