Deal with the Devil
Page 58
Purchase of counterfeit credit cards
Plea bargain, $10,000 fine, five-year suspended sentence
19
August 31, 1992
Possession of a firearm
House arrest
20
August 1992
Homicide (three counts)
Guilty plea
December 1993
Sentenced to 10 years, $200,000 fine
June 8, 1994
Dies in prison of AIDS
Appendix D:
June 18, 1962, Airtel to J. Edgar Hoover Debriefing Gregory Scarpa Sr.
(Peter Lance)
Appendix E:
The “Girlfriend 302”
(Peter Lance)
Appendix F:
302 from Scarpa Jr.’s Sting of Ramzi Yousef
(Peter Lance)
Appendix G:
Ramzi Yousef’s “Kite” from the Scarpa Jr.–Yousef Sting
(Peter Lance)
Appendix H:
Judge Reichbach’s Decision and Order Dismissing the DeVecchio Case
(Peter Lance)
NOTES
EPIGRAPHS
1. FBI wiretap transcript, Wimpy Boys social club, tape 42, April 7, 1986; tape 52, April 18, 1986.
2. People v. R. Lindley DeVecchio, testimony of Larry Mazza, October 18, 2007; Alex Ginsberg, “Hit Man for Mob Lost Count of Corpses,” New York Post, October 19, 2007.
3. R. Lindley DeVecchio and Charles Brandt, We’re Going to Win This Thing: The Shocking Frame-up of a Mafia Crime Buster (New York: Berkley, 2011), 218.
4. Ibid., 119.
5. U.S. v. Victor M. Orena et al., testimony of Special Agent Chris Favo, transcript, 5209–10.
6. Kings County District Attorney, press release, March 30, 2006; transcript of press conference in which DA Hynes repeated that allegation; Michael Brick, “Ex-FBI Agent’s Murder Trial Fizzles, as Does Chief Witness,” New York Times, November 1, 2007.
7. Alex Ginsberg, “Up Yours: G-Man Sticks It to DA with Toast at Mob-Slay Site,” New York Post, November 2, 2007.
8. Gustin Reichbach, decision and order of dismissal, People v. R. Lindley DeVecchio, November 1, 2007, http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/reichbach.pdf.
INTRODUCTION
1. Selwyn Raab, “The Mobster Was a Mole for the FBI: Tangled Life of a Mafia Figure Who Died of AIDS Is Exposed,” New York Times, November 20, 1994.
2. Brad Hamilton, “My Life as a Colombo Hit Man,” New York Post, March 4, 2012.
3. Letter from Edward A. McDonald, attorney in charge, U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime Strike Force, EDNY, to Hon. I. Leo Glasser, July 22, 1986.
4. Memo: Debriefing of Robert “Rabbit” Stasio, May 16, 1996.
5. John Kroger, Convictions (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008), 133; U.S. v. Gregory Scarpa Jr., Second Circuit Court of Appeals, 897 F2d 63, February 23, 1990.
6. Memo from special agent in charge, FBI New York Office, to director, FBI, January 20, 1966.
7. Memo from special agent in charge, FBI New York Office, to director, FBI, November 21, 1961.
8. Anthony Villano with Gerald Astor, Brick Agent: Inside the Mafia for the FBI (New York: Quadrangle, 1977), 97.
9. Richard Stratton, “The Grim Reaper’s Girlfriend,”Penthouse, August 1, 1996.
10. U.S. v. Victor Orena, testimony of Joseph Ambrosino, transcript, 975–76.
11. Joseph Gambardello and Patricia Hurtado, “Black Eye for the FBI: 7 Acquitted in Mob Case,”Newsday, July 1, 1995.
12. Alex Ginsberg, “‘95 Words May Save ‘Mob’ Fed,” New York Post, February 12, 2007.
13. Brad Hamilton, “Mafia Daughter Says Dad Was Grim Reaper,” New York Post, May 27, 2012.
14. Gregory Scarpa v. Victory Memorial Hospital, deposition transcript, March 1, 1988, 5–7.
15. Gregory Scarpa Jr. v. U.S., 2255, petition, sworn affidavit of Connie Scarpa, May 15, 2002.
16. Author’s interview with Linda Schiro, November 3, 2007. N.B. Throughout the book, Scarpa Sr.’s relationship with Linda Schiro is described as “common law.” While strictly speaking, that legal definition does not exist in the state of New York, it is included because Scarpa Sr. repeatedly referred to Ms. Schiro as his “wife” and she referred to him as her “husband.”
17. “Hadassah Events Fete Miss Israel,” Long Beach Press Telegram, August 1, 1960.
18. Gregory Scarpa and Lili Dajani, marriage certificate, state of Nevada, February 2, 1975. See Appendix B.
19. Jerry Capeci, “Ex-FBI Agent Is Probed in Murder of a Doctor,” New York Sun, April 27, 2006.
20. People v. R. Lindley DeVecchio, October 19, 2007, transcript, 714–40.
21. Jerry Capeci, “10-Yr Prison Term for Mob Turncoat,” New York Daily News, August 10, 1998.
22. Greg B. Smith and Jerry Capeci, “Mob, Mole & Murder,” New York Daily News, October 31, 1994.
23. Jerry Capeci, “No Tipping the Capo to Legendary Mobster,” New York Daily News, June 14, 1994.
24. Alex Ginsberg, “Hit Man Lost Count on Corpses,” New York Post, October 19, 2007.
25. People v. R. Lindley DeVecchio, testimony of Larry Mazza, October 18, 2007, transcript, 714.
26. Author’s interview with Little Linda Schiro, December 3, 2011.
27. Hamilton, “Mafia Daughter Says.”
28. Ibid.
29. Lee A. Daniels, “Brooklyn Slaying Tied to Mob Feud,” New York Times, December 8, 1991.
30. George James, “Killing in Brooklyn Social Club Is Linked to Mob Power Struggle,” New York Times, December 6, 1991.
31. Author’s interview with Larry Mazza, January 8, 2013.
32. Lee A. Daniels, “Brooklyn Slaying May Be 6th in Mob Families’ 2-Month Feud,” New York Times, January 8, 1992.
33. Special Agent Howard Leadbetter II, FBI 302 memo on confession of William Meli, January 21, 1994, 1–2; Jerry Capeci, “Mob’s Man Saved by the Cell,” New York Daily News, June 14, 1995.
34. Raab, “The Mobster Was a Mole for the FBI.”
35. Capeci, “No Tipping the Capo to Legendary Mobster.”
36. Joseph Randazzo, a twenty-one-year-old associate of Scarpa’s son Joey, died after being struck by one of sixteen bullets fired in the exchange by Ronald “Messy Marvin” Moran. The former crack dealer, who became a government witness, pleaded guilty to the Randazzo murder in 1997. In Brooklyn federal court in December 1997, Moran testified about the Scarpa gun battle. “I had no bullets left in the gun,” he said. “I was trying to . . . run in the house and he [Scarpa] was just waving his gun around, shooting it.” Helen Peterson, “Feds Have New Canary,” New York Daily News, December 21, 1997.
37. Hamilton, “Mafia Daughter Says.”
38. Bob Drury, “Mafia Mole,” Playboy, January 1997.
39. Ibid.
40. Memo from special agent in charge, FBI New York Office, to director, FBI, June 18, 1962, 2.
41. R. Lindley DeVecchio, FBI 209 memo for Top Echelon (TE) informant designated “NY3461,” January 24, 1992.
42. Memo from special agent in charge, FBI New York Office, to director, FBI. Subject: Gregory Scarpa Top Echelon Criminal Informant Program, New York Division, November 3, 1970, 4.
43. Memo from special agent in charge, FBI New York Office, to director, FBI. Subject: Gregory Scarpa Top Echelon Criminal Informant Program, New York Division, September 2, 1971.
44. Memo from special agent in charge, FBI New York Office, to director, FBI. Subject: Gregory Scarpa Top Echelon Criminal Informant Program, New York Division, June 29, 1971; memo from special agent in charge, FBI New York Office, to director, FBI. Subject: Gregory Scarpa Top Echelon Criminal Informant Program, New York Division, September 2, 1971.
45. Memo from special agent in charge, FBI New York Office, to director, FBI. Subject: Gregory Scarpa Top Echelon Criminal Informant Program New York Division, July 25, 1972.
46. Addendum: Criminal Investigative Division, April 8, 1987, reques
ting additional authority for payment to Scarpa Sr. It describes broadly the “services” the informant provided in three major investigations identified as “Shooting Star,” “Gambino Family,” and “Starquest.”
47. Robert M. Stutman and Richard Esposito, Dead on Delivery: Inside the Drug Wars, Straight from the Street (New York: Warner Books, 1992), 17–19.
48. One of the Colombos who lured Farace to his death was Joseph Scalfani, one of the few members of Greg’s crew he trusted to give blood during his 1986 transfusion. Gregory Scarpa v. Victory Memorial Hospital and Dr. Angelito L. Sebollena, transcript of deposition of Gregory Scarpa, August 12, 1991, 27; Scarpa v. Victory Memorial et al. transcript, May 11, 1992, 16.
49. FBI teletype from director, FBI, to FBI New York Office, September 25, 1991.
50. Villano, Brick Agent, 105.
51. “Jewelry Recovered by FBI for Church,” Associated Press, in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, January 22, 1973.
52. The People v. R. Lindley DeVecchio, October 29, 2007, transcript, 1544–1552; Tom Robbins and Jerry Capeci, “FBI Used Wiseguy to Crack KKK Man,” New York Daily News, June 21, 1994; author’s interviews with Judge W. O. Chet Dillard, October 10, 2011, and June 11, 2004.
53. W. O. Chet Dillard, Clear Burning: Civil Rights, Civil Wrongs (Jackson, MS: Persimmon Press, 1992); memo to assistant director, FBI, from , January 21, 1966.
54. People v. R. Lindley DeVecchio, testimony of Linda Schiro, October 29, 2007, transcript, 1553; author’s interview with Linda Schiro, November 3, 2007.
55. Rudy Johnson, “13 Indicted on Stock Theft and Counterfeit Counts,” New York Times, June 8, 1974.
56. Memo from Newark to Bureau (1) Headquarters, December 19, 1977; letter from Edward A. McDonald, attorney in charge, U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime Strike Force, EDNY, to Hon. I. Leo Glasser, July 22, 1986.
57. FBI 302 memo, interview with Judge I. Leo Glasser, conducted by Supervisory Special Agents Timothy B. Kilund and Kevin P. Donovan, August 16, 1994.
58. Special Agent Chris Favo, sworn affidavit, April 4, 1994.
59. Al Guarte, “FBI Big Shots Knew Mob Rat Killed His Rivals,” New York Post, March 1, 1977.
60. Kings County District Attorney Indictment No. 6825/2005, unsealed March 30, 2006.
61. Ginsberg, “Hit Man for Mob Lost Count of Corpses.”
62. Hamilton, “Mafia Daughter Says.”
63. Linda Schiro interview, November 3, 2007.
64. People v. R. Lindley DeVecchio, testimony of Larry Mazza, October 19, 2007.
65. Hamilton, “My Life as a Colombo Hit Man.”
66. A list of seventeen homicides committed by Greg Scarpa Sr., or executed at his direction, compiled in the course of my investigation from court files, FBI 302s and 209s, and a series of appellate court decisions, can be found in Chapter 20. Scarpa pled guilty to three murders during the 1991–1993 war, but the evidence suggests that he directly participated in three more, bringing the death toll to twenty-three. See Chapter 27, “The Hit on Nicky Black,” and Chapter 28, “Closing and Reopening ‘34,’” concerning John Minerva and Michael Imbergamo. This investigation also makes a compelling case that Scarpa was involved in the murders of Thomas Ocera in 1989 and Jack Leale, the man identified by the Feds as Ocera’s killer, murdered on November 4, 1991. Lin DeVecchio stated in his 2011 memoir that Scarpa had killed one of the drug dealers who had threatened his son in the December 29, 1992, shootout that also resulted in the death of Patrick Porco, a friend of Scarpa’s son Joey. That would bring the total number of murder victims killed by Greg Scarpa Sr. directly or on his orders from 1980 to 1992 to twenty-six—all during the twelve-year period when former supervisory special agent Lin DeVecchio was Scarpa’s contacting or “control” agent.
67. Gustin Reichbach, decision and order of dismissal, People v. R. Lindley DeVecchio, November 1, 2007. See Appendix H.
68. U.S. v. Michael Sessa, transcript of proceedings before Judge Jack B. Weinstein, September 24, 2001.
69. Author’s interview with Ellen Resnick, February 21, 2012.
CHAPTER 1: THE KISS OF DEATH
1. Emanuel Perlmutter, “Valachi Queried by Senate Panel,” New York Times, September 27, 1963.
2. Peter Maas, The Valachi Papers (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1968), 36–38.
3. Valachi was also known as “Charles Chambano,” “Joseph Siano,” and “Anthony Sorge.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Valachi.
4. Maas, The Valachi Papers, 272–73.
5. Emanual Perlmutter, “Valachi Accuses Mafia Leader at Senate Inquiry,” New York Times, September 28, 1963.
6. In The Godfather: Part II (1974), the character of Frank “Frankie Five Angels” Pentangeli appears for the first time as the successor to Corleone family underboss Peter Clemenza. Biography for Frankie Pentangeli (character), http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000819/bio.
7. “U.S. Now Asks Ban on Valachi’s Book. Sues After Protests to Bar Memoirs It Had Cleared,” New York Times, May 10, 1966; Maas, The Valachi Papers, 54.
8. Fred Graham, “Valachi Allowed to Print Memoirs,”New York Times, December 28, 1965.
9. Roger Greenspun, “The Screen: ‘Valachi Papers’ Arrives; Work Covers 30 Years of Criminal History; Bronson in Lead Role of Mafia Informant,” New York Times, November 4, 1972.
10. Maas, The Valachi Papers, 38.
11. Perlmutter, “Valachi Accuses Mafia Leader.”
12. In Five Families, his history of the American underworld, former New York Times organized crime reporter Selwyn Raab writes, “Valachi was presented through television at hearings before Senator McClellan’s investigations committee as the nation’s first reliable witness on the inner workings of the Mafia.” Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005). See also: “Their Thing,” Time, August 16, 1963; “The Valachi Hippodrome,” editorial, New York Times, October 3, 1963.
13. Robert F. Kennedy, “Robert F. Kennedy Defines the Menace,” New York Times Magazine, October 13, 1963.
14. Maas, The Valachi Papers, 59.
15. Sanford J. Unger, FBI: An Uncensored Look Behind the Walls (Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1975), 392.
16. Ibid.
17. Ralph Ranalli, Deadly Alliance: The FBI’s Secret Partnership with the Mob (New York: HarperTorch, 2001).
18. The primary proponent of this theory is author Anthony Summers, who presented hearsay evidence, from a series of questionable sources, that Hoover was seen on two occasions in 1958 and 1959 cross-dressing at the Plaza Hotel in New York and that he’d maintained a sexual relationship for years with his chief aide, Clyde Tolson. Anthony Summers, Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover (New York: Putnam, 1993). But in his book The Bureau, author Ronald Kessler devotes multiple pages to debunking Summers’s cross-dressing allegations and conceding, with respect to Tolson, that “the fact that Hoover spent most of his leisure time with a man and that they took adoring photos of each other leaves open the question of whether Hoover was a closet homosexual who was either unaware of his orientation or suppressed it.” Ronald Kessler, The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2002), 107–12.
19. Carl Sifakis, The Mafia Encyclopedia (New York: Checkmark Books, 2005), 20.
20. Neil J. Welch and David W. Marston, Inside Hoover’s FBI: Top Field Chief Reports (New York: Doubleday, 1984).
21. Ranalli, Deadly Alliance, 47.
22. Claire Sterling, Octopus: How the Long Reach of the Sicilian Mafia Controls the Global Narcotics Trade (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990), 56.
23. Ibid., 82–89.
24. Ibid., 81.
25. Alfred W. McCoy, The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia (New York: Harper & Row, 1972). “Luciano’s Plan,” as Sterling called it, was executed and resulted in $1.6 billion in illegal narcotics brought into the United States between 1975 and 1984.
26. Th
e trial lasted seventeen months at a cost of several million dollars. Seventeen of the original thirty-two accused Mafiosi indicted were convicted. The lead assistant U.S. attorney presiding over the case was Louis Freeh, a former FBI agent who would go on to become FBI director in 1993. Shana Alexander, The Pizza Connection: Lawyers, Money, Drugs, Mafia (New York: Weidenfield & Nicolson, 1988); Ralph Blumenthal, Last Days of the Sicilians: At War with the Mafia: The FBI Assault on the Pizza Connection (New York: Times Books, 1988).
27. Thomas Repetto, American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2004); “Apalachin Meeting,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachin_Meeting.
28. Sterling, Octopus, 82–96.
29. “Apalachin Meeting,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachin_Meeting.
30. Selwyn Raab, “Joe Bonanno Dies; Mafia Leader, 97, Who Built Empire,” New York Times, May 12, 2002.
31. Ranalli, Deadly Alliance, 49.
32. Anthony Villano with Gerald Astor, Brick Agent: Inside the Mafia for the FBI (New York: Quadrangle, 1977), 44.
33. Ranalli, Deadly Alliance, 70.
34. Raab, Five Families, 136.
35. Ibid., 50.
36. William E. Roemer, Man Against the Mob: The Inside Story of How the FBI Cracked the Chicago Mob by the Agent Who Led the Attack (New York: Ballantine, 1989), 69.
37. On Celano’s Custom Tailors at 620 North Michigan in Chicago: Roemer, Man Against the Mob. On the members of Congress: Kessler, The Bureau, 103.
38. “Investigations: Bobby’s High Life,” Time, November 8, 1963.
39. Thomas Repetto, Bringing Down the Mob: The War Against the American Mafia (New York: Holt, 2007), 90.
40. Unger, FBI, 397.
41. Ibid.
42. House Committee on Government Reform, Everything Secret Degenerates: The FBI’s Use of Murderers as Informants, 3rd Report, HR Rep. No. 108-414 at 454 (2004).