Mafia Commission Trial - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Mafia Commission Trial (February 25, 1985–November 19, 1986) was a criminal trial

Trial (law)

In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...

in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, USA. Using evidence obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

, eleven organized crime

Organized crime

Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...

figures, including the heads of New York's so-called "Five Families

Five Families

The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...

," were indicted by United States Attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

Rudolph Giuliani under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...

(RICO) on charges including extortion, labor racketeering, and murder for hire. The case struck a blow against "The Commission

The Commission

The Commission may refer to:*The Commission , the governing body of the Mafia in the United States*Sicilian Mafia Commission, governing body of the Mafia in Italy*European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union...

," a loose organization of the New York Mafia organizations that met to resolve disputes or discuss criminal activities, sometimes likened to organized crime's board of directors

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

. Time Magazine called this "Case of Cases" possibly "the most significant assault on the infrastructure of organized crime since the high command of the Chicago Mafia was swept away in 1943," and quoted Giuliani's stated intention: "Our approach... is to wipe out the five families."

The initial defendants included:

Paul "Big Paul" Castellano
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...

, Boss of the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno
Anthony Salerno
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was a New York mobster who served as front boss of the Genovese crime family to family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante from the 1970s until his conviction in 1986...

, Boss of the Genovese crime family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
Carmine "Junior" Persico
Carmine Persico
Carmine John Persico, Jr. also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", has been the de-facto boss of the Colombo crime family since the early 1970s. Persico has overseen gang wars, murders, and major rackets, most of the time from prison. He has been serving life imprisonment without...

, Boss of the Colombo Family
Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo
Anthony Corallo
Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo was a New York City mobster and boss of the Lucchese crime family.-Early life:...

, Boss of the Lucchese crime family
Lucchese crime family
The Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
Philip "Rusty" Rastelli
Philip Rastelli
Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...

, Boss of the Bonanno family,

as well as their subordinates,

Aniello "The Lamb" Dellacroce
Aniello Dellacroce
Aniello John "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce , also known as "Father O'Neil" and "The Tall Guy", was an Italian-American gangster and underboss of the Gambino crime family. A capo of his own crew for many years he rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside.-Early...

, (a.k.a. "Mr. Neil") Gambino Family Underboss
Gennaro "Gerry Lang" Langella
Gennaro Langella
Gennaro Adriano Langella also known as "Gerry Lang", is a member of the Colombo crime family who eventually became underboss and acting boss.-Background:...

, Colombo Family Acting Boss/Underboss
Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro
Salvatore Santoro
Salvatore T. "Tom Mix" Santoro, Sr. served as Underboss in the Lucchese crime family during the 1980s before being convicted in the Mafia Commission Trial and sentenced to 100 years in federal prison.-Early life:...

, Lucchese Family Underboss
Christopher "Christy Tick" Furnari
Christopher Furnari
Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari, Sr. is a Lucchese crime family mobster serving life in prison. During the 1980s, Furnari served as the family consigliere until his 1986 racketeering conviction.-Early years:...

, Lucchese Family Consigliere
Ralph "Ralphie" Scopo
Ralph Scopo
Ralph "Little Ralphie" Scopo was a New York mobster with the Colombo crime family who became a powerful labor racketeer. He was the father of Colombo mobsters Joseph Scopo and Ralph Scopo Jr., and the grandfather of Joseph Scopo Jr...

, Colombo Family soldier,
Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato
Anthony Indelicato
Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato , also known as "Bruno", "Whack-Whack" and "Anthony Indelligado" is a capo with the Bonanno crime family in New York City,-Biography:...

, Bonanno Family soldier.

Philip Rastelli was granted a separate trial, Aniello Dellacroce died of cancer on December 2, 1985, and Paul Castellano was murdered two weeks later. The remaining eight defendants were found guilty on all 151 counts on November 19, 1986, and were sentenced on January 13, 1987.

Background

The Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI) had long pursued members of the New York organized crime families through a number of methods, including undercover informants and different types of surveillance.

In the Mafia Commission trial, evidence from a number of "bugs

Covert listening device

A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and in police investigations.A bug does not have to be a device...

" was crucial to the prosecution's case. The first bug, placed in the home of Gambino crime family Boss and Commission chairman Paul "Big Paul" Castellano, revealed many of the Commission's criminal operations, such as the "Concrete Club" in which New York's five families controlled the companies and bidding for all construction contracts involving the use of cement/concrete worth $2,000,000 and over.

Another bug, the "Jaguar Bug," was placed in the car of Lucchese crime family Boss Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo. He conducted and spoke about Cosa Nostra business as he was being driven around New York City by his driver and Lucchese family capo Salvatore Avellino.

A third bug was placed in the East Harlem Palma Boys Social Club belonging to Genovese crime family Boss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno. Salerno was the overseer of many the Five Families joint construction projects.

Another well-placed bug was in the ceiling above Colombo crime family Acting Boss Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella's favorite table at the Casa Storta in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. This bug allowed the FBI to listen in on the Acting Boss and his top Capos and soldiers discuss mob business.

The Casa Storta bug also gave the FBI sufficient cause to have a judge order the fifth and final bug which was placed inside the union office of Colombo crime family soldier Ralph Scopo where much of the Commission's "Concrete Club" business was discussed between Scopo and several construction company executives and union representatives. On all the bugs the Bosses and their underlings could be heard discussing their individual crime family rackets such as extortion, loansharking, gambling, labor racketeering and also hits that had taken place or been recently ordered.

Trial

The trial began in September 1986 amidst much media attention. The indictments and arrests on February 25, 1985 included eleven defendants:

Paul "Big Paul" Castellano, Gambino Family Boss and Commission Chairman (Capo di tutti Capi)
Aniello "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce, Gambino Family Underboss
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, Genovese Family Boss
Philip "Rusty" Rastelli, Bonanno Family Boss
Antonio "Tony Ducks" Corallo, Lucchese Family Boss
Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro, Lucchese Family Underboss
Christopher "Christy Tick" Furnari, Lucchese Family Consigliere
Carmine "Junior" Persico, Colombo Family Boss (aka "The Snake")
Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella, Colombo Family Acting Boss/Underboss
Ralph "Ralphie" Scopo, Colombo Family soldier
Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, Bonanno Family soldier

Early developments

Philip Rastelli was severed from the case to be tried in a different RICO case brought against him and his Underboss Joseph "Big Joey" Massino. He was convicted of labor racketeering on January 16, 1987 and sentenced to twelve years, serving five, and was released from prison for humanitarian reasons on July 21, 1991. He died three days later in a Queens hospital at age 73.

Niel Dellacroce, the Gambino "underboss," was alleged to have controlled the "blue-collar faction" of the Gambino Family that performed hijacking, robberies, extortion, collecting loan shark

Loan shark

A loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....

debts, gambling operations, and assassination

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

s, was terminally ill with brain cancer. He died on December 2, 1985.

While out on bail, Gambino Boss Paul Castellano failed to attend Dellacroce's wake, exacerbating tension within the Gambino family factions. Less than two weeks later, Castellano was murdered, along with Underboss Thomas "Tommy" Bilotti, in front of Sparks Steak House

Sparks Steak House

The Sparks Steak House is a restaurant located at 210 East 46th Street between Second & Third Avenues in Midtown Manhattan.-History:The restaurant was founded by brothers Pat and Mike Cetta in 1966...

in Manhattan on December 16, 1985.

Persico's pro se defense

At the start of the trial Colombo crime family Boss Carmine "Junior" Persico (known to his enemies as "The Snake"), decided to represent himself at trial.

"Soldiers" Scopo and Indelicato

The Bosses were on trial as the heads of the New York's 5 Families and the Commission, but defendants Ralph Scopo and Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato were there for different reasons.

Ralph Scopo was a "made man", a soldier in the Colombo crime family and the president of the New York Concrete District Workers Council, the union whose members were a vital cog in every significant construction development in New York City. The union leader represented thousands of laborers needed for constructing foundations, walls, and floors, the guts of every high-rise commercial and residential building in Manhattan, thus his importance as the overseer of the Commission's "Concrete Club" and the Five Families' other construction rackets.

Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato was a Cosa Nostra legend in the making. His father was Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato had been one of the Bonanno family capos who sided with Sitting Boss Philip "Rusty" Rastelli to assassinate usurper and Defacto Boss Carmine "The Cigar" Galante

Carmine Galante

Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...

on July 12, 1979. Alphonse Indelicato was also one of the five renegade Bonanno family capos who a short time later turned on Rastelli during the "Bonanno Factions War" from 1979–1981 and was assassinated with 2 of the other renegade capos on May 5, 1981. Anthony Indelicato was chosen to be a shooter in one of the most famous Cosa Nostra hits in history. One New York City police captain summed up Carmine Galante in a few words, "He's pure steel, the rest are copper!" Anthony Indelicato was sitting at the defense table with the Bosses because he was the person who killed Galante in Joe and Mary's Italian Restaurant on Knickerbocker Ave. in Buschwick, Brooklyn on July 12, 1979.

Colorful defendants

There were lighter sides to the trial such as Carmine Persico's "Dese", "Dem", "Dose", "I Sez" and "Youse" Brooklynese street slang used to question prosecution witnesses.

Genovese Family Boss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno seemed to constantly be munching from an inexhaustible supply of candy bars, and at one point at midday break rose up unsatisfied with the cold sandwiches being given to the defendants for lunch and enquired of the judge, "How about a hot lunch judge, can't we have a hot lunch?"

Verdicts

The trial lasted 3 months from September until November 19, 1986 when the jury came back with their guilty verdicts for all eight defendants on all 151 counts in the indictment.

On January 13, 1987 the defendants were in front of the sentencing judge to hear what their fate was to be for this historic Cosa Nostra case. The New York Commission Bosses all received 100 year sentences, with Colombo family soldier Ralph Scopo also receiving 100 years. Bonanno family soldier Anthony Indelicato received a 45 year sentence.

When the defendants were taken into the back holding area of the court house with their lawyers for the last time before being transferred to the correctional center, they had some Italian food and a bottle of wine brought in for their last meal before going to prison. They all ate the food and toasted each other one last time with Lucchese family Boss Anthony Corallo giving the traditional Italian toast of "Cent'Anni". This literally translates to "100 years", and means "may we live 100 years". Lucchese Family Underboss Salvatore Santoro answered his Boss with "I think it's time to get a new toast", which prompted laughter from the rest of the mobsters. Genovese Boss Anthony Salerno replied "Maybe I should tell em where the five million is buried".

Current status

The status of the eight defendants is as follows:

Defendant	Position	Status	Date of death (if applicable)
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno Anthony Salerno Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was a New York mobster who served as front boss of the Genovese crime family to family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante from the 1970s until his conviction in 1986...	Boss, Genovese family Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...	Deceased	July 27, 1992, MCFP Springfield
Antonio "Tony Ducks" Corallo	Boss, Lucchese family Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...	Deceased	July 23, 2000, MCFP Springfield
Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro Salvatore Santoro Salvatore T. "Tom Mix" Santoro, Sr. served as Underboss in the Lucchese crime family during the 1980s before being convicted in the Mafia Commission Trial and sentenced to 100 years in federal prison.-Early life:...	Underboss, Lucchese family	Deceased	2000
Christopher "Christy Tick" Furnari Christopher Furnari Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari, Sr. is a Lucchese crime family mobster serving life in prison. During the 1980s, Furnari served as the family consigliere until his 1986 racketeering conviction.-Early years:...	Consigliere, Lucchese family	FCI Allenwood, Medium Federal Correctional Institute, Allenwood Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex is a United States Federal Bureau of Prisons facility located on U.S. Route 15 in Gregg Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. The prison, at the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, is on U.S. Route 15, north of Allenwood, south of Williamsport, and north...
Carmine "Junior" Persico Carmine Persico Carmine John Persico, Jr. also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", has been the de-facto boss of the Colombo crime family since the early 1970s. Persico has overseen gang wars, murders, and major rackets, most of the time from prison. He has been serving life imprisonment without...	Boss, Colombo family Colombo crime family The Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....	FCI Lompoc
Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella Gennaro Langella Gennaro Adriano Langella also known as "Gerry Lang", is a member of the Colombo crime family who eventually became underboss and acting boss.-Background:...	Acting underboss, Colombo family	USP Atlanta United States Penitentiary, Atlanta United States Penitentiary, Atlanta is a medium-security federal prison for men in Atlanta, Georgia. It also has a detention center for pre-trial and holdover inmates and an adjacent camp for minimum security male inmates...
Ralph "Ralphie" Scopo Ralph Scopo Ralph "Little Ralphie" Scopo was a New York mobster with the Colombo crime family who became a powerful labor racketeer. He was the father of Colombo mobsters Joseph Scopo and Ralph Scopo Jr., and the grandfather of Joseph Scopo Jr...	Soldier, Colombo family	Deceased	1993
Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato Anthony Indelicato Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato , also known as "Bruno", "Whack-Whack" and "Anthony Indelligado" is a capo with the Bonanno crime family in New York City,-Biography:...	Soldier, Bonanno family Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....	FCI Fort Dix (See Note below)

Note: Indelicato served 13 years and was released in 2000 on parole

Parole

Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...

, but returned to prison in summer 2001 for eight months after violating parole by meeting with known Bonanno family members. He then served 2 more years for a parole violation in February 2004. On December 16, 2008, he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the 2001 murder of Frank Santoro.

Legacy

The case was one of several high profile victories for Giuliani, establishing his strong name recognition and providing a public platform for his first run for Mayor of New York City

Mayor of New York City

The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...

in 1989.

External links

Magnuson, Ed. Time.com January 24, 2001.

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