Mob murder witness found dead in Vegas.(News)
Article from: The Boston Herald | August 22, 2003 | Richardson, Franci | Copyright

Byline: FRANCI RICHARDSON

As a judge is set to rule on whether two convicted mob killers will get a new trial, the state's key witness who helped put them behind bars was found dead of an overdose in a Las Vegas hotel room with $25,000 cash on him, sources have told the Herald.

The Middlesex District Attorney's Office said an audiotape of the initial testimony of witness Brian Porreca, 44, of Medford would be heard in court if Anthony Barry, 34, and Brian Cahill, 38, are granted a new trial in the 1999 gangland shooting of Kevin McCormack in Malden.

"In general, any testimony taken under oath in a first trial would ordinarily be admissable in a second trial," Middlesex spokesman Seth Horwitz said yesterday. …