Originally Posted By: Dwalin2011
I have some questions about organized crime in the USA, the answers to which I didn’t find in books or on internet. Since you here seem to know quite a lot about this, could somebody answer those to satisfy my curiosity? The questions are about different things, but I don’t think I would have been allowed to post so many new topics at the same time, so I put them all in one topic:

1) What happened at the conclusion of the trials following the Colombo war in the 90’s? I read only that Orena, Amato and Scarpa were convicted, Sessa turned informant and Cutolo and Alphonse Persico were acquitted. But what about the others – Tomasello, Russo, Aloi and all their capos and hitmen? Was anybody convicted or were they all acquitted following the discovery about DeVecchio’s corruption?


I have to agree it´s a hell of a mess, trying to come to bottom with all the convictions, appeals, acquittals and counter appels from the government. Wiki certainly doesn´t help and it really takes a lawyer to read all those court documents to understand it, it seems. At least to me.

Here is an extract from a court document, found on Find a case.

On May 13, 1993, a fifteen-count superseding indictment was returned against defendants-appellees-Joseph P. Russo, Anthony Russo, and Joseph Monteleone, Sr.-and co-defendants Alphonse Persico, Joseph Tomasello, Theodore Persico, Sr., Richard Fusco, Robert Zambardi, Lawrence Fiorenza, Lawrence Mazza, and James Delmastro. All three defendants-appellees were charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1962(c), (d). Defendants-appellees, members of the Persico faction, were charged-both as predicate RICO offenses and as separate substantive offenses-with conspiracy to murder members of the Orena faction and with the murders of two particular members of the rival faction, John Minerva and Michael Imbergamo. Joseph and Anthony Russo were also charged-both as independent offenses and as part of the RICO pattern of racketeering-with conspiracy to make extortionate extensions and collections of credit, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 892, 894. Finally, all defendants-appellees were charged with the substantive offense of using and carrying firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). After a ten-week jury trial, Joseph Russo and Monteleone were found guilty of all charges, and Anthony Russo was found guilty of all charges except for the charge of conspiracy to make extortionate collections of credit. See Persico, 1997 WL 867788, at *1.

http://www.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19980603_0206.c02.htm/qx

You are right about Alphonse Persico and Bill Cutolo, they were aqcuitted in these cases.
Joe Tomasello was charged in 1998 and was convicted in 1999 and sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Teddy Persico Sr recieved a 23 year sentence in 1994 (I think).
Richard Fusco was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Robert Zambardi was imprisoned in 1999 after being sentenced to 20 years.
The Aloi brothers were not charged in these cases (what I know of) but one of them, Benny Aloi was sent to prison on a different charge.
Andy "Mush" Russo was imprisoned for parole violations and jury tampering, when trying to bribe a juror. It was his two sons that was on trial.

Originally Posted By: Dwalin2011

2) Why was Rastelli’a case severed from the Commission trial? He got just 12 years while, had he been tried with other bosses, he would have gotten 100 years like the others. Of course, it makes no difference since he died after 4 years, but had he lived longer, he could just get out quite soon and start everything all over again


The Bonannos had no seat on the Commission at the time. So Rastelli was not included in the Commission case. A big part of that case was the Galante killing the prosecutors claimed had been approved by the Commission members.

Originally Posted By: Dwalin2011

3) Do you have any information about Rastelli's acting boss – Salvatore “Sally fruits” Farruggia?


Very hard to come by some info on this guy. A picture of him can not be found either. I have been looking for years!
I know that he was born in 1914 and rose within the Bonanno ranks just after the "Bananas war". I believe he was with the DiGregorio faction.
In the 1980s, FBI listed his address as 84-14, 250th street, Queens, NY.
There are some indications that Farrugia still functioned as a capo, until Massino allowed him to retire, sometimes in the 1990s.


Last edited by HairyKnuckles; 01/11/12 05:29 PM.

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