Four plead guilty to gangland murders

The Bonanno Crime Family's acting boss and three other men linked to the crime family pleaded guilty Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court to conspiring on gang murders, according to stories by Trymaine Lee of the New York Times and John Marzulli of the New York Daily News.

Acting boss Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso, 53, and Bonanno soldier Anthony "Ace" Aiello, 31, admitted participating in the murder of Randolph Pizzolo on Nov. 30, 2004. Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, 61, and Anthony Donato, 50, pleaded guilty to the Feb. 15, 2001, slaying of "gangland wannabe" Frank Santoro, according to prosecutors.

Aiello admitted to being the triggerman in Pizzolo's slaying. Prosecutors said Pizzolo was lured to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and killed there. That murder was ordered by Mancuso when he was merely a soldier in the Bonanno clan. The U.S. Attorney's Office reportedly will seek next year to convict former Bonanno boss Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano (left) of initiating the Pizzolo hit. Basciano is currently serving a life prison sentence on murder, attempted murder and gambling convictions.

When sentenced, Mancuso could receive 15 years in prison, and Aiello could get 30 years.

While walking his dog near his Bronx home, Santoro was shot to death by gunmen in a passing car. Indelicato and Donato admitted they were in the car, which belonged to Donato. Prosecutors said Basciano ordered and participated in the Santoro shotgun slaying because he believed Santoro was plotting to kidnap one of Basciano's sons. Basciano was convicted March 31 of his role in the Santoro killing.

When sentenced, Indelicato faces up to 20 years in prison, and Donato faces up to 25 years.

Vincent Basciano succeeded to the leadership of the Bonanno clan after previous boss Joseph Massino was convicted of racketeering. Massino subsequently cooperated in a federal investigation of Basciano. Mancuso is believed to have moved into an acting boss role after the jailing of Basciano. Authorities have indicated that the family's current acting boss is Salvatore Montagna.

Rizzuto may serve his time near Canada border

A U.S. judge has recommended that Vito Rizzuto, reputed boss of the Mafia in Montreal and confessed accomplice in the 1981 murders of three Bonanno capos, serve his 10-year prison sentence in an upstate New York institution, according to a CBC News report.

Rizzuto (right), 61, was officially sentenced today, though prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed on a 10-year prison term as part of his plea bargain earlier this month. He pleaded guilty May 4 to participating in the assassinations of Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera, Philip "Philly Lucky" Giaccone and Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato. He said his role in the hit was to shout "It's a hold up!" to cause a gathering of Bonanno mobsters at a Brooklyn social club to momentarily freeze.

Judge Nicholas Garaufis recommended that Rizzuto be placed in Ray Brook medium-security prison near the Canadian border. Prison officials will have the final say in his placement.

Related MobNews posts:

• Rizzuto pleads guilty to 1981 slayings 05-04-07
• Attorney: Rizzuto won't flip 04-03-07
• Rizzuto, dozens more, arrested in Canada mob sweep 11-26-06
• No parole for Canada mob turncoat Simard 10-22-2006
• Canada's Musitanos up for parole today 10-04-2006
• Fugitive mobsters known to be in Toronto 09-22-2006
• Canada's 'godfather' deported 08-18-2006
• Thug-boxer deported from Canada 08-16-2006
• Canada court clears way for Rizzuto extradition 07-22-2006
• Few contenders for Toronto mob boss title 07-21-2006
• Rizzuto extradition decision due Friday 07-17-2006

Rizzuto pleads guilty to 1981 slayings

Reputed Canadian "godfather" Vito Rizzuto pleaded guilty in a New York court today to participating in the assassination of three Bonanno Crime Family capos back in 1981, according to an Associated Press story.

Rizzuto, 61, will serve 10 years in prison for racketeering under a plea deal with prosecutors.

When Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis demanded that Rizzuto describe the nature of his participation in the 1981 slayings, Rizzuto hesitated. After a conversation with his attorneys, he told the judge that his specific responsibility was to shout "It's a hold up!" so a gathering of mobsters would momentarily freeze. Rizzuto said his co-conspirators then opened fire on Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera, Philip "Philly Lucky" Giaccone and Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato.

The murders were reportedly done to eliminate a rebellious wing of the crime family. Joseph Massino, who rose to command the family and has been sentenced to life in prison for racketeering-murder, set up the hit.

See also: Rizzuto Timeline from Ottawa Citizen

Related MobNews posts:

• Attorney: Rizzuto won't flip 04-03-07
• Rizzuto, dozens more, arrested in Canada mob sweep 11-26-06
• No parole for Canada mob turncoat Simard 10-22-2006
• Canada's Musitanos up for parole today 10-04-2006
• Fugitive mobsters known to be in Toronto 09-22-2006
• Canada's 'godfather' deported 08-18-2006
• Thug-boxer deported from Canada 08-16-2006
• Canada court clears way for Rizzuto extradition 07-22-2006
• Few contenders for Toronto mob boss title 07-21-2006
• Rizzuto extradition decision due Friday 07-17-2006

NYC police dig for gang victims

New York City Police dug up a Brooklyn back yard yesterday, investigating a report that victims of gang murders were buried there, according to a story by Larry Celona and John Doyle of the New York Post.

The police were acting on a tip from a defendant in a drug case. The informant reportedly stated that his father buried three bodies in an old cesspool behind #724 Drew St. in Brooklyn. The site is just blocks away from the Ruby Street and Blake Avenue location where authorities discovered the remains of Alfonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato in 1981 and of Philip Giaccone and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera in 2004.

With bloodhounds standing by, police excavated a 3-foot-by-5-foot area of the backyard. No human remains were found. But police said they were considering returning to the site with a backhoe.

Bonanno Crime Family boss Joseph Massino was convicted of the murders of Indelicato, Giaccone and Trinchera - the "Three Capos" - in 2004.

Book review: Brasco returns

Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business
Philadelphia: Running Press, 2007, $22.95.

Two decades after wowing us with Donnie Brasco-related revelations, former undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone returns to tie up some loose ends.

I must admit I was skeptical that Pistone could find enough loose ends in the Donnie Brasco story to fill another book. However, while there is some repetition, the ex-agent provides enough new information to keep us very interested. And, frankly, the repetitive parts are quite entertaining - Donnie Brasco's thrilling adventures are worth recalling.

The first portion of the book is basically a summary of the Donnie Brasco deep-undercover experience with many of the gaps filled in. Some details apparently had to be kept secret until court cases had been processed. Pistone also takes the opportunity to correct some impressions created by the movie based on his bestseller. He takes issue with some of the sentimental and self-critical Johnny Depp moments in the film:

"I never experienced any doubt, uncertainty, or reservation. I did not make Lefty [Ruggiero] a Mafia gangster... Lefty and his Mafia underground nation is America's enemy. I was an American FBI agent... In the end, I was proud to bring Lefty to justice, and I'm even more proud of the devastating short- and long-term effects on the Mafia that people have credited, in part, to my work."

Pistone recalls for us the criminal activities ("unauthorized by the Bureau") he engaged in while undercover as "Donnie," an associate of the Colombo and Bonanno Crime Families. His admitted crimes include a murder conspiracy, hijacking and a number of other offenses (he apparently beat two stick-up men to a pulp because they dared to rob money from connected guys). But Pistone admits he would have gone even further in order to protect himself.

Underworld associates like Brasco might be called upon by Mafia superiors to perform gang "hits." Pistone decided that, if confronted with a situation in which he had to kill an underworld character or face the certain wrath of the mob, "...the wiseguy would go. I knew the FBI would not stand behind me on something like that. Well, let me call it what it is - murder in the first degree."

The situation nearly came up in 1981, first in the murder of the Three Capos (when Bonanno bigshot Joseph Massino nixed Brasco's participation) and then as Brasco was assigned by Bonanno caporegime "Sonny Black" Napolitano to assassinate Bruno Indelicato. Indelicato went into hiding, and Pistone was pulled from his undercover assignment before the nightmare scenario had a chance to develop.

The rest of the book is devoted to Pistone's post-Brasco experiences as a courtroom witness against the Mafia. Working with prosecutors, like then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani of New York, he participated in some blockbuster trials, including the Bonanno Family case, the Pizza Connection, the Mafia Commission case, the conviction of Bonanno boss "Big Joey" Massino, and the Mafia Cops trial of 2006.

Pistone's description of the trials is anything but bland. He provides compelling and often gory detail, while recounting the defeats of the mob through the past 25 years.

Pistone has a different co-author for "Unfinished Business," former Delaware prosecutor Charles Brandt who wrote I Heard You Paint Houses. However, the writing style - using casual phrasing and rhythms that would be at home in city street corner conversations - remains uniquely Pistone.

This is an informative and entertaining book.