Cosa Nostra News

Back in 2014, despite the heartfelt pleas of a murdered man's daughter, Brooklyn Federal Judge John Gleeson sentenced Hector (Junior) Pagan to 11 years in prison —and offered a thoughtful comment. James Donovan was killed during a botched robbery in 2010. He said, “We can only hope” that by time Pagan is released “we have prepared him for re-entry into society to mitigate the risk” of what would happen if Pagan returned to a life of crime. How far Judge Gleeson's hope gets us is something we will discover very soon. The former Bonanno associate/Mob Wives bit player is getting out of the can in a few months..... He is currently residing at the Brooklyn RRM (a halfway house where he and other Federal offenders receive "community-based services that will assist with their reentry needs.") Pagan's official reentry date is April 18, 2021. Renee Graziano's ex-husband got a reduced sentence in 2014 because he flipped and testified against two cohorts who were involve...

People can change, we believe.... A person guilty and convicted of a crime, even murder, can become someone who would never commit that crime again. Hector Pagan American society at large disagrees with that basic premise. Consider: Those convicted of certain crimes (not only murder) get mandatory sentences that surpass the average human lifespan. In many instances such lifelong sentences may seem more than warranted. But occasionally, considering variables such as mitigating factors, especially with first-time offenders, such sentences could seem unfair. Consider: Law enforcement generally investigates a crime by? In a murder case, among other things, they  generally do so by interviewing people close to "the victim." If you are among those who knew the victim and you have a criminal record (especially a felony record) detectives will only grudgingly leave you alone  after you've passed the lie detector test and your solid alibi proved unbreakable de...

Luigi Grasso, Big Ang's cousin. It was about about six months ago when newspapers were reporting that Luigi Grasso, c ousin of ‘Mob Wives’ star Big Ang, had saved a suicidal inmate's lif e in a courthouse holding cell before Grasso’s appearance on a weapons rap.  Grasso's actions were lauded  by no less than a Manhattan judge.  The distressed suicidal inmate, who was never identified by officials, had fashioned a noose from a T-shirt and was hanging from the top bar in the pens of Manhattan Criminal Court at 111 Centre St. on Oct. 7 when the brawny mobster literally leaped into the air to save him, according to witnesses.

Brittany Fogarty In the past year, I've talked to a few mob wives -- by that I mean woman married to made guys. The general consensus about VH1's Mob Wives is that the women are a disgrace and an embarrassment to all Italian-Americans. Some are even "frauds," "rats" and "whores." One source said something that resonated:

Luigi Grasso,  Cousin of ‘Mob Wives’ Big Ang saves suicidal inmate - NY Daily News : He may be a “killer,” but he’s also a lifesaver.  Luigi Grasso, cousin of “Mob Wives” star Angela (Big Ang) Raiola, was lauded by a Manhattan judge for helping to save a suicidal inmate in a courthouse holding cell before Grasso’s appearance on a weapons rap, the Daily News has learned.  The distressed inmate, who was not identified by officials, had fashioned a noose from an oversized T-shirt and was hanging from the top bar in the pens of the Manhattan Criminal Court at 111 Centre St. on Oct. 7 when sources said the brawny jailbird jumped up to save him.

"Renee thinks we're gangsters, we're girls... " Big Ang "Big Ang" Raiola. REVISED SLIGHTLY : Most blogs probably picked up on the idiotic "Ratalie" headline and missed the larger point, in our opinion. Big Ang is back! We were concerned last year. As we noted in our end-of-season wrap up, it seemed like all Angela "Big Ang" Raiola did was react...

TG Graziano had five acting capos around him. One of the first things Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano did as acting boss of the Bonanno family was bust down the five acting capos that Anthony "TG" Graziano had around him, according to our colleague and former Bonanno capo Dominick Cicale. "What is this? The Bonanno family or the Graziano family?"  Basciano complained to Dom, referring to the Staten Island-based capo who reportedly has since been shelved by the family because of " Mob Wives ," the reality show that was the brainchild of TG's daughter Jennifer; Renee, one of the show's stars, is another of his daughters.

Pagan should be out of prison in about six years Brooklyn Federal Judge John Gleeson doled out to Hector "Junior" Pagan an 11-year prison term for a criminal career overflowing with drug dealing and the violence of armed robberies and kidnapping. Pagan also was the shooter who killed Luchese associate James Donovan during a street heist for which two of Pagan's former cohorts have gone away for 36 years each, due in part to Pagan's own testimony. According to Gangland News: "Sources say he didn't expect to be hit with a double-digit stretch behind bars because he had testified against his cohorts in the Donovan slaying and had worn a wire against top Bonanno family mobsters." Donovan's family made the same presentation for the judge that they did last month at the sentencing of Richard Riccardi and Luigi Grasso.

"Junior" "He went around for months trying to help them find the murderer when it was him. It's hard to think of a bigger fraud than that. And he was waving to the guys he was taping not to say anything about the murder so the DEA wouldn't know. He is just about as dirty as anyone gets, forget about government witnesses. How do they embrace this guy? Why give this guy an opportunity to walk out of jail to put my guy away for life." Since his arrest on separate armed robbery charges in November of 2011, he's been in jail. And prosecutors have already agreed to recommend leniency for him when he is sentenced this month. Hector "Junior" Pagan will not be prosecuted for the murder of James Donovan, as well as numerous crimes committed across a string of 30 years. Wonder who will be lucky enough to be his new neighbor out there in the midwest. Good luck folks, cause this guys is a sociopath with no hope of redemption. We'd love h...

Hector Pagan. Hector "Junior" Pagan  will pay the piper soon. He faces the judge for sentencing this month. And it is quite possible he will go away for life. In the end, Pagan's punishment, despite his cooperation with the Feds, could fit his crimes. This is partly because the fetching, determined daughter of the man Pagan killed has caught the attention of the judge.

Anthony Nicodemo Predicting the future is a fool's game, especially for blogs and newspapers. Usually, no matter what certain indicators and talking heads say, the forecast ends up wrong -- and the result is a crack in credibility, probably the most valuable intangible in the world (it's up there with loyalty and honor). Just ask the Chicago Tribune , which despite its November 3, 1948 whopper, is still around to answer. So I'm not making any predictions here. Just doing a little speculating. Followed by some pondering. A recent mob trial came to an abrupt end after the prosecution made its case. Allegations were tossed about that one or more jurors may have been approached for nefarious purposes and that detectives were "investigating" the matter.

Pagan testified at a murder trial in  which he was the actual murderer. Recently the  WSJ.com ran a story about a "rare and risky legal strategy" used by prosecutors. Turns out they even have a name for it: Testifying down. Guess who they were referring to! (Well, at least he's still in the clink, as we learn..) In two recent cases in Brooklyn, one of which was the  James Donovan  murder trial, in which Pagan testified,  "... [t]he government used cooperating witnesses—"big fish"—who admitted to more serious crimes than the charges faced by the people they were testifying against. "This is, generally speaking, the opposite of how cooperating witnesses work. Usually, legal experts said, the goal is to get those witnesses to admit to wrongdoing, cooperate with the government and to walk the investigation up the ladder, obtaining evidence against leaders or those potentially engaged in more serious crimes. In exchange, on the recommendatio...

"Junior" Hector Pagan, ex-husband of Renee Graziano, yesterday testified in Brooklyn Federal Court that he had become a government informant in 2006 — a full five years before he agreed to wear a wire against father-in-law Anthony Graziano and other Bonanno ranking mobsters. Pagan also fired a gun at a presumed beau of Renee's while Pagan was married to her after he happened to view her getting out of the man's car. No details are available regarding whether the man was wounded or not, and we are not aware of his name. (If anyone is, we'd appreciate a tip!) And Pagan had been a Luchese associate, as was victim James Donovan at the time of the murder, before moving to the Bonanno family after his engagement to Renee Graziano. These are among the revelations to emerge from the trial of Luigi Grasso and Richard Riccardi for the killing of James Donovan. Grasso and Riccardi face life in prison if convicted.

Surveillance photo of Luigi Grasso. Luigi Grasso and Richard Riccardi have been found guilty for the killing of James Donovan . Grasso, 46, of Staten Island, and Riccardi, 41, of Manalapan, N.J., each face a minimum of 10 years and maximum of life in prison when sentenced on Aug. 1. They were both convicted on conspiracy, robbery, firearms use and murder charges. "The defendants plotted this brazen robbery and took the life of James Donovan because of their unrelenting greed," said Loretta Lynch, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "After lying in wait for Donovan, the defendants coldly robbed him, shot him and left him to die in the street."

Add caption The NY Daily News is reporting that prosecutors are actually in a state of "fear" over the fact that jurors for an upcoming gangland murder trial may become starstruck owing to the fact that a former "star" of the reality TV show “Mob Wives” is due to take the stand. Also of concern is the possibility that jurors might ignore evidence and reach a verdict based on whether or not they want to gain or avoid "the notoriety associated with the show," prosecutors noted in court papers. Hector Pagan , the "star" witness against reputed mobsters Richard Riccardi and Luigi Grasso, appeared on the show during the 2010 and 2011 seasons; he flipped during the summer of 2011.

From NY Daily News : Prosecutors fear jurors for an upcoming gangland murder trial with stars in their eyes may become part of the cast of the reality TV show “Mob Wives.” Hector Pagan, the star witness against reputed mobsters Richard Riccardi and Luigi Grasso, has become a recurring plot line on the popular show because he is the ex-husband of “Mob Wives” star Renee Graziano. Pagan's so-called "betrayal" of his ex-wife and father-in-law, Bonanno capo Anthony Graziano, will undoubtedly be the subject of further discussion when he takes the stand in Brooklyn Federal Court next month, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Argentieri stated in papers seeking an anonymous jury. The feds want the jurors' identities kept secret to prevent anyone from hunting them down "to generate additional stories," Argentieri warns. Worse, jurors might ignore the evidence and reach a verdict to "avoid the notoriety associated with the show or seek it out." Pagan i...

Last year, the  Miami New Times  obtained from a confidential source hundreds of pages of sealed court documents that reveal information provided to the FBI by former infamous South Beach nightclub king Chris Paciello -- and it seems Paciello dished up a lot more details on goodfellas and their crimes than was originally thought. Lee D'Avanzo "Between December 2000 and May 2001, the FBI met with the fallen club king eight times and conducted 15 hours of interviews. During those meetings, Paciello detailed not only his own criminal history but those of dozens of his Mob colleagues," a New Times article notes. Additionally, many secrets in the documents center on Lee D'Avanzo, one of Paciello's early criminal cohorts. In fact, Paciello is a large part of the reason why Lee went away to prison. [We are not sure if this is the sentence Lee is still serving or if it was an earlier conviction.] It adds: "Most significant, Paciello fingered two mad...