Colombo had 'hook' in state prosecutor

Christopher Colombo bragged in 2001 that he had "a hook in" former New York State Attorney General Dennis Vacco that shielded him from prosecution, according to stories by Kati Cornell of the New York Post and Thomas Zambito of the New York Daily News.

A surveillance audio tape of the boast was played last week in Manhattan federal court, where Colombo and his brother Anthony are on trial for gambling, loan-sharking and extortion.

Christopher Colombo was taped during a conversation with contractor John Sitterly. Sitterly, charged with robbing elderly clients of over a million dollars, reportedly wore a wire to a Jan. 19, 2001, meeting. Discussing then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's investigation of Sitterly, Colombo said, "Spitzer is the worst. Vacco was the best. He didn't care about anything. I had a hook in him."

Vacco (left), now with a lobbying firm, told the Post that he had never before heard of the surveillance tape or of Christopher Colombo. "The guy's full of baloney," Vacco said. "...If I ever met him, he never registered on my radar screen."


Spitzer was inaugurated New York State's 54th governor on Jan. 1.

Christopher and Anthony Colombo are the sons of slain mob boss Joseph Colombo, after whom the Colombo Crime Family in New York was named.

Related MobNews posts:

• Colombo judge rules against the M-word 01-23-07
• Colombo admits gambling, denies intimidation 01-19-07
• Colombo's sons head to trial this week 01-16-07
• Colombo son objects to use of crime family name 11-30-06