Bruno Shooter Takes Stand in NY's Other Mob Trial

From masslive.com, we can read an article about the latest happenings in the ongoing Mafia murder trial now under way in New York City -- and it's not the one the aged, ill former Colombo boss is fighting through, though the last we've heard is Gioeli stopped leaving his cell -- an effort to stop the inevitable?

Longmeadow loan shark Emilio Fusco, a member of the Springfield faction of New York's Genovese crime family, is on trial in Manhattan for the murder of rival mobster Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, among other things, including a second murder.

The prosecution in the Mafia murder trial "paraded its second self-confessed killer to the witness stand on Tuesday," masslive.com reports. Fusco hired a hit man in each of the murders he allegedly brought about.

Frankie Roche, admitted hitman in the 2003 contract killing of Springfield mob boss Bruno, "coolly told jurors of a criminal history that began when he was a boy in Westfield, Mass., with grand theft auto, armed robbery and a prison escape," masslive.com reports.

"The lanky, tattooed former fringe character" in Springfield's organized crime circles began testifying against Fusco, who is accused of a racketeering conspiracy that includes the Bruno hit, as well as the murder of police informant Gary D. Westerman, as well as sports-betting and drug dealing conspiracies.
040207 frankie roche mug.JPGFrankie Roche

Fusco has denied the charges. Prosecutors from the start have taken the stance that Fusco was a longtime rival of Bruno's and part of a clique of young, upstart gangsters looking to assume control from Bruno -- and from the Genovese family itself? These days, who knows for certain.

Roche pleaded guilty in 2008, having admitted to shooting Bruno six to seven times for $10,000. Is 10 large enough for you to sell your soul for?

Despite the grim details of the trial, there was at least one occasion for levity.

"Why did you break into a liquor store?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. Goldman asked Roche at one point during direct examination.

"Because it was closed," Roche responded.

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