Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Son of reputed mobster gets life for knife murder

Vincent Arena, 23, was sentenced Monday to life in prison for the September 2005 stabbing murder of 27-year-old Anthony Braccia, according to a story by Scott Shifrel of the New York Daily News. In May, he was convicted of second degree murder by a Brooklyn Supreme Court jury.

Arena's father, Steven Arena, was identified by the New York Post as an associate of the Genovese Crime Family. The Daily News reported that Arena's $2 million bail - revoked after his conviction - was arranged through the aid of a Gambino Crime Family lieutenant.

Braccia was robbed of jewelry and then stabbed 31 times within a van. Arena later set the van on fire and reported it stolen. Two other suspects in the crime, Matthew Munch and John Fontana, testified against Arena and are expected to receive light sentences. The jury found Arena not guilty of first degree murder but convicted him of second degree murder and filing a false report.

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Writer, editor, researcher, web publisher, specializing in organized crime history. (Available to assist with historical/genealogical research, writing, editing. Email at tphunt@gmail.com.)
Editor/publisher of crime history journal, Informer; publisher of American Mafia history website Mafiahistory.us; moderator of online forums; author of Wrongly Executed?; coauthor of Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia and DiCarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime; contributor of U.S. Mafia history to Australian-published Mafia: The Necessary Reference to Organized Crime; writer/co-writer of crime history articles for several publications.
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