The FBI has announced that Big Joe Massino will indeed testify for the prosecution in the trial of Vinny Basciano life.
John Marzulli reports for the Daily News;
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime..._at_trial_.html

Joe massino is fuckin disgrace. I hope he has a stroke on the stand and lives 30 yrs in the can as a drooling cripled old man

Why does this surprise anyone? He already flipped and its not like he would ever be accepted back into that lifestyle in any way shape or form from the can AFTER flipping.

Im sure there is something in this for him, maybe spending his life in a minimum security prison or something.

or maybe early release for the fat bastard? i really think there's more than meets the eye w/big joe. the govt will go to any lengths and he's their crown jewel. just knowing that they made an offical boss flip does to them what viagra does to a reg man.

The official story is that he's doing life and he won't be out, but I am almost certain there is something the government isn't telling us. He may be out already, but I don't think the government would ever tell us if he was.

I hate the deals these scumbags get, but let me play Devil's Advocate for a minute. Why shouldn't Massino be entitled to the same deal that Vitale and Gravano got?

For that matter, look how the government screwed Casso. That guy will never get out of SuperMax, yet without his recognizing those two assholes in Eppolito's book, we might never have heard of the "Mob Cops." And those two scumbags are a bigger disgrace than most mobsters. At least mobsters don't pretend to be cops.

Because he went to trial and lost, the when it came time for sentencing, he flipped. He flipped so he could save some assets for his wife and family. But going to trial, losing, then flipping probably wont set you free.

It would set a VERY bad impression that wiseguys can fight their case, if they lose, big deal, ill just flip and go free.

Compared to what Gravano did then Massino should've been out years ago. I can't help but wonder what really went on with Casso. They say he told lies and was caught smuggling shit into the prison. There is just something really off with that story. Is it possible that he had FBI agents on his payroll?

But I don't know if I'd be comfortable knowing Anthony Casso could possibly be my new neighbor.

No worse than living in the same country as Bjork .

Also, Im sure there are others that share my theory about Massino:

They didnt really need him to flip as his information he brought to the table was already known-mostly anyway. Im sure he brought some good new evidence and helped solved a few past murders, but largely the Feds had alot of what they needed on LCN. Most of the people Massino could implicate were implicated by Sal Vitale and the others that flipped and the people Massino had stuff on were either dead or in the can for life.

In other words:

I think the feds gave him a deal so they can show LCN that Bosses cannot even be trusted anymore. It was a huge blow to LCN in that sense. Also, they want to puff their chests out " We flipped a boss"

Again, this is just my theory, but who knows. I have nothing credible to back any of the above statements.

I actually think she lives in London. But she definitely ain't my neighbor. I've met her a few times, but never in my neighborhood.

I am to understand the real problem was he just tried to use his witness status to discredit Gravano.

And I just got Five Families, and they do mention him saying he had an FBI agent (page 518).

I am sorry but I have no time for Gaspipe...he has to be close to the biggest hypocrite the mafia has ever produced. He goes on a paranoid blood-purge whacking possible informants left, right and centre...then flips as soon as the cards are stacked against him? Maybe there is a conspiracy because he had an FBI agent on his payrolll...heck, there very well could be. But I am sorry...he has made his own bed...

i feel bad(not really) for gaspipe, he did get screwed

i am still shocked Massino flipped! if he would have been a stand up guy he would do all his time and i am sure mob groupies would point to him as a man's man in the same breath as gotti,etc

too bad hes a fat rat bastard now

From all accounts I have read Casso did get screwed. I know it says you cannot lie, blah blah blah but come on? He gave them TONS of good shit, begged to testify at trials and not only do they NOT honor their agreement, the stick him in fucking ADX!!! I dont know if you guys have read about that place but it is the true meaning of hell on earth.

So really, in my eyes they fucked him, it may not be over his 302's but they fucked him but sticking him in ADX.

my .02 anyway

He woult turn up to be a mob legend, one of the last true dons. He would even pass Gotti in terms of leadership etc. He would have joined the ranks of the likes like Gigante, Corallo and Persico. Now hes just a fat bastard.

Why the fuck is Casso, an old man, a senior citizen, in a supermax prison? Tim McVeigh gave an interview to 60 Minutes, but mafia members are buried under the basement.

Who cares? He's a piece of shit and deserves absolutely everything that has happened to him. He is responsible for many, many murders not to mention he was a scumbag crook to go along with it.

I'm glad the feds gave him a raw deal. Casso is a psychopath, he's a glorified murderer because he had the status of a "Mafia member". Just like Pitera, Gravano or Leonetti.

I care, you obviously never had a friend or family member in prison. Keeping an individual in solitary confinement for years on end is cruel and unusual punishment, it's fucking torture! The Government that put Casso away has killed millions of more people then him, the people he killed were pieces of shit too, if we go by your standards.

i did 33 days of "hole" time while incarcerated. shower 3 times a week one hour of exercise a day while you are cuffed and schackled to your own waist. they let you out in a cage kinda like a dog run. i couldn't imagine doing this for a long period. i truely honestly wanted to kill myself.

Yeah, I agree, nobody deserves to be treated like that. No, I don't sympathize with Casso or anyone who has lived that type of life. It is true that most of the people he killed where horrible human beings themselves. Jimmy Hydell buried his girlfriend while she was still alive. The irony is that Casso may actually have saved lives by killing some of these guys. I am not trying to justify murder or excuse these horrible acts of violence that were committed, but it's difficult to look past this. Then again, there was also the wrong Nicky Guido. The bottom line is we can't have people playing judge, jury and executioner and that is precisely why the mafia has no place in society.

Well put.

As far as Massino's upcoming testimony it was more or less inevitable considering Big Joey's the one who sold him (Basciano) up the river.

Whats a little ironic is that it may soon be Basciano's turn to make the decision; whether to flip & least get away alive if convicted, or say "fuck it" & become the idol taped on to the bedroom walls of misguided kids around the world, become "that" guy, the LCN martyr that Massino never was.

LMAO.

Seriously, I hope for his sake he'd just renounce it all, help solve whatever he can & then at least stay alive & maybe hang out in an actual cell-block/see sunlight again.

Maybe he has renounced it all, but as far as cooperating goes I don't see that happening. He's been in solitary for years now. Not too mention, he's already serving life for the Santoro hit. A lot of people seem to think that cooperating is the noble thing to do, but there are still two sides to this coin. Being a criminal is bad enough, but selling out your friends for selfish reasons is enough to make any decent human being feel disgusted. The only thing lower than a criminal is a criminal who is also a rat.

Its certainly not the noblest thing to do, but possibly the smartest. Seriously, you'd think that by that stage most guys in Basciano's position have shred any notion of "nobility" or "respect" in that life, where they are false anyway, false ideals. And considering all his "friends" are people he'd murder/be murdered by if the order came down, I think it would be incredibly naive to still harbour protective feelings towards any of them at that point, especially since so many of those "friends" are who put him where he is. The only "friends" he'd rat on can only be ratted on because they're criminals, & if he's smart by now the only people he should really be caring about is his family & the people who would prefer he talk & live rather then stay silent or die. It wouldnt be his true friends he'd be ratting on, whether he knows it or not.

I know we disagree on some stuff, but its at least my own opinion that unless he realises that there really is no place for the way he lived his life in todays society & does what he can to curtail the efforts of his criminal brethren, its a lost cause anyway.

Since when has honour and nobility had ANY real place in organised crime? Let's face it...the Mafia is a symptom of society, it is capitalism in its truest form, the ULTIMATE pyramid scheme. Those involved with the lifestyle have one motivation that, above all, governs their actions - greed. Any notions of honour, loyalty, etc go out the window as soon as they are no longer convenient to be held. The code of morality that these guys subscribe to changes whenever it suits them. Their entire existence is based upon the suffering of others.
Gaspipe is the perfect example of what Cosa Nostra is really about. He is the epitome of selfish - ending others' existence for his own self-preservation under the guise of 'honour' while profiting from the suffering of others. When he was arrested, he does exactly the same thing that he has killed so many for, for the simple reason that he is a selfish pig whose self-preservation is his ultimate aim. He never gave a shit a shit about honour, loyalty - all that crap that mobsters spout on about. He only ever gave a shit about himself. Hopefully he will spend some of that time he now has on his hands to think about the implications that his actions had upon others - all the moral harms that he inflicted directly and indirectly upon so many. To be honest, he is probably too busy wallowing in self-pity about how he didn't get the Gravano-like deal he was ready to spill his guts for.

*end of rant*

How do you know who is a true friend? You don't. That is why you got to have principles in life. A man who loves his friends will not betray his friends and let's be honest, the only reason these guys rat is because they don't care about anyone but themselves. The government makes deals with murderers and they set them free. I think it's disgusting. Basciano may be a lot of things, but he's not selfish and that I can respect in a person. Informants have certainly hurt the mafia. However, releasing serial killers back into society hasn't done much good either. Most of these guys continue on with their criminal lifestyle and more people get hurt because of it. Do you think Basciano is any different? What would he do if he cooperated? I think we all know he's a criminal.

I respect you man, but I definitely disagree.

Amen to that. The story has been told a hundred times by different journalists, but when you read "The Good Rat," by Breslin, and you get to the part about that poor kid being killed on Christmas Day, the author paints a picture that will literally leave you crying for Guido and his family.

Basciano will of course spend the rest of his life in prison anyway, my views are on how he may hope to stay alive to serve it. You are right, I dont know who Vinnies true friends are, but I do believe that any fellow mobsters are not his true friends, whether he believes so or not, simply because Id assume they'd rather he be executed then cooperate.

Im not saying there's anything respectable about giving up your friends or compromising beliefs. The one thing you can perhaps respect a mobster for is at least facing up to the consequences of his life's choices & taking up his place in prison. "At the end of the day we'll all die in the can anyway" Who was it that said that?

But if a guy wants to find a way out of the life & also get a pass from the government for his misdeeds, if he's honestly willing to turn his life around, I say Godbless. I believe he deserves a chance. He should be watched very closely, but given a chance.

I admit its a very delicate issue, I mean you are dealing with killers. But its to catch more killers. & though its a term often attributed, most mobsters do not really have the true mentality of a serial killer & only killed on orders as part of a team. But you truly are making a deal with the devil; & if the deal actually involves getting out or never even going to prison, like I said, they should be watched very very closely.

In any case the games over for Vinny. I actually feel bad for the guy by this point. Do they really have to kill him to make an example? Whats worse then life in prison?

In any case, I certainly respect your ability to construct lucid arguments for your beliefs, & once again respectfully agree to disagree with you. In fact I honestly enjoy the debates.