Wannabe mobster hobbles with a cane but has no problem in a fight, prosecutors say
EXCLUSIVE: Richard Riccardi, who is awaiting sentencing in fatal shooting of James Donovan, has complained about 'unceasing' pain due to a hip tumor, but was caught on surveillance video moving without a cane and getting into an aggressive fight with another man.
BY JOHN MARZULLI NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, August 1, 2014, 2:30 AM A
JOE MARINO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Richard Riccardi may be a contender for the Vincent (The Chin) Gigante award.
The tale of the tape shows a fatso Mafia wannabe isn’t as sickly as he claims.
Heavyweight goon Richard Riccardi hobbles around with a cane due to a tumor on his hip which causes him “unceasing” pain, according to court papers — but a funny thing happened on the way to a jailhouse fight recently.
A video recording of the incident, which was captured by surveillance cameras at the Metropolitan Detention Center, shows Riccardi moving without a cane and fighting aggressively with another man, Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorneys Nicole Argentieri and Darren LaVerne stated in a sentencing memorandum.
The prosecutors argued that Riccardi’s alleged health issues are not so severe that they can’t be addressed by prison doctors, therefore he is not entitled to a lesser sentence for that reason.
His “unceasing” pain did not prevent him from violating prison rules by fighting with another inmate, they pointed out.
The prosecutors also sent a copy of the video depicting the fight and his miraculous movements to Judge John Gleeson, who will sentence Riccardi, 41, and co-defendant Luigi Grasso on Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Luigi Grasso (center) will be sentenced along with co-defendant Richard Riccardi. The two got into an altercation in jail while they await sentencing.
Riccardi was put in solitary confinement as punishment for the scrap, but as soon as he returned to general population, he got into another altercation, this time with Grasso.
It’s unclear what their beef was about, but both men are stewing over taking the fall for the 2010 fatal shooting of check casher James Donovan in Brooklyn.
The actual shooter — Bonanno associate Hector Pagan, ex-husband of “Mob Wives” star Renee Graziano — became a government cooperator and testified against them, earning himself a much-reduced sentence.
“There can be no doubt that Mr. Riccardi’s biggest mistake was agreeing to do this crime with a truly unrepentant, cold-blooded killer (Pagan),” defense lawyer Susan Kellman argued in her sentencing memo.
Kellman said her client’s medical maladies are definitely real. “They would never prescribe painkillers for him if they didn’t confirm the seriousness of the condition in his leg, his thigh and his hip,” she said.
The trio had targeted Donovan because they knew he carried a large wad of cash.
Riccardi’s wife Patricia, who is in the process of divorcing him, wrote a letter to the judge that describes him as an animal lover.
“Richard could never just drive by a homeless dog without trying to rescue it and either find their owners or a good home,” she wrote.
The convicted killers will have to face another video in the courtroom on judgement day.
Donovan’s family has prepared a moving tribute to his memory for Gleeson to watch before lowering the boom. They face up to 30 years to life.
Riccardi’s battling could make him a contender for the Vincent Gigante award, in honor of the late Genovese crime boss who nearly perfected his crazy act before admitting it was all fake.
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