Federal prosecutors on Wednesday claimed Vincent Artuso's participation in the 1985 assassination of Gambino crime boss Paul Castellano was one reason the alleged mobster should be kept off the street following his indictment last week on racketeering and money laundering charges.

At times Artuso, 63, who lives in an oceanfront condo on Palm Beach, smiled and laughed as prosecutors sought to keep him behind bars until his trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Brian McCormick argued that Artuso was dangerous, a flight risk and could seek to intimidate witnesses in the case.

McCormick also said Artuso was one of four gunmen selected in 1985 by John Gotti to hit then Gambino boss Paul Castellano outside a Manhattan steak house so the ambitious Gotti could take over the crime family.




"He was at the scene participating in the actual murder," said McCormick, but he said prosecutors never had enough evidence to charge Artuso.

Artuso and five other defendants face a 42-count indictment unsealed last week alleging he supervised a South Florida organization involved in various fraud and money-laundering schemes. His attorney, Michael Tein, has denied the allegations and said his client is innocent.

McCormick outlined some of the evidence in the prosecution case for U.S. Magistrate Linnea Johnson, saying Artuso has been an active member of the Gambino crime family for decades and that he directed the South Florida frauds.

Some of the charges involve a Deerfield Beach-based telemarketing firm - Atlantic Magazine Service - that allegedly sold fraudulent magazine subscriptions nationwide. At various times, the marketing firm also was based in Delray Beach and Pompano Beach.

The men allegedly set up another scheme involving the sale and lease of four buildings in Broward and Palm Beach counties, Illinois and Pennsylvania that defrauded ADT Security Services Inc. of Boca Raton of at least $7 million over five years, the indictment says.

Johnson said she was mindful of the allegations that Artuso is a member of organized crime and that he served federal time in the 1980s for drug distribution and parole violations, but she determined that Artuso is entitled to bail.

"I don't find the evidence overwhelming to this defendant," Johnson said, noting the defendants have been aware of the investigation for about two years and had not fled.

Johnson set Artuso's bail at $225,000 and ordered him to report to probation officials in person twice a week, wear an electronic monitoring device and surrender his passport.

She also set lesser bails for four other defendants - Artuso's son, John Vincent Artuso; Gregory Orr; Robert M. Gannon; and William L. Horton, a former ADT vice president. Attorneys for the men entered not guilty pleas Wednesday and said they would prove their clients' innocence at trial.

A sixth defendant, Philip E. Forgione, is in custody in Pennsylvania, where he also faces charges in two separate federal indictments.


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