http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/al...ticle-1.1393354 Alphonse (Little Al) D’Arco says fellow crime boss Joseph Massino should be let out of prison before he dies
'I hate to play judge, but I think he should get time served,' Alphonse (Little Al) D’Arco, the former acting boss of the Luchese crime family, says of Joseph Massino, the first American Mafia boss to sing to the feds.
By John Marzulli / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, July 8, 2013, 8:15 PM
Rats have to watch out for each other.
Joseph Massino, the first American Mafia boss to sing to the feds, has found an ally in his bid to get sprung from prison before he dies — another mob rat.
“I hate to play judge, but I think he should get time served,” said Alphonse (Little Al) D’Arco, the former acting boss of the Luchese crime family — and the second-highest-ranking defecting gangster after Massino.
“The government took his cooperation, he did what they asked,” D’Arco, 80, said in a statement provided to the Daily News. “They owe him. You can’t let him rot in prison for the rest of his life.”
Massino, 70, the once-feared boss of the Bonanno crime family, was convicted of racketeering and eight murders and sentenced to life in prison in 2005.
He’ll get a chance at early release Wednesday, when Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis resentences him. That hearing came about because prosecutors promised Massino they would write a letter to the judge seeking a reduction in his sentence as a reward for providing info that resulted in numerous indictments.
The wily wiseguy made no secret why he joined with the feds, once testifying, “I’m hoping someday I see light at the end of the tunnel.”
But he may soon see light emanating from a different source than the sun.
“He’s on his way out of the picture,” said a source briefed on Massino’s deteriorating health.
D’Arco, who also had eight murders on his résumé, testified in more than a dozen trials, including against the lethal “Mafia Cops” Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa, who killed for Luchese underboss Anthony (Gaspipe) Casso.
Massino appeared on the witness stand only twice, testifying against his successor, Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano and Genovese capo Anthony Antico. No matter, D’Arco points out, the consequences of cooperating are the same.
“The mob don’t forget,” he said. “There are still some capable guys out there who might want to go out there and whack the guy (Massino).”
D’Arco, soon to be immortalized in the upcoming book, “Mob Boss, the Life of Little Al D’Arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia,” by Jerry Capeci and Tom Robbins, said he is still looking over his shoulder a decade after a judge gave him time-served as a reward.“Maybe they’ll get me yet,” D’Arco, who had eight murders on his resume, told the authors of the forthcoming tome from St. Martin’s Press.
Massino has served 101/2 years since he was arrested at Queens, faux mansionhome. He subsequently handed over his fortune: $7.6 million in cash, 257 gold bars stashed in his attic and the CasaBlancaCQ restaurant he controlled.
His wife and elderly mother were allowed to keep their houses.
Massino’s brother-in-law Salvatore Vitale, who flipped soon after he was arrested and testified against Massino, ended up with the sweetest deal of all — the former underboss served only seven years despite participating in 11 murders.
Massino and D’Arco wreaked havoc on their crime families, but law enforcement sources said the Bonanno and Luchese clans are showing signs of rising from the ashes.
The families have been inducting new soldiers to beef up their decimated ranks over the past 18 months, sources said.
