NY mobster murdered his way to the top
NEW YORK - A tough-talking New York City mobster who's already serving a life sentence for attempted murder was convicted yesterday in a death-penalty case accusing him of ordering a murder to cement his rise to power in the Bonanno crime family.
NEW YORK - A tough-talking New York City mobster who's already serving a life sentence for attempted murder was convicted yesterday in a death-penalty case accusing him of ordering a murder to cement his rise to power in the Bonanno crime family.
A Brooklyn jury found Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano, 51, guilty of murder, racketeering, conspiracy and other charges.
The federal trial of the one-time owner of the Hello Gorgeous beauty salon featured testimony by former Bonanno boss Joseph Massino, the highest-ranking member of the city's five Italian organized-crime families to break the vow of silence and testify against one of their own.
Massino, 68, began talking with investigators after his 2004 conviction for orchestrating a quarter-century's worth of murder, racketeering and other crimes as he rose through the ranks of the Bonannos. The bloodshed included the shotgun slayings of three rival captains and the execution of a mobster who vouched for FBI undercover agent Donnie Brasco in the 1980s. Brasco's story became a movie starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.
While imprisoned together in 2005, Massino agreed to wear a wire and betray Basciano, known for his meticulously groomed hair, sharp suits and hot temper. Before trial, Basciano won approval to have five suits to wear to court - one for each day of the week.
Jurors heard one recording of Basciano boasting, "I'm a hoodlum, I'm a tough guy. Whatever happens, happens. Let's go."
The tape was evidence that Basciano is "a cold-blooded remorseless killer," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank said in his closing argument.
