September 12, 2024 • 45 mins
The Commission Case, NYC's trial of the century, kicks off in September of 1986, dragging New York’s mafia heads into court and thrusting the prosecution into their greatest challenge.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to Law and Order Criminal Justice System, a
production of Wolf Entertainment and iHeart podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In the criminal justice system, landmark trials transcend the courtroom
to reshape the law. The brave many women who investigate
and prosecute these cases are part of a select group
that is defined American history. These are their stories. December sixteenth,
nineteen eighty five, Midtown, Manhattan.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
The bullets that ended Big Paul Castellano's life last night
may very well have been a payoff for getting into
such trouble with the Feds.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
I was there that night, the night that he was murdered.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Former FBI agent Jim Kostler was meeting with Bob Blakey
and Rudy Giuliani at an event at NYU. The topic
of conversation the biggest criminal trial against organized crime. I'm
in New York City history.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
We were having the cocktails and it was all kinds
of brass from the NYPD and various district attorney's offices there,
and all of a sudden.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
Bells go off and beepers go off. I get it called.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
You know, Costellano has been murdered up at the Sparks Steakhouse.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Paul Castellano was the reputed boss of the Gambino crime
family and one of the most important defendants in the
upcoming case against the mob.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
So I grabbed my boss and we get in the
car and we go up there. We missed the dinner.
We were right there in the thick of things. Whenever
the bodies were still laying on the street. Tommy Billotti
was laying out in the middle of the street. Castellana
was laying with his head down in the gutter right
next to the car. People everywhere, because you know, it
was at five o'clock at night and people were going home.
(01:49):
It was chaos.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
As the reputed head of the crime Commission and the
godfather of the Gambino family, his appearance in court every
day and the preoccupation with his defense were bad for business.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yes, the evidence accumulated against Castellano was a lynchpin in
the government's case, but his murder might turn it all
upside down.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
You're not with the mob because you want to be.
Speaker 6 (02:21):
It's the gangster that decides whether you're his associated.
Speaker 7 (02:24):
On if you like your life, you will vote to acquit.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I'm anisee and Nicolazzi, my father should have been a
dead man from Wolf Entertainment and iHeart podcasts. This is
Law and Order criminal justice system. It had taken years
to assemble the case against the Commission. Now, just months
(02:51):
before the trial was set to begin, a key defendant,
Paul Castellano, had been gunned down in the street, a
stark reminder of the high stay for both the criminals
and those prosecuting their crimes. Paul Castellano and his newly
appointed underboss, Thomas Bollotti, had just pulled up in front
of Sparks Steakhouse for dinner. They were about to get
(03:13):
out of their car when assassins opened fire from close range,
killing both Castellano and Ballotti.
Speaker 8 (03:21):
And obviously that ended his participation in the trial.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Michael Cherdoff was the lead prosecutor, just thirty two years
old at the time and facing off against the most
infamous figures in organized crime. Michael immediately knew the effect
Castellano's murder could have on their case. There were mountains
of evidence connecting the Gambino boss to the wider criminal
enterprise of the Commission, but all that evidence was now
(03:48):
potentially out the window. The prosecution needed to regroup and fast.
Speaker 8 (03:54):
We had to really make sure that we kicked the
tires on everything and it was all solid, and that
kind of nervousness and anxiety is a great motivator in
terms of making sure you are doubling down on how
careful and how meticulous you are in both the factual
and illegal construction of the case.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
There were three main goals in this trial, and it
wasn't going to be easy. One prove that the Mafia
and the Commission existed in the first place. Remember, for decades,
members of organized crime had dismissed the Mafia as a myth,
but now Michael had the receipts in the form of
wire tabs and testimony from cooperating witnesses. Two, Michael and
(04:37):
his young team of attorneys had to prove it the
remaining defendants, including Fat Tony Salerno, Tony Dux, Carlo Carmine Persico,
and some of their underlings, were indeed members of the
Mob's governing body, or that they conspired to carry out
its orders. And three, that their illegal influence included the
control of major industries like concrete, construction and sanitation. Owen
(05:02):
one more thing, to prove the Commission conspired to murder
fellow mob boss Carmen Gallanti. Taken together, it was a
massive undertaking, especially considering that there was no one on
the prosecution team over the age of thirty two, and
they were up against the elder statesman of the mafia
crime bosses that had collectively spent over one hundred and
(05:25):
fifty years in organized crime. But as Michael explains, they
had assembled mounds of damning evidence.
Speaker 8 (05:32):
We had witnesses, including a couple of contractors who had
paid the mob because they were required to, and they
kind of put a human face on what this was.
We had the tapes which had very explicit discussions about
shaking down contractors and getting money for concrete projects. We
also had a former boss of the Cleveland La co
(05:55):
Osnostra family named Angelo Leonardo, who had been convicted in
another case years before it had turned state's evidence and
was cooperating with us. So we had multiple levels of evidence,
and by tying them all together and showing how they
cross referenced, that gives you a good measure of credibility.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
But as Paul Castelano's murder proved, there were no guarantees.
Speaker 8 (06:22):
Well, you're most nervous about are the witnesses. Are the
witnesses going to wind up being able to tell a
coherent story? Are they going to wither under cross examination?
Are they going to be able to stand up?
Speaker 1 (06:34):
And are they even going to stay alive long enough
to testify?
Speaker 6 (06:39):
Virtually no one who wanted to be a witness in
this case, as you can imagine.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
That's Attorney Gil Childers, the Brooklyn prosecutor that had been
called in to help try some of the world's most
dangerous gangsters.
Speaker 6 (06:53):
Even if it's the most innocuous testimony, who wants to
possibly get any of these people mad at you? There
was a lot of hand holding, a lot of cajoling,
a lot of pushing people to get them to testify
and make them understand that, you know, look, we can
do what we can to partake you, but you don't
really have a choice here.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
For years, the mob had used intimidation and violence to
keep witnesses out of the courtroom and themselves out of jail.
But the government was ready to flex their muscles as well.
And while young, the prosecutors were a virtual dream team
of talent. Here's John Savay's.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
Michael was the most senior person, and it was therefore
pretty well understood that he would make the opening statement
on behalf of the government.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
John knew that Michael Chertoff would set a clear tone
and that no matter the experience or reach of the defendants,
prosecutors would not be intimidated. Only thirty one, John was
already an accomplished Harvard law graduate and a former clerk
to a Supreme Court justice, a clear up and comer
in the US Attorney's office, and Giuliani was confident he'd
(08:06):
be a strong addition to this team. The third in
their trio guild Childers. He had the trial experience needed
and would round out the team.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
He brought to the table something that Michael and I
did not have, which is all of the forensics and
expertise around the triple murder that was a chief part
of the case.
Speaker 6 (08:30):
I certainly had a tremendous advantage and luxury of having
two great lawyers who were very steeped in federal criminal
practice being my teammates. But when you're examining a witness,
you're up there, I'll say.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Alone, alone except for the alleged mobsters steering a hole
in his back and the scores of press outside the
courtroom that would be reporting on the trials every move.
For the young prosecutors, it would be a baptism by fire.
Speaker 6 (09:00):
This is the most important organized crime case arguably ever.
You certainly didn't want to be known as the three
guys who let the mob get off.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
John had similar apprehensions, but he was also aware of
the unique opportunity.
Speaker 5 (09:18):
We knew we were young. None of us had been
a prosecutor all that long, and there were moments where
we would, the three of us, we'd look at each
other and sort of feel like, I have to pinch
myself that we're actually getting to do this.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
This case could make or break their young careers, not
to mention the career of their ambitious boss, Rudy Giuliani,
who was staking his inevitable run for the Mayor's office
on his promised takedown of the New York Mob.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
And as the trial got closer and closer, that feeling
was very strong. But at the same time, we were
also working just ferociously hard. I mean just months and
months and months of seven day weeks, with each day
being fifteen sixteen hours low.
Speaker 8 (10:06):
You know, you know the stakes, You're high, You're really
operating on adrenaline and will power to make sure you
are focused, because important than you want to make sure
is you don't want to make any mistakes something you
could undermine the case factually or legally, So you have
to have your wits about you.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Michael Chertoff, Guild Childers, and John Savay's ready to take
on the challenge. But what about the risks? As the
murder of Castellano proved, even the bosses weren't immune from danger,
and do you know who else had caused for concern
members of the jury. As you might recall from our
(10:45):
first episode, in a previous trial against Banano boss Carmi Galanti,
one jury format was thrown down a flight of stairs,
resulting in a mistrial. Prosecutors knew it would be tough
to convince the jury to serve in a trial against
the city's most ruthless criminals.
Speaker 9 (11:03):
They may turn out to be the biggest series of
mob trials in US history, but first the trials have
to begin, and what's slowing that process down is the
actual selection of the jury itself. Over three thousand potential
jurors have been called by the government, more than four
times the usual number. The US Attorney also asked for
and got anonymity for the jury, saying he feared the
mob would try to get to them.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
As a rule, trial juries are not secret. Attorneys review
potential jurors names, occupations, and backgrounds to try and eliminate
potential bias. But his Gil Childers explains this case and
these particular defendants called for extraordinary measures.
Speaker 10 (11:41):
The legal justification for anonymous jury really is concerning the press.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Very frankly, the judges instructed the jury that the reason
they're being pictononymously.
Speaker 11 (11:53):
Is that he's concerned about the media trying to interview
them during the course of the trial.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
But there was also the uncle spoken reason of juror
safety from potential bribery, coercion, or even violence.
Speaker 10 (12:06):
Certainly, you can't tell the jury that the reason we're
holding your names from the public is because these guys
may try.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
And kill you.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
After jury selection, their safety became a top priority for
the federal government.
Speaker 10 (12:21):
The US Marshall Service would take them all and drop
them off in one or two points of a transportation access,
so they'd take them to the Grand Central or Defend
station or a Porterfari bus terminal. Places where they did that,
they would be melting in with folks, and it would
be difficult to try and trace someone going home.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
But as the trial was said to begin, the security
of everyone involved was just one of many challenges, because
the government's all star team of young prosecutors weren't the
only ones preparing for battle. Just as they'd been doing
for over a century, the Five Families were prepared to
do anything to protect their criminal kingdoms, and they weren't
(13:05):
going down without a fight. On September eighth, nineteen eighty six,
the Commission trial began.
Speaker 12 (13:25):
Federal government says, if you want to know about the
mob and its rackets and shakedowns and robots, you should
ask a handful of men known as the Commission. They're
on trial starting today in a Brooklyn courtroom.
Speaker 13 (13:36):
The cast of the Commission trial three alleged bosses of
organized crime families Anthony Tony Ducks Corlo of the Lukeesi
crime family, Anthony fat Toni Slano of the Genevese family,
and Carmine the Snake Persico, who allegedly runs the Columbo
crime empire. This is the first time the ruling Commission
has been put on trial.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
On the steps of the Manhattan Federal Courthouse, swarms of
report and cameras waited and watched as each car pulled
up one after another, the defendants arrived. Their names and
reputations had been whispered about for years, but this was
the first time many in the public had ever laid
eyes on some of the most notorious figures in the
(14:17):
New York underworld. The defendants slipped out of their cars
and quickly moved up the steps, their lawyers and bodyguards
keeping away the press. Inside the courtroom was a scene
for the history books. Mafia bosses, their underbosses, and all
manner of minions, soldiers and enforcers assembled in one room,
(14:37):
and predictably, most of them were dressed to the nines.
Here's Gil Childers.
Speaker 6 (14:42):
The younger guys were coming in like Valentino suits, tie
bars and gorgeous ties and pocket squares. Then you had
Thatt Tony Soleardo, who would be in a sportcoat, collared
shirt buttoned all the way to the top, no tie.
You know, when he was outside, he'd have this little
for Dora on.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
For a public well acquainted with the mafia from the
Godfather movies, The defendant's appearances were often as intriguing as
the case itself. After all, the slick suited image of
the Hollywood mafio so was a lasting part of pop culture,
and the stars of this trial did not disappoint their audience.
Speaker 6 (15:21):
In the Daily News and the New York Post, they
actually had a mob fashion column talking about how the
mob guys were dressed. We're trying these guys because they
extort people. They're filled with violence, they murder people. And
the newspapers are talking about what color suit they were wearing.
Did the tie really matched the suit, and did the
(15:42):
shoes and socks go with a suit? It was weird.
Speaker 14 (15:48):
The baggy eyed man in the suit is Carmine Junior Persico,
and the camera shine man in the handcuffs is Anthony.
They may look like grandfathers, but I says they are
godfathers on trial for being members of the Mafiast ruling Council,
the Commission.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
The courtroom was full to the brim. The young prosecutors
had never seen anything like it.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Well. The case attracted a huge amount of press attention,
and when the trial was first getting underway, the courtroom
was absolutely packed with spectators and a lot of press,
and that obviously creates a kind of electric atmosphere in
a courtroom. It was being conducted in one of the
(16:34):
large ceremonial courtrooms. My recollection of day one was walking
in and realizing we were going to be putting on
this trial in front of a very large audience.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
For Gill and the rest of the team, it was
by far the biggest case any of them had ever handled.
Their every move and every possible mistake would be broadcast
to the watching world.
Speaker 6 (16:58):
There were daily press reports. Frequently, there was television news coverage.
You know that if you screw up, your name's going
to be in the paper for a bad reason the
next day.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Michael Chertoff would be the first one to take center stage.
On the morning of September eighteenth, nineteen eighty six, he
addressed the jury to give his opening statement.
Speaker 8 (17:21):
In some ways, it's so consequential that you don't have
time to be nervous, to think about yourself. You're just
thinking about how do I present this to the jury
in a way that is understandable, that covers a significant
amount of evidence, it doesn't bog down in detail. And
also to make it clear what the stakes are, that
this is not just a routine case, but that you're
(17:43):
talking about the board of directors of the American Mafia,
the largest criminal organization in American history.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
The prosecution intended to prove that the Commission was a
criminal enterprise and that each defendant committed multiple acts of racketeering.
Speaker 8 (18:00):
I told you early on in my opening, this is
the largest and most vicious criminal business in the history
of the United States. And I went on to say
the Commission was dominated by a single principle, greed. And
I think those two statements from my opening Encapsuley what
the nature of the Commission and the American Mafia was.
Speaker 15 (18:23):
In his opening remarks, Federal Prosecutor Michael Chertoff told the
jury that the Commission has been the governing body of
the Mafia all a cost in Austra for the last
thirty years. He said that on a government audio tape
fact Tony Solano describes a Commission as a sacred thing.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Michael made it clear that the Mafia had a devastating
impact on the lives and livelihoods of everyday citizens.
Speaker 15 (18:46):
He said Commission members rule over mafia activities, particularly the
concrete industry, with the power of an iron fist covered
by a velvet glove, and he says he has video
and audio tapes to prove it. He says, unlike TV
and the movies, their threats to extort money are subtle
and unpleasant.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
But just like in the movies, their methods were cruel, ruthless,
and often deadly. After Michael delivered his opening statement, it
was the defense's turn, and defense attorney Samuel Dawson did
something that no one in the courtroom ever saw coming.
Speaker 16 (19:23):
In an unusual move, one of the defense attorneys admits
all of the defendants in this case are members of
the mafia.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
In an effort to undermine one of the prosecution's main arguments,
the defense launched a preemptive attack. He admitted to the
packed courtroom that the mafia did exist. Here's the defense
attorney speaking to reporters.
Speaker 11 (19:46):
We've told the jury that people are members of it.
But just as you heard me say, each one of
those jurors coming to this courtroom with all the beliefs, impressions,
or opinions about the mafia or whatever they think it is,
they pledged to us that they would put that side
and decide whether these men from the mafia in this
case did the crimes charged in this.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Case Dawson even confirmed the existence of the Commission and
its role as the mafia's governing body. However, he denied
a conspire to extort the concrete industry, claiming instead that
its function was to approve new members and settle disputes.
Former FBI agent Charlotte Lang remembers the shock they all
(20:28):
felt as he delivered his statement.
Speaker 7 (20:31):
I can remember looking at your top. His mouth was
wide open, and we were like, are you kidding me?
Because we had such excellent evidence that there was such
a thing as the Commission In Organized.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Crime, John Savaye remembers thinking that the defense's daring strategy
was a smart play for a savvy jury.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
It was obviously a bold move on that lawyer's part,
but I certainly understand the stratug He made the tactical judgment,
I'm not going to try to eat up my credibility
with the jury by contesting something that's going to seem
so obvious to the jury. By the end of this trial.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
The next big surprise when one of the defendants, Carmin Persico,
decided he would forego a defense attorney and represent himself
in the biggest trial of his life.
Speaker 15 (21:25):
Carmine the Snake Persicoe, alleged boss of a Colombo crime family,
acting as his own attorney, stood to address the jury.
He approached the jury box, took off his glasses, smiled,
and said, my name is Carmin Persicoe. I am not
a lawyer, he said, I'm a defendant. The government has
to prove I'm guilty. He mock anticipated government witnesses against him.
(21:47):
Referring to paid informants, he said they have contracts with
the government. Looking at the jury, he said the government
pays for them with your money and my freedom.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Persico spoke to the jury with a mix of indignate
and folksy street charm, saying he intended to undermine the
government's case by exposing an alleged bias, corruption, and illegal
investigative methods. Here's Michael Carmine.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
Perscoe was the one who was the most personally antagonistic.
Persco would occasionally demonstrate his anger or his disdain.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
There's an old saying about the defendant who represents himself
in court that he has a fool for a client.
But in cases as meticulously prepared as this one, no
surprise is a good surprise, and managing a wild card
like Carmine Persico would keep prosecutors on their toes again
and again. They would have to rely on their biggest,
(22:43):
most effective weapon, the evidence, witness, testimony, surveillance, and especially
recorded wiretaps, and they would start with the classic that
dated all the way back to nineteen fifty seven, the
infamous Appalachan Commission meet. You may remember that the Appalachan
(23:04):
Meeting in upstate New York was a historic summit of
organized crime bosses. Law enforcement broke it up, sending Vito Genevi's,
Carlo Gambino and Paul Castelano running through the woods.
Speaker 6 (23:17):
Of course, it caused a lot of belly aching from
defense council. Who cares what happened in nineteen fifty seven?
Is that what they're charged with? And of course the
answer to that is yes, they are charged for that
because they're part of this enterprise, and this enterprise existed
back then as.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Well, as Michael explains. The prosecution then presented the hours
and hours of wiretap audio in which mob members referenced
the commissionssion.
Speaker 8 (23:48):
Both on the tapes in the Palma Boy Social Club
and the tapes in the Jaguars. They use the word
the Commission they talked about the Commission. The Commission has
decided the Commission's decide that so there was no question
that the Commission existed.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
None was more significant than the jaguar bug, which overheard
damning conversations between Tony Ducks, Caralo, and a lou Casey
family capo named Salvator Avelino.
Speaker 14 (24:16):
For years, the FBI has been watching and listening to
the mob street corner meetings from a bug installed under
the dashboard of Coralo's Jaguar. They heard Tony Ducks complain
about family members who sell drugs, then talk business.
Speaker 7 (24:31):
Would out selfless second child.
Speaker 8 (24:36):
So Avelino was, in a way like an answering machine
who recorded messages to be given to the other leader
of the family. The result of this is again you
had a very detailed description when Avelino talked to either
Coralo or Soalerno about what their illegal businesses were.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
The hours of recorded surveillance was hard to refute, but
it could also be a challenge for a jury to
absorb in process, and a trial can be a fight
for a jury sympathy and attention as much as a
fight for the facts, which is why presenting a live
witness became so critical to the prosecution's case because at
the end of the day, a jury loves to hear
(25:16):
it straight from the source. Enter Angelo Leonardo, the Cleveland
crime boss, had been serving a life sentence plus one
hundred and three years when he offered to testify against
his fellow mobsters. In exchange, he'd be given a reduced
sentence and a life in the witness protection program. In
the courtroom, Leonardo laid out the inner workings of the Commission,
(25:40):
and according to Charlotte Lang, his testimony was pivotal.
Speaker 7 (25:44):
He was basically saying, these are the heads of organized crime,
and it's called the Commission. Yeah, the associates, Yeah, soldiers.
He was basically laying it out for the jury.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
His nearly sixty year criminal career and heavy Sicilian accent
only added to his authenticity, and his testimony had jurors
on the edge of their seat. Here was one of
the mafia's own testifying under clear threat to his life
against one of the deadliest criminal organizations in the world, and.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
The signal was kind of interesting about him. He kind
of looked like Aristotle Anassis, and he wore dark glasses,
had this full head of gray hair. He just looked
like a mob boss. He sounded like a mob boss,
and the jury was like hanging on every word he
was saying.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Leonardo explained to a rapt jury that in order to
sanction a hit on a mob boss, you needed approval
from all the families. During cross examination, Salerno's attorney grilled
Leonardo about his claims, and more importantly, tried to raise
doubts about the credibility of a convicted drug trafficker and
admitted career criminal, especially one who had betrayed his fellow
(26:58):
mobsters in exchange for his freedom and a new identity.
The fury from the defendant's table was palpable, and the
threat to Lenardo's safety did not have to be spoken
aloud to be clear to everyone in the courtroom.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
You're dealing with a different animal. I'm not suggesting that
witnesses in a homicide in Brooklyn aren't frequently and very
real peril, but it's not a nationwide organization with a
type of reach that Lakosinustra has.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
And part of the difference in the threat is that
once they turn, it's not just about stopping their testimony.
It's to pay the price for breaking that code correct.
Speaker 6 (27:38):
Even if it's not going to do the individuals they
testified against any good at that point in time, there
still has to be a message set for the next
person who's thinking about cooperating.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
A lot of thought goes into how best to keep
those witnesses safe.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
They had to put them in communities where there would
not be any ties to a large Italian American populations
because because of those true fermiated Italian neighborhoods and populations
throughout the country, and once one of these guys would
testify or it was known to be cooperating, the word
would go out and literally there would be a nationwide manhunt.
(28:17):
So you know, you end up with people out in
the Midwest or the far West, or outside of some
small city in Texas where the best thing he can
do is dominoes for Italian food.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Charlotte was one of those responsible for prepping and protecting
Lenardo both before and during the trial. He was living
in an undisclosed location far from the eyes of the
New York City mob.
Speaker 7 (28:42):
So I flew to this particular location. The whole one
side of this condo was all glass and there were
like trees back behind there like a woodsy area. We
would be chatting, and then I thought to myself, if
anybody knew we were here, they could just walk out
of those woods and just kills the two of us.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
And the safety of their star witness wasn't the only concern.
The prosecutors also had their own wellbeing to think about.
Here's John Savay's It was very.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
Much a concern. I would sort of disappear for days
to some city that I couldn't even tell my wife
where I was going, in order to meet with someone
who was a murderer. I vividly remember we had a
tape in which fat Toni Salerno in his social club
is kind of mocking Rudy Giuliani. There had been a
(29:35):
story in the New York Post about Giuliani having a bodyguard,
and fat Toni says something like, that's ridiculous. He don't
need a bodyguard. Don't even know we never killed prosecutors.
And I brought it home and on my home stereo
played this tape for my wife and I then look
(29:56):
at her and I say, see, it's all fine. He
looked at me like I completely lost my mind. She said,
so you think because you caught a mass murderer on
tape saying that he's not going to kill prosecutors, that
I'm supposed to feel better about this.
Speaker 8 (30:12):
There had been, over a period of years prior to
or during this case, a pretty clear indication that the
US Mafia would not kill prosecutors or police. They would
kill witnesses, and they might kill people who disrupted their business,
but they didn't kill law enforcement people. A lot of
(30:33):
that was based on the fear they had that if
they ever killed a prosecutor or a police officer or
an FBI agent, the government might take the gloves off
and do some things that were, let say, out of
bounds otherwise in order to retaliate.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
But the commission case was rewriting the rules. The heads
of the five families were facing an existential crisis, and
it was becoming increasingly clear that there was no line
they wouldn't cross. It was a reality that Gildchilders conceded,
So I guess.
Speaker 6 (31:05):
My subconscious there was at least acknowledgment that there was
some element of danger.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
A danger that went from unspoken to front and center
in the courtroom.
Speaker 6 (31:17):
There was one episode one afternoon involving Bruno and Delocado,
where you threatened me.
Speaker 10 (31:23):
In the courtroom.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Bruno and Delacado was the primary defendant in the murder
of Carmi Galante, and as we will see, the hot
headed consiglieri for the Banano family was willing to do
anything to avoid going down with the ship. In our
(31:50):
first episode, we described the murder of the de facto
boss of the Banano crime family, Carmine Galante, and two
of his associates. After matching a palm print on the
recovered ghetaway car, police identified one of their primary suspects,
a Banano soldier named Bruno in Delacado, and this homicide
(32:11):
was now a centerpiece of the government's case against the mafia.
But why among the many murders carried out by the
mob did prosecutors focus on this one. Because the government
believed that they could prove that Galanti's murder was ordered
by the members of the commission, and that conspiracy meant
they were all accountable for the crime. But as Michael
(32:32):
Cherdoff explains, including this case in the trial also served
another critical purpose.
Speaker 8 (32:38):
In order to make it real and to motivate the
jury to sit through the trial and to take it seriously.
An active violence has a dramatic effect, unlike tapes or
people talking about paying money, and it makes in a
very real way the jury understand that we're talking about
here is not just who gets money from a contract,
(33:00):
who lives and dies. And the fact that you have
a criminal organization that is willing to chose someone at
a restaurant, I think makes everybody sit up and take notice.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
You know what else makes a jury sit up and
take notice when an aggressive defendant threatened street justice in
the middle of the court room. Here's Gil Childers.
Speaker 6 (33:19):
At the time of the trial, Bruno was a captain.
He had been promoted largely, our informants tell us as
a result of his successful murder of Carmon Galante. For
a couple months, he's just sitting there twiddling his thumbs.
Speaker 5 (33:34):
You know what am I doing here?
Speaker 6 (33:36):
Then all of a sudden we turn to the part
of the case that involves the homicide of Carmine Galante,
and all of a sudden, his world sort of changed
from he's been a spectator now he's in the spotlight.
As soon as the court recessed for lunch, he jumps
up and starts yelling at me, screaming, I know who
(33:58):
you are? What are you doing?
Speaker 8 (33:59):
You fair?
Speaker 6 (34:01):
What are you talking about? Just screaming. The marshals come in,
grab them and take him in the back and I'm like,
oh wow, that was kind of shocking.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
The episode left prosecutor's shaken. Just one look at the
Galante crime scene photos gave them a good idea of
what in Delacado was capable of.
Speaker 6 (34:25):
Came back after the lunch in recess and we're at
the council table getting ready before the court comes in
and the jury comes in. Bruno was coming in from
the holding cell behind the courtroom. The marshals bring him
and he sits down and one of the deputy marshalls
comes over and says that Gil and Delocata wants to
talk to you. So I go over to him and goes,
mister Childers, I want to tell you. I apologize. I
(34:47):
was completely out of line. That was not right. You've
got nothing to worry about for me. Again, I wasn't
really expecting that.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
So what accounted for the sudden change of heart?
Speaker 6 (35:00):
When I thought about it, I thought his co defendants
are all people with exception of one that outranked him
within the mafia. They're all on trial for their lives
as well. In the back room and the holding salon,
he could imagine that fat Tony or someone else said, Bruno,
what the hell are you doing? We got enough heat
on us. We don't need this kind of crap. But
(35:21):
for whatever reason he had a change of heart when
he came back out, and there was never another episode
like that with him in the courtroom.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
The prosecution pressed on with the evidence in the Galante murder.
One of the key witnesses was a woman named Migaulia Figueroa,
who had identified part of the license plate on the
getaway car. But once again the specter of retribution from
the mob threatened to derail their case. Here's Charlotte.
Speaker 7 (35:49):
She was like nowhere to be found for a long
period of time. She was so frightened. We sent a
lead down to our office in Puerto Rico, and I
got a call saying that an agent in Puerto Rico
had located her and she was really not willing to testify.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
Without the witness to lead to the getaway car was
likely out. And then what about the pomp print linking
a Delecado to the murder. Charlotte had to convince her
witness to show up in court on the day that
it mattered.
Speaker 7 (36:21):
We sat down with her and at one particular point,
I thought she's going to back out of this, but
I think we had convinced her that the most important
thing was her safety and we would make sure that
she was going to be safe.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Finally, she agreed, and as she took the witness stand,
the fear was clear on her face and to the jury.
Speaker 7 (36:45):
The thing that was so significant about her testimony was
you could tell she was scared to death. She didn't
even want to look over toward where we were sitting.
I mean, all the mob guys were behind us. You
could just tell that she didn't want to do this,
which made her a very effective witness.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Figaro's testimony confirmed that the car she had seen leaving
the crime scene and the one with the pomp print
were one and the same. They also had video surveillance
of Bruno a Banano celebrating with Gambino gangsters at their
club right after the murder, clearly showing the families were
in this together.
Speaker 6 (37:26):
It showed that these guys, as a governance tool, employed murder.
So it was the clearest and probably the most compelling
piece of evidence you could have in terms of the
violent nature of not only the mafia but the Commission
taking action to govern Lecosinostra.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
But while the murder of Carma Galanti gave the Commission
case many of its dramatic headlines, the bulk of the
government's case centered on the mob's less sexy side of
the business concrete. Concrete made up the majority of the
mafia's illicit revenue streams.
Speaker 8 (38:05):
The major money making effort private Commission was this requirement,
using their control over the labor unions, that every job
in Manhattan that involved concrete being poured or cement being
poured have a value of over two million dollars. The
mob had to get a percentage of that four percent,
(38:26):
two percent for the particular family that quote owned that
labor union, and two percent for the Commission as a whole,
to divide up.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
In other words, as New York City grew hire and hire,
the mob grew richer and richer. But explaining the complicated scheme,
which involved everything from rigging union votes to threatening contractors,
was not a simple task. Prosecutors worried that their case
risk being bogged down in the minutia of the financial
details and digging through all those records was difficult for
(38:57):
the prosecutors too.
Speaker 17 (39:00):
Ritual we set up four days a week from I
think those nine thirty to five, and at the end
of the court day you take a deep breath and
then you scurry back to your office because you'd gotten
awful lot of work to do to get things ready for.
Speaker 5 (39:12):
The next day.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
As you can imagine, the trial took its toll on
the prosecutor's families as well.
Speaker 5 (39:21):
All three of the wives, you know, Michael's, mine and Gills,
became friends and they would I think commiserate among the
three of them that you know, they had these three
lunatic husbands that were working just like complete maniacs.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
Speaking of wives, those on the prosecution side weren't the
only ones showing up to the courtroom. Here's John.
Speaker 5 (39:45):
My wife was in the courtroom on important days and
she during breaks would go into the ladies room and
the mob wives were there. I remember her telling me
afterwards that they don't like you very much. John. You know,
I won't repeat exactly what they said, but it wasn't
(40:07):
very friendly.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
But whatever their animosity towards the government, their husbands betrayed
a little outward emotion.
Speaker 8 (40:15):
They understood they had signed on for this and always
understood the risks. They were stoic. They would listen to
the evidence, and they didn't seem to be angry or resentful.
They seemed to be philosophical about it. I remember a
couple of times we're walking up to the bench to
talk to the judge. I'd walk by Salerna, who's the
(40:36):
boss of the Genevie's film mean. He'd make a comment like, Oh,
You're going to be famous when this is over, and
I'm going to be in jail, and he'd like laugh.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
But as the trial went on, many on the prosecution
side and in the press began to wonder if their
stoicism was a sign of resignation in the face of
the evidence against them, or a sign that maybe these
giants of organized crime, who had avoided the long arm
of the log for going on seven decades, might still
(41:05):
have one or two more tricks up their sleeves. Carmine
Persico was an alleged participant in multiple mob assassinations and
violent power plays. He had a reputation for living up
to his nickname the Snake. In the courtroom, it was
clear he aimed to be just as hard to handle.
Speaker 5 (41:25):
Persico decided that he would represent himself in the trial
and not have a defense lawyer represent.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Him, and acting as his own attorney made for some
unique moments.
Speaker 5 (41:40):
Periodically, the judge will bring the lawyers up to sidebar
to have a discussion outside the hearing of the jury
about a point of evidence or an issue that has arisen.
And one of the stranger things about this trial is
that Carmine Persico, the boss of the Colombo family, was
in these intimate little sidebars with us, the other defense lawyers,
(42:04):
and the judge.
Speaker 1 (42:06):
It was obvious that Persico was scheming something, but what
it wouldn't be until he got up to talk that
prosecutors finally got a glimpse of his plan.
Speaker 16 (42:17):
Dressed in a pinstriped suit and reading from a yellow
legal pad, Persico told the jury in a barely audible voice,
that the government will put witnesses on the stand who
have committed many crimes and are testifying because of deals
with the government that include payments of money.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
With an aggression befitting a man whose freedom was on
the line, Persico proceeded to attack and threaten every witness
who had dared to take the stand against him. In
one cross examination after another, he tried to intimidate witnesses
into recanting testimony. His reckless approach threatened to doom the defense,
(42:54):
That is, until it looked like it just might be working.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
Next time. On Law and Order Criminal Justice System.
Speaker 5 (43:09):
You could just feel the venom and the hatred that
Persico felt.
Speaker 7 (43:15):
She said it was impossible for Bruno to be involved
because he was with me, so she was the alibi.
Speaker 8 (43:22):
This sent Percugo into orbit. If you've ever heard of
the expression of looking daggers at somebody, this is like
looking surface missiles.
Speaker 6 (43:29):
Persigo tugged on my coat sleeve and said, you think
them guys died? The gunshot Wounds.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Law and Order Criminal Justice System is a production of
Wolf Entertainment and iHeart podcasts. Our host is Anna Sega nicolazi.
This episode was written by Trevor Young and Anna Sega Nicolazzi.
Executive produced by Dick Wolf, Elliott Wolf, and Stephen Michael
at Wolf Entertainment on behalf of iHeartRadio. Executive produced by
(44:06):
Alex Williams and Matt Frederick, with supervising producers Trevor Young
and Chandler Mays and producers Jesse Funk, Nomes Griffin, and
Rima Alkali. This season is executive produced by Anna Sega Nicolazzi,
story producer Walker lamond. Our researchers are Carolyn Talmadge and Lukes.
(44:28):
Dance editing and sound designed by Nomes Griffin, original music
by John O'Hara, original theme by Mike Post, additional music
by Steve Moore, and additional voice over by me Steve Zernkelton.
Special thanks to Fox five in New York, ABC and
(44:50):
CBS for providing archival material for the show. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio and Wolf Entertainment, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Thanks for listening.
You're listening to Law and Order Criminal Justice System, a
production of Wolf Entertainment and iHeart podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In the criminal justice system, landmark trials transcend the courtroom
to reshape the law. The brave many women who investigate
and prosecute these cases are part of a select group
that is defined American history. These are their stories. December sixteenth,
nineteen eighty five, Midtown, Manhattan.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
The bullets that ended Big Paul Castellano's life last night
may very well have been a payoff for getting into
such trouble with the Feds.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
I was there that night, the night that he was murdered.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Former FBI agent Jim Kostler was meeting with Bob Blakey
and Rudy Giuliani at an event at NYU. The topic
of conversation the biggest criminal trial against organized crime. I'm
in New York City history.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
We were having the cocktails and it was all kinds
of brass from the NYPD and various district attorney's offices there,
and all of a sudden.
Speaker 5 (01:10):
Bells go off and beepers go off. I get it called.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
You know, Costellano has been murdered up at the Sparks Steakhouse.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Paul Castellano was the reputed boss of the Gambino crime
family and one of the most important defendants in the
upcoming case against the mob.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
So I grabbed my boss and we get in the
car and we go up there. We missed the dinner.
We were right there in the thick of things. Whenever
the bodies were still laying on the street. Tommy Billotti
was laying out in the middle of the street. Castellana
was laying with his head down in the gutter right
next to the car. People everywhere, because you know, it
was at five o'clock at night and people were going home.
(01:49):
It was chaos.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
As the reputed head of the crime Commission and the
godfather of the Gambino family, his appearance in court every
day and the preoccupation with his defense were bad for business.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yes, the evidence accumulated against Castellano was a lynchpin in
the government's case, but his murder might turn it all
upside down.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
You're not with the mob because you want to be.
Speaker 6 (02:21):
It's the gangster that decides whether you're his associated.
Speaker 7 (02:24):
On if you like your life, you will vote to acquit.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I'm anisee and Nicolazzi, my father should have been a
dead man from Wolf Entertainment and iHeart podcasts. This is
Law and Order criminal justice system. It had taken years
to assemble the case against the Commission. Now, just months
(02:51):
before the trial was set to begin, a key defendant,
Paul Castellano, had been gunned down in the street, a
stark reminder of the high stay for both the criminals
and those prosecuting their crimes. Paul Castellano and his newly
appointed underboss, Thomas Bollotti, had just pulled up in front
of Sparks Steakhouse for dinner. They were about to get
(03:13):
out of their car when assassins opened fire from close range,
killing both Castellano and Ballotti.
Speaker 8 (03:21):
And obviously that ended his participation in the trial.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Michael Cherdoff was the lead prosecutor, just thirty two years
old at the time and facing off against the most
infamous figures in organized crime. Michael immediately knew the effect
Castellano's murder could have on their case. There were mountains
of evidence connecting the Gambino boss to the wider criminal
enterprise of the Commission, but all that evidence was now
(03:48):
potentially out the window. The prosecution needed to regroup and fast.
Speaker 8 (03:54):
We had to really make sure that we kicked the
tires on everything and it was all solid, and that
kind of nervousness and anxiety is a great motivator in
terms of making sure you are doubling down on how
careful and how meticulous you are in both the factual
and illegal construction of the case.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
There were three main goals in this trial, and it
wasn't going to be easy. One prove that the Mafia
and the Commission existed in the first place. Remember, for decades,
members of organized crime had dismissed the Mafia as a myth,
but now Michael had the receipts in the form of
wire tabs and testimony from cooperating witnesses. Two, Michael and
(04:37):
his young team of attorneys had to prove it the
remaining defendants, including Fat Tony Salerno, Tony Dux, Carlo Carmine Persico,
and some of their underlings, were indeed members of the
Mob's governing body, or that they conspired to carry out
its orders. And three, that their illegal influence included the
control of major industries like concrete, construction and sanitation. Owen
(05:02):
one more thing, to prove the Commission conspired to murder
fellow mob boss Carmen Gallanti. Taken together, it was a
massive undertaking, especially considering that there was no one on
the prosecution team over the age of thirty two, and
they were up against the elder statesman of the mafia
crime bosses that had collectively spent over one hundred and
(05:25):
fifty years in organized crime. But as Michael explains, they
had assembled mounds of damning evidence.
Speaker 8 (05:32):
We had witnesses, including a couple of contractors who had
paid the mob because they were required to, and they
kind of put a human face on what this was.
We had the tapes which had very explicit discussions about
shaking down contractors and getting money for concrete projects. We
also had a former boss of the Cleveland La co
(05:55):
Osnostra family named Angelo Leonardo, who had been convicted in
another case years before it had turned state's evidence and
was cooperating with us. So we had multiple levels of evidence,
and by tying them all together and showing how they
cross referenced, that gives you a good measure of credibility.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
But as Paul Castelano's murder proved, there were no guarantees.
Speaker 8 (06:22):
Well, you're most nervous about are the witnesses. Are the
witnesses going to wind up being able to tell a
coherent story? Are they going to wither under cross examination?
Are they going to be able to stand up?
Speaker 1 (06:34):
And are they even going to stay alive long enough
to testify?
Speaker 6 (06:39):
Virtually no one who wanted to be a witness in
this case, as you can imagine.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
That's Attorney Gil Childers, the Brooklyn prosecutor that had been
called in to help try some of the world's most
dangerous gangsters.
Speaker 6 (06:53):
Even if it's the most innocuous testimony, who wants to
possibly get any of these people mad at you? There
was a lot of hand holding, a lot of cajoling,
a lot of pushing people to get them to testify
and make them understand that, you know, look, we can
do what we can to partake you, but you don't
really have a choice here.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
For years, the mob had used intimidation and violence to
keep witnesses out of the courtroom and themselves out of jail.
But the government was ready to flex their muscles as well.
And while young, the prosecutors were a virtual dream team
of talent. Here's John Savay's.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
Michael was the most senior person, and it was therefore
pretty well understood that he would make the opening statement
on behalf of the government.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
John knew that Michael Chertoff would set a clear tone
and that no matter the experience or reach of the defendants,
prosecutors would not be intimidated. Only thirty one, John was
already an accomplished Harvard law graduate and a former clerk
to a Supreme Court justice, a clear up and comer
in the US Attorney's office, and Giuliani was confident he'd
(08:06):
be a strong addition to this team. The third in
their trio guild Childers. He had the trial experience needed
and would round out the team.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
He brought to the table something that Michael and I
did not have, which is all of the forensics and
expertise around the triple murder that was a chief part
of the case.
Speaker 6 (08:30):
I certainly had a tremendous advantage and luxury of having
two great lawyers who were very steeped in federal criminal
practice being my teammates. But when you're examining a witness,
you're up there, I'll say.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Alone, alone except for the alleged mobsters steering a hole
in his back and the scores of press outside the
courtroom that would be reporting on the trials every move.
For the young prosecutors, it would be a baptism by fire.
Speaker 6 (09:00):
This is the most important organized crime case arguably ever.
You certainly didn't want to be known as the three
guys who let the mob get off.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
John had similar apprehensions, but he was also aware of
the unique opportunity.
Speaker 5 (09:18):
We knew we were young. None of us had been
a prosecutor all that long, and there were moments where
we would, the three of us, we'd look at each
other and sort of feel like, I have to pinch
myself that we're actually getting to do this.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
This case could make or break their young careers, not
to mention the career of their ambitious boss, Rudy Giuliani,
who was staking his inevitable run for the Mayor's office
on his promised takedown of the New York Mob.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
And as the trial got closer and closer, that feeling
was very strong. But at the same time, we were
also working just ferociously hard. I mean just months and
months and months of seven day weeks, with each day
being fifteen sixteen hours low.
Speaker 8 (10:06):
You know, you know the stakes, You're high, You're really
operating on adrenaline and will power to make sure you
are focused, because important than you want to make sure
is you don't want to make any mistakes something you
could undermine the case factually or legally, So you have
to have your wits about you.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Michael Chertoff, Guild Childers, and John Savay's ready to take
on the challenge. But what about the risks? As the
murder of Castellano proved, even the bosses weren't immune from danger,
and do you know who else had caused for concern
members of the jury. As you might recall from our
(10:45):
first episode, in a previous trial against Banano boss Carmi Galanti,
one jury format was thrown down a flight of stairs,
resulting in a mistrial. Prosecutors knew it would be tough
to convince the jury to serve in a trial against
the city's most ruthless criminals.
Speaker 9 (11:03):
They may turn out to be the biggest series of
mob trials in US history, but first the trials have
to begin, and what's slowing that process down is the
actual selection of the jury itself. Over three thousand potential
jurors have been called by the government, more than four
times the usual number. The US Attorney also asked for
and got anonymity for the jury, saying he feared the
mob would try to get to them.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
As a rule, trial juries are not secret. Attorneys review
potential jurors names, occupations, and backgrounds to try and eliminate
potential bias. But his Gil Childers explains this case and
these particular defendants called for extraordinary measures.
Speaker 10 (11:41):
The legal justification for anonymous jury really is concerning the press.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Very frankly, the judges instructed the jury that the reason
they're being pictononymously.
Speaker 11 (11:53):
Is that he's concerned about the media trying to interview
them during the course of the trial.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
But there was also the uncle spoken reason of juror
safety from potential bribery, coercion, or even violence.
Speaker 10 (12:06):
Certainly, you can't tell the jury that the reason we're
holding your names from the public is because these guys
may try.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
And kill you.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
After jury selection, their safety became a top priority for
the federal government.
Speaker 10 (12:21):
The US Marshall Service would take them all and drop
them off in one or two points of a transportation access,
so they'd take them to the Grand Central or Defend
station or a Porterfari bus terminal. Places where they did that,
they would be melting in with folks, and it would
be difficult to try and trace someone going home.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
But as the trial was said to begin, the security
of everyone involved was just one of many challenges, because
the government's all star team of young prosecutors weren't the
only ones preparing for battle. Just as they'd been doing
for over a century, the Five Families were prepared to
do anything to protect their criminal kingdoms, and they weren't
(13:05):
going down without a fight. On September eighth, nineteen eighty six,
the Commission trial began.
Speaker 12 (13:25):
Federal government says, if you want to know about the
mob and its rackets and shakedowns and robots, you should
ask a handful of men known as the Commission. They're
on trial starting today in a Brooklyn courtroom.
Speaker 13 (13:36):
The cast of the Commission trial three alleged bosses of
organized crime families Anthony Tony Ducks Corlo of the Lukeesi
crime family, Anthony fat Toni Slano of the Genevese family,
and Carmine the Snake Persico, who allegedly runs the Columbo
crime empire. This is the first time the ruling Commission
has been put on trial.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
On the steps of the Manhattan Federal Courthouse, swarms of
report and cameras waited and watched as each car pulled
up one after another, the defendants arrived. Their names and
reputations had been whispered about for years, but this was
the first time many in the public had ever laid
eyes on some of the most notorious figures in the
(14:17):
New York underworld. The defendants slipped out of their cars
and quickly moved up the steps, their lawyers and bodyguards
keeping away the press. Inside the courtroom was a scene
for the history books. Mafia bosses, their underbosses, and all
manner of minions, soldiers and enforcers assembled in one room,
(14:37):
and predictably, most of them were dressed to the nines.
Here's Gil Childers.
Speaker 6 (14:42):
The younger guys were coming in like Valentino suits, tie
bars and gorgeous ties and pocket squares. Then you had
Thatt Tony Soleardo, who would be in a sportcoat, collared
shirt buttoned all the way to the top, no tie.
You know, when he was outside, he'd have this little
for Dora on.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
For a public well acquainted with the mafia from the
Godfather movies, The defendant's appearances were often as intriguing as
the case itself. After all, the slick suited image of
the Hollywood mafio so was a lasting part of pop culture,
and the stars of this trial did not disappoint their audience.
Speaker 6 (15:21):
In the Daily News and the New York Post, they
actually had a mob fashion column talking about how the
mob guys were dressed. We're trying these guys because they
extort people. They're filled with violence, they murder people. And
the newspapers are talking about what color suit they were wearing.
Did the tie really matched the suit, and did the
(15:42):
shoes and socks go with a suit? It was weird.
Speaker 14 (15:48):
The baggy eyed man in the suit is Carmine Junior Persico,
and the camera shine man in the handcuffs is Anthony.
They may look like grandfathers, but I says they are
godfathers on trial for being members of the Mafiast ruling Council,
the Commission.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
The courtroom was full to the brim. The young prosecutors
had never seen anything like it.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Well. The case attracted a huge amount of press attention,
and when the trial was first getting underway, the courtroom
was absolutely packed with spectators and a lot of press,
and that obviously creates a kind of electric atmosphere in
a courtroom. It was being conducted in one of the
(16:34):
large ceremonial courtrooms. My recollection of day one was walking
in and realizing we were going to be putting on
this trial in front of a very large audience.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
For Gill and the rest of the team, it was
by far the biggest case any of them had ever handled.
Their every move and every possible mistake would be broadcast
to the watching world.
Speaker 6 (16:58):
There were daily press reports. Frequently, there was television news coverage.
You know that if you screw up, your name's going
to be in the paper for a bad reason the
next day.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Michael Chertoff would be the first one to take center stage.
On the morning of September eighteenth, nineteen eighty six, he
addressed the jury to give his opening statement.
Speaker 8 (17:21):
In some ways, it's so consequential that you don't have
time to be nervous, to think about yourself. You're just
thinking about how do I present this to the jury
in a way that is understandable, that covers a significant
amount of evidence, it doesn't bog down in detail. And
also to make it clear what the stakes are, that
this is not just a routine case, but that you're
(17:43):
talking about the board of directors of the American Mafia,
the largest criminal organization in American history.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
The prosecution intended to prove that the Commission was a
criminal enterprise and that each defendant committed multiple acts of racketeering.
Speaker 8 (18:00):
I told you early on in my opening, this is
the largest and most vicious criminal business in the history
of the United States. And I went on to say
the Commission was dominated by a single principle, greed. And
I think those two statements from my opening Encapsuley what
the nature of the Commission and the American Mafia was.
Speaker 15 (18:23):
In his opening remarks, Federal Prosecutor Michael Chertoff told the
jury that the Commission has been the governing body of
the Mafia all a cost in Austra for the last
thirty years. He said that on a government audio tape
fact Tony Solano describes a Commission as a sacred thing.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Michael made it clear that the Mafia had a devastating
impact on the lives and livelihoods of everyday citizens.
Speaker 15 (18:46):
He said Commission members rule over mafia activities, particularly the
concrete industry, with the power of an iron fist covered
by a velvet glove, and he says he has video
and audio tapes to prove it. He says, unlike TV
and the movies, their threats to extort money are subtle
and unpleasant.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
But just like in the movies, their methods were cruel, ruthless,
and often deadly. After Michael delivered his opening statement, it
was the defense's turn, and defense attorney Samuel Dawson did
something that no one in the courtroom ever saw coming.
Speaker 16 (19:23):
In an unusual move, one of the defense attorneys admits
all of the defendants in this case are members of
the mafia.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
In an effort to undermine one of the prosecution's main arguments,
the defense launched a preemptive attack. He admitted to the
packed courtroom that the mafia did exist. Here's the defense
attorney speaking to reporters.
Speaker 11 (19:46):
We've told the jury that people are members of it.
But just as you heard me say, each one of
those jurors coming to this courtroom with all the beliefs, impressions,
or opinions about the mafia or whatever they think it is,
they pledged to us that they would put that side
and decide whether these men from the mafia in this
case did the crimes charged in this.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Case Dawson even confirmed the existence of the Commission and
its role as the mafia's governing body. However, he denied
a conspire to extort the concrete industry, claiming instead that
its function was to approve new members and settle disputes.
Former FBI agent Charlotte Lang remembers the shock they all
(20:28):
felt as he delivered his statement.
Speaker 7 (20:31):
I can remember looking at your top. His mouth was
wide open, and we were like, are you kidding me?
Because we had such excellent evidence that there was such
a thing as the Commission In Organized.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Crime, John Savaye remembers thinking that the defense's daring strategy
was a smart play for a savvy jury.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
It was obviously a bold move on that lawyer's part,
but I certainly understand the stratug He made the tactical judgment,
I'm not going to try to eat up my credibility
with the jury by contesting something that's going to seem
so obvious to the jury. By the end of this trial.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
The next big surprise when one of the defendants, Carmin Persico,
decided he would forego a defense attorney and represent himself
in the biggest trial of his life.
Speaker 15 (21:25):
Carmine the Snake Persicoe, alleged boss of a Colombo crime family,
acting as his own attorney, stood to address the jury.
He approached the jury box, took off his glasses, smiled,
and said, my name is Carmin Persicoe. I am not
a lawyer, he said, I'm a defendant. The government has
to prove I'm guilty. He mock anticipated government witnesses against him.
(21:47):
Referring to paid informants, he said they have contracts with
the government. Looking at the jury, he said the government
pays for them with your money and my freedom.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Persico spoke to the jury with a mix of indignate
and folksy street charm, saying he intended to undermine the
government's case by exposing an alleged bias, corruption, and illegal
investigative methods. Here's Michael Carmine.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
Perscoe was the one who was the most personally antagonistic.
Persco would occasionally demonstrate his anger or his disdain.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
There's an old saying about the defendant who represents himself
in court that he has a fool for a client.
But in cases as meticulously prepared as this one, no
surprise is a good surprise, and managing a wild card
like Carmine Persico would keep prosecutors on their toes again
and again. They would have to rely on their biggest,
(22:43):
most effective weapon, the evidence, witness, testimony, surveillance, and especially
recorded wiretaps, and they would start with the classic that
dated all the way back to nineteen fifty seven, the
infamous Appalachan Commission meet. You may remember that the Appalachan
(23:04):
Meeting in upstate New York was a historic summit of
organized crime bosses. Law enforcement broke it up, sending Vito Genevi's,
Carlo Gambino and Paul Castelano running through the woods.
Speaker 6 (23:17):
Of course, it caused a lot of belly aching from
defense council. Who cares what happened in nineteen fifty seven?
Is that what they're charged with? And of course the
answer to that is yes, they are charged for that
because they're part of this enterprise, and this enterprise existed
back then as.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Well, as Michael explains. The prosecution then presented the hours
and hours of wiretap audio in which mob members referenced
the commissionssion.
Speaker 8 (23:48):
Both on the tapes in the Palma Boy Social Club
and the tapes in the Jaguars. They use the word
the Commission they talked about the Commission. The Commission has
decided the Commission's decide that so there was no question
that the Commission existed.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
None was more significant than the jaguar bug, which overheard
damning conversations between Tony Ducks, Caralo, and a lou Casey
family capo named Salvator Avelino.
Speaker 14 (24:16):
For years, the FBI has been watching and listening to
the mob street corner meetings from a bug installed under
the dashboard of Coralo's Jaguar. They heard Tony Ducks complain
about family members who sell drugs, then talk business.
Speaker 7 (24:31):
Would out selfless second child.
Speaker 8 (24:36):
So Avelino was, in a way like an answering machine
who recorded messages to be given to the other leader
of the family. The result of this is again you
had a very detailed description when Avelino talked to either
Coralo or Soalerno about what their illegal businesses were.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
The hours of recorded surveillance was hard to refute, but
it could also be a challenge for a jury to
absorb in process, and a trial can be a fight
for a jury sympathy and attention as much as a
fight for the facts, which is why presenting a live
witness became so critical to the prosecution's case because at
the end of the day, a jury loves to hear
(25:16):
it straight from the source. Enter Angelo Leonardo, the Cleveland
crime boss, had been serving a life sentence plus one
hundred and three years when he offered to testify against
his fellow mobsters. In exchange, he'd be given a reduced
sentence and a life in the witness protection program. In
the courtroom, Leonardo laid out the inner workings of the Commission,
(25:40):
and according to Charlotte Lang, his testimony was pivotal.
Speaker 7 (25:44):
He was basically saying, these are the heads of organized crime,
and it's called the Commission. Yeah, the associates, Yeah, soldiers.
He was basically laying it out for the jury.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
His nearly sixty year criminal career and heavy Sicilian accent
only added to his authenticity, and his testimony had jurors
on the edge of their seat. Here was one of
the mafia's own testifying under clear threat to his life
against one of the deadliest criminal organizations in the world, and.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
The signal was kind of interesting about him. He kind
of looked like Aristotle Anassis, and he wore dark glasses,
had this full head of gray hair. He just looked
like a mob boss. He sounded like a mob boss,
and the jury was like hanging on every word he
was saying.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Leonardo explained to a rapt jury that in order to
sanction a hit on a mob boss, you needed approval
from all the families. During cross examination, Salerno's attorney grilled
Leonardo about his claims, and more importantly, tried to raise
doubts about the credibility of a convicted drug trafficker and
admitted career criminal, especially one who had betrayed his fellow
(26:58):
mobsters in exchange for his freedom and a new identity.
The fury from the defendant's table was palpable, and the
threat to Lenardo's safety did not have to be spoken
aloud to be clear to everyone in the courtroom.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
You're dealing with a different animal. I'm not suggesting that
witnesses in a homicide in Brooklyn aren't frequently and very
real peril, but it's not a nationwide organization with a
type of reach that Lakosinustra has.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
And part of the difference in the threat is that
once they turn, it's not just about stopping their testimony.
It's to pay the price for breaking that code correct.
Speaker 6 (27:38):
Even if it's not going to do the individuals they
testified against any good at that point in time, there
still has to be a message set for the next
person who's thinking about cooperating.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
A lot of thought goes into how best to keep
those witnesses safe.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
They had to put them in communities where there would
not be any ties to a large Italian American populations
because because of those true fermiated Italian neighborhoods and populations
throughout the country, and once one of these guys would
testify or it was known to be cooperating, the word
would go out and literally there would be a nationwide manhunt.
(28:17):
So you know, you end up with people out in
the Midwest or the far West, or outside of some
small city in Texas where the best thing he can
do is dominoes for Italian food.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Charlotte was one of those responsible for prepping and protecting
Lenardo both before and during the trial. He was living
in an undisclosed location far from the eyes of the
New York City mob.
Speaker 7 (28:42):
So I flew to this particular location. The whole one
side of this condo was all glass and there were
like trees back behind there like a woodsy area. We
would be chatting, and then I thought to myself, if
anybody knew we were here, they could just walk out
of those woods and just kills the two of us.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
And the safety of their star witness wasn't the only concern.
The prosecutors also had their own wellbeing to think about.
Here's John Savay's It was very.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
Much a concern. I would sort of disappear for days
to some city that I couldn't even tell my wife
where I was going, in order to meet with someone
who was a murderer. I vividly remember we had a
tape in which fat Toni Salerno in his social club
is kind of mocking Rudy Giuliani. There had been a
(29:35):
story in the New York Post about Giuliani having a bodyguard,
and fat Toni says something like, that's ridiculous. He don't
need a bodyguard. Don't even know we never killed prosecutors.
And I brought it home and on my home stereo
played this tape for my wife and I then look
(29:56):
at her and I say, see, it's all fine. He
looked at me like I completely lost my mind. She said,
so you think because you caught a mass murderer on
tape saying that he's not going to kill prosecutors, that
I'm supposed to feel better about this.
Speaker 8 (30:12):
There had been, over a period of years prior to
or during this case, a pretty clear indication that the
US Mafia would not kill prosecutors or police. They would
kill witnesses, and they might kill people who disrupted their business,
but they didn't kill law enforcement people. A lot of
(30:33):
that was based on the fear they had that if
they ever killed a prosecutor or a police officer or
an FBI agent, the government might take the gloves off
and do some things that were, let say, out of
bounds otherwise in order to retaliate.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
But the commission case was rewriting the rules. The heads
of the five families were facing an existential crisis, and
it was becoming increasingly clear that there was no line
they wouldn't cross. It was a reality that Gildchilders conceded,
So I guess.
Speaker 6 (31:05):
My subconscious there was at least acknowledgment that there was
some element of danger.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
A danger that went from unspoken to front and center
in the courtroom.
Speaker 6 (31:17):
There was one episode one afternoon involving Bruno and Delocado,
where you threatened me.
Speaker 10 (31:23):
In the courtroom.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Bruno and Delacado was the primary defendant in the murder
of Carmi Galante, and as we will see, the hot
headed consiglieri for the Banano family was willing to do
anything to avoid going down with the ship. In our
(31:50):
first episode, we described the murder of the de facto
boss of the Banano crime family, Carmine Galante, and two
of his associates. After matching a palm print on the
recovered ghetaway car, police identified one of their primary suspects,
a Banano soldier named Bruno in Delacado, and this homicide
(32:11):
was now a centerpiece of the government's case against the mafia.
But why among the many murders carried out by the
mob did prosecutors focus on this one. Because the government
believed that they could prove that Galanti's murder was ordered
by the members of the commission, and that conspiracy meant
they were all accountable for the crime. But as Michael
(32:32):
Cherdoff explains, including this case in the trial also served
another critical purpose.
Speaker 8 (32:38):
In order to make it real and to motivate the
jury to sit through the trial and to take it seriously.
An active violence has a dramatic effect, unlike tapes or
people talking about paying money, and it makes in a
very real way the jury understand that we're talking about
here is not just who gets money from a contract,
(33:00):
who lives and dies. And the fact that you have
a criminal organization that is willing to chose someone at
a restaurant, I think makes everybody sit up and take notice.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
You know what else makes a jury sit up and
take notice when an aggressive defendant threatened street justice in
the middle of the court room. Here's Gil Childers.
Speaker 6 (33:19):
At the time of the trial, Bruno was a captain.
He had been promoted largely, our informants tell us as
a result of his successful murder of Carmon Galante. For
a couple months, he's just sitting there twiddling his thumbs.
Speaker 5 (33:34):
You know what am I doing here?
Speaker 6 (33:36):
Then all of a sudden we turn to the part
of the case that involves the homicide of Carmine Galante,
and all of a sudden, his world sort of changed
from he's been a spectator now he's in the spotlight.
As soon as the court recessed for lunch, he jumps
up and starts yelling at me, screaming, I know who
(33:58):
you are? What are you doing?
Speaker 8 (33:59):
You fair?
Speaker 6 (34:01):
What are you talking about? Just screaming. The marshals come in,
grab them and take him in the back and I'm like,
oh wow, that was kind of shocking.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
The episode left prosecutor's shaken. Just one look at the
Galante crime scene photos gave them a good idea of
what in Delacado was capable of.
Speaker 6 (34:25):
Came back after the lunch in recess and we're at
the council table getting ready before the court comes in
and the jury comes in. Bruno was coming in from
the holding cell behind the courtroom. The marshals bring him
and he sits down and one of the deputy marshalls
comes over and says that Gil and Delocata wants to
talk to you. So I go over to him and goes,
mister Childers, I want to tell you. I apologize. I
(34:47):
was completely out of line. That was not right. You've
got nothing to worry about for me. Again, I wasn't
really expecting that.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
So what accounted for the sudden change of heart?
Speaker 6 (35:00):
When I thought about it, I thought his co defendants
are all people with exception of one that outranked him
within the mafia. They're all on trial for their lives
as well. In the back room and the holding salon,
he could imagine that fat Tony or someone else said, Bruno,
what the hell are you doing? We got enough heat
on us. We don't need this kind of crap. But
(35:21):
for whatever reason he had a change of heart when
he came back out, and there was never another episode
like that with him in the courtroom.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
The prosecution pressed on with the evidence in the Galante murder.
One of the key witnesses was a woman named Migaulia Figueroa,
who had identified part of the license plate on the
getaway car. But once again the specter of retribution from
the mob threatened to derail their case. Here's Charlotte.
Speaker 7 (35:49):
She was like nowhere to be found for a long
period of time. She was so frightened. We sent a
lead down to our office in Puerto Rico, and I
got a call saying that an agent in Puerto Rico
had located her and she was really not willing to testify.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
Without the witness to lead to the getaway car was
likely out. And then what about the pomp print linking
a Delecado to the murder. Charlotte had to convince her
witness to show up in court on the day that
it mattered.
Speaker 7 (36:21):
We sat down with her and at one particular point,
I thought she's going to back out of this, but
I think we had convinced her that the most important
thing was her safety and we would make sure that
she was going to be safe.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Finally, she agreed, and as she took the witness stand,
the fear was clear on her face and to the jury.
Speaker 7 (36:45):
The thing that was so significant about her testimony was
you could tell she was scared to death. She didn't
even want to look over toward where we were sitting.
I mean, all the mob guys were behind us. You
could just tell that she didn't want to do this,
which made her a very effective witness.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
Figaro's testimony confirmed that the car she had seen leaving
the crime scene and the one with the pomp print
were one and the same. They also had video surveillance
of Bruno a Banano celebrating with Gambino gangsters at their
club right after the murder, clearly showing the families were
in this together.
Speaker 6 (37:26):
It showed that these guys, as a governance tool, employed murder.
So it was the clearest and probably the most compelling
piece of evidence you could have in terms of the
violent nature of not only the mafia but the Commission
taking action to govern Lecosinostra.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
But while the murder of Carma Galanti gave the Commission
case many of its dramatic headlines, the bulk of the
government's case centered on the mob's less sexy side of
the business concrete. Concrete made up the majority of the
mafia's illicit revenue streams.
Speaker 8 (38:05):
The major money making effort private Commission was this requirement,
using their control over the labor unions, that every job
in Manhattan that involved concrete being poured or cement being
poured have a value of over two million dollars. The
mob had to get a percentage of that four percent,
(38:26):
two percent for the particular family that quote owned that
labor union, and two percent for the Commission as a whole,
to divide up.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
In other words, as New York City grew hire and hire,
the mob grew richer and richer. But explaining the complicated scheme,
which involved everything from rigging union votes to threatening contractors,
was not a simple task. Prosecutors worried that their case
risk being bogged down in the minutia of the financial
details and digging through all those records was difficult for
(38:57):
the prosecutors too.
Speaker 17 (39:00):
Ritual we set up four days a week from I
think those nine thirty to five, and at the end
of the court day you take a deep breath and
then you scurry back to your office because you'd gotten
awful lot of work to do to get things ready for.
Speaker 5 (39:12):
The next day.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
As you can imagine, the trial took its toll on
the prosecutor's families as well.
Speaker 5 (39:21):
All three of the wives, you know, Michael's, mine and Gills,
became friends and they would I think commiserate among the
three of them that you know, they had these three
lunatic husbands that were working just like complete maniacs.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
Speaking of wives, those on the prosecution side weren't the
only ones showing up to the courtroom. Here's John.
Speaker 5 (39:45):
My wife was in the courtroom on important days and
she during breaks would go into the ladies room and
the mob wives were there. I remember her telling me
afterwards that they don't like you very much. John. You know,
I won't repeat exactly what they said, but it wasn't
(40:07):
very friendly.
Speaker 1 (40:09):
But whatever their animosity towards the government, their husbands betrayed
a little outward emotion.
Speaker 8 (40:15):
They understood they had signed on for this and always
understood the risks. They were stoic. They would listen to
the evidence, and they didn't seem to be angry or resentful.
They seemed to be philosophical about it. I remember a
couple of times we're walking up to the bench to
talk to the judge. I'd walk by Salerna, who's the
(40:36):
boss of the Genevie's film mean. He'd make a comment like, Oh,
You're going to be famous when this is over, and
I'm going to be in jail, and he'd like laugh.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
But as the trial went on, many on the prosecution
side and in the press began to wonder if their
stoicism was a sign of resignation in the face of
the evidence against them, or a sign that maybe these
giants of organized crime, who had avoided the long arm
of the log for going on seven decades, might still
(41:05):
have one or two more tricks up their sleeves. Carmine
Persico was an alleged participant in multiple mob assassinations and
violent power plays. He had a reputation for living up
to his nickname the Snake. In the courtroom, it was
clear he aimed to be just as hard to handle.
Speaker 5 (41:25):
Persico decided that he would represent himself in the trial
and not have a defense lawyer represent.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Him, and acting as his own attorney made for some
unique moments.
Speaker 5 (41:40):
Periodically, the judge will bring the lawyers up to sidebar
to have a discussion outside the hearing of the jury
about a point of evidence or an issue that has arisen.
And one of the stranger things about this trial is
that Carmine Persico, the boss of the Colombo family, was
in these intimate little sidebars with us, the other defense lawyers,
(42:04):
and the judge.
Speaker 1 (42:06):
It was obvious that Persico was scheming something, but what
it wouldn't be until he got up to talk that
prosecutors finally got a glimpse of his plan.
Speaker 16 (42:17):
Dressed in a pinstriped suit and reading from a yellow
legal pad, Persico told the jury in a barely audible voice,
that the government will put witnesses on the stand who
have committed many crimes and are testifying because of deals
with the government that include payments of money.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
With an aggression befitting a man whose freedom was on
the line, Persico proceeded to attack and threaten every witness
who had dared to take the stand against him. In
one cross examination after another, he tried to intimidate witnesses
into recanting testimony. His reckless approach threatened to doom the defense,
(42:54):
That is, until it looked like it just might be working.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
Next time. On Law and Order Criminal Justice System.
Speaker 5 (43:09):
You could just feel the venom and the hatred that
Persico felt.
Speaker 7 (43:15):
She said it was impossible for Bruno to be involved
because he was with me, so she was the alibi.
Speaker 8 (43:22):
This sent Percugo into orbit. If you've ever heard of
the expression of looking daggers at somebody, this is like
looking surface missiles.
Speaker 6 (43:29):
Persigo tugged on my coat sleeve and said, you think
them guys died? The gunshot Wounds.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Law and Order Criminal Justice System is a production of
Wolf Entertainment and iHeart podcasts. Our host is Anna Sega nicolazi.
This episode was written by Trevor Young and Anna Sega Nicolazzi.
Executive produced by Dick Wolf, Elliott Wolf, and Stephen Michael
at Wolf Entertainment on behalf of iHeartRadio. Executive produced by
(44:06):
Alex Williams and Matt Frederick, with supervising producers Trevor Young
and Chandler Mays and producers Jesse Funk, Nomes Griffin, and
Rima Alkali. This season is executive produced by Anna Sega Nicolazzi,
story producer Walker lamond. Our researchers are Carolyn Talmadge and Lukes.
(44:28):
Dance editing and sound designed by Nomes Griffin, original music
by John O'Hara, original theme by Mike Post, additional music
by Steve Moore, and additional voice over by me Steve Zernkelton.
Special thanks to Fox five in New York, ABC and
(44:50):
CBS for providing archival material for the show. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio and Wolf Entertainment, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Thanks for listening.
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