Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 1 of 59 PageID #: 13580
EAG/JDG/CMP
F.#2008R00530
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -X
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- against -
DINO SARACINO,
Defendant.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -X
08 CR 240 (S-6)(BMC)
THE GOVERNMENT’S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM
Elizabeth A. Geddes
James D. Gatta
Cristina M. Posa
Assistant U.S. Attorneys
(Of Counsel)
LORETTA E. LYNCH
United States Attorney
Eastern District of New York
271 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, New York 11201


The Highlights or Lowlights depending on your perspective:



2. The Defendant’s Accountability for the
Murder of Joseph Scopo Is Established by
a Preponderance of the Evidence
As an initial matter, as the government asserted in its
response to Saracino’s objections to the PSR, the government
submits that Saracino should be held responsible for the murder
of Joseph Scopo, a casualty of the Colombo crime family war in
which Saracino participated, as that murder was reasonably
foreseeable to Saracino and constitutes relevant conduct. The
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jury found proven Racketeering Act Three, the predicate
racketeering act alleging that Saracino, who was part of the
faction of the crime family loyal to incarcerated boss Carmine
Persico (the “Persico faction”), conspired to kill crime family
members loyal to acting boss Victor Orena. At trial, Dino
Calabro and Joseph Competiello variously testified that during
the Colombo crime family war, Saracino was a member of the
Persico faction; that Scopo, a member of the faction loyal to
then-acting boss Victor Orena, was identified as a prime target
during the war between the two factions; and that Saracino
and others conducted surveillance of Scopo in connection with the
war. (See PSR ¶¶ 35, 38; T. 1017-19, 1038-39 (Calabro’s
testimony), 2062-64 (Competiello’s testimony)). Scopo was
ultimately murdered on October 20, 1993, outside of his Queens
residence, by members of the Persico faction. There is no
dispute that Saracino did not participate directly in the Scopo
murder. However, the murder was in furtherance of the conspiracy
to murder members of the Orena faction and was reasonably
foreseeable to Saracino, and accordingly constitutes relevant
conduct for which he should be held accountable.
A preponderance of the evidence supports that Scopo was
murdered by members of the Persico faction, of which Saracino was
part. Although no such evidence was adduced at Saracino’s trial,
at a minimum, two guilty plea proceedings and evidence adduced in
two separate trials in this courthouse have established by a
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preponderance of the evidence that Theodore Persico, Jr., Anthony Russo, Eric Curcio, Francis Guerra, John Pappa and John Sparacino, together with others, all of whom were allied with the Persico faction, murdered Scopo as part of the Colombo crime family war. Specifically, in May 2011, Anthony Russo pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, including the Scopo murder as a predicate racketeering act.3 (United States v. Russo, Crim. Docket No. 11-30 (KAM)). In June 2012, Theodore Persico, Jr., a nephew of Carmine Persico, waived statute of limitations and pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to murder Scopo in-aid-of racketeering in connection with his role in the murder. (United States v. Persico, Crim. Docket No. 10-147 (SLT) (ECF Docket Entry No. 563)). In 1999, Pappa was convicted after trial of racketeering conspiracy, including the Scopo murder as a predicate racketeering act. (United States v. Pappa, Crim. Docket No. 97-1005 (RJD) (ECF Docket Entry No. 175)). More recently, in 2012, Guerra was also tried on charges of racketeering conspiracy, including the Scopo murder as a racketeering act. Among other evidence admitted at trial, Russo testified that Guerra participated in the Scopo murder as part of the Colombo crime family war. (A copy of the relevant excerpts
3
In his allocution, Anthony Russo admitted, “[i]n or about
1993, in Brooklyn, I agreed to help other people kill Joey
Sc[o]po, who was a member of the Colombo Crime Family [, and]
[i]n or about October 20, 1993, I participated in the murder with
other people by driving them to the scene, knowing their intent
when they arrived was to kill Sc[o]po.”
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of Russo’s testimony in United States v. Guerra, Crim. Docket No.
10-147 (SLT), is enclosed as Exhibit A). Although Guerra was
acquitted of the racketeering conspiracy charge, the evidence
adduced at the trial was more than sufficient to establish by a
preponderance of evidence that Scopo was in fact murdered by
members of the Persico faction. See United States v. Carmona,
873 F.2d 569, 574 (2d Cir. 1989) (sentencing court entitled to
rely on any type of information known to it, including testimony
from trial in which person to be sentenced was not a defendant).
In light of the testimony elicited at Saracino’s trial
about the Colombo crime family war and Saracino’s personal
participation in the surveillance of Scopo, and the facts set
forth above, the government has established by at least a
preponderance of evidence that the Scopo murder was in
furtherance of the conspiracy to murder members of the Orena
faction and was reasonably foreseeable to Saracino. Accordingly,
the murder of Scopo constitutes relevant conduct under U.S.S.G.
§ 1B1.3.
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3. The Government Proved Saracino’s
Involvement in the Greaves Murder by
at Least a Preponderance of the Evidence
Saracino should be held accountable for his
participation in the 1995 murder of Richard Greaves, because the
government proved Saracino’s participation by at least a
preponderance of the evidence. Saracino fatally shot Greaves and
assisted in disposing of Greaves’s body on August 3, 1995. At
trial, the government proved Saracino’s involvement in the
Greaves murder through the testimony of four cooperating
witnesses, including Saracino’s own brother, three of whom
participated in Greaves’s murder and identified Saracino as the
shooter, and also through Saracino’s own admissions on remarkably
inculpatory consensual recordings. Additional evidence,
including statements made by a coconspirator to another
cooperating witness, also implicates Saracino in the murder.
Some of this evidence is set forth below.
a. Evidence of the Greaves Murder
In February 2008, David Gordon advised the government
(as he testified at trial) that Saracino had admitted to him at a
bar in the mid-1990s that he and the Gioeli crew “did Richie in
the dungeon,” a reference to the Saracino family basement on 74th
Street in Brooklyn. (T. 3433). Thereafter, other witnesses
independently provided accounts of Saracino’s participation in
this homicide. On September 30, 2008, at his first proffer
session with the government, Joseph Competiello advised that
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Saracino shot Greaves with a .38 caliber gun in the Saracino
basement in the presence of Gioeli and others. (See T. 2145).
Saracino’s cousin, Dino Calabro, and Saracino’s brother Sebastian
Saracino thereafter provided chilling accounts of Gioeli and
Saracino’s participation in the murder. (T. 1109 and 1112-13
(Calabro’s testimony), 4281-82 and 4314-16 (Sebastian Saracino’s
testimony)). Competiello, Calabro and Sebastian Saracino also
testified that they then cleaned up the murder scene, transported
Greaves’s body to a burial site on Long Island and brought the
Jeep in which Greaves drove to Saracino’s apartment to a location
in the vicinity of the Verrazano bridge. (T. 1113-20 (Calabro’s
testimony), 2146-50 (Competiello’s testimony), 4316-19 (Sebastian
Saracino’s testimony)).
Sebastian Saracino’s testimony is particularly
compelling given the brothers’ relationship. As numerous
witnesses have confirmed, Sebastian Saracino’s role in the mafia
was relatively limited. Although Sebastian Saracino, together
with his brother Dino Saracino, was inducted as a soldier into
the Colombo crime family in 2003, by all accounts, it was Dino
Saracino – not Sebastian Saracino – who held the lifelong dream
of becoming an inducted member of the Colombo crime family.
Indeed, by the time of his induction ceremony, Sebastian Saracino
had moved to California and agreed to return to Brooklyn to be
initiated only because Saracino urged him to do so – as Saracino
put it, “if you don’t take it, somebody else will on the other
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side” (i.e., the Orena side). (T. 4361). This statement shows
Saracino’s abiding commitment to both the Colombo family and, in
particular, the Persico faction.
When Sebastian Saracino was arrested in February 2010,
he was charged with making false statements to immigration
authorities. (T. 4356). Yet he readily pleaded guilty to his
participation in the Greaves murder, among other crimes, and as a
result, is now facing a possible life sentence. His disaffection
with the mafia life had chosen was made clear during cross
examination by counsel for Saracino:
Q: What is it that you hope at the end of
the day that that [5K1.1] letter will do
for you as it relates to your sentence?
A: What am I hoping?
Q: What is your understanding? Why would
you sign such a letter? Why would you
sign such an agreement with the
government to get such a letter? What
is your hope at the end of the day?
A: Only thing that I know is that the
letter is going to have the good and all
the bad crimes that I have committed.
As far as hope, I feel like my hope went
out the window when I participated with
Richard Greaves murder.
(T. 4458). Although the jury did not find proof beyond a
reasonable doubt, it is hard to imagine why Sebastian Saracino
would expose himself to a possible life sentence (or, initially,
the death penalty) by fabricating his and his brother’s
participation in Greaves’s murder.
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Moreover, Gordon, Competiello, Calabro and Sebastian Saracino’s accounts of Greaves’s murder are also corroborated by the testimony of several non-cooperating witnesses. For example, Sandra Tullo - Greaves’s girlfriend of two years - testified that Greaves disappeared on August 3, 1995 and that on the day of his disappearance, Greaves asked to borrow her car, a blue Jeep, and that the Jeep was recovered by the Verrazano Bridge a few days after Greaves’s disappearance, in the vicinity of where Competiello and Calabro testified the coconspirators in the murder left the Jeep. (T. 1115 (Calabro’s testimony that Competiello and Saracino left Tullo’s Jeep at the side of the [Brooklyn Queens Expressway], near - between 92nd Street and 86th Street[,]”) 2148 (Competiello’s testimony that Calabro and Saracino left Tullo’s Jeep at the Verrazano bridge in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn), 4319 (Sebastian Saracino’s testimony that Anthony Calabro moved Tullo’s Jeep to “New Utrecht Avenue [and] 17th Avenue somewhere”)).4 Dennis Basile testified that sometime after May 1995, Greaves and he decided to open up a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona5 and that Greaves invested money in the
4
the Verrazano Bridge is 92nd Street.
5
The last exit of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway before
Competiello, Calabro and Sebastian Saracino also
testified that Greaves planned to move away from New York
following the robbery of the Chemical Bank, which took place on
June 5, 1995. (T. 1107 (Calabro’s testimony), 2140
(Competiello’s testimony), 2757 (Competiello’s testimony), 4297
(Sebastian Saracino’s testimony)).
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restaurant, but that Greaves never moved to Arizona as planned
and never attempted to recoup the money he invested. (T. 3348-
52).
In addition, the cooperating witnesses’ accounts are
corroborated in significant part by Saracino’s reaction to a
subpoena served on his brother Sebastian Saracino in May 2008,
which was captured on consensual recordings made by David Gordon.
(T. 3045-46 (Gordon’s testimony)). Unbeknownst to Gordon, while
Saracino and Gordon traveled to Florida in May 2008, FBI agents
left a voicemail message on Saracino’s brother’s residence in
California that they knew about his participation in “cleaning up
with Richie.” (GX 601). Upon learning of this information,
Saracino frantically tried to make sense of the voicemail message
and made a series of inculpatory statements about the murder to
Gordon.
First, Saracino admitted in no uncertain terms his
participation in murders:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
(GX 501T(e) at 3). Later that night, Saracino observed:
SARACINO: There’s a big time informant.
I can’t figure it out.
*** 16
Yeah, they’re wondering how
we got through the cracks.
What cracks, big guy?
All these homicides and all

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SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
Did my brother Frankie have a
big mouth?
In what way, D?
Did he tell a lot of secrets?
To me, D?
Honestly.
I’m being honest with you D,
to me, he never told me
anything. Listen, D, I love
you to death, he never once
said anything. I mean, I was
pretty close with him D, I
mean, I mean, I guess Greggie,
you know, might have been
closer, you know, Squirts I
guess, could, whatever, but he
never said, you know. We were
alone a lot, you know, we
talked, you know, what I’m
saying?
[UI]
He never, Frankie wasn’t like
that D.
I know, I remember.
He wasn’t like that at all, I
mean. You know.
You think Nooch is an
informant?
You know. Come on, D. D,
don’t let them fucking rattle
you right now, D. Come on,
it’s your cousin. D.
I’m just saying.
I know, but D, whatever news
you got right now, calm, I
mean, I don’t mean to say calm
17
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:

Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC
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SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
SARACINO:
GORDON:
down, but let it come in, let
it, you know what I’m saying?
D, they can fucking, do what
they want the government, you
know what I’m saying?
It don’t make sense. [UI].
Can’t be from your brother.
What?
It can’t be anything from your
brother, D. You know that?
Why?
What do you mean why, D? Your
brother is gone 10 years, big
guy.
[UI].
Huh?
[UI].
I don’t know, D.
Joe Caves, maybe?
Come on, D, what are you
fucking crazy, D? Calm down.
I wouldn’t think so.
(GX 501T(f) at 3-4). (Copies of excerpts of these recordings are
enclosed on Exhibit B in files respectively named “All the
homicides.wav” and “Big time informant.wav”.) At trial, evidence
established that each of the individuals whom Saracino feared may
have become an informant – his “brother Frankie” (Frank
Saracino), “Nooch” (Anthony Calabro, Saracino’s cousin and
Calabro’s brother) and “Joe Caves” (Competiello) - were all
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present for the Greaves murder and/or the cleanup and could
therefore implicate Saracino in that homicide. (T. 1117, 4314).
Finally, in a consensual recording made on December 14,
2010, which was not presented at trial, Dino Calabro’s brother
Anthony Calabro admitted to Colombo crime family associate (and
defense witness) Thomas McLaughlin, who was wearing a recording
device because he was cooperating with the government at that
time, what happened during the Greaves murder. Corroborating
Calabro and Competiello’s trial testimony, Anthony Calabro told
McLaughlin that Competiello greeted Greaves when Greaves arrived
at the Saracino residence and that Gioeli, Saracino and Calabro
were inside waiting for him. The following is a transcript of an
excerpt of the recording:
MCLAUGHLIN:
A. CALABRO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
A. CALABRO:
And Dino [Saracino] and his
brother [Sebastian Saracino]
were waiting for him in the
house. His brother was
waiting for him in the house.
All of them. They were all
waiting. There were sitting
down. They were hanging out.
Little D- [Dino Saracino]
Uh huh
Joe Caves [Competiello] and
Tommy [UI] [Gioeli]
(A copy of an excerpt of the recording is enclosed with this
brief on Exhibit B in a file named “His brother was
waiting.wav”.) McLaughlin also advised the government that
following the arrest of Gioeli, Calabro and Competiello, Saracino
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admitted to McLaughlin that “we” – Gioeli’s crew – were
responsible for the Greaves murder. (A copy of an FBI report
documenting Saracino’s admission to McLaughlin is enclosed as
Exhibit C.)
In light of the above, and all the evidence adduced at
trial, Saracino’s participation in the Greaves murder was proven
by at least a preponderance of the evidence.
b. Saracino’s Defenses to the Greaves Murder
Saracino argued at trial that the cooperating
witnesses’ testimony was the product of cross-contamination of
witness information by government agents and was inconsistent and
unreliable. Saracino’s claim of cross-contamination is without
merit on all counts, but particularly preposterous regarding the
Greaves murder. As described above, in early 2008 – long before
Competiello, Calabro and Sebastian Saracino began cooperating –
David Gordon told the government that Saracino had confessed to
him at a bar that he and the others had murdered Greaves in
Saracino’s basement. After charging Saracino, Calabro and
Competiello with the Greaves murder, the government did not
disclose publicly or to the defendants how, where or by whom
Greaves had been murdered. When asked about Greaves when
Competiello first met with the government in September 2008, he
answered without any hesitation that Saracino had shot him in the
Saracino family’s basement, corroborating Gordon’s account of
Saracino’s admission. Thereafter, Calabro and Saracino’s
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brother, Sebastian Saracino, also stated – in their first
meetings with the government – that it was Saracino who fatally
shot Greaves in the basement of the Saracino family’s house.
They did so without hesitation, like Competiello.
To the extent that Saracino continues to argue the
materiality of the discrepancies in Calabro, Competiello and
Sebastian Saracino’s testimony (such as which murder participant
drove in which car to Long Island to bury Greaves’s corpse), the
government submits that these discrepancies cannot outweigh the
fact that each and every participant in the murder who testified
has consistently identified Saracino as the man who shot Richard
Greaves in the back of the head in his own basement. Rather,
these minor inconsistences are attributable to the witnesses’
faulty memories of minor details of an event that occurred almost
two decades ago. The inconsistences are particularly
understandable given that Saracino, Gioeli and the cooperating
witnesses disposed of multiple bodies – Carmine Gargano, Greaves
and Cutolo – in close proximity to each other in Farmingdale, New
York. It is thus not particularly surprising that the witnesses
would confuse minor details such as who was in a particular car
for the disposal of a particular murder victim.
Finally, Saracino presented the fantastical theory that
the government’s inability to recover Greaves’s body suggested
that Greaves was never murdered. A preponderance of evidence,
however, shows that Greaves was murdered – each family member who
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has been interviewed by the government has advised that they have
not seen Greaves since August 3, 1995, and as his girlfriend
Sandra Tullo testified, a memorial mass was held for him.
(T. 4272). In addition, as noted above, it is unfathomable that
Sebastian Saracino, facing a mere false statement charge, would
fabricate the murder and then implicate himself in it just to
frame his own brother. This theory also fails to explain why
Competiello admitted to the murder so readily. And it certainly
does not explain Saracino’s boast that he “did Richie in the
dungeon” (T. 3433), or his recorded attempt to identify the “big
time informant” (GX 501T(f)) who could have revealed that
Saracino killed Greaves.
Simply put, Saracino’s defenses should be rejected and
his participation in the Greaves murder should be found proven by
at least a preponderance of the evidence.
4. The Government Proved the Defendant’s
Involvement in the Dols Murder by
at Least a Preponderance of the Evidence
Between January 1996 and August 1997, Saracino
conspired with Cacace, who at the time was a high-ranking and
powerful member of the Colombo crime family, Gioeli, Calabro,
Saracino and Competiello to murder New York City Police
Department (“NYPD”) Officer Ralph Dols. Like the Greaves murder,
the evidence establishes Saracino’s participation – again, as a
shooter – in the Dols murder by at least a preponderance of the
evidence. At trial, the government proved Saracino’s involvement
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in the Dols murder through the testimony of Calabro and
Competiello, who participated in the murder; the testimony of
Sebastian Saracino, who assisted in disposing of evidence
following the murder; surveillance evidence showing Gioeli’s
close association with Cacace during the period of the murder
conspiracy; as well as civilian testimony and documentary
evidence corroborating the cooperating witnesses’ testimony.
Some of this evidence is set forth below.
a. Evidence of the Ralph Dols Murder
Calabro testified that he learned from Gioeli that Joel
“Joe Waverly” Cacace wanted to have a “piece of work” done (i.e.,
that Cacace wanted someone killed) on an occasion when Gioeli and
Calabro were both at Cacace’s social club, located at 2116 Avenue
X in Brooklyn. Gioeli then showed Calabro Dols’s car and
residence at 2107 East 19th Street in Brooklyn (on the corner of
East 19th Street and Avenue U). (T. 1151, 1154-55). Calabro and
Competiello each testified that Calabro then told Competiello and
Saracino about the order to kill Dols (whose identity was unknown
to them at the time), and the three routinely conducted
surveillance of Dols in the vicinity of Dols’s residence. (T.
1155-56 (Calabro’s testimony), 1160 (Calabro’s testimony), 2165-
66 (Competiello’s testimony)). Sebastian Saracino also testified
that Calabro, Saracino and Competiello were “sitting on” someone
in the weeks prior to the murder of Dols. (T. 4321).
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Calabro testified that at some point in the summer of
1997, Gioeli revealed to Calabro that Cacace was pressuring
Gioeli to commit the murder quickly. (T. 1161). Calabro’s
testimony on this point was corroborated by Sebastian Saracino’s
testimony describing how Saracino told him, “this guy [making a
gesture indicating Cacace] is coming down on Tommy [Gioeli], and
Tommy is coming down on Zeke [a reference to Calabro].”
(T. 4321).
Subsequently, as Calabro and Competiello testified, Competiello and Saracino stole a silver Chevrolet Caprice on or about August 18, 1997, to use in the murder. (T. 1161 (Calabro’s testimony), 2163-64 (Competiello’s testimony)). Their testimony was corroborated by Abraham Shrem, who testified that on or about August 18, 1997, his silver Chevrolet Caprice was stolen from 1807 East 3rd Street in Brooklyn, in very close proximity to where Competiello testified he and Saracino had stolen the vehicle. (T. 2163-64 (Competiello’s testimony that he and Saracino stole a car from East 2nd Street between Quentin Street and Kings Highway in Brooklyn), 3575-78 (Shrem’s testimony that his car was stolen from 1807 East 3rd Street in Brooklyn)).6
Competiello testified that he and Saracino retrieved
two guns from a bin in the garage of 475 Avenue Y, Brooklyn, New
York, a property owned by Sebastian Saracino and one of the
6
1807 East 3rd Street in Brooklyn is located between
Quentin Street and Kings Highway - one block west of 2nd Street.
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locations that the Colombo crime family stored guns. (T. 2166,
2970-72). In March 2005, NYPD officers recovered a cache of
firearms and ammunition from that very location. (T. 3491-92).
Notably, David Gordon also testified that after this weapons
seizure, Saracino told him that he (Gordon) might have to “take
the fall” for the weapons. (T. 2970).
Competiello and Calabro both testified that together
with Saracino, they acted as a three-man hit team that shot
Officer Ralph Dols to death outside his home on East 19th Street.
Specifically, Calabro and Competiello testified that on the night
of the murder, Competiello parked in a Cadillac El Dorado owned
by Saracino on East 19th Street and Avenue V, approximately one
block south of Dols’s residence. (T. 1164 (Calabro’s testimony),
2169 (Competiello’s testimony)). They each further testified
that when Competiello observed Dols turning onto East 19th
Street, he radioed Calabro and Saracino to notify them of Dols’s
approach and Saracino and Calabro, who were in the stolen Caprice
a few blocks away, proceeded to Dols’s residence. (T. 1166
(Calabro’s testimony), 2170 (Competiello’s testimony)). Calabro
testified that Saracino was armed with a .45 caliber pistol and
Calabro was armed with a .44 caliber revolver. (T. 1163).
Competiello likewise testified that they were armed with a
revolver and a pistol, albeit a .357 revolver and a .45 caliber
pistol. (T. 2166). This testimony was corroborated by retired
NYPD crime scene unit (“CSU”) detective Margaret Roche, who
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recovered .45 caliber discharged shells and deformed lead bullets
at the scene (T. 3375) and NYPD ballistics expert Wilfredo
Torres, who testified that revolvers do not discharge shells (T.
3510).
Calabro and Competiello also both testified that when
Dols then parked his car in front of 2107 East 19th Street and as
he was exiting his vehicle, Saracino and Calabro got out of the
Caprice and shot him. (T. 1166-67 (Calabro’s testimony), 2171
(Competiello’s testimony)). Retired CSU detective Thomas
Signorelli corroborated this testimony by describing in detail
how the grouping of the bullet holes in the driver’s side window
of Dols’s car and the angle at which they were shot indicated
that two shooters were involved. (T. 3455-58).
Competiello and Calabro’s testimony differed with
respect to the cars used in the murder. Competiello recalled
that two cars were used in the murder: the stolen Caprice and
Saracino’s green Cadillac El Dorado. (T. 2168). Calabro
recalled that three cars were used: the stolen Caprice,
Saracino’s green Cadillac El Dorado and a brown Mercury Cougar
that had been registered to a fabricated person who was
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purportedly living at Calabro’s wife’s grandmother’s house.7 (T. 1161-62).
After the murder, as Calabro, Competiello and Sebastian
Saracino testified, Saracino, Calabro and Competiello returned to
Saracino’s residence in Brooklyn. (T. 1170 (Calabro’s
testimony), 2171 (Competiello’s testimony), 4322 (Sebastian
Saracino’s testimony)). Sebastian Saracino testified that
Calabro and Saracino then gave Sebastian Saracino a duffel bag to
discard, which he did. (T. 4378). The next day, they learned in
the news that the victim was an NYPD officer. Calabro testified
that he went to see Gioeli at Gioeli’s home in Farmingdale, Long
Island, to discuss the ramifications of having murdered a police
officer. (T. 1175).
7
Although Competiello does not recall that a third vehicle
– the brown Mercury Cougar – was used in the murder, Calabro’s
testimony regarding this car was corroborated extensively. He
testified that after the murder, he learned that officers had
told his wife’s grandmother, who resided at 1582 West 7th Street
in Brooklyn, that a parking ticket had been issued for the car
for failing to follow alternate side parking restrictions,
causing Calabro to arrange to get rid of the car. (T. 1180-81,
1183-84). New York City Department of Finance records reveal
that on the day of the murder, a parking ticket for failing to
follow alternate side parking restrictions was issued to a
vehicle with license plate R282AY, registered to Abraham
Rodriguez at 1582 West 7th Street, Brooklyn, New York. (T. 3562-
67; GX 383, 386). Gioeli’s cousin Salvatore Tese testified, as
Calabro similarly testified, that in January 1998, Gioeli had
Tese store a brown American-made car consistent with a brown
Mercury Cougar.
(T. 1183-84 (Calabro’s testimony); 3362-63
. Finally, FBI Special Agent Scott Curtis
testified that in the late 1997 or early 1998, he saw a brown car
at Tese’s residence and that in January 1998, he observed a brown
Mercury registered to Abraham Rodriguez with license plate
R282AY. (T. 3589-90).
27
(Tese’s testimony))

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The use of Saracino’s green Cadillac El Dorado in the Dols murder was extensively corroborated. Sebastian Saracino testified about his brother Dino’s top priority after killing a police officer – keeping his Cadillac:8
My brother was pissed off because he paid
good money for the car, it was his first nice
car, he didn’t want to . . . get rid of it,
nobody was helping him and nobody was giving
him money to get rid of the car, so he found
a place in the city, freight shipping
companies. So they drove it out to the city
and we sent it down to Nino [cousin Antonino
Saracino] in Florida.
(T. 4324). And Sebastian Saracino’s testimony on this point was
fully corroborated by the testimony of Saracino’s cousin Antonino
Saracino (T. 4323-24) and Calabro (T. 1180), as well as
Department of Motor Vehicle records presented at trial, which
showed the transfer of the vehicle from a close associate of Dino
Saracino (Joseph Casa) to Antonino Saracino in 1998. (GX 304b).
In addition, statements from eyewitnesses taken the day
following the Dols murder – which were not adduced at trial –
corroborate the cooperating witnesses’ testimony. For example,
one eyewitness advised police officers that, from her residence
on East 19th Street between Avenue U and Avenue T, she observed a
8
This detail, while relatively minor in the breathtaking
scope of Saracino’s crimes, in some ways says everything one
needs to know about Saracino: his extraordinary selfishness and
callous disregard for human life is so great that his primary
concern after having learned he killed an innocent man, and an
NYPD officer at that, was finding a safe home for his “first nice
car.”
28

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hunter green El Dorado with a full tan-colored rag top traveling
at a high rate of speed northbound on East 19th Street. She
further advised that she saw a second vehicle also traveling at a
high rate of speed in front of the El Dorado. (A copy of a
report documenting the witness’s statements is enclosed as
Exhibit D.)
In light of the above, and all the evidence adduced at
trial, Saracino’s participation in the Dols murder was proven by
at least a preponderance of the evidence.
b. Saracino’s Defenses To The Dols Murder
As he argued with respect to the Greaves murder,
Saracino argued at trial that the cooperating witness testimony
offered by the government lacked credibility and was in part
internally inconsistent. As the government argued at trial,
Saracino’s claims miss the most important point: the testimony of
Calabro, Competiello and Sebastian Saracino regarding Saracino’s
role as a shooter and their own roles in the Dols murder was
entirely consistent. The minor inconsistencies – such as the
number of cars used in the murder – are more attributable to
faulty memories of an event that occurred almost fifteen years
earlier. Moreover, the existence of such inconsistences between
the witnesses is proof that the accounts were not the result of
cross-contamination by the government as he claimed at trial.
At trial Saracino also argued that Officer Dols’s dying
declaration that there were three – not two - men who shot him
29

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suggests that Calabro and Competiello’s testimony was lacking.
However, Officer Dols’s dying declaration does not, in fact,
undermine their testimony. Notably, the police report containing
the declaration stated that Dols was wearing an oxygen mask and
could only give one-word answers to the detective’s questions.
In that context, his declaration is consistent with the testimony
presented at trial; that is, there were three men, Calabro,
Saracino and Competiello. Dols was is no state to clarify that
one of the three men was a driver of a getaway car as opposed to
a shooter. Morever, Dols had just been ambushed by a fusillade
of lead bullets and died shortly thereafter; he was undoubtedly
in no state to explain anything in any detail.
Because Saracino’s defenses are otherwise inconsistent
with the evidence, they should be rejected and his participation
in the Dols murder should be found proven by at least a
preponderance of the evidence.
5. The Government Proved Saracino’s Involvement
in The Cutolo Murder by at Least a
Preponderance of the Evidence
In 1999, Saracino entered into a conspiracy with then-
Colombo crime family acting boss Alphonse “Allie Boy” Persico,
Gioeli, Calabro, Competiello and others to murder William “Wild
Bill” Cutolo, the underboss of the Colombo crime family. On May
26, 1999, Gioeli, Saracino and the others murdered Cutolo as
planned and disposed of his body in Farmingdale, New York.
30

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Like the Greaves and Dols murders, the evidence
establishes Saracino’s involvement in the Cutolo murder by at
least a preponderance of the evidence, including, among other
evidence, the testimony of Calabro and Competiello, who
participated directly in the Cutolo murder; the testimony of
Sebastian Saracino regarding admissions made by Saracino;
recordings containing admissions of coconspirator Vincent Manzo;
telephone records; autopsy evidence; and testimony regarding the
recovery of Cutolo’s body on October 6, 2008 in the very location
where Competiello told the FBI he and the others buried Cutolo.
a. Evidence of Cutolo’s Murder
Calabro and Salvatore Vitale, who at the time of
Cutolo’s murder was the underboss of the Bonanno organized crime
family, testified that when Cutolo was killed, Cutolo was the
underboss of the Colombo crime family. (T. 316 (Vitale’s
testimony); 1205 (Calabro’s testimony)). As Calabro testified,
the acting boss at the time, Alphonse Persico, and administration
member John DeRoss believed that Cutolo had become too powerful
and were concerned that he would take over the crime family.
(T. 1206-07). Calabro explained that prior to the murder, at
Gioeli’s request, he met with Gioeli in the garden behind Our
Lady of Lourdes church in Massapequa, New York. (T. 1196-97).
There, as Calabro testified, Gioeli told him that “he had just
left Pooch [a reference to Persico] and Betty Boop [a reference
to DeRoss] and he was to go here [while Gioeli gestured a sign
31

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for murder] with this guy [while Gioeli gestured a reference to
Cutolo].” (Id.) Calabro understood that Gioeli was telling him
that Persico and DeRoss wanted to murder Cutolo and was enlisting
Calabro’s assistance. Calabro readily agreed.
Calabro testified that initially, they planned to have
Vincent “Chickie” DeMartino assist in the murder. Thereafter,
however, Gioeli and Calabro met with Persico at a Nissan
dealership in Hempstead, New York, where they requested and
received permission from Persico to have Gioeli’s crew, namely,
Calabro, Saracino and Competiello, carry out the murder without
DeMartino. (T. 1215-16).
Joseph Gorga, Cutolo’s mechanic, testified that on May
26, 1999, at Cutolo’s request, Gorga drove Cutolo to 92nd Street
and Shore Road in Brooklyn, New York. (T. 1926). Calabro and
Competiello testified about what happened once Gorga dropped
Cutolo off in Brooklyn. Calabro explained that Gioeli drove
Cutolo to the vicinity of Saracino’s basement apartment.
(T. 1195). Calabro and Competiello testified that when Cutolo
arrived, Calabro walked him into the apartment and then shot
Cutolo with .38 caliber revolver. (T. 1221 (Calabro’s
testimony), 1233 (Calabro’s testimony), 2185 (Competiello’s
testimony)). They also testified that Competiello and Saracino,
who were armed with firearms, were hiding in the apartment to
assist if needed. (T. 1219-20, 2182).
32

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Their testimony was further corroborated by Saracino’s
own admissions to Sebastian Saracino, which he made while
discussing renovations their home, where both Cutolo and Greaves
were killed. Specifically, Sebastian Saracino testified:
Q: Explain exactly what your brother said
to you about Wild Bill’s murder.
A: That Tommy dropped him off and Zeke
[Calabro] walked him in and blasted him,
and that Joe Caves was in the bathroom,
and he was behind the door of the
basement.
Q: Who was behind the door?
A: My brother Dino. So he was having his
apartment renovated upstairs and he was
worried about the door. So I said, if
you are worried, then just have the door
changed. Have the kid [who was
performing renovations] change it.
(T. 4367). Sebastian Saracino then identified in a photograph
the metal door that Saracino used to replace the wooden louvered
door that was present when Cutolo was killed. (T. 4368).
Competiello and Calabro also testified about the events
following Cutolo’s murder. According to the two witnesses,
Competiello and Saracino cleaned up Cutolo’s body and the area
surrounding where he was shot. (T. 1222 (Calabro’s testimony),
2186 (Competiello’s testimony)). Among other items, Competiello
and Saracino removed $10,000 in cash from Cutolo’s person, which
33

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they split.9 (T. 1223-24 (Calabro’s testimony), 2186 (Competiello’s testimony)). The remaining personal items recovered from Cutolo’s body were placed inside a bucket, which was then filled with cement and discarded from a Brooklyn pier. (T. 1223-24 (Calabro’s testimony), 2192 (Competiello’s testimony)). Gioeli and Saracino, together with Calabro, Competiello and Colombo crime family member Vincent Manzo, among others, transported Cutolo’s body to Farmingdale, New York, where Calabro, Competiello and Saracino buried Cutolo. (T. 1225-30 (Calabro’s testimony)).
Calabro and Competiello’s testimony was directly
corroborated by, inter alia, admissions by Vincent Manzo to
cooperating witness Reynold Maragni in November and December
2011. On November 18, 2011, Manzo told Maragni that four people
could implicate Manzo in the Cutolo murder: Calabro, Saracino,
Competiello and Gioeli. (See generally GX 502T(a)).
Specifically, Manzo said: “The only ones that really knew I had
anything to do with that are me, Joey Caves and the other guy
Dino. The two Dinos [Calabro and Saracino], Joey Caves
[Competiello], and Tommy [Gioeli].” (GX 502T(a) at 1). On
9
Competiello’s testimony regarding the cash was also
corroborated by a record showing that on June 11, 1999 – just two
weeks after Cutolo’s murder – Competiello purchased a 1997 silver
Grand Marquis. (GX 365). Although Competiello does not remember
what he used his share of the $10,000 to buy, he testified that
he used the proceeds of crimes he committed to buy, among other
things, cars. (T. 2193).
34

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December 8, 2011, Manzo explained again what transpired on the
night that he participated in the disposal of Cutolo’s body:
MARAGNI: Most likely it was Dino’s house,
but you went to a house in the
driveway. Then what’s you do? You
popped?
MANZO: Popped the trunk
MARAGNI: [UI]
MANZO: Threw him in. Followed them out.
And that’s the way it was.
MARAGNI: Okay.
MANZO: And I was alone.
MARAGNI: You were alone when you drove from
Long Island. Went to the bowling
alley. Where? Out in Amityville?
MANZO: Yeah, where he lives.
MARAGNI: Oh, okay. Alright.
MANZO: Wasn’t too far from where he lives.
MARAGNI: Exactly. What the fuck were they
thinking? Then Tommy got with you?
MANZO: Right. He showed me where the hole
was. ‘Cause I didn’t know where to
go there.
MARAGNI: So he showed you where to go.
Okay. You got there, they took him
out.
MANZO: Right.
MARAGNI: They took him out. Tommy got back
in your car?
MANZO: Tommy got in my car.
MARAGNI: Back to the bowling alley.
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MANZO: Tommy didn’t even get out of the
car.
MARAGNI: He stayed in the car the whole
time.
MANZO: Right.
MARAGNI: Okay, you took him back to the
bowling alley.
MANZO: Right.
MARAGNI: He got out. They got in.
MANZO: Right. He says, “Go ahead. Take a
while.”
MARAGNI: Okay, Big Dino and Joey Caves.
MANZO: Right.
MARAGNI: Little Dino stayed with him.
MANZO: Right.
(GX 502T(c) at 5-7). Finally, Competiello and Calabro’s
testimony, along with Manzo’s admissions to Maragni, were further
corroborated by the recovery of Cutolo’s body in a wooded area in
Farmingdale on October 6, 2008, in the very location where
Competiello told the FBI he and the others buried Cutolo. (T. 65
(testimony of Special Agent Katherine Kelley with the Evidence
Recovery Team); 3651 (testimony of Special Agent Curtis)).
Calabro and Competiello’s testimony was corroborated by
ballistics evidence and a medical examiner’s testimony. For
example, the medical examiner testified that, as Calabro and
Competiello testified, the cause of Cutolo’s death was determined
to be homicide and the bullet recovered from Cutolo’s head was a
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.38 caliber bullet. (T. 150; GX 224; T. 1233 (Calabro’s
testimony that he used a .38 caliber revolver to murder Cutolo),
2185 (Competiello’s testimony that Calabro used a .38 caliber gun
to murder Cutolo)).
Finally, Calabro and Competiello’s testimony was
corroborated by telephone records. First, the records reveal
that Persico and a telephone number listed for “Tommy G”
(presumably Tommy Gioeli) in Cutolo’s organizer, 917-947-7566,
were in frequent communication in the days leading up to Cutolo’s
murder. For example, right before the murder on May 20, 24 and
25, 1999, Persico contacted Gioeli multiple times. At 6:30 p.m.
on May 26, 1999, there was another call between Persico and
Gioeli, presumably to confirm that Cutolo had been killed
according to the plan. Second, telephone records for a cellular
telephone used by Cutolo revealed that the last three outgoing
telephone calls placed from Cutolo’s telephone were:
Date Time
5/26 1:16 p.m.
5/27 3:21 p.m.
5/27 3:26 p.m.
Dialed Number
718-763-5500
718-763-5500
917-947-7566
Duration
4 minutes
1 minute
1 minute
As the government argued at trial, the first call on May 27,
1999, the day after Cutolo was last seen, was inadvertent, i.e.,
Calabro, Competiello and/or Saracino accidentally pressed redial
on Cutolo’s cellular telephone, which they had taken from his
person, and called the number last called by Cutolo (prior to his
murder). The second call on May 27, 1999, was a call from the
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coconspirators to Gioeli as they were getting rid of Cutolo’s
belongings, dumping them in the ocean.
In light of the above and all the evidence adduced at
trial, Saracino’s participation in the Cutolo murder was proven
by at least a preponderance of the evidence.
b. Saracino’s Defenses to the Cutolo Murder
Faced with such overwhelming evidence, Saracino argued
at trial that the government’s witnesses – Calabro, Competiello
and Sebastian Saracino – as well as Manzo, who did not know he
was being recorded, were all lying when they implicated Saracino
in the Cutolo murder. As he did with the Greaves murder,
Saracino argued extensively about witnesses’ faulty memories
regarding who drove in what car to bury Cutolo. But as explained
above, any inconsistences are easily attributable to the amount
of time that has passed since the murder and the number of
similar murders in which Saracino and the others participated.
Due to these significant weaknesses, Saracino’s
defenses should be rejected and his participation in the Cutolo
murder should be found proven by at least a preponderance of the
evidence.


a. Nature and Circumstances of the Offenses
As detailed above and in the PSR and as set forth more
fully during Saracino’s trial, Saracino committed heinous crimes
as part of his abiding criminal commitment to the Colombo crime
family over the course of nearly two decades: murder, murder
conspiracy, robbery, extortion, loansharking, assault and many
other crimes. The disturbing nature of his conduct cannot be
overstated. Saracino shot Greaves and Dols to death, and
participated in the murder of Cutolo. He also helped to dispose
of the bodies of Gargano, Greaves and Cutolo in a remote wooded
area in Long Island, depriving them of the dignity of a burial,
and their families of the closure a burial can provide. Saracino
plotted murder to please superiors in the crime family, to
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establish and advance his position within the Colombo crime
family and to seek personal vengeance. He stole money and then
used that money to establish a lucrative loansharking business
enforced by violence. When law enforcement closed in on his
criminal activities, he obstructed justice.
Given the breathtaking nature of Saracino’s crimes and
the defendant’s supervisory role in the racketeering enterprise,
the nature and characteristics of the offenses weigh heavily in
favor of imposing a sentence that incarcerates him for life.
b. History and Characteristics of the Defendant
Saracino’s history and characteristics also strongly
weigh in favor of the imposition of the maximum sentence
permitted by law.
i. Saracino’s Dedication to the Goals of
the Colombo Crime Family
Saracino’s unwavering loyalty to the Colombo crime
family and its goals was perhaps best demonstrated through his
eager participation in the Greaves, Dols and Cutolo murders.
When Gioeli’s crew decided that Greaves had to be killed,
Saracino fatally shot Greaves in the head as he sat at the
kitchen table in Saracino’s basement. Saracino and the others
then took the body of their friend and criminal associate and
buried it in a secluded area near Gioeli’s home. When he learned
of the order to kill Dols, a man he did not know, Saracino
assisted in stealing a car, procuring guns from his family’s
45

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property at 475 Avenue Y in Brooklyn and conducted surveillance
of his target. Saracino then fatally shot Officer Dols in a hail
of bullets in front of his home as Dols tried to exit his car.
Not long afterwards, when Saracino received the next order to
kill, he armed himself with a gun and waited in the basement of
his parents’ home, ready to shoot if called upon, for Cutolo to
arrive. At the conclusion of this murder spree, when they had
earned induction into the Colombo crime family, Saracino bragged
to Competiello that he had one more “notch” than Competiello and
ran his hand through his hair, a reference to Joel Cacace, who
had ordered the murder of Officer Dols.
Saracino also profited from his participation in the
crime family. In 1995, Saracino earned tens of thousands of
dollars with his share of the approximately $200,000 in proceeds
from the robbery of Chemical Bank on Hempstead Turnpike in East
Meadow, New York. He also participated in a score of burglaries
of banks and other commercial establishments and thefts from
trucks. (PSR ¶¶ 92-95).
Through these crimes and more, Saracino earned a
reputation as a lethal mob soldier. He is a murderer,
extortionist, drug dealer, loanshark, thief and obstructionist.
He spent his twenties putting “notches” on his belt by taking
life by his own hand. Such craven behavior brought him respect
and power in the Colombo crime family; by the 2000s, Saracino was
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a soldier with close bonds to the family’s street boss Gioeli and
Gioeli’s confident, captain Dino Calabro.
Significantly, Saracino traded on his reputation and
the reputation of Gioeli’s crew for murder and other acts of
violence to launch and maintain a lucrative loansharking
business. Sebastian Saracino testified that at the time of
Saracino’s arrest in June 2008, Saracino had more than $500,000
in outstanding loanshark loans owed to him. (T. 4352). Calabro
similarly testified that Saracino had lent out “hundreds of
thousands of dollars.” (T. 1056). Gordon testified Saracino had
extended numerous loanshark loans between the mid-1990s and 2007
and as of 2008, Gordon alone owed Saracino $120,000 in
outstanding loanshark loans. (T. 2974-75).
Saracino’s commitment to crime and the Colombo crime
family continued even after his June 2008 arrest. First, he made
efforts to maintain his loansharking operation while he was
incarcerated. For example, prior to his arrest, he made sure
Gordon and his brother Sebastian Saracino had access to the list
of individuals who owed money to him. (T. 3013, 4351). Saracino
wanted to ensure that they would continue to collect payments
from the loanshark customers he extorted. On the day of
Saracino’s arrest, the FBI recovered a leather folder from a car
belonging to Saracino’s wife containing a calculator and a ledger
pad with names and numbers, which corresponded to loanshark
amounts owed to Saracino. (T. 2599-2601; see T. 3012-14 (Gordon
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testifying that Saracino’s “book” or “leather binder” had the
“information of all his [loanshark] customers; what they paid,
how much they owed”); GX 342 (ledger recovered on June 23, 2008),
501(I) (excerpt of a consensual recording between April Saracino
and Gordon on June 23, 2008 in which April states “I think I have
the book in my truck.”)).
In addition, Saracino’s post-arrest efforts were
revealed on several consensual recordings made by Thomas
McLaughlin after Saracino’s arrest. Anthony Russo, then a
Colombo crime family acting captain, associate Larry Sessa and
McLaughlin discussed Saracino’s attempts from jail to collect
Saracino’s outstanding loansharking proceeds. For example, on a
consensual recording made on September 21, 2010, Anthony Russo
told McLaughlin that Russo had received a message from Saracino
regarding the outstanding loans owed to Saracino and that Sessa
had given one of the debtors a “massive beating.” An excerpt of
a draft transcript of the recording follows:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
First of all, I gotta message
straight from the horse’s
mouth. . . . Dino’s [Dino
Saracino] wife [April
Saracino] wanted to know who
is AR [Anthony Russo’s
initials].
Who is that?
[Sarcastically] I don’t know.
Who’s AR?
AR? Oh you. 48

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Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 50 of 59 PageID #: 13629
RUSSO:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
Okay. And he said, “I got a
message from my husband [Dino
Saracino] for you to go see AR
and tell him I don’t want no
one going to see my wife
[April Saracino] with any kind
of monies.”
***
That’s another thing. That’s
another thing. I gotta list
[of individuals who owed money
to Dino Saracino].
***
Yeah, Fatso [a nickname for
Sessa] must have been keeping
it quiet so he can run around
and fuck
No, he’s been telling me
everything since day one. He
came to me when he first got
the list. Said, What do we do
with this list? I said, Stop
being so concerned about this
poor kid right now because
what are you gonna do, get in
trouble for this kid.
Listen to me, he ain’t running
around for nothing.
No, of course not. Whatever
he’s doing, he’s doing.
There’s this one kid I told
him that we need to find, that
he needs to find that owes a
lot of money.
First of all, why’s this kid
Buzz [UI] for it.
He was gonna bring the money.
How much is it?
49

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MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
It’s $200 a month.
How much does he owe?
I don’t even know.
15,000?
No, I think it was like
12,000.
And he wants to give him 200 a
month? It just went up to
500.
(A copy of excerpts of the recording is enclosed on Exhibit B in
a file named “message from Dino.wav”). This conversation about
Saracino’s post-incarceration efforts to collect loanshark money
is further corroborated by Gordon’s recordings of Saracino’s
wife, who had been enlisted by Saracino to assist in Saracino’s
loansharking business (see T. 2976; GX 501(I)), as well as
records of the Metropolitan Detention Center (“MDC”) that reveal
that Sessa, using an alias, was depositing money into Saracino’s
account.
Saracino also continued to show his loyalty to the
Colombo crime family. For example, he assaulted a fellow inmate
simply because the inmate had disrespected Gioeli, a superior in
the Colombo crime family. On September 30, 2010, April Saracino
told McLaughlin and Anthony Russo that she had spent three hours
that day with Saracino, who was then incarcerated in the Special
Housing Unit (“SHU”). She explained the reason for Saracino’s
placement in the SHU:
50

Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 52 of 59 PageID #: 13631
MCLAUGHLIN:
A SARACINO:
RUSSO:
A SARACINO:
MDC records confirm that Saracino was sanctioned for a fight at
the MDC on September 26, 2010, four days before April Saracino
met with McLaughlin and Russo. (PSR ¶ 513).
ii. Saracino’s Other Characteristics
As a young man, Saracino made a deliberate choice to
affiliate himself with organized crime. Unlike many defendants
who appear before the Court, Saracino had ample opportunities to
live a productive and law-abiding life. He was raised by two
hardworking and loving parents and enjoyed close relationships
with his older and younger brothers. (E.g., PSR ¶ 507
(describing Saracino’s father as “hard-working man who stressed
education and respect”)). Saracino’s parents raised him and his
brothers in a middle-class lifestyle and by all counts, rejected
the means and methods of the mafia. (Id.) Yet, the defendant at
an early age dropped out of school and elected to devote his life
to the mob, following his cousin, Dino Calabro, and the man to
whom Calabro reported, Gioeli, into its violent lifestyle.
Notwithstanding the example set by his parents, the
defendant chose a far easier and more lucrative pursuit: earning
money through crime under the auspices of the Colombo crime
51
What’s the investigation for?
Someone was abusing Tommy
[Gioeli] and he, he went -
Went to work on them?
Yeah. I think [UI] fight.

Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 53 of 59 PageID #: 13632
family. In fact, Saracino was such a successful criminal that he
was able to live a comfortable life and support several children
(see PSR ¶¶ 509-10), without working an honest day in his life.
(See PSR ¶ 521). Nor has Saracino paid a dime in taxes on the
hundreds of thousands of dollars he has earned in illegal
proceeds. (See PSR ¶ 522). Instead, he preyed upon civil
society as a member of a pernicious gang. Without any employment
commitments, Saracino has been able to stay out late at night,
socialize with other mafia members at gambling and social clubs
affiliated with the mob, and be catered to by loyal associates
like Gordon who drove him around. Saracino also had ample time
to spend with his wife and also his girlfriend with whom he
fathered a child.
Moreover, Saracino has remained defiant and unrepentant
to the end. When the government’s investigation drew close to
him and the Gioeli crew, he tampered with grand jury witnesses
and obstructed the investigation. Saracino bragged to Gordon
that the government could not “break the wall of silence,”
referring to him and the other members of Gioeli’s crew.
Saracino told Gordon, in a statement corroborating Gordon’s
position as a trusted part of Saracino’s inner circle, “we didn’t
allow too many people in our lives; we really didn’t.” (A copy
of excerpts of a consensual recording dated May 6, 2008 are
enclosed on Exhibit B in a file named “Wall of silence.wav”, and
a draft transcript of those excerpts is enclosed as Exhibit E.)
52

Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 54 of 59 PageID #: 13633
Further, he relished serving prison time almost as a badge of
honor. Saracino suggested to Gordon in a recorded conversation
on May 7, 2008 that he might have to serve 17 years in jail. He
said, “I’ll take it fucking with a smile.” (A copy of excerpts
of a consensual recording dated May 7, 2008 are enclosed on
Exhibit B in a file named “17 years.wav”, and a draft transcript
of those excerpts is enclosed as Exhibit F.)
The time has come for Saracino to be held accountable
for his horrific crimes. Any sentence less than one that results
in life incarceration would undermine the gravity of the
defendant’s choices and send a message to others that they too
can succeed through this violent life style.
In light of the above, Saracino’s history and personal
characteristics support the imposition of the maximum possible
sentence under the law, one that effectively incarcerates him for
life.

Goes into the Millions he made over the course of 2 decades running w/ the Colombo Family in the 90s and 2000s.........

Saracino also profited from his participation in the
crime family. In 1995, Saracino earned tens of thousands of
dollars with his share of the approximately $200,000 in proceeds
from the robbery of Chemical Bank on Hempstead Turnpike in East
Meadow, New York. He also participated in a score of burglaries
of banks and other commercial establishments and thefts from
trucks. (PSR ¶¶ 92-95).
Through these crimes and more, Saracino earned a
reputation as a lethal mob soldier. He is a murderer,
extortionist, drug dealer, loanshark, thief and obstructionist.
He spent his twenties putting “notches” on his belt by taking
life by his own hand. Such craven behavior brought him respect
and power in the Colombo crime family; by the 2000s, Saracino was
46

Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 48 of 59 PageID #: 13627
a soldier with close bonds to the family’s street boss Gioeli and
Gioeli’s confident, captain Dino Calabro.
Significantly, Saracino traded on his reputation and
the reputation of Gioeli’s crew for murder and other acts of
violence to launch and maintain a lucrative loansharking
business. Sebastian Saracino testified that at the time of
Saracino’s arrest in June 2008, Saracino had more than $500,000
in outstanding loanshark loans owed to him. (T. 4352). Calabro
similarly testified that Saracino had lent out “hundreds of
thousands of dollars.” (T. 1056). Gordon testified Saracino had
extended numerous loanshark loans between the mid-1990s and 2007
and as of 2008, Gordon alone owed Saracino $120,000 in
outstanding loanshark loans. (T. 2974-75).
Saracino’s commitment to crime and the Colombo crime
family continued even after his June 2008 arrest. First, he made
efforts to maintain his loansharking operation while he was
incarcerated. For example, prior to his arrest, he made sure
Gordon and his brother Sebastian Saracino had access to the list
of individuals who owed money to him. (T. 3013, 4351). Saracino
wanted to ensure that they would continue to collect payments
from the loanshark customers he extorted. On the day of
Saracino’s arrest, the FBI recovered a leather folder from a car
belonging to Saracino’s wife containing a calculator and a ledger
pad with names and numbers, which corresponded to loanshark
amounts owed to Saracino. (T. 2599-2601; see T. 3012-14 (Gordon
47

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testifying that Saracino’s “book” or “leather binder” had the
“information of all his [loanshark] customers; what they paid,
how much they owed”); GX 342 (ledger recovered on June 23, 2008),
501(I) (excerpt of a consensual recording between April Saracino
and Gordon on June 23, 2008 in which April states “I think I have
the book in my truck.”)).
In addition, Saracino’s post-arrest efforts were
revealed on several consensual recordings made by Thomas
McLaughlin after Saracino’s arrest. Anthony Russo, then a
Colombo crime family acting captain, associate Larry Sessa and
McLaughlin discussed Saracino’s attempts from jail to collect
Saracino’s outstanding loansharking proceeds. For example, on a
consensual recording made on September 21, 2010, Anthony Russo
told McLaughlin that Russo had received a message from Saracino
regarding the outstanding loans owed to Saracino and that Sessa
had given one of the debtors a “massive beating.” An excerpt of
a draft transcript of the recording follows:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
First of all, I gotta message
straight from the horse’s
mouth. . . . Dino’s [Dino
Saracino] wife [April
Saracino] wanted to know who
is AR [Anthony Russo’s
initials].
Who is that?
[Sarcastically] I don’t know.
Who’s AR?
AR? Oh you. 48

Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC
Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 50 of 59 PageID #: 13629
RUSSO:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
Okay. And he said, “I got a
message from my husband [Dino
Saracino] for you to go see AR
and tell him I don’t want no
one going to see my wife
[April Saracino] with any kind
of monies.”
***
That’s another thing. That’s
another thing. I gotta list
[of individuals who owed money
to Dino Saracino].
***
Yeah, Fatso [a nickname for
Sessa] must have been keeping
it quiet so he can run around
and fuck
No, he’s been telling me
everything since day one. He
came to me when he first got
the list. Said, What do we do
with this list? I said, Stop
being so concerned about this
poor kid right now because
what are you gonna do, get in
trouble for this kid.
Listen to me, he ain’t running
around for nothing.
No, of course not. Whatever
he’s doing, he’s doing.
There’s this one kid I told
him that we need to find, that
he needs to find that owes a
lot of money.
First of all, why’s this kid
Buzz [UI] for it.
He was gonna bring the money.
How much is it?
49

Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 51 of 59 PageID #: 13630
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
MCLAUGHLIN:
RUSSO:
It’s $200 a month.
How much does he owe?
I don’t even know.
15,000?
No, I think it was like
12,000.
And he wants to give him 200 a
month? It just went up to
500.
(A copy of excerpts of the recording is enclosed on Exhibit B in
a file named “message from Dino.wav”). This conversation about
Saracino’s post-incarceration efforts to collect loanshark money
is further corroborated by Gordon’s recordings of Saracino’s
wife, who had been enlisted by Saracino to assist in Saracino’s
loansharking business (see T. 2976; GX 501(I)), as well as
records of the Metropolitan Detention Center (“MDC”) that reveal
that Sessa, using an alias, was depositing money into Saracino’s
account.

I wonder what Dino did to piss off his brother so much.

Also, does anyone have info on the murder of his brother, Frankie Dimes? I heard he was killed and his body burned, but that's it.

His brother didn’t wanna do 50 years that’s why he ratted on him...

Michael Burnside murdered Frankie Saracino....

The way I read it, Sebby got picked up on a false document/immigration issue, agreed to cooperate, and then was facing 50 years because he admitted to murder conspiracies. But I could be wrong.

Thanks for the update on Frank's murder.

What happened to Dino was a tragedy. If he lives, he comes home in 2050. It's like someone wrote to the judge

I just cant imagine killing a guy with 3 or 4 other guys around. Thats crazy. Too many potential witness’. Not only do you lose sleep worrying if someone decides to copperate, the other guys also lose sleep wondering if they would be killed because they were there.. lose lose all around.
The best way, if there is one, is if your capo orders a murder, just say it will be taken care of and then have someone do it or u do it yourself.

I wouldn’t put anything past them...it’s possible they wrote to the judge and sent this innocent man away for decades...once a snitch always a snitch

Vicious crew. Crazy Gioeli allegedly robs a convenience store and gives it to Calabro as a wedding gift.

What do you mean by “someone wrote to the judge” ?

Thanks

These guys all grew up together from when they were young teenagers, jr high school 13,14 years old, looking up to local wise guys like they were movie stars.

In the 90's LCN guys were still killing other LCN guys and for the most part getting away with it.

Obviously you would never think your brother or cousin would RAT on you.

The most baffling part of this whole case is what the hell they had on Gordon, he was low level, I would be very surprised if he was facing more than 5 years on a plea deal.

To think he would wear a wire and give up his best friends for a small amount of time like that is crazy, he has brothers in the neighborhood as well.

I would imagine he is in Arizona, somewhere all by his self with no friends and family around him having to live with what he did and probably isn't in a good place mentally.

Dino will be in his 70's when he comes home he has a shot at least.

The last I heard he is doing ok, he was always tuff as nails.

Witness says wiseguy Dino Saracino schemed to shake down dying cancer victim

By JOHN MARZULLI
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
APR 11, 2012 AT 9:26 PM

A sicko Colombo gangster proposed shaking down the family of a young leukemia victim in exchange for life-saving bone marrow, a government witness testified Wednesday.
The scheme was revealed during the cross-examination of mob associate David Gordon in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Defense lawyer Sam Braverman accused the turncoat of hatching a plan to extort $20,000 from cancer patient Jonathan Nigro after learning his bone marrow was a match for transplant.
A visibly upset Gordon shot back that his mob superior, Dino (Little Dino) Saracino, concocted the scheme. Saracino, a reputed soldier in the crime family, is on trial for three gangland murders.
"I donated blood and they notified me that I was a match," Gordon, a former mortician, told the jury.
"Upon telling Dino Saracino I was a match, he told me that I should hold out and request money. It would be foolish to donate (bone marrow) without getting money."
Gordon claimed that he went for a follow-up medical test and learned that Nigro's condition had worsened and he was too ill for a transplant.
"I don't think I ever asked the (transplant) coordinator for money," Gordon insisted. "I didn't embarrass myself and ask the coordinator for money to save someone's life. That's pretty s-----."
Nigro died in 2000 at the age of 26
"I lost a beautiful son, and it's a shame they had to bring my poor son's name up," Ella Nigro told the Daily News.
She called Gordon's claim of being a bone marrow match "preposterous," pointing out that more than 1,000 people were tested and entered into a bone marrow registry, but no match for Jonathan was found.
"I would have sold my soul to save my son's life," she said, "but it never got to that point."
Gordon secretly recorded incriminating conversations with Saracino and claimed that the gangster admitted committing a murder in the basement of his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, home, which he called "The Dungeon."
Saracino's co-defendant, former Colombo street boss Thomas (Tommy Shots) Gioeli, is charged with six murders.

Dino will be in his 70’s. What kind of life is that though? What an aweful existance for all involved. There is no honor among thieves.

I am really surprised to hear that about Dino, he wasn't that type of guy.
David Gordon maybe but not Dino,

I remember Jonathan NiGro what a sad story we were all stupid kids just hanging out
we thought we knew everything

A couple of years went by and I lost touch with him and I remember seeing his picture on a flier asking for people to get tested to see if anyone was a match.

I don't think anyone who knows Dino, would believe that story just because its in the news doesn't mean its true.

If you read into the article its Dino's lawyer asking Gordan, if he did that and Gordan, saying Dino, told me to do that.

I agree with you Lenox, however, I know guys that took plea deals for murders and their thought process was that they were actually lucky to have a date to come home.

And them saying atleast I have a date other guys did less and they are doing LIFE.

I mean at days end he did kill a bunch of people.

At the same time he did also get royally fuct, he was found NOT GUILTY of the murder charges.

The conspiracy charge he was convicted on was for trying to avenge his brothers death which had nothing to do with LCN.

His boss who was a capo and then street boos of the family ended up with more time then he did.

His brother, his older cousin who was his capo and his best friend walked and stuck him holding the bag.

I think everyone would agree this wasn't a HAPPY ENDING.

DIno Saracino was hazelton USP for a good time,,,,thats fuck up prison lock with dc black ,,, skinheads,,, and colombian cartel, thas where they bulger he must have a HARD time with a lockdown due to bulger murder, than cov,,,,,,, now hes ny prison

I have not spoken to any mutual friends in a while to get an update as to how he is holding up
I am sure he is doing fine, he was never a push over and always held his own,

The kid from the south your from P.A.?

I read the cousins Dino “Big Dino” Calabro and Dino “Little Dino” Saracino were both born in Sicily.

No i'm from the 305 dade county MIA ..i was in Hazelton USP it's a tuff to do time but before dino si no ibdont know him..

Big Dino was born on the other side
Sebby was as well

Lil Dino and Frankie were born here I believe

NO SIR I GREW UP IN MIA DID 10 YERAS IN USP HAZELTON NEVER MEET HIM I EFT IN 14