'Blame the mob vic' defense
By MITCHEL MADDUX

Last Updated: 7:38 AM, March 19, 2011

Call it an occupational hazard.

Attorneys for Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano want to tell jurors in the mobster's upcoming death-penalty case that the victim of a hit the former Bonanno crime-family boss allegedly ordered put himself in danger by getting involved with the Mafia.

"By voluntarily choosing to engage in violent criminal conduct, the victim in this case, Randolph Pizzolo, willingly participated in dangerous and illegal activities, a circumstance that contributed to his unfortunate death," defense attorneys wrote to Brooklyn federal court Judge Nicholas Garaufis.

Jury selection is under way in Basciano's upcoming trial, where he will face capital-murder charges for allegedly ordering Pizzolo's 2004 murder in an industrial district of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Federal prosecutors say Basciano, already serving a life sentence for another murder, ordered the Pizzolo rubout from behind bars.

In addition to that argument, Basciano's attorneys, Richard Jasper, George Goltzer and Ying Stafford, also want jurors to know that even through Basciano "suffered an abusive childhood," he has shown as an adult that he is "capable of acts of generosity and kindness."

And they want the panel to know that other mobsters convicted in the Pizzolo murder, including hit man Anthony "Ace" Aiello, did not receive the death penalty.

The judge has not yet ruled on their request.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brook...N#ixzz1H9Xi7eMK

From what I've heard, Randy Pizzolo was an extremely nasty individual who had a lot of enemies. I'm sure many of them wanted him dead. In fact, most of the people who knew him were said to have been relieved when they found out about what had happened to him. A defense like this can be tricky, but when you're dealing with someone as nasty as Pizzolo, you're probably going to get to some of the jurors. It is gonna be very hard to sympathize with that victim. Basciano, on the other hand, is said to have been very well liked in his neighborhood and a man who apparently didn't shy away from helping the less fortunate. That does not excuse the things he has been accused of, but it does make you question the government's case. Because this case has NOTHING to do with the murder of Randy Pizzolo. This case is the government's personal vendetta against Vincent Basciano. This is a case where the defendant is guilty until proven guilty.

Randy Pizzolo was a drug-addled lowlife who robbed his mother's bank account to meet his shylock payments. This was what jaded veteran cops refer to as a "public service homicide." And you can believe that.

But this is a tricky defense strategy. If it works, you're telling defense counsel (and their clients) that it's okay to kill someone, as long as he was a career criminal and a scumbag. It's almost a vigilante defense. And I'll be honest, I think it sets a bad precedent. We can't be advocating vigilantism or vendetta defenses. It's a very slippery slope.

I'm hoping that cooler heads prevail and they allow Vinny a last minute plea that would exclude the death penalty. The guy will never see the light of day again as it is, so it would be a no-brainer for him. But I doubt that'll happen.

yeah vinny needs to take another plea for another life sentence....this is really a waste of tax payers money

I agree with you. We can't be advocating vigilantism, but considering how many enemies Pizzolo had, the jurors are probably gonna ask this question; Is is it possible that somebody else whacked him? Anthony "Ace" Aiello and Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso are already serving time for this very same hit. That could be in a issue here. Now I have not heard the tapes, but I've read the transcripts and although Basciano never directly admits to ordering the hit, he most certainly implies it. The defense should be able to challenge most of the evidence in this case. It will be interesting to see how this whole thing plays out, but as I've said many times before, this case against Basciano is one of the most unconstitutional cases I've ever seen. How stupid was I to think the Sixth Amendment applied to every American citizen. I even re-read it just now, just to make sure it didn't say; The Sixth Amendment does not apply if your name is Vincent Basciano.

I am looking forward to the trial to finally get underway, I want to see whether the govt calls Massino to testify to see what that rat bastard has to say...

You mean seven years isn't a speedy enough trial?

Thats the problem with these mob cases 90% of them take too long to come to trial, years in the making look at this trial for Vinny 7 years, that Lucchese bust with the Bloods they still havent gone to trial and its 3/4 years plus since the initial indictments.

That's another thing . What is up with your country's judicial process? I've fathered like ten kids since the guy was indicted. Gone through six divorces and seven mistresses. Yeah, this definitely needs to stop. My behavior as well. No, what I was referring to was Basciano's right to a fair trial. The rights proclaimed in the Sixth Amendment are all associated with the right to a fair trial and that is really what the Sixth Amendment means. To be more specific, I've got a major problem with having an anonymous jury. How are we going to be sure a jury is impartial if the jury is anonymous? We can't. By having an anonymous jury, you are also sending a dangerous signal to the jurors themselves. Yeah, so much for a fair trial. Then there is Vinny's due process rights; The right to a neutral judge, which to me is the biggest problem in this case. Here we have a judge who thinks the defendant plotted to have him killed at one point. I don't know about you, but I'd want that judge removed.

anyone know little more about Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano , how was he as leader?.. did he make lots of money?

Gieoli got pinched 3 years ago now and even with all those rats they haven't gotten that trial started yet.

Yeah, Gieloi and Joe Waverly as well...

Massino never has a chance of getting out despite flipping does he? It seems once a person flips they become a ghost, you rarely hear anything about them again. High profile mobsters seem to get buried under the prison when they are sent away. I remember hearing that Nicky Scarfo couldn't be interviewed when someone was doing a documentary on him a few years ago, but you have guys like Charles Manson who seems to have given a few interviews over the years, Timothy McVeigh was even interviewed on 60 Minutes.

If he isn't out already. The government would probably go very far in their efforts to protect Massino. We really don't know what his situation is. The official story is he's doing life without parole, but I'm almost certain there's another side to this. Massino was in a position to know a lot about a lot of other people, not only Cosa Nostra figures. He's probably in California somewhere, sitting in some FBI van, eating donuts, sweating his fat ass off and doing his very best in assisting the bureau in their quest to take down a highly ambitious cocaine kingpin who reminds them of Vinny Basciano.

ive thought of this before too vinny!