Massino, who is secretly leading Basciano down the garden path of betrayal, draws out the younger captain on what prosecutors said was the murder of Randy Pizzolo. It is the Pizzolo hit which involves the death penalty as spelled out in "King of The Godfathers."
Massino: I took twenty years to put this together. It's easy to take a life. I can take a life everyday.
Basciano: I know that.
Massino: What am I going to gain taking a life everyday?
Basciano: (Inaudible)
Massino: Who?
Basciano: Randy was fuckin' jerkoff, beau.
Massino: Yea, but did it warrant--wait a minute, did it warrant the clip?
Basciano: I tell you what, he goes into Villa Sonoma, drunk, with a fuckin' pistol.
Massino: So, why didn't you just chase him?
Basciano:...you want to know why? Because he's a fuckin' dangerous kid that don't fuckin' listen. He talks stupid, he talks that a fuckin' jerkoff. He's fuckin'--He just an annoying kid.
The tapes, transcripts of which are now available, continue to give insight into the way the Bonanno family was trying to regroup itself after Massino was convicted in July 2004. Massino annointed Basciano as a street boss who was supposed to consult two or three other trusted captain. But Basciano was so smitten by the power that he considered himself a first among equals, as this exchange with Massino shows. Basciano said that other captains had to check with him before ordering hits but he didn't have to check with anybody.
Though both worked together in the Bonanno family, the Massino tapes show that problems developed in late 2004, when Basciano acting as street boss gave Mancuso powers in case he (Basciano) was arrested. This was shown as Basciano talked with Massino in jail. The transcript is now on filed in Brooklyn federal court in Basciano's death penalty case.
Basciano: My objective over here was for Joe Massino, not for Vinny Basciano. I put everybody together as a tough guy and told everybody that this is for you, it's not me. I made certain decisions over there to avoid all the bullshit of comin'back and forth in the can and I hadda make them in street. I told everybody, these decisions that I'm making aren't set in stone. If Joe wants to change 'em, he changes them. I'm doin' this right now for the good of this [borgata]. Everybody agreed. Michael Nose says Vinny, you know somethin'? I'm proud of ya. ...
Massino: Well, there's somethin' wrong now because...
Basciano then tried to explain the problems with Mancuso.
Basciano: The problem is over here, the first message I think that went out. What happened was, Michael might have moved too fast...after I got pinched, he went to Dominick and he started askin' Dominick questions about what I had goin' on the street. Dominick caught a delusion 'casue I know they had an argument.
Massino: Okay, okay.
Basciano then said that it wasn't Mancuso's business what he had. But Massino interjected and said Basciano couldn't say it wasn't Mancuso's business "if it's comin' to La Cosa Nostra." In other words any crime family business was something Mancuso had to be aware of, said Massino.
During the January 7, 2005 jailhouse conversation Massino had with Vincent Basciano, which was secretly taped, both men talk about the elevation of one "Michael" presumably Michael Mancuso, to a position of power in the Bonanno family. Massino is secretly cooperating with the FBI and seems to be trying to challenge Basciano, who had been Massino's selection as acting street boss until he got arrested, on the selection of Mancuso. The taping is part of Chapter 28 in "King Of The Godfathers." The transcript is filed now in Brooklyn federal court in Basciano's upcoming trial.
Basciano: Michael is lookin' for his day in the sun. I put Michael there with your consent, and I appreciated Michael"s...
Massino: No, you didn't put Michael there with my consent, you did it on your own.
Basciano: Well, I sent word afterwards.
Massino: After you did it, what good is that? Well I'm goona be straight up with ya.
Basciano: Yea.
Massino: I wouldn't do that to you....
Later on, in a humorous reference, Massino remarks about how there was some suggestion in a magazine that he was friendly with some woman seen with him in a surveillance photo. Massino tells Basciano he didn't even know the woman and that his wife, Josephine had a catty remark about the woman shown in the photo.
Massino: My daughter tells me yesterday, my wife got a microscope. And she's lookin' and she's tellin' my daughter, she' too old and too fat, daddy wouldn't go with her.
Basciano: That's your wife's sayin'?
Massino: Yesterday I had too much to do. I got a visit. I hadda wash my clothes, two lawyer visits.
Basciano: Bo, washing your clothes is a fuckin' trip though, right?
Massino: I can't wear the , the briefs, I gotta, I got a bah I got four pairs of boxers.
Basciano: I don't know who you do it in the that shower.
* * *
Basciano: How you feel, buddy?
Massino: I feel good.
Basciano: Oh, yeah?
Massino: My sugar's been good, but.
Basciano: Right, right, right.
Massino: You never mentioned one word about Randy (Pizzolo)...That was on a Friday. The following Friday we had a co-defendant meeting that's when you tell me that yous clipped him. Why don't yous tell me that Friday? Why didn't you ask me?
Basciano: (sighs)
Masssino: Why didn't you ask me that Friday? You didn't.
Basciano: It was already in the works beau.
Basciano: They had to check with me.
Massino: Yeah, but you don't have to check with them.
Basciano: No.
Massino: Why? What makes the difference...you understand where I'm coming from?
Basciano: ...What I did what I tried to do, Joe, I tried to give a structure because everybody was all over the fuckin' board. And what I did, by me taking the reigns, I annointed myself, through you, as acting boss. I made Michael acting underboss and Anthony acting consiglieri. I told everybody: nobody makes a move without coming to me....
Basciano was apparently talking about Michael Mancuso and Anthony Rabito. Massino seemed a bit puzzled by Basciano's remarks, saying that he should sit down with the other so-called ruling panel members to discuss things. Massino said discussion was the way to do things, even when he was the boss. "I was the boss, and I used to sit down with Tony Green and Joe C., hey discuss things." Basciano agreed with Massino.
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