Luchese Mobster Faces Life For Attempted Murder Of Federal Witness
After pleading guilty, reputed Luchese wiseguy Joseph Datello faces life in prison for attempting to murder a federal witness. Datello Specifically, Datello, 67, of Staten Island, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, and as part of that plea admitted racketeering acts including the attempted murder of the Witness, narcotics trafficking, and collecting debts through the threat of violence. According to prosecutors the witness in question helped the Fed's build cases against Datello and other members of the Luchese crime family, including alleged underboss Steven Crea. Authorities said Datello thought he knew where the witness could be found; with Crea's blessing, he then went there to kill the former Luchese associate. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said : “Witness safety is paramount to ensuring the prosecution of criminal organizations. Thanks to the FBI’s Joint Organized Crime Task Force, who uncovered Datello’s c...