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Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
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Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 1 of 59 PageID #: 13580 EAG/JDG/CMP F.#2008R00530 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -X UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - against - DINO SARACINO, Defendant. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -X 08 CR 240 (S-6)(BMC) THE GOVERNMENT’S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM Elizabeth A. Geddes James D. Gatta Cristina M. Posa Assistant U.S. Attorneys (Of Counsel) LORETTA E. LYNCH United States Attorney Eastern District of New York 271 Cadman Plaza East Brooklyn, New York 11201
The Highlights or Lowlights depending on your perspective:
2. The Defendant’s Accountability for the Murder of Joseph Scopo Is Established by a Preponderance of the Evidence As an initial matter, as the government asserted in its response to Saracino’s objections to the PSR, the government submits that Saracino should be held responsible for the murder of Joseph Scopo, a casualty of the Colombo crime family war in which Saracino participated, as that murder was reasonably foreseeable to Saracino and constitutes relevant conduct. The 8 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 10 of 59 PageID #: 13589 jury found proven Racketeering Act Three, the predicate racketeering act alleging that Saracino, who was part of the faction of the crime family loyal to incarcerated boss Carmine Persico (the “Persico faction”), conspired to kill crime family members loyal to acting boss Victor Orena. At trial, Dino Calabro and Joseph Competiello variously testified that during the Colombo crime family war, Saracino was a member of the Persico faction; that Scopo, a member of the faction loyal to then-acting boss Victor Orena, was identified as a prime target during the war between the two factions; and that Saracino and others conducted surveillance of Scopo in connection with the war. (See PSR ¶¶ 35, 38; T. 1017-19, 1038-39 (Calabro’s testimony), 2062-64 (Competiello’s testimony)). Scopo was ultimately murdered on October 20, 1993, outside of his Queens residence, by members of the Persico faction. There is no dispute that Saracino did not participate directly in the Scopo murder. However, the murder was in furtherance of the conspiracy to murder members of the Orena faction and was reasonably foreseeable to Saracino, and accordingly constitutes relevant conduct for which he should be held accountable. A preponderance of the evidence supports that Scopo was murdered by members of the Persico faction, of which Saracino was part. Although no such evidence was adduced at Saracino’s trial, at a minimum, two guilty plea proceedings and evidence adduced in two separate trials in this courthouse have established by a 9 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 11 of 59 PageID #: 13590 preponderance of the evidence that Theodore Persico, Jr., Anthony Russo, Eric Curcio, Francis Guerra, John Pappa and John Sparacino, together with others, all of whom were allied with the Persico faction, murdered Scopo as part of the Colombo crime family war. Specifically, in May 2011, Anthony Russo pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, including the Scopo murder as a predicate racketeering act.3 (United States v. Russo, Crim. Docket No. 11-30 (KAM)). In June 2012, Theodore Persico, Jr., a nephew of Carmine Persico, waived statute of limitations and pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to murder Scopo in-aid-of racketeering in connection with his role in the murder. (United States v. Persico, Crim. Docket No. 10-147 (SLT) (ECF Docket Entry No. 563)). In 1999, Pappa was convicted after trial of racketeering conspiracy, including the Scopo murder as a predicate racketeering act. (United States v. Pappa, Crim. Docket No. 97-1005 (RJD) (ECF Docket Entry No. 175)). More recently, in 2012, Guerra was also tried on charges of racketeering conspiracy, including the Scopo murder as a racketeering act. Among other evidence admitted at trial, Russo testified that Guerra participated in the Scopo murder as part of the Colombo crime family war. (A copy of the relevant excerpts 3 In his allocution, Anthony Russo admitted, “[i]n or about 1993, in Brooklyn, I agreed to help other people kill Joey Sc[o]po, who was a member of the Colombo Crime Family [, and] [i]n or about October 20, 1993, I participated in the murder with other people by driving them to the scene, knowing their intent when they arrived was to kill Sc[o]po.” 10
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 12 of 59 PageID #: 13591 of Russo’s testimony in United States v. Guerra, Crim. Docket No. 10-147 (SLT), is enclosed as Exhibit A). Although Guerra was acquitted of the racketeering conspiracy charge, the evidence adduced at the trial was more than sufficient to establish by a preponderance of evidence that Scopo was in fact murdered by members of the Persico faction. See United States v. Carmona, 873 F.2d 569, 574 (2d Cir. 1989) (sentencing court entitled to rely on any type of information known to it, including testimony from trial in which person to be sentenced was not a defendant). In light of the testimony elicited at Saracino’s trial about the Colombo crime family war and Saracino’s personal participation in the surveillance of Scopo, and the facts set forth above, the government has established by at least a preponderance of evidence that the Scopo murder was in furtherance of the conspiracy to murder members of the Orena faction and was reasonably foreseeable to Saracino. Accordingly, the murder of Scopo constitutes relevant conduct under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3. 11
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 13 of 59 PageID #: 13592 3. The Government Proved Saracino’s Involvement in the Greaves Murder by at Least a Preponderance of the Evidence Saracino should be held accountable for his participation in the 1995 murder of Richard Greaves, because the government proved Saracino’s participation by at least a preponderance of the evidence. Saracino fatally shot Greaves and assisted in disposing of Greaves’s body on August 3, 1995. At trial, the government proved Saracino’s involvement in the Greaves murder through the testimony of four cooperating witnesses, including Saracino’s own brother, three of whom participated in Greaves’s murder and identified Saracino as the shooter, and also through Saracino’s own admissions on remarkably inculpatory consensual recordings. Additional evidence, including statements made by a coconspirator to another cooperating witness, also implicates Saracino in the murder. Some of this evidence is set forth below. a. Evidence of the Greaves Murder In February 2008, David Gordon advised the government (as he testified at trial) that Saracino had admitted to him at a bar in the mid-1990s that he and the Gioeli crew “did Richie in the dungeon,” a reference to the Saracino family basement on 74th Street in Brooklyn. (T. 3433). Thereafter, other witnesses independently provided accounts of Saracino’s participation in this homicide. On September 30, 2008, at his first proffer session with the government, Joseph Competiello advised that 12 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 14 of 59 PageID #: 13593 Saracino shot Greaves with a .38 caliber gun in the Saracino basement in the presence of Gioeli and others. (See T. 2145). Saracino’s cousin, Dino Calabro, and Saracino’s brother Sebastian Saracino thereafter provided chilling accounts of Gioeli and Saracino’s participation in the murder. (T. 1109 and 1112-13 (Calabro’s testimony), 4281-82 and 4314-16 (Sebastian Saracino’s testimony)). Competiello, Calabro and Sebastian Saracino also testified that they then cleaned up the murder scene, transported Greaves’s body to a burial site on Long Island and brought the Jeep in which Greaves drove to Saracino’s apartment to a location in the vicinity of the Verrazano bridge. (T. 1113-20 (Calabro’s testimony), 2146-50 (Competiello’s testimony), 4316-19 (Sebastian Saracino’s testimony)). Sebastian Saracino’s testimony is particularly compelling given the brothers’ relationship. As numerous witnesses have confirmed, Sebastian Saracino’s role in the mafia was relatively limited. Although Sebastian Saracino, together with his brother Dino Saracino, was inducted as a soldier into the Colombo crime family in 2003, by all accounts, it was Dino Saracino – not Sebastian Saracino – who held the lifelong dream of becoming an inducted member of the Colombo crime family. Indeed, by the time of his induction ceremony, Sebastian Saracino had moved to California and agreed to return to Brooklyn to be initiated only because Saracino urged him to do so – as Saracino put it, “if you don’t take it, somebody else will on the other 13
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 15 of 59 PageID #: 13594 side” (i.e., the Orena side). (T. 4361). This statement shows Saracino’s abiding commitment to both the Colombo family and, in particular, the Persico faction. When Sebastian Saracino was arrested in February 2010, he was charged with making false statements to immigration authorities. (T. 4356). Yet he readily pleaded guilty to his participation in the Greaves murder, among other crimes, and as a result, is now facing a possible life sentence. His disaffection with the mafia life had chosen was made clear during cross examination by counsel for Saracino: Q: What is it that you hope at the end of the day that that [5K1.1] letter will do for you as it relates to your sentence? A: What am I hoping? Q: What is your understanding? Why would you sign such a letter? Why would you sign such an agreement with the government to get such a letter? What is your hope at the end of the day? A: Only thing that I know is that the letter is going to have the good and all the bad crimes that I have committed. As far as hope, I feel like my hope went out the window when I participated with Richard Greaves murder. (T. 4458). Although the jury did not find proof beyond a reasonable doubt, it is hard to imagine why Sebastian Saracino would expose himself to a possible life sentence (or, initially, the death penalty) by fabricating his and his brother’s participation in Greaves’s murder. 14 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 16 of 59 PageID #: 13595 Moreover, Gordon, Competiello, Calabro and Sebastian Saracino’s accounts of Greaves’s murder are also corroborated by the testimony of several non-cooperating witnesses. For example, Sandra Tullo - Greaves’s girlfriend of two years - testified that Greaves disappeared on August 3, 1995 and that on the day of his disappearance, Greaves asked to borrow her car, a blue Jeep, and that the Jeep was recovered by the Verrazano Bridge a few days after Greaves’s disappearance, in the vicinity of where Competiello and Calabro testified the coconspirators in the murder left the Jeep. (T. 1115 (Calabro’s testimony that Competiello and Saracino left Tullo’s Jeep at the side of the [Brooklyn Queens Expressway], near - between 92nd Street and 86th Street[,]”) 2148 (Competiello’s testimony that Calabro and Saracino left Tullo’s Jeep at the Verrazano bridge in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn), 4319 (Sebastian Saracino’s testimony that Anthony Calabro moved Tullo’s Jeep to “New Utrecht Avenue [and] 17th Avenue somewhere”)).4 Dennis Basile testified that sometime after May 1995, Greaves and he decided to open up a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona5 and that Greaves invested money in the 4 the Verrazano Bridge is 92nd Street. 5 The last exit of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway before Competiello, Calabro and Sebastian Saracino also testified that Greaves planned to move away from New York following the robbery of the Chemical Bank, which took place on June 5, 1995. (T. 1107 (Calabro’s testimony), 2140 (Competiello’s testimony), 2757 (Competiello’s testimony), 4297 (Sebastian Saracino’s testimony)). 15
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 17 of 59 PageID #: 13596 restaurant, but that Greaves never moved to Arizona as planned and never attempted to recoup the money he invested. (T. 3348- 52). In addition, the cooperating witnesses’ accounts are corroborated in significant part by Saracino’s reaction to a subpoena served on his brother Sebastian Saracino in May 2008, which was captured on consensual recordings made by David Gordon. (T. 3045-46 (Gordon’s testimony)). Unbeknownst to Gordon, while Saracino and Gordon traveled to Florida in May 2008, FBI agents left a voicemail message on Saracino’s brother’s residence in California that they knew about his participation in “cleaning up with Richie.” (GX 601). Upon learning of this information, Saracino frantically tried to make sense of the voicemail message and made a series of inculpatory statements about the murder to Gordon. First, Saracino admitted in no uncertain terms his participation in murders: SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: (GX 501T(e) at 3). Later that night, Saracino observed: SARACINO: There’s a big time informant. I can’t figure it out. *** 16 Yeah, they’re wondering how we got through the cracks. What cracks, big guy? All these homicides and all Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 18 of 59 PageID #: 13597 SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: Did my brother Frankie have a big mouth? In what way, D? Did he tell a lot of secrets? To me, D? Honestly. I’m being honest with you D, to me, he never told me anything. Listen, D, I love you to death, he never once said anything. I mean, I was pretty close with him D, I mean, I mean, I guess Greggie, you know, might have been closer, you know, Squirts I guess, could, whatever, but he never said, you know. We were alone a lot, you know, we talked, you know, what I’m saying? [UI] He never, Frankie wasn’t like that D. I know, I remember. He wasn’t like that at all, I mean. You know. You think Nooch is an informant? You know. Come on, D. D, don’t let them fucking rattle you right now, D. Come on, it’s your cousin. D. I’m just saying. I know, but D, whatever news you got right now, calm, I mean, I don’t mean to say calm 17 SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON:
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 19 of 59 PageID #: 13598 SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: SARACINO: GORDON: down, but let it come in, let it, you know what I’m saying? D, they can fucking, do what they want the government, you know what I’m saying? It don’t make sense. [UI]. Can’t be from your brother. What? It can’t be anything from your brother, D. You know that? Why? What do you mean why, D? Your brother is gone 10 years, big guy. [UI]. Huh? [UI]. I don’t know, D. Joe Caves, maybe? Come on, D, what are you fucking crazy, D? Calm down. I wouldn’t think so. (GX 501T(f) at 3-4). (Copies of excerpts of these recordings are enclosed on Exhibit B in files respectively named “All the homicides.wav” and “Big time informant.wav”.) At trial, evidence established that each of the individuals whom Saracino feared may have become an informant – his “brother Frankie” (Frank Saracino), “Nooch” (Anthony Calabro, Saracino’s cousin and Calabro’s brother) and “Joe Caves” (Competiello) - were all 18 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 20 of 59 PageID #: 13599 present for the Greaves murder and/or the cleanup and could therefore implicate Saracino in that homicide. (T. 1117, 4314). Finally, in a consensual recording made on December 14, 2010, which was not presented at trial, Dino Calabro’s brother Anthony Calabro admitted to Colombo crime family associate (and defense witness) Thomas McLaughlin, who was wearing a recording device because he was cooperating with the government at that time, what happened during the Greaves murder. Corroborating Calabro and Competiello’s trial testimony, Anthony Calabro told McLaughlin that Competiello greeted Greaves when Greaves arrived at the Saracino residence and that Gioeli, Saracino and Calabro were inside waiting for him. The following is a transcript of an excerpt of the recording: MCLAUGHLIN: A. CALABRO: MCLAUGHLIN: A. CALABRO: And Dino [Saracino] and his brother [Sebastian Saracino] were waiting for him in the house. His brother was waiting for him in the house. All of them. They were all waiting. There were sitting down. They were hanging out. Little D- [Dino Saracino] Uh huh Joe Caves [Competiello] and Tommy [UI] [Gioeli] (A copy of an excerpt of the recording is enclosed with this brief on Exhibit B in a file named “His brother was waiting.wav”.) McLaughlin also advised the government that following the arrest of Gioeli, Calabro and Competiello, Saracino 19 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 21 of 59 PageID #: 13600 admitted to McLaughlin that “we” – Gioeli’s crew – were responsible for the Greaves murder. (A copy of an FBI report documenting Saracino’s admission to McLaughlin is enclosed as Exhibit C.) In light of the above, and all the evidence adduced at trial, Saracino’s participation in the Greaves murder was proven by at least a preponderance of the evidence. b. Saracino’s Defenses to the Greaves Murder Saracino argued at trial that the cooperating witnesses’ testimony was the product of cross-contamination of witness information by government agents and was inconsistent and unreliable. Saracino’s claim of cross-contamination is without merit on all counts, but particularly preposterous regarding the Greaves murder. As described above, in early 2008 – long before Competiello, Calabro and Sebastian Saracino began cooperating – David Gordon told the government that Saracino had confessed to him at a bar that he and the others had murdered Greaves in Saracino’s basement. After charging Saracino, Calabro and Competiello with the Greaves murder, the government did not disclose publicly or to the defendants how, where or by whom Greaves had been murdered. When asked about Greaves when Competiello first met with the government in September 2008, he answered without any hesitation that Saracino had shot him in the Saracino family’s basement, corroborating Gordon’s account of Saracino’s admission. Thereafter, Calabro and Saracino’s 20 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 22 of 59 PageID #: 13601 brother, Sebastian Saracino, also stated – in their first meetings with the government – that it was Saracino who fatally shot Greaves in the basement of the Saracino family’s house. They did so without hesitation, like Competiello. To the extent that Saracino continues to argue the materiality of the discrepancies in Calabro, Competiello and Sebastian Saracino’s testimony (such as which murder participant drove in which car to Long Island to bury Greaves’s corpse), the government submits that these discrepancies cannot outweigh the fact that each and every participant in the murder who testified has consistently identified Saracino as the man who shot Richard Greaves in the back of the head in his own basement. Rather, these minor inconsistences are attributable to the witnesses’ faulty memories of minor details of an event that occurred almost two decades ago. The inconsistences are particularly understandable given that Saracino, Gioeli and the cooperating witnesses disposed of multiple bodies – Carmine Gargano, Greaves and Cutolo – in close proximity to each other in Farmingdale, New York. It is thus not particularly surprising that the witnesses would confuse minor details such as who was in a particular car for the disposal of a particular murder victim. Finally, Saracino presented the fantastical theory that the government’s inability to recover Greaves’s body suggested that Greaves was never murdered. A preponderance of evidence, however, shows that Greaves was murdered – each family member who 21
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 23 of 59 PageID #: 13602 has been interviewed by the government has advised that they have not seen Greaves since August 3, 1995, and as his girlfriend Sandra Tullo testified, a memorial mass was held for him. (T. 4272). In addition, as noted above, it is unfathomable that Sebastian Saracino, facing a mere false statement charge, would fabricate the murder and then implicate himself in it just to frame his own brother. This theory also fails to explain why Competiello admitted to the murder so readily. And it certainly does not explain Saracino’s boast that he “did Richie in the dungeon” (T. 3433), or his recorded attempt to identify the “big time informant” (GX 501T(f)) who could have revealed that Saracino killed Greaves. Simply put, Saracino’s defenses should be rejected and his participation in the Greaves murder should be found proven by at least a preponderance of the evidence. 4. The Government Proved the Defendant’s Involvement in the Dols Murder by at Least a Preponderance of the Evidence Between January 1996 and August 1997, Saracino conspired with Cacace, who at the time was a high-ranking and powerful member of the Colombo crime family, Gioeli, Calabro, Saracino and Competiello to murder New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) Officer Ralph Dols. Like the Greaves murder, the evidence establishes Saracino’s participation – again, as a shooter – in the Dols murder by at least a preponderance of the evidence. At trial, the government proved Saracino’s involvement 22 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 24 of 59 PageID #: 13603 in the Dols murder through the testimony of Calabro and Competiello, who participated in the murder; the testimony of Sebastian Saracino, who assisted in disposing of evidence following the murder; surveillance evidence showing Gioeli’s close association with Cacace during the period of the murder conspiracy; as well as civilian testimony and documentary evidence corroborating the cooperating witnesses’ testimony. Some of this evidence is set forth below. a. Evidence of the Ralph Dols Murder Calabro testified that he learned from Gioeli that Joel “Joe Waverly” Cacace wanted to have a “piece of work” done (i.e., that Cacace wanted someone killed) on an occasion when Gioeli and Calabro were both at Cacace’s social club, located at 2116 Avenue X in Brooklyn. Gioeli then showed Calabro Dols’s car and residence at 2107 East 19th Street in Brooklyn (on the corner of East 19th Street and Avenue U). (T. 1151, 1154-55). Calabro and Competiello each testified that Calabro then told Competiello and Saracino about the order to kill Dols (whose identity was unknown to them at the time), and the three routinely conducted surveillance of Dols in the vicinity of Dols’s residence. (T. 1155-56 (Calabro’s testimony), 1160 (Calabro’s testimony), 2165- 66 (Competiello’s testimony)). Sebastian Saracino also testified that Calabro, Saracino and Competiello were “sitting on” someone in the weeks prior to the murder of Dols. (T. 4321). 23 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 25 of 59 PageID #: 13604 Calabro testified that at some point in the summer of 1997, Gioeli revealed to Calabro that Cacace was pressuring Gioeli to commit the murder quickly. (T. 1161). Calabro’s testimony on this point was corroborated by Sebastian Saracino’s testimony describing how Saracino told him, “this guy [making a gesture indicating Cacace] is coming down on Tommy [Gioeli], and Tommy is coming down on Zeke [a reference to Calabro].” (T. 4321). Subsequently, as Calabro and Competiello testified, Competiello and Saracino stole a silver Chevrolet Caprice on or about August 18, 1997, to use in the murder. (T. 1161 (Calabro’s testimony), 2163-64 (Competiello’s testimony)). Their testimony was corroborated by Abraham Shrem, who testified that on or about August 18, 1997, his silver Chevrolet Caprice was stolen from 1807 East 3rd Street in Brooklyn, in very close proximity to where Competiello testified he and Saracino had stolen the vehicle. (T. 2163-64 (Competiello’s testimony that he and Saracino stole a car from East 2nd Street between Quentin Street and Kings Highway in Brooklyn), 3575-78 (Shrem’s testimony that his car was stolen from 1807 East 3rd Street in Brooklyn)).6 Competiello testified that he and Saracino retrieved two guns from a bin in the garage of 475 Avenue Y, Brooklyn, New York, a property owned by Sebastian Saracino and one of the 6 1807 East 3rd Street in Brooklyn is located between Quentin Street and Kings Highway - one block west of 2nd Street. 24
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 26 of 59 PageID #: 13605 locations that the Colombo crime family stored guns. (T. 2166, 2970-72). In March 2005, NYPD officers recovered a cache of firearms and ammunition from that very location. (T. 3491-92). Notably, David Gordon also testified that after this weapons seizure, Saracino told him that he (Gordon) might have to “take the fall” for the weapons. (T. 2970). Competiello and Calabro both testified that together with Saracino, they acted as a three-man hit team that shot Officer Ralph Dols to death outside his home on East 19th Street. Specifically, Calabro and Competiello testified that on the night of the murder, Competiello parked in a Cadillac El Dorado owned by Saracino on East 19th Street and Avenue V, approximately one block south of Dols’s residence. (T. 1164 (Calabro’s testimony), 2169 (Competiello’s testimony)). They each further testified that when Competiello observed Dols turning onto East 19th Street, he radioed Calabro and Saracino to notify them of Dols’s approach and Saracino and Calabro, who were in the stolen Caprice a few blocks away, proceeded to Dols’s residence. (T. 1166 (Calabro’s testimony), 2170 (Competiello’s testimony)). Calabro testified that Saracino was armed with a .45 caliber pistol and Calabro was armed with a .44 caliber revolver. (T. 1163). Competiello likewise testified that they were armed with a revolver and a pistol, albeit a .357 revolver and a .45 caliber pistol. (T. 2166). This testimony was corroborated by retired NYPD crime scene unit (“CSU”) detective Margaret Roche, who 25
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 27 of 59 PageID #: 13606 recovered .45 caliber discharged shells and deformed lead bullets at the scene (T. 3375) and NYPD ballistics expert Wilfredo Torres, who testified that revolvers do not discharge shells (T. 3510). Calabro and Competiello also both testified that when Dols then parked his car in front of 2107 East 19th Street and as he was exiting his vehicle, Saracino and Calabro got out of the Caprice and shot him. (T. 1166-67 (Calabro’s testimony), 2171 (Competiello’s testimony)). Retired CSU detective Thomas Signorelli corroborated this testimony by describing in detail how the grouping of the bullet holes in the driver’s side window of Dols’s car and the angle at which they were shot indicated that two shooters were involved. (T. 3455-58). Competiello and Calabro’s testimony differed with respect to the cars used in the murder. Competiello recalled that two cars were used in the murder: the stolen Caprice and Saracino’s green Cadillac El Dorado. (T. 2168). Calabro recalled that three cars were used: the stolen Caprice, Saracino’s green Cadillac El Dorado and a brown Mercury Cougar that had been registered to a fabricated person who was 26
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 28 of 59 PageID #: 13607 purportedly living at Calabro’s wife’s grandmother’s house.7 (T. 1161-62). After the murder, as Calabro, Competiello and Sebastian Saracino testified, Saracino, Calabro and Competiello returned to Saracino’s residence in Brooklyn. (T. 1170 (Calabro’s testimony), 2171 (Competiello’s testimony), 4322 (Sebastian Saracino’s testimony)). Sebastian Saracino testified that Calabro and Saracino then gave Sebastian Saracino a duffel bag to discard, which he did. (T. 4378). The next day, they learned in the news that the victim was an NYPD officer. Calabro testified that he went to see Gioeli at Gioeli’s home in Farmingdale, Long Island, to discuss the ramifications of having murdered a police officer. (T. 1175). 7 Although Competiello does not recall that a third vehicle – the brown Mercury Cougar – was used in the murder, Calabro’s testimony regarding this car was corroborated extensively. He testified that after the murder, he learned that officers had told his wife’s grandmother, who resided at 1582 West 7th Street in Brooklyn, that a parking ticket had been issued for the car for failing to follow alternate side parking restrictions, causing Calabro to arrange to get rid of the car. (T. 1180-81, 1183-84). New York City Department of Finance records reveal that on the day of the murder, a parking ticket for failing to follow alternate side parking restrictions was issued to a vehicle with license plate R282AY, registered to Abraham Rodriguez at 1582 West 7th Street, Brooklyn, New York. (T. 3562- 67; GX 383, 386). Gioeli’s cousin Salvatore Tese testified, as Calabro similarly testified, that in January 1998, Gioeli had Tese store a brown American-made car consistent with a brown Mercury Cougar. (T. 1183-84 (Calabro’s testimony); 3362-63 . Finally, FBI Special Agent Scott Curtis testified that in the late 1997 or early 1998, he saw a brown car at Tese’s residence and that in January 1998, he observed a brown Mercury registered to Abraham Rodriguez with license plate R282AY. (T. 3589-90). 27 (Tese’s testimony)) Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 29 of 59 PageID #: 13608 The use of Saracino’s green Cadillac El Dorado in the Dols murder was extensively corroborated. Sebastian Saracino testified about his brother Dino’s top priority after killing a police officer – keeping his Cadillac:8 My brother was pissed off because he paid good money for the car, it was his first nice car, he didn’t want to . . . get rid of it, nobody was helping him and nobody was giving him money to get rid of the car, so he found a place in the city, freight shipping companies. So they drove it out to the city and we sent it down to Nino [cousin Antonino Saracino] in Florida. (T. 4324). And Sebastian Saracino’s testimony on this point was fully corroborated by the testimony of Saracino’s cousin Antonino Saracino (T. 4323-24) and Calabro (T. 1180), as well as Department of Motor Vehicle records presented at trial, which showed the transfer of the vehicle from a close associate of Dino Saracino (Joseph Casa) to Antonino Saracino in 1998. (GX 304b). In addition, statements from eyewitnesses taken the day following the Dols murder – which were not adduced at trial – corroborate the cooperating witnesses’ testimony. For example, one eyewitness advised police officers that, from her residence on East 19th Street between Avenue U and Avenue T, she observed a 8 This detail, while relatively minor in the breathtaking scope of Saracino’s crimes, in some ways says everything one needs to know about Saracino: his extraordinary selfishness and callous disregard for human life is so great that his primary concern after having learned he killed an innocent man, and an NYPD officer at that, was finding a safe home for his “first nice car.” 28
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 30 of 59 PageID #: 13609 hunter green El Dorado with a full tan-colored rag top traveling at a high rate of speed northbound on East 19th Street. She further advised that she saw a second vehicle also traveling at a high rate of speed in front of the El Dorado. (A copy of a report documenting the witness’s statements is enclosed as Exhibit D.) In light of the above, and all the evidence adduced at trial, Saracino’s participation in the Dols murder was proven by at least a preponderance of the evidence. b. Saracino’s Defenses To The Dols Murder As he argued with respect to the Greaves murder, Saracino argued at trial that the cooperating witness testimony offered by the government lacked credibility and was in part internally inconsistent. As the government argued at trial, Saracino’s claims miss the most important point: the testimony of Calabro, Competiello and Sebastian Saracino regarding Saracino’s role as a shooter and their own roles in the Dols murder was entirely consistent. The minor inconsistencies – such as the number of cars used in the murder – are more attributable to faulty memories of an event that occurred almost fifteen years earlier. Moreover, the existence of such inconsistences between the witnesses is proof that the accounts were not the result of cross-contamination by the government as he claimed at trial. At trial Saracino also argued that Officer Dols’s dying declaration that there were three – not two - men who shot him 29 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 31 of 59 PageID #: 13610 suggests that Calabro and Competiello’s testimony was lacking. However, Officer Dols’s dying declaration does not, in fact, undermine their testimony. Notably, the police report containing the declaration stated that Dols was wearing an oxygen mask and could only give one-word answers to the detective’s questions. In that context, his declaration is consistent with the testimony presented at trial; that is, there were three men, Calabro, Saracino and Competiello. Dols was is no state to clarify that one of the three men was a driver of a getaway car as opposed to a shooter. Morever, Dols had just been ambushed by a fusillade of lead bullets and died shortly thereafter; he was undoubtedly in no state to explain anything in any detail. Because Saracino’s defenses are otherwise inconsistent with the evidence, they should be rejected and his participation in the Dols murder should be found proven by at least a preponderance of the evidence. 5. The Government Proved Saracino’s Involvement in The Cutolo Murder by at Least a Preponderance of the Evidence In 1999, Saracino entered into a conspiracy with then- Colombo crime family acting boss Alphonse “Allie Boy” Persico, Gioeli, Calabro, Competiello and others to murder William “Wild Bill” Cutolo, the underboss of the Colombo crime family. On May 26, 1999, Gioeli, Saracino and the others murdered Cutolo as planned and disposed of his body in Farmingdale, New York. 30 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 32 of 59 PageID #: 13611 Like the Greaves and Dols murders, the evidence establishes Saracino’s involvement in the Cutolo murder by at least a preponderance of the evidence, including, among other evidence, the testimony of Calabro and Competiello, who participated directly in the Cutolo murder; the testimony of Sebastian Saracino regarding admissions made by Saracino; recordings containing admissions of coconspirator Vincent Manzo; telephone records; autopsy evidence; and testimony regarding the recovery of Cutolo’s body on October 6, 2008 in the very location where Competiello told the FBI he and the others buried Cutolo. a. Evidence of Cutolo’s Murder Calabro and Salvatore Vitale, who at the time of Cutolo’s murder was the underboss of the Bonanno organized crime family, testified that when Cutolo was killed, Cutolo was the underboss of the Colombo crime family. (T. 316 (Vitale’s testimony); 1205 (Calabro’s testimony)). As Calabro testified, the acting boss at the time, Alphonse Persico, and administration member John DeRoss believed that Cutolo had become too powerful and were concerned that he would take over the crime family. (T. 1206-07). Calabro explained that prior to the murder, at Gioeli’s request, he met with Gioeli in the garden behind Our Lady of Lourdes church in Massapequa, New York. (T. 1196-97). There, as Calabro testified, Gioeli told him that “he had just left Pooch [a reference to Persico] and Betty Boop [a reference to DeRoss] and he was to go here [while Gioeli gestured a sign 31 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 33 of 59 PageID #: 13612 for murder] with this guy [while Gioeli gestured a reference to Cutolo].” (Id.) Calabro understood that Gioeli was telling him that Persico and DeRoss wanted to murder Cutolo and was enlisting Calabro’s assistance. Calabro readily agreed. Calabro testified that initially, they planned to have Vincent “Chickie” DeMartino assist in the murder. Thereafter, however, Gioeli and Calabro met with Persico at a Nissan dealership in Hempstead, New York, where they requested and received permission from Persico to have Gioeli’s crew, namely, Calabro, Saracino and Competiello, carry out the murder without DeMartino. (T. 1215-16). Joseph Gorga, Cutolo’s mechanic, testified that on May 26, 1999, at Cutolo’s request, Gorga drove Cutolo to 92nd Street and Shore Road in Brooklyn, New York. (T. 1926). Calabro and Competiello testified about what happened once Gorga dropped Cutolo off in Brooklyn. Calabro explained that Gioeli drove Cutolo to the vicinity of Saracino’s basement apartment. (T. 1195). Calabro and Competiello testified that when Cutolo arrived, Calabro walked him into the apartment and then shot Cutolo with .38 caliber revolver. (T. 1221 (Calabro’s testimony), 1233 (Calabro’s testimony), 2185 (Competiello’s testimony)). They also testified that Competiello and Saracino, who were armed with firearms, were hiding in the apartment to assist if needed. (T. 1219-20, 2182). 32
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 34 of 59 PageID #: 13613 Their testimony was further corroborated by Saracino’s own admissions to Sebastian Saracino, which he made while discussing renovations their home, where both Cutolo and Greaves were killed. Specifically, Sebastian Saracino testified: Q: Explain exactly what your brother said to you about Wild Bill’s murder. A: That Tommy dropped him off and Zeke [Calabro] walked him in and blasted him, and that Joe Caves was in the bathroom, and he was behind the door of the basement. Q: Who was behind the door? A: My brother Dino. So he was having his apartment renovated upstairs and he was worried about the door. So I said, if you are worried, then just have the door changed. Have the kid [who was performing renovations] change it. (T. 4367). Sebastian Saracino then identified in a photograph the metal door that Saracino used to replace the wooden louvered door that was present when Cutolo was killed. (T. 4368). Competiello and Calabro also testified about the events following Cutolo’s murder. According to the two witnesses, Competiello and Saracino cleaned up Cutolo’s body and the area surrounding where he was shot. (T. 1222 (Calabro’s testimony), 2186 (Competiello’s testimony)). Among other items, Competiello and Saracino removed $10,000 in cash from Cutolo’s person, which 33
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 35 of 59 PageID #: 13614 they split.9 (T. 1223-24 (Calabro’s testimony), 2186 (Competiello’s testimony)). The remaining personal items recovered from Cutolo’s body were placed inside a bucket, which was then filled with cement and discarded from a Brooklyn pier. (T. 1223-24 (Calabro’s testimony), 2192 (Competiello’s testimony)). Gioeli and Saracino, together with Calabro, Competiello and Colombo crime family member Vincent Manzo, among others, transported Cutolo’s body to Farmingdale, New York, where Calabro, Competiello and Saracino buried Cutolo. (T. 1225-30 (Calabro’s testimony)). Calabro and Competiello’s testimony was directly corroborated by, inter alia, admissions by Vincent Manzo to cooperating witness Reynold Maragni in November and December 2011. On November 18, 2011, Manzo told Maragni that four people could implicate Manzo in the Cutolo murder: Calabro, Saracino, Competiello and Gioeli. (See generally GX 502T(a)). Specifically, Manzo said: “The only ones that really knew I had anything to do with that are me, Joey Caves and the other guy Dino. The two Dinos [Calabro and Saracino], Joey Caves [Competiello], and Tommy [Gioeli].” (GX 502T(a) at 1). On 9 Competiello’s testimony regarding the cash was also corroborated by a record showing that on June 11, 1999 – just two weeks after Cutolo’s murder – Competiello purchased a 1997 silver Grand Marquis. (GX 365). Although Competiello does not remember what he used his share of the $10,000 to buy, he testified that he used the proceeds of crimes he committed to buy, among other things, cars. (T. 2193). 34
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 36 of 59 PageID #: 13615 December 8, 2011, Manzo explained again what transpired on the night that he participated in the disposal of Cutolo’s body: MARAGNI: Most likely it was Dino’s house, but you went to a house in the driveway. Then what’s you do? You popped? MANZO: Popped the trunk MARAGNI: [UI] MANZO: Threw him in. Followed them out. And that’s the way it was. MARAGNI: Okay. MANZO: And I was alone. MARAGNI: You were alone when you drove from Long Island. Went to the bowling alley. Where? Out in Amityville? MANZO: Yeah, where he lives. MARAGNI: Oh, okay. Alright. MANZO: Wasn’t too far from where he lives. MARAGNI: Exactly. What the fuck were they thinking? Then Tommy got with you? MANZO: Right. He showed me where the hole was. ‘Cause I didn’t know where to go there. MARAGNI: So he showed you where to go. Okay. You got there, they took him out. MANZO: Right. MARAGNI: They took him out. Tommy got back in your car? MANZO: Tommy got in my car. MARAGNI: Back to the bowling alley. 35
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 37 of 59 PageID #: 13616 MANZO: Tommy didn’t even get out of the car. MARAGNI: He stayed in the car the whole time. MANZO: Right. MARAGNI: Okay, you took him back to the bowling alley. MANZO: Right. MARAGNI: He got out. They got in. MANZO: Right. He says, “Go ahead. Take a while.” MARAGNI: Okay, Big Dino and Joey Caves. MANZO: Right. MARAGNI: Little Dino stayed with him. MANZO: Right. (GX 502T(c) at 5-7). Finally, Competiello and Calabro’s testimony, along with Manzo’s admissions to Maragni, were further corroborated by the recovery of Cutolo’s body in a wooded area in Farmingdale on October 6, 2008, in the very location where Competiello told the FBI he and the others buried Cutolo. (T. 65 (testimony of Special Agent Katherine Kelley with the Evidence Recovery Team); 3651 (testimony of Special Agent Curtis)). Calabro and Competiello’s testimony was corroborated by ballistics evidence and a medical examiner’s testimony. For example, the medical examiner testified that, as Calabro and Competiello testified, the cause of Cutolo’s death was determined to be homicide and the bullet recovered from Cutolo’s head was a 36
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 38 of 59 PageID #: 13617 .38 caliber bullet. (T. 150; GX 224; T. 1233 (Calabro’s testimony that he used a .38 caliber revolver to murder Cutolo), 2185 (Competiello’s testimony that Calabro used a .38 caliber gun to murder Cutolo)). Finally, Calabro and Competiello’s testimony was corroborated by telephone records. First, the records reveal that Persico and a telephone number listed for “Tommy G” (presumably Tommy Gioeli) in Cutolo’s organizer, 917-947-7566, were in frequent communication in the days leading up to Cutolo’s murder. For example, right before the murder on May 20, 24 and 25, 1999, Persico contacted Gioeli multiple times. At 6:30 p.m. on May 26, 1999, there was another call between Persico and Gioeli, presumably to confirm that Cutolo had been killed according to the plan. Second, telephone records for a cellular telephone used by Cutolo revealed that the last three outgoing telephone calls placed from Cutolo’s telephone were: Date Time 5/26 1:16 p.m. 5/27 3:21 p.m. 5/27 3:26 p.m. Dialed Number 718-763-5500 718-763-5500 917-947-7566 Duration 4 minutes 1 minute 1 minute As the government argued at trial, the first call on May 27, 1999, the day after Cutolo was last seen, was inadvertent, i.e., Calabro, Competiello and/or Saracino accidentally pressed redial on Cutolo’s cellular telephone, which they had taken from his person, and called the number last called by Cutolo (prior to his murder). The second call on May 27, 1999, was a call from the 37
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 39 of 59 PageID #: 13618 coconspirators to Gioeli as they were getting rid of Cutolo’s belongings, dumping them in the ocean. In light of the above and all the evidence adduced at trial, Saracino’s participation in the Cutolo murder was proven by at least a preponderance of the evidence. b. Saracino’s Defenses to the Cutolo Murder Faced with such overwhelming evidence, Saracino argued at trial that the government’s witnesses – Calabro, Competiello and Sebastian Saracino – as well as Manzo, who did not know he was being recorded, were all lying when they implicated Saracino in the Cutolo murder. As he did with the Greaves murder, Saracino argued extensively about witnesses’ faulty memories regarding who drove in what car to bury Cutolo. But as explained above, any inconsistences are easily attributable to the amount of time that has passed since the murder and the number of similar murders in which Saracino and the others participated. Due to these significant weaknesses, Saracino’s defenses should be rejected and his participation in the Cutolo murder should be found proven by at least a preponderance of the evidence.
a. Nature and Circumstances of the Offenses As detailed above and in the PSR and as set forth more fully during Saracino’s trial, Saracino committed heinous crimes as part of his abiding criminal commitment to the Colombo crime family over the course of nearly two decades: murder, murder conspiracy, robbery, extortion, loansharking, assault and many other crimes. The disturbing nature of his conduct cannot be overstated. Saracino shot Greaves and Dols to death, and participated in the murder of Cutolo. He also helped to dispose of the bodies of Gargano, Greaves and Cutolo in a remote wooded area in Long Island, depriving them of the dignity of a burial, and their families of the closure a burial can provide. Saracino plotted murder to please superiors in the crime family, to 44 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 46 of 59 PageID #: 13625 establish and advance his position within the Colombo crime family and to seek personal vengeance. He stole money and then used that money to establish a lucrative loansharking business enforced by violence. When law enforcement closed in on his criminal activities, he obstructed justice. Given the breathtaking nature of Saracino’s crimes and the defendant’s supervisory role in the racketeering enterprise, the nature and characteristics of the offenses weigh heavily in favor of imposing a sentence that incarcerates him for life. b. History and Characteristics of the Defendant Saracino’s history and characteristics also strongly weigh in favor of the imposition of the maximum sentence permitted by law. i. Saracino’s Dedication to the Goals of the Colombo Crime Family Saracino’s unwavering loyalty to the Colombo crime family and its goals was perhaps best demonstrated through his eager participation in the Greaves, Dols and Cutolo murders. When Gioeli’s crew decided that Greaves had to be killed, Saracino fatally shot Greaves in the head as he sat at the kitchen table in Saracino’s basement. Saracino and the others then took the body of their friend and criminal associate and buried it in a secluded area near Gioeli’s home. When he learned of the order to kill Dols, a man he did not know, Saracino assisted in stealing a car, procuring guns from his family’s 45 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 47 of 59 PageID #: 13626 property at 475 Avenue Y in Brooklyn and conducted surveillance of his target. Saracino then fatally shot Officer Dols in a hail of bullets in front of his home as Dols tried to exit his car. Not long afterwards, when Saracino received the next order to kill, he armed himself with a gun and waited in the basement of his parents’ home, ready to shoot if called upon, for Cutolo to arrive. At the conclusion of this murder spree, when they had earned induction into the Colombo crime family, Saracino bragged to Competiello that he had one more “notch” than Competiello and ran his hand through his hair, a reference to Joel Cacace, who had ordered the murder of Officer Dols. Saracino also profited from his participation in the crime family. In 1995, Saracino earned tens of thousands of dollars with his share of the approximately $200,000 in proceeds from the robbery of Chemical Bank on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow, New York. He also participated in a score of burglaries of banks and other commercial establishments and thefts from trucks. (PSR ¶¶ 92-95). Through these crimes and more, Saracino earned a reputation as a lethal mob soldier. He is a murderer, extortionist, drug dealer, loanshark, thief and obstructionist. He spent his twenties putting “notches” on his belt by taking life by his own hand. Such craven behavior brought him respect and power in the Colombo crime family; by the 2000s, Saracino was 46
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 48 of 59 PageID #: 13627 a soldier with close bonds to the family’s street boss Gioeli and Gioeli’s confident, captain Dino Calabro. Significantly, Saracino traded on his reputation and the reputation of Gioeli’s crew for murder and other acts of violence to launch and maintain a lucrative loansharking business. Sebastian Saracino testified that at the time of Saracino’s arrest in June 2008, Saracino had more than $500,000 in outstanding loanshark loans owed to him. (T. 4352). Calabro similarly testified that Saracino had lent out “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” (T. 1056). Gordon testified Saracino had extended numerous loanshark loans between the mid-1990s and 2007 and as of 2008, Gordon alone owed Saracino $120,000 in outstanding loanshark loans. (T. 2974-75). Saracino’s commitment to crime and the Colombo crime family continued even after his June 2008 arrest. First, he made efforts to maintain his loansharking operation while he was incarcerated. For example, prior to his arrest, he made sure Gordon and his brother Sebastian Saracino had access to the list of individuals who owed money to him. (T. 3013, 4351). Saracino wanted to ensure that they would continue to collect payments from the loanshark customers he extorted. On the day of Saracino’s arrest, the FBI recovered a leather folder from a car belonging to Saracino’s wife containing a calculator and a ledger pad with names and numbers, which corresponded to loanshark amounts owed to Saracino. (T. 2599-2601; see T. 3012-14 (Gordon 47
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 49 of 59 PageID #: 13628 testifying that Saracino’s “book” or “leather binder” had the “information of all his [loanshark] customers; what they paid, how much they owed”); GX 342 (ledger recovered on June 23, 2008), 501(I) (excerpt of a consensual recording between April Saracino and Gordon on June 23, 2008 in which April states “I think I have the book in my truck.”)). In addition, Saracino’s post-arrest efforts were revealed on several consensual recordings made by Thomas McLaughlin after Saracino’s arrest. Anthony Russo, then a Colombo crime family acting captain, associate Larry Sessa and McLaughlin discussed Saracino’s attempts from jail to collect Saracino’s outstanding loansharking proceeds. For example, on a consensual recording made on September 21, 2010, Anthony Russo told McLaughlin that Russo had received a message from Saracino regarding the outstanding loans owed to Saracino and that Sessa had given one of the debtors a “massive beating.” An excerpt of a draft transcript of the recording follows: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: First of all, I gotta message straight from the horse’s mouth. . . . Dino’s [Dino Saracino] wife [April Saracino] wanted to know who is AR [Anthony Russo’s initials]. Who is that? [Sarcastically] I don’t know. Who’s AR? AR? Oh you. 48
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 50 of 59 PageID #: 13629 RUSSO: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: Okay. And he said, “I got a message from my husband [Dino Saracino] for you to go see AR and tell him I don’t want no one going to see my wife [April Saracino] with any kind of monies.” *** That’s another thing. That’s another thing. I gotta list [of individuals who owed money to Dino Saracino]. *** Yeah, Fatso [a nickname for Sessa] must have been keeping it quiet so he can run around and fuck No, he’s been telling me everything since day one. He came to me when he first got the list. Said, What do we do with this list? I said, Stop being so concerned about this poor kid right now because what are you gonna do, get in trouble for this kid. Listen to me, he ain’t running around for nothing. No, of course not. Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing. There’s this one kid I told him that we need to find, that he needs to find that owes a lot of money. First of all, why’s this kid Buzz [UI] for it. He was gonna bring the money. How much is it? 49
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 51 of 59 PageID #: 13630 MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: It’s $200 a month. How much does he owe? I don’t even know. 15,000? No, I think it was like 12,000. And he wants to give him 200 a month? It just went up to 500. (A copy of excerpts of the recording is enclosed on Exhibit B in a file named “message from Dino.wav”). This conversation about Saracino’s post-incarceration efforts to collect loanshark money is further corroborated by Gordon’s recordings of Saracino’s wife, who had been enlisted by Saracino to assist in Saracino’s loansharking business (see T. 2976; GX 501(I)), as well as records of the Metropolitan Detention Center (“MDC”) that reveal that Sessa, using an alias, was depositing money into Saracino’s account. Saracino also continued to show his loyalty to the Colombo crime family. For example, he assaulted a fellow inmate simply because the inmate had disrespected Gioeli, a superior in the Colombo crime family. On September 30, 2010, April Saracino told McLaughlin and Anthony Russo that she had spent three hours that day with Saracino, who was then incarcerated in the Special Housing Unit (“SHU”). She explained the reason for Saracino’s placement in the SHU: 50 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 52 of 59 PageID #: 13631 MCLAUGHLIN: A SARACINO: RUSSO: A SARACINO: MDC records confirm that Saracino was sanctioned for a fight at the MDC on September 26, 2010, four days before April Saracino met with McLaughlin and Russo. (PSR ¶ 513). ii. Saracino’s Other Characteristics As a young man, Saracino made a deliberate choice to affiliate himself with organized crime. Unlike many defendants who appear before the Court, Saracino had ample opportunities to live a productive and law-abiding life. He was raised by two hardworking and loving parents and enjoyed close relationships with his older and younger brothers. (E.g., PSR ¶ 507 (describing Saracino’s father as “hard-working man who stressed education and respect”)). Saracino’s parents raised him and his brothers in a middle-class lifestyle and by all counts, rejected the means and methods of the mafia. (Id.) Yet, the defendant at an early age dropped out of school and elected to devote his life to the mob, following his cousin, Dino Calabro, and the man to whom Calabro reported, Gioeli, into its violent lifestyle. Notwithstanding the example set by his parents, the defendant chose a far easier and more lucrative pursuit: earning money through crime under the auspices of the Colombo crime 51 What’s the investigation for? Someone was abusing Tommy [Gioeli] and he, he went - Went to work on them? Yeah. I think [UI] fight. Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 53 of 59 PageID #: 13632 family. In fact, Saracino was such a successful criminal that he was able to live a comfortable life and support several children (see PSR ¶¶ 509-10), without working an honest day in his life. (See PSR ¶ 521). Nor has Saracino paid a dime in taxes on the hundreds of thousands of dollars he has earned in illegal proceeds. (See PSR ¶ 522). Instead, he preyed upon civil society as a member of a pernicious gang. Without any employment commitments, Saracino has been able to stay out late at night, socialize with other mafia members at gambling and social clubs affiliated with the mob, and be catered to by loyal associates like Gordon who drove him around. Saracino also had ample time to spend with his wife and also his girlfriend with whom he fathered a child. Moreover, Saracino has remained defiant and unrepentant to the end. When the government’s investigation drew close to him and the Gioeli crew, he tampered with grand jury witnesses and obstructed the investigation. Saracino bragged to Gordon that the government could not “break the wall of silence,” referring to him and the other members of Gioeli’s crew. Saracino told Gordon, in a statement corroborating Gordon’s position as a trusted part of Saracino’s inner circle, “we didn’t allow too many people in our lives; we really didn’t.” (A copy of excerpts of a consensual recording dated May 6, 2008 are enclosed on Exhibit B in a file named “Wall of silence.wav”, and a draft transcript of those excerpts is enclosed as Exhibit E.) 52 Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 54 of 59 PageID #: 13633 Further, he relished serving prison time almost as a badge of honor. Saracino suggested to Gordon in a recorded conversation on May 7, 2008 that he might have to serve 17 years in jail. He said, “I’ll take it fucking with a smile.” (A copy of excerpts of a consensual recording dated May 7, 2008 are enclosed on Exhibit B in a file named “17 years.wav”, and a draft transcript of those excerpts is enclosed as Exhibit F.) The time has come for Saracino to be held accountable for his horrific crimes. Any sentence less than one that results in life incarceration would undermine the gravity of the defendant’s choices and send a message to others that they too can succeed through this violent life style. In light of the above, Saracino’s history and personal characteristics support the imposition of the maximum possible sentence under the law, one that effectively incarcerates him for life.
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Louiebynochi]
#1025934
12/21/21 09:35 PM
12/21/21 09:35 PM
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Goes into the Millions he made over the course of 2 decades running w/ the Colombo Family in the 90s and 2000s.........
Saracino also profited from his participation in the crime family. In 1995, Saracino earned tens of thousands of dollars with his share of the approximately $200,000 in proceeds from the robbery of Chemical Bank on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow, New York. He also participated in a score of burglaries of banks and other commercial establishments and thefts from trucks. (PSR ¶¶ 92-95). Through these crimes and more, Saracino earned a reputation as a lethal mob soldier. He is a murderer, extortionist, drug dealer, loanshark, thief and obstructionist. He spent his twenties putting “notches” on his belt by taking life by his own hand. Such craven behavior brought him respect and power in the Colombo crime family; by the 2000s, Saracino was 46
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 48 of 59 PageID #: 13627 a soldier with close bonds to the family’s street boss Gioeli and Gioeli’s confident, captain Dino Calabro. Significantly, Saracino traded on his reputation and the reputation of Gioeli’s crew for murder and other acts of violence to launch and maintain a lucrative loansharking business. Sebastian Saracino testified that at the time of Saracino’s arrest in June 2008, Saracino had more than $500,000 in outstanding loanshark loans owed to him. (T. 4352). Calabro similarly testified that Saracino had lent out “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” (T. 1056). Gordon testified Saracino had extended numerous loanshark loans between the mid-1990s and 2007 and as of 2008, Gordon alone owed Saracino $120,000 in outstanding loanshark loans. (T. 2974-75). Saracino’s commitment to crime and the Colombo crime family continued even after his June 2008 arrest. First, he made efforts to maintain his loansharking operation while he was incarcerated. For example, prior to his arrest, he made sure Gordon and his brother Sebastian Saracino had access to the list of individuals who owed money to him. (T. 3013, 4351). Saracino wanted to ensure that they would continue to collect payments from the loanshark customers he extorted. On the day of Saracino’s arrest, the FBI recovered a leather folder from a car belonging to Saracino’s wife containing a calculator and a ledger pad with names and numbers, which corresponded to loanshark amounts owed to Saracino. (T. 2599-2601; see T. 3012-14 (Gordon 47
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 49 of 59 PageID #: 13628 testifying that Saracino’s “book” or “leather binder” had the “information of all his [loanshark] customers; what they paid, how much they owed”); GX 342 (ledger recovered on June 23, 2008), 501(I) (excerpt of a consensual recording between April Saracino and Gordon on June 23, 2008 in which April states “I think I have the book in my truck.”)). In addition, Saracino’s post-arrest efforts were revealed on several consensual recordings made by Thomas McLaughlin after Saracino’s arrest. Anthony Russo, then a Colombo crime family acting captain, associate Larry Sessa and McLaughlin discussed Saracino’s attempts from jail to collect Saracino’s outstanding loansharking proceeds. For example, on a consensual recording made on September 21, 2010, Anthony Russo told McLaughlin that Russo had received a message from Saracino regarding the outstanding loans owed to Saracino and that Sessa had given one of the debtors a “massive beating.” An excerpt of a draft transcript of the recording follows: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: First of all, I gotta message straight from the horse’s mouth. . . . Dino’s [Dino Saracino] wife [April Saracino] wanted to know who is AR [Anthony Russo’s initials]. Who is that? [Sarcastically] I don’t know. Who’s AR? AR? Oh you. 48
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 50 of 59 PageID #: 13629 RUSSO: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: Okay. And he said, “I got a message from my husband [Dino Saracino] for you to go see AR and tell him I don’t want no one going to see my wife [April Saracino] with any kind of monies.” *** That’s another thing. That’s another thing. I gotta list [of individuals who owed money to Dino Saracino]. *** Yeah, Fatso [a nickname for Sessa] must have been keeping it quiet so he can run around and fuck No, he’s been telling me everything since day one. He came to me when he first got the list. Said, What do we do with this list? I said, Stop being so concerned about this poor kid right now because what are you gonna do, get in trouble for this kid. Listen to me, he ain’t running around for nothing. No, of course not. Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing. There’s this one kid I told him that we need to find, that he needs to find that owes a lot of money. First of all, why’s this kid Buzz [UI] for it. He was gonna bring the money. How much is it? 49
Case 1:08-cr-00240-BMC Document 1767 Filed 05/15/13 Page 51 of 59 PageID #: 13630 MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: MCLAUGHLIN: RUSSO: It’s $200 a month. How much does he owe? I don’t even know. 15,000? No, I think it was like 12,000. And he wants to give him 200 a month? It just went up to 500. (A copy of excerpts of the recording is enclosed on Exhibit B in a file named “message from Dino.wav”). This conversation about Saracino’s post-incarceration efforts to collect loanshark money is further corroborated by Gordon’s recordings of Saracino’s wife, who had been enlisted by Saracino to assist in Saracino’s loansharking business (see T. 2976; GX 501(I)), as well as records of the Metropolitan Detention Center (“MDC”) that reveal that Sessa, using an alias, was depositing money into Saracino’s account.
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Louiebynochi]
#1025986
12/22/21 07:07 PM
12/22/21 07:07 PM
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I wonder what Dino did to piss off his brother so much.
Also, does anyone have info on the murder of his brother, Frankie Dimes? I heard he was killed and his body burned, but that's it.
Last edited by SharpieOne; 12/22/21 07:07 PM.
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Louiebynochi]
#1026012
12/23/21 01:05 AM
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I wonder what Dino did to piss off his brother so much.
Also, does anyone have info on the murder of his brother, Frankie Dimes? I heard he was killed and his body burned, but that's it.
His brother didn’t wanna do 50 years that’s why he ratted on him... The way I read it, Sebby got picked up on a false document/immigration issue, agreed to cooperate, and then was facing 50 years because he admitted to murder conspiracies. But I could be wrong. Thanks for the update on Frank's murder.
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: ralphie_cifaretto]
#1026098
12/23/21 03:54 PM
12/23/21 03:54 PM
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What happened to Dino was a tragedy. If he lives, he comes home in 2050. It's like someone wrote to the judge What do you mean by “someone wrote to the judge” ? Thanks
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Louiebynochi]
#1026379
12/26/21 10:39 PM
12/26/21 10:39 PM
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These guys all grew up together from when they were young teenagers, jr high school 13,14 years old, looking up to local wise guys like they were movie stars.
In the 90's LCN guys were still killing other LCN guys and for the most part getting away with it.
Obviously you would never think your brother or cousin would RAT on you.
The most baffling part of this whole case is what the hell they had on Gordon, he was low level, I would be very surprised if he was facing more than 5 years on a plea deal.
To think he would wear a wire and give up his best friends for a small amount of time like that is crazy, he has brothers in the neighborhood as well.
I would imagine he is in Arizona, somewhere all by his self with no friends and family around him having to live with what he did and probably isn't in a good place mentally.
Dino will be in his 70's when he comes home he has a shot at least.
The last I heard he is doing ok, he was always tuff as nails.
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Louiebynochi]
#1026397
12/27/21 03:31 AM
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Witness says wiseguy Dino Saracino schemed to shake down dying cancer victim
By JOHN MARZULLI NEW YORK DAILY NEWS APR 11, 2012 AT 9:26 PM
A sicko Colombo gangster proposed shaking down the family of a young leukemia victim in exchange for life-saving bone marrow, a government witness testified Wednesday. The scheme was revealed during the cross-examination of mob associate David Gordon in Brooklyn Federal Court. Defense lawyer Sam Braverman accused the turncoat of hatching a plan to extort $20,000 from cancer patient Jonathan Nigro after learning his bone marrow was a match for transplant. A visibly upset Gordon shot back that his mob superior, Dino (Little Dino) Saracino, concocted the scheme. Saracino, a reputed soldier in the crime family, is on trial for three gangland murders. "I donated blood and they notified me that I was a match," Gordon, a former mortician, told the jury. "Upon telling Dino Saracino I was a match, he told me that I should hold out and request money. It would be foolish to donate (bone marrow) without getting money." Gordon claimed that he went for a follow-up medical test and learned that Nigro's condition had worsened and he was too ill for a transplant. "I don't think I ever asked the (transplant) coordinator for money," Gordon insisted. "I didn't embarrass myself and ask the coordinator for money to save someone's life. That's pretty s-----." Nigro died in 2000 at the age of 26 "I lost a beautiful son, and it's a shame they had to bring my poor son's name up," Ella Nigro told the Daily News. She called Gordon's claim of being a bone marrow match "preposterous," pointing out that more than 1,000 people were tested and entered into a bone marrow registry, but no match for Jonathan was found. "I would have sold my soul to save my son's life," she said, "but it never got to that point." Gordon secretly recorded incriminating conversations with Saracino and claimed that the gangster admitted committing a murder in the basement of his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, home, which he called "The Dungeon." Saracino's co-defendant, former Colombo street boss Thomas (Tommy Shots) Gioeli, is charged with six murders.
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Louiebynochi]
#1026481
12/27/21 06:18 PM
12/27/21 06:18 PM
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I am really surprised to hear that about Dino, he wasn't that type of guy. David Gordon maybe but not Dino,
I remember Jonathan NiGro what a sad story we were all stupid kids just hanging out we thought we knew everything
A couple of years went by and I lost touch with him and I remember seeing his picture on a flier asking for people to get tested to see if anyone was a match.
I don't think anyone who knows Dino, would believe that story just because its in the news doesn't mean its true.
If you read into the article its Dino's lawyer asking Gordan, if he did that and Gordan, saying Dino, told me to do that.
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Lenox]
#1026487
12/27/21 06:38 PM
12/27/21 06:38 PM
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Dino will be in his 70’s. What kind of life is that though? What an aweful existance for all involved. There is no honor among thieves. I agree with you Lenox, however, I know guys that took plea deals for murders and their thought process was that they were actually lucky to have a date to come home. And them saying atleast I have a date other guys did less and they are doing LIFE. I mean at days end he did kill a bunch of people. At the same time he did also get royally fuct, he was found NOT GUILTY of the murder charges. The conspiracy charge he was convicted on was for trying to avenge his brothers death which had nothing to do with LCN. His boss who was a capo and then street boos of the family ended up with more time then he did. His brother, his older cousin who was his capo and his best friend walked and stuck him holding the bag. I think everyone would agree this wasn't a HAPPY ENDING.
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Louiebynochi]
#1026496
12/27/21 08:57 PM
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thekidfromthesouth
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DIno Saracino was hazelton USP for a good time,,,,thats fuck up prison lock with dc black ,,, skinheads,,, and colombian cartel, thas where they bulger he must have a HARD time with a lockdown due to bulger murder, than cov,,,,,,, now hes ny prison
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: thekidfromthesouth]
#1026514
12/28/21 01:01 AM
12/28/21 01:01 AM
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DIno Saracino was hazelton USP for a good time,,,,thats fuck up prison lock with dc black ,,, skinheads,,, and colombian cartel, thas where they bulger he must have a HARD time with a lockdown due to bulger murder, than cov,,,,,,, now hes ny prison I have not spoken to any mutual friends in a while to get an update as to how he is holding up I am sure he is doing fine, he was never a push over and always held his own, The kid from the south your from P.A.?
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: Hollander]
#1026553
12/28/21 07:35 PM
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I read the cousins Dino “Big Dino” Calabro and Dino “Little Dino” Saracino were both born in Sicily. Big Dino was born on the other side Sebby was as well Lil Dino and Frankie were born here I believe
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Re: Dino Saracino Sentencing Memo(Colombo LCN)
[Re: BensonHURST]
#1027305
01/05/22 08:36 PM
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thekidfromthesouth
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DIno Saracino was hazelton USP for a good time,,,,thats fuck up prison lock with dc black ,,, skinheads,,, and colombian cartel, thas where they bulger he must have a HARD time with a lockdown due to bulger murder, than cov,,,,,,, now hes ny prison I have not spoken to any mutual friends in a while to get an update as to how he is holding up I am sure he is doing fine, he was never a push over and always held his own, The kid from the south your from P.A.? NO SIR I GREW UP IN MIA DID 10 YERAS IN USP HAZELTON NEVER MEET HIM I EFT IN 14
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