Body in trunk likely mobster's, officials say
BY ANTHONY M. DESTEFANO
STAFF WRITER
December 1, 2005
Union, N.J. -- A decomposed body believed to be that of a mobster who disappeared in October during his federal trial in Brooklyn was found Wednesday in the trunk of car parked by a New Jersey diner, officials said.
Lawrence Ricci, 60, was eventually acquitted of federal racketeering charges. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation informed Ricci's family that they believe they found his body in the parking lot of the Huck Finn Diner in Union, N.J., said attorney Martin Schmukler.
"The FBI believes it is my client and I know my client's family is feeling relief," said Schmukler, who was representing Ricci in a Brooklyn federal labor racketeering trial when the reputed Genovese crime family captain disappeared.
A spokesman for the FBI couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. Ricci had borrowed a car from a friend but failed to keep a social engagement when he went missing, said Schmukler.
Ricci disappeared right after Columbus Day during his trial with International Longshoreman Association officials Harold Daggett and Arthur Coffey. All three had been accused of wire and mail fraud conspiracy involving the ILA, but they were acquitted last month. Ricci had faced a maximum of 5 years in prison if he had been convicted.
Law enforcement officials said Wednesday the body was found after police investigated the vehicle, which had been parked at the diner for several weeks. A strong odor was coming from the vehicle, one of the officials said.
An employee at the Huck Finn Diner, which is about 13 miles from the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel in Union County, said the car had been parked in the back of the diner for a few weeks.
Official determination about the identity of the body will have to await the results of an autopsy. But Schmukler said Ricci's family feels the uncertainty is now over.
"This is what you call closure," Schmukler said. "I am sad. I liked him. That is really all that matters."
