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Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant

Posted By: Dapper_Don

Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 04:05 AM

Anthony "Big Anthony" Russo, a Colombo crime family acting captain, is the latest member of the embattled Mafia organization to switch sides and become a federal informant, a source told the Post.
Russo, who has been held behind bars since his arrest two weeks ago in the biggest single-day Mafia bust in US history, was noticeably absent Friday in Brooklyn federal court when the rest of his fellow Colombo members appeared at a mandatory hearing before a judge.
That's because Russo is now the newest inductee in the Justice Department's witness protection program, making him the first Colombo mobster to turn rat since the massive January action against organized crime.
The development marks yet another significant blow to the Colombos, who have been hard-hit over the past few years by an aggressive strategy formulated by the New York FBI's Colombo squad and prosecutors targeting the family at the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn.
A senior member of the crime family, Russo is believed to have personal knowledge about a vast array of its illegal activities, which could strengthen the feds' case against the Colombo leaders recently arrested - and possibly lead to even more arrests.
Russo also is thought to bring with him direct eyewitness testimony to the 1993 murder of Colombo member Joseph Scopo in Ozone Park, Queens, during the crime family's bloody factional war.
He also has knowledge of an an extortion scheme to shake down the Gambino crime family that allegedly implicates ranking Colombo members Andrew "Mush" Russo, the family's street boss, acting Colombo underboss Benjamin "The Claw" Castellazzo, consigliere Richard "Richie" Fusco, and captain Dennis "Fat Dennis" DeLucia.
Andrew Russo and Anthony Russo are not related.
The motivation for Anthony Russo to become a government informant seems clear - he has been charged with a series of crimes including murder, extortion, loansharking, and firearms possession, and if convicted faces life in prison. By helping prosecutors put his fellow Colombos away, he could reduce his sentence substantially under federal sentencing guidelines that reward government informants for providing damning information.
The feds' bare-knuckled approach towards the Colombos in recent years has resulted in most of the family's leadership now sitting behind bars.
The January raids netted "basically the whole administration of the Colombo family," a law enforcement official said at the time.
These recent arrests left the Colombo family in tatters, given that its top ranks were gutted after a series of previous federal investigations.
In late January, Colombo underboss John "Sonny" Franzese was sentenced to eight years in federal prison on racketeering charges for shaking down the Hustler and Penthouse strip joints in Manhattan. Franzese, 93, is in very poor health and would be available for release at the earliest when he turns 100.
The Colombo family's acting boss, Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli currently sits in a federal detention center awaiting his own racketeering trial in Brooklyn federal court.

http://fivefamiliesnyc.blogspot.com/

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/mob_c...I#ixzz1D3OcEArH
Posted By: IvyLeague

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 06:28 AM

Here is a list of known Colombo members who have defected:


1. Alan Quatrache (Soldier) - flipped in early 1990's.

2. Greg "The Grim Reaper" Scarpa Sr (Captain) - flipped in 1993 but had actually been an informant since the 1950's.

3. John Pate (Captain) - flipped in 1993.

4. Michael "Mikey" Franzese (Acting Captain) - flipped in 1993.

5. Salvatore "Big Sal" Miciotta (Acting Captain) - flipped in 1993.

6. Carmine Sessa (Consigliere) - flipped in 1993.

7. Rocco Cagno (Soldier) - flipped in early 2000's.

8. Joseph "Joe Camp" Campanella (Soldier) - flipped in 2003.

9. Frank "Frankie Blue Eyes" Sparaco (Soldier) - flipped in 2010.

10. Dino "Big Dino" Calabro (Captain) - flipped in 2010.

11. Michael "Mikey" Souza (Soldier) - flipped in 2010.

12. Joseph "Joey Caves" Compatiello (Soldier) - flipped in 2010.

13. Sebastiano "Sebby" Saracino (Soldier) - flipped in 2010.

14. Paul "Paulie Guns" Bevacqua (Acting Captain) - flipped in 2011

15. Anthony Russo (Acting Captain) - flipped in 2011.
Posted By: Mukremin

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 09:04 AM

They are falling like stones from the sky, thanks for the list Ivy.
Posted By: phatmatress

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 03:13 PM

Tommy Shots just needs to hang it up, he's done. like vinny said there Colombos for a reason. Still don't think that this is the end of the family like everyone is predicting though
Posted By: phatmatress

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 03:16 PM

Originally Posted By: IvyLeague
Here is a list of known Colombo members who have defected:


1. Alan Quatrache (Soldier) - flipped in early 1990's.

2. Greg "The Grim Reaper" Scarpa Sr (Captain) - flipped in 1993 but had actually been an informant since the 1950's.

3. John Pate (Captain) - flipped in 1993.

4. Michael "Mikey" Franzese (Acting Captain) - flipped in 1993.

5. Salvatore "Big Sal" Miciotta (Acting Captain) - flipped in 1993.

6. Carmine Sessa (Consigliere) - flipped in 1993.

7. Rocco Cagno (Soldier) - flipped in early 2000's.

8. Joseph "Joe Camp" Campanella (Soldier) - flipped in 2003.

9. Frank "Frankie Blue Eyes" Sparaco (Soldier) - flipped in 2010.

10. Dino "Big Dino" Calabro (Captain) - flipped in 2010.

11. Michael "Mikey" Souza (Soldier) - flipped in 2010.

12. Joseph "Joey Caves" Compatiello (Soldier) - flipped in 2010.

13. Sebastiano "Sebby" Saracino (Soldier) - flipped in 2010.

14. Paul "Paulie Guns" Bevacqua (Acting Captain) - flipped in 2011

15. Anthony Russo (Acting Captain) - flipped in 2011.








are you only including made men on this list? i was just thinking about kenji gallo. i requested to be his friend on facebook just so i could see his profile. once i saw it and saw his bullshit book he's pushing and his "fighting" career i immediately deleted him lol
Posted By: pizzaboy

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 03:41 PM

Originally Posted By: phatmatress
are you only including made men on this list? i was just thinking about kenji gallo. i requested to be his friend on facebook just so i could see his profile. once i saw it and saw his bullshit book he's pushing and his "fighting" career i immediately deleted him lol

That book had more bullshit than a political debate. Kenji Gallo put maybe two or three people away (one of them a high end call girl/madam). He was useless. How he got a deal from the government, I'll never know.
Posted By: Dapper_Don

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 06:34 PM

Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
Originally Posted By: phatmatress
are you only including made men on this list? i was just thinking about kenji gallo. i requested to be his friend on facebook just so i could see his profile. once i saw it and saw his bullshit book he's pushing and his "fighting" career i immediately deleted him lol

That book had more bullshit than a political debate. Kenji Gallo put maybe two or three people away (one of them a high end call girl/madam). He was useless. How he got a deal from the government, I'll never know.


Lol, true Kenji is a turd. To his credit he did help put away Teddy Persico Jr.
Posted By: Mooney

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 07:59 PM

damn the colombos are making the gambinos look like stand up guys. LOL
Posted By: Mooney

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 08:06 PM

Good article here about Tommy shots nephew joining team America and being a helping hand in the record number round up recently.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-capeci/nephew-of-top-mobster-aid_b_816068.html
Posted By: thebarber

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 08:36 PM


michael franzese didnt really flip he just left the life. He got in trouble, kept his mouth shut and did his time. Then left the life he never ratted on any1
Posted By: phatmatress

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 10:31 PM

Originally Posted By: thebarber

michael franzese didnt really flip he just left the life. He got in trouble, kept his mouth shut and did his time. Then left the life he never ratted on any1
i was always confused about this is he in any kind of protection program or not? i think ive read thing as to where he is, and then thing as to where hes not if anyone would care to clear this up for me i would appreciate it
Posted By: Dapper_Don

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/05/11 11:02 PM

Interesting old article....

The Year of the Rat

By JERRY CAPECI | December 30, 2004

Gang Land is normally not a devotee of the pejorative three-letter word that wiseguys and mob lawyers use to describe Mafia turncoats (we don't call them heroes, either). This year, though, there's no better way to underscore their importance to the feds than to declare 2004 The Year of the Rat.

Even before the year began, then acting Bonanno boss Anthony "Tony Green" Urso stressed the damage that defectors were inflicting, suggesting in a tape-recorded conversation that the mob would be better served by lifting its self-imposed ban against killing relatives of mobsters who cooperate with the FBI.

"It's gotta stop," a frustrated Urso declared during a September 13, 2003, discussion about turncoat underboss Salvatore Vitale: "Now this one's a rat, that one says, 'Well, f--- it, if he can do it, I can do it.' You tell them, 'Whoever turns, we'll wipe your family out.' If you take one kid - I hate to say it - and do what you gotta do, they'll f---ing think twice. How would Sal feel if I killed one of his kids?"

Urso's tape-recorded words were later played by federal prosecutors at the trial of Bonanno boss Joseph Massino, the so-called Last Don, who was convicted of seven mob murders and other racketeering charges. All told, using a bunch of mob associates and a dozen "made men" as witnesses at three trials, the feds managed to bring down the leaders of three families: Massino, Gambino boss Peter Gotti, and acting Luchese boss Louis "Louie Bagels" Daidone.

The turncoats included courtroom veterans like Luchese mobsters Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco and Frank Gioia Jr. and newcomers like Gambino wiseguys Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo and Frank "Frankie Fapp" Fappiano.

Rather than confront other mob defectors, Colombo consigliere Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace and Genovese capo Louis Moscatiello chose to take plea deals instead of facing certain convictions at trial and even longer prison stretches than they bargained for (20 years for Cacace, seven for Moscatiello).

Along the way, especially during the holiday season, the feds send out messages to reinforce the proposition that mob defectors who please their law enforcement allies will be amply rewarded.

The feds behave in much the same manner as John Gotti acted when he was running things. The late Dapper Don liked to reward up-and-coming wannabes around Christmas time. Son Junior and Mikey Scars were "straightened out" at a special Christmas Eve induction in 1998.

Likewise, the feds this month showered Christmas gifts on at least three witnesses in their growing stable.

One day after Salvatore "Fat Sal" Mangiavillano ended his testimony about a Gambino family plot to kill turncoat Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano at Peter Gotti's trial in Manhattan Federal Court, a federal judge agreed with a request by the feds to release Fat Sal on bail.

Two weeks later, on December 17, Frank "Red" Scollo, who testified against Gotti at his labor racketeering trial in Brooklyn, got his Christmas present. A former International Longshoremen's Association vice president, Scollo served as a mob bagman on the Brooklyn and Staten Island docks for two decades. He received a "time served" sentence of one day in prison.

That same day, weeping Colombo soldier Joseph Campanella shed tears of joy when told he would have to serve just another seven months - for a total of 33 - as punishment for a gangster life of crime that included several murder conspiracies during the family's bloody war that left 12 dead in the early 1990s.

Federal prosecutors don't always wait until the traditional gift-giving sea son to bestow good cheer on a turncoat, especially when their efforts might encourage others to cooperate or, more importantly, soothe growing discontent and concern among those who have already signed on with the feds.

Take the case of Chris Paciello, the onetime mob-connected Miami club owner and Madonna pal who ran with a murderous gang of Bonanno wannabes in the early 1990s. Paciello, who initially agreed to take 30 years for charges that included his involvement in the murder of Staten Island housewife Judith Shemtov during a home-invasion robbery, was later sentenced to 10 years after deciding very late in the game to cooperate.

Paciello, who prison sources say "whines all the time," was not happy with the sentence and complained to his federal handlers. Working in his favor was a desire by prosecutors to use him as a witness next year at the bank robbery trial of two Gambino associates who are also implicated in the murder of an informer.

In addition, other Bonanno turncoats, including Vitale and Frank "Curly" Lino, who have many more dead bodies than Paciello on their mob resumes, also "expressed concern" about his double-digit sentence and questioned what was in store for them.

As a result, four assistant U.S. attorneys last September 10 appeared in court with Paciello and his high-priced attorney, Benjamin Brafman, to praise Paciello as a completely reformed hoodlum and petition Brooklyn Federal Judge Edward Korman to reconsider his sentence.

"How far down can you go in good conscience," said an obviously troubled Judge Korman. "How do I explain this to her [Shemtov's] daughter?" he asked rhetorically before bowing to the pressure and cutting Paciello's term to seven years, making him eligible for release in 2006.

Like the late Dapper Don, who sentenced soldier Louis DiBono to death for ignoring orders to show up and pay homage to Gotti, the feds also punish cooperating witnesses, even for relatively minor transgressions when it suits them - albeit with less extreme consequences than fell upon DiBono.

Take the case of turncoat Luchese soldier Vincent "Vinny Baldy" Salanardi, who held back information that his girlfriend, who was down and out last year after he began cooperating, had received $900 in three installments from a businessman who had been a loanshark customer of Salanardi's.

Despite the seemingly minor charge and a plausible explanation - Salanardi and the businessman had become partners in a car wash, and after he began cooperating his girlfriend kept bugging him for money, so he told her to ask the businessman for help - the feds have told him they're tearing up his cooperation agreement.

Unlike Paciello - or turncoat De-Cavalcante capo Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, who withheld $1.7 million but whose testimony was needed last year to convict Genovese soldier Federico "Fritzi" Giovanelli - the feds don't need Vinny Baldy to help them win any convictions. More than 20 Salanardi co-defendants, including his father, girlfriend, and brother-in-law, all pleaded guilty when they learned he was cooperating.

While Vinny Baldy isn't expected to appear on the witness stand for the feds in 2005, dozens of others are, including Vitale, Lino, Paciello, Campanella, Fappiano, and DiLeonardo. Like 2004, next year is likely to be another Year of the Rat.
Posted By: IvyLeague

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/06/11 08:21 AM

Originally Posted By: phatmatress
Still don't think that this is the end of the family like everyone is predicting though


Not by a long shot. Every time there is a big indictment like this, which usually includes a few defections, all the drama queens come out of the woodwork with their claims about this being "the end." I just have to roll my eyes since we've been seeing these claims for the last 20 years and yet here we are. It's a slow process and a New York Mafia family doesn't go away with one indictment. All people have to do is watch the press conference on the bust to see that the government has had to become much more careful about predicting the end of the mob.
Posted By: IvyLeague

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/06/11 08:26 AM

Originally Posted By: phatmatress
Originally Posted By: thebarber

michael franzese didnt really flip he just left the life. He got in trouble, kept his mouth shut and did his time. Then left the life he never ratted on any1
i was always confused about this is he in any kind of protection program or not? i think ive read thing as to where he is, and then thing as to where hes not if anyone would care to clear this up for me i would appreciate it


Franzese actually did testify against two former associates that he and his father had been partners with in the music business - Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom. He also testified about the gas tax scam before Congress.

He's now a born again Christian and gives speeches around the country. He's really not in any danger any more and has still been in touch with his father from time to time.
Posted By: IvyLeague

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/06/11 08:31 AM

Originally Posted By: phatmatress
are you only including made men on this list? i was just thinking about kenji gallo. i requested to be his friend on facebook just so i could see his profile. once i saw it and saw his bullshit book he's pushing and his "fighting" career i immediately deleted him lol


Yeah, just known made members that have broken Omerta and flipped. Obviously the list would be much longer if we included associates. Plus, you have to assume there have been many other members and associates that were informants but were never revealed.
Posted By: phatmatress

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/06/11 06:52 PM

Originally Posted By: IvyLeague
Originally Posted By: phatmatress
are you only including made men on this list? i was just thinking about kenji gallo. i requested to be his friend on facebook just so i could see his profile. once i saw it and saw his bullshit book he's pushing and his "fighting" career i immediately deleted him lol


Yeah, just known made members that have broken Omerta and flipped. Obviously the list would be much longer if we included associates. Plus, you have to assume there have been many other members and associates that were informants but were never revealed.


is it the same everywhere like i know in pennsylvania if you have cooperating witness or a confidential informant in your case ( i know this from experience) that the commonwealth provides you with what criminals call a "discovery packet". it informs you of your snitches, times and places you were observed, who all the investigating officers, and any investigations relating to your charges in that case. do other states or federal court do this as well?
Posted By: IvyLeague

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/07/11 08:27 PM

Originally Posted By: phatmatress

is it the same everywhere like i know in pennsylvania if you have cooperating witness or a confidential informant in your case ( i know this from experience) that the commonwealth provides you with what criminals call a "discovery packet". it informs you of your snitches, times and places you were observed, who all the investigating officers, and any investigations relating to your charges in that case. do other states or federal court do this as well?


Whether in Pennsylvania or other places, I don't think certain snitches are always identified by name. Obviously for their own protection. In the indictments they are often simply referred to as "CI #1," CI #2," etc. Meaning confidential informant. The judge is able to know who they are specifically but it obviously wouldn't be safe to just release their names to the public.
Posted By: phatmatress

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/07/11 08:33 PM

Originally Posted By: IvyLeague
Originally Posted By: phatmatress

is it the same everywhere like i know in pennsylvania if you have cooperating witness or a confidential informant in your case ( i know this from experience) that the commonwealth provides you with what criminals call a "discovery packet". it informs you of your snitches, times and places you were observed, who all the investigating officers, and any investigations relating to your charges in that case. do other states or federal court do this as well?


Whether in Pennsylvania or other places, I don't think certain snitches are always identified by name. Obviously for their own protection. In the indictments they are often simply referred to as "CI #1," CI #2," etc. Meaning confidential informant. The judge is able to know who they are specifically but it obviously wouldn't be safe to just release their names to the public.


well pa being a commonwealth state there is a law stating that every man has the right to face his accuser in court. ive only been on low level stuff (minor drug sales no where costra nostra stuff lol) i do know in some cases in this instance where the law has determined their snitch to be more valuable in other cases and they have thrown atleast that charge out if they don't want to reveal their source. but when pa charges they always tact on about 10 meaningless charges that way they are sure to get you somewhere. even if you commit a crime and it involves a cell phone they will tact on criminal use of communication facility. i mean what criminal this day in age doesn't use a cell phone?
Posted By: phatmatress

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/07/11 08:34 PM

Originally Posted By: phatmatress
Originally Posted By: IvyLeague
Originally Posted By: phatmatress

is it the same everywhere like i know in pennsylvania if you have cooperating witness or a confidential informant in your case ( i know this from experience) that the commonwealth provides you with what criminals call a "discovery packet". it informs you of your snitches, times and places you were observed, who all the investigating officers, and any investigations relating to your charges in that case. do other states or federal court do this as well?


Whether in Pennsylvania or other places, I don't think certain snitches are always identified by name. Obviously for their own protection. In the indictments they are often simply referred to as "CI #1," CI #2," etc. Meaning confidential informant. The judge is able to know who they are specifically but it obviously wouldn't be safe to just release their names to the public.


well pa being a commonwealth state there is a law stating that every man has the right to face his accuser in court. ive only been on low level stuff (minor drug sales no where costra nostra stuff lol) i do know in some cases in this instance where the law has determined their snitch to be more valuable in other cases and they have thrown atleast that charge out if they don't want to reveal their source. but when pa charges they always tact on about 10 meaningless charges that way they are sure to get you somewhere. even if you commit a crime and it involves a cell phone they will tact on criminal use of communication facility. which is a felony of the 3rd degree. i mean what criminal this day in age doesn't use a cell phone?
Posted By: spmob

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/07/11 08:56 PM

In philly...say neighbors start calling about a potential drug dealer. Then the undercovers watch and do there research. They grab a couple people coming out the house with drugs on em. They will try to trick you into giving info. They tell you they will not lock you up for the night and all that stuff...anything to get you to give info. And if you give them info..even the slightest bit...your name will be in there discovery paperwork. The one arrested does have to go to court to get this paperwork and it takse time. The informant doesn't have to go to court, testify..none of that. The one who is arrested is alowd to get this evidence because I believe the lawyer is entitled to it before they go to trial(not sure tho). But in cases like the mafia...I dont know. I have often heard of people using Confidential informants but I think thats a different type of situation. I believe it all comes out in court with CIs though unless they are still working. I dont know for sure but I do know that if you give any info at all your name will be in the discovery work. My boy had his friends car and his girl in the car. All he did was buy a little pot but the kid had like 100 plants and he didn't know about it. They toldhim they would let him go and his girl and not repo car. Well they didn't repo car and let girl go but he spent night locked up and then found out 2 years later that his name was in someones discovery paperwork for telling the cops that he did buy it inside. He didn't tell him nothing else (he didn't know about plants) he just wanted to get his girl out so said it was his friend gabbing him some. Cops twisted it around and thats that. He was from jersey to so they tried to play him out in Philly but they never told him they could use what he said in court. He thought he was just helpin with the arrest that night and getting his girl out and his boys car. This was a long time ago...he didn't know any better.
Posted By: VinnyGorgeous

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/07/11 09:55 PM

I would definitely remove Michael Franzese's name from that list. The only person he may have hurt is Norby Walters, but all Franzese did was admit to being a member of the Colombo crime family. Then he wound up doing seven years.

And apparently he's on good terms with The Colombos these days. In a recent interview with CNN, he hinted he had been in touch with Andy Mush. The guy is a joke to me. He's full of himself, loves talking about being a gangster and would probably do anything for that family.
Posted By: pizzaboy

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/07/11 10:20 PM

Originally Posted By: VinnyGorgeous
but all Franzese did was admit to being a member of the Colombo crime family.

Which is now commonplace for these guys. You almost can't even get a plea bargain today without an allocution stating that you're a member of a crime family.
Posted By: Mukremin

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/07/11 11:12 PM

The Omerta oath and secrecy rules have been altered since the past years. Like all corporations, the mafia to has rules that can be adjusted grin
Posted By: phatmatress

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/08/11 02:49 AM

Originally Posted By: Mukremin
The Omerta oath and secrecy rules have been altered since the past years. Like all corporations, the mafia to has rules that can be adjusted grin


well said
Posted By: IvyLeague

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/08/11 06:58 AM

Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
Originally Posted By: VinnyGorgeous
but all Franzese did was admit to being a member of the Colombo crime family.

Which is now commonplace for these guys. You almost can't even get a plea bargain today without an allocution stating that you're a member of a crime family.


Yeah, even Genovese guys do it all the time. It's taking the pragmatic approach. Admit to something everyone already knows exists as part of a plea deal and do a fraction of the time. Guys like Gene Gotti are still in prison because John Gotti's ego wouldn't let them make plea deals.
Posted By: Mukremin

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/08/11 08:42 AM

Was it his ego, or his die hard loyalty to the Cosa Nostra oath?
Posted By: IvyLeague

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/08/11 09:17 AM

Originally Posted By: Mukremin
Was it his ego, or his die hard loyalty to the Cosa Nostra oath?


Both, probably. But it was a stupid move, practically speaking. In general, no family holds to the oath more than the Genovese and they take plea deals all the time. Furthermore, while I'm sure Gotti took a lot of pride not taking plea deals, that led to a lot of his guys doing a lot more years in prison then they had to. Had his brother taken a plea deal, he would have been out of prison some time ago. Furthermore, regardless of Gotti holding to the oath, him getting caught yacking away on those tapes for hours on end - not to mention holding the weekly meetings at the Ravenite right in front of FBI cameras - did as much damage as any rat.
Posted By: VinnyGorgeous

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/08/11 10:08 AM

Gotti's approach was most certainly ridiculous. Danny Marino is now doing 5 years for murder as part of a plea agreement. Jackie D'Amico is doing something similar. They'll both, most likely, be able to get out.
Posted By: rg

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/08/11 06:05 PM

this guy turning rat is a huge blow to the mafia world. nobody in a million yrs wud have guessed this. He was the biggest die hard la costra nostra guy out thea. He had a hard on for this stuff. The mafia to me is done.. Escp afta this..
Posted By: VinnyGorgeous

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/08/11 06:16 PM

Originally Posted By: rg
this guy turning rat is a huge blow to the mafia world. nobody in a million yrs wud have guessed this. He was the biggest die hard la costra nostra guy out thea. He had a hard on for this stuff. The mafia to me is done.. Escp afta this..


They all claim to be die hard Cosa Nostra, but the thing is, they happen to love money more. That's what ruined the mafia. Greed. Very few wiseguys seem to buy into this "Cosa Nostra comes before anything" notion. It's all about money and there's just not much money in jail.
Posted By: Mukremin

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/08/11 11:17 PM

Money and greed have always brought destruction, to empires etc not only to the mafia. But you have to give credit to the bosses at the Commission trial. They suck it up and went to prison, and even joked about it. See talks with Corallo and Salerno. You can put Sonny Franzese to those ranks to, a truly diehard cosa nostra soldier. Did many years in prison, but still stayed loyal even now.
Posted By: VinnyGorgeous

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/09/11 12:23 AM

Originally Posted By: Mukremin
Money and greed have always brought destruction, to empires etc not only to the mafia. But you have to give credit to the bosses at the Commission trial. They suck it up and went to prison, and even joked about it. See talks with Corallo and Salerno. You can put Sonny Franzese to those ranks to, a truly diehard cosa nostra soldier. Did many years in prison, but still stayed loyal even now.


Yeah I will agree with that, but you just don't see many guys like this anymore. That Franzese guy would probably do a thousand years for this thing. Ever wonder what the mob would be like if every guy was as loyal as Sonny Franzese? The mob would probably still be appointing judges lol.
Posted By: tt120

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/09/11 02:53 PM

re: Gotti & Plea Deals

Gotti not allowing his guys to make plea deals was weird at the time but I kind of understand his 'logic' I guess. I think a lot had to do with ego, and an us versus them (government) mentality. It wasn't so much to protect the existence of the mob, because he even said himself "Why hide it, people know what we are..." ... I think he just absolutely despised the government and society as a whole and would never allow them to "help" in any way. It seemed to him being in the mob was almost like being at war with legit society as a whole.

A few people got screwed over pretty bad because of that attitude though... I think it was Joe Armone (or Joe N. Gallo, can't remember) that could have been granted bail if he pled guilty and would have been able to spend one of his last Christmas' with his family, and Gotti told him he couldn't (Armone had been in the family like 3x longer too...the irony)
And his brother Gene who probably would have just served 10 years at the most. I bet prosecutors were itching to make a deal he was out on bail awaiting the trial for a long long time they probably wanted to wrap it up. Instead he serves 50 years -basically- a life sentence (ironic because he helped fix a lot of trials for the Gambinos but couldn't successfully fix his own)

Then you have the Genovese who clip a guy for NOT accepting a plea deal.
Posted By: SharpSquare

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/16/11 07:13 PM


Colombo capo turned rat Anthony Russo already paying off for feds


The news just continues to get worse and worse for the Colombo crime family in New York. With more mobsters turning rat after the recent major mafia bust it doesn’t look good for acting boss Andrew “Mush” Russo who is also the cousin of jailed for life Colombo boss Carmine “Junior” Persico. One of the latest mobsters turned rat capo Anthony “Big Anthony” Russo is already paying off for the feds.

Sources say that Big Anthony is already supplying the feds with evidence on a mobster with close ties to the second generation Persico family gangsters who was part of a hit team in the last killing of the bloody Colombo family war that ended in 1993. Mobster Francis “Big Frank” Guerra has been tabbed by Big Anthony as a hit man in the 1993 murder of Colombo mobster Joseph Scopo. Guerra also known as “B.F.” is a close friend of Alphonse Persico the son of boss Carmine Persico and Theodore “Skinny Teddy” Persico Jr who is Carmines nephew.

Guerra has been a target of the feds for a while now but has proved not so easy to get to. He was linked before to the Scopo slaying during the trial of a wannabe mobster John Pappa who was eventually convicted in the slaying and is in prison for life. But there was not enough evidence available for the feds to be able to indict Guerra. Papers filled in court by prosecutors in connection with the recent Colombo case places Guerra sitting in a crash car waiting to block any pursuers with Big Anthony Russo during the hit on Scopo.

Big Anthony spurned the feds initial offer from lead FBI agent Scott Curtis to turn rat in the Colombo purge before he was picked up in the latest large mafia take down last month. But after he was detained without bail Big Anthony decided to change his mind and flip. According to papers filled in court Big Anthony implicated Guerra and himself in the Scopo murder during several talks recorded by an informant during the investigation into the Colombo family. Sources claim Russo admitted to his involvement in the plot and confirmed that Guerra was also in the car with him.

During a conversation Big Anthony was having with a wired up Colombo associate named Thomas McLaughlin in which the two were exchanging stories , Russo went on to brag about how Pappa was blowing Scopo away and that he had his hat blown off his head by a during the fusillade of gun shots. Big Anthony said ” I jumped out of the car like the mad hatter and i didn’t know what to do” , ” B.F was in the backseat enjoying the wild scene, russo said – Guerra said what the **** , are u crazy while laughing hysterically”. It is very doubtful that Guerra finds anything funny about the Scopo slaying now after just being released from prison in 2006 after serving time for charges of extortion and drug dealing.

Sources also claim that Guerra is a suspect in a second murder back in 1990 of a federal informant who murder is being linked to a jailhouse picture of old pal Teddy Persico and Joseph “Joey Cupcake” Urgitano which was seized by the feds from Rao’s restaurant last fall as evidence. The feds obtained evidence that Persico was involved in the 1990 murder of Vincent “Scoobie” Lafaro for giving the NYPD information that would lead to a conviction of Persico and a 20 year prison sentence for drug trafficking. Sources said that Persico who was in state prison at the time and Guerra were both allegedly involved in the plot to kill Lafaro, who was gunned down in a drive by shooting in front of his home.

According to documents in 1998 Guerra also set in motion the murder of mob associate Frank Hydell when he passed on information to then family acting boss Alphonse Persico about Gambino family associate Hydell was an informant. Persico then passed on this information to members of the Gambino crime family and Hydell was murdered. Gambino capo Daniel Marino in a plea deal was sentenced to five years in prison for the murder conspiracy of Hydell who was also his nephew. This has to be horrible reading material for mob boss Junior Persico as he sits in Butner F.C.I. and watches as his crime family lose the battle against the feds and be decimated from with in its own ranks.



http://themafiatoday.com/colombo-capo-turned-rat-anthony-russo-already-paying-off-for-feds
Posted By: VinnyGorgeous

Re: Rat! Colombo Captain Turns Federal Informant - 02/16/11 08:43 PM

Does anyone know if Allie Boy's son is a made guy?
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