Cosa Nostra News

Little Dino Seems juries are having trouble with turncoat testimony, though judges seem to be taking up some of the law enforcement slack when they can by basically ignoring jurors' verdicts and imposing the most draconian sentences permissible. Take the recent case of  Dino "Little Dino" Saracino , 41. The gangster must be feeling a range of emotions as he readies himself for transport to a federal prison where he will spend a half century, 50 years, for racketeering and conspiracy charges. Now consider this: That is actually more than double the 18 years given to his former boss, Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli . Interestingly, the same judge doled out both sentences. It seems a bit unfair considering Little Dino was carrying out orders. Yes, he knew he'd earn his button, and as a former gangster once in the same position  put it: "I wanted the order. I wanted to be completely in and trusted , and to believe that he liked me that much,...

Little Dino Dino "Little Dino" Saracino , 41, who won an acquittal for the 1997 murder of off-duty  police officer Ralph Dols in a split verdict, was sentenced to 50 years for racketeering. The Colombo soldier allegedly won his button by carrying out the Dols hit for then-acting boss  Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace , who wanted Dols hit for marrying his ex-wife. “It seems like what he mainly wanted out of life was to be a member of the Mafia and he attained that goal,” said Federal Judge Brian Cogan. Both Cacace and former acting boss Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli also were cleared, by separate juries, of the Dols slay. Last week, Gioeli was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court to 18 years in prison for racketeering and murder conspiracy. In a split verdict that stunned many trial watchers , Gioeli and Saracino were acquitted in 2012 of several murders that could have sent them away for life. In addition to Dols, the two  were also clear...

Tommy Shots went down fighting Former Colombo acting boss Thomas “Tommy Shots” Gioeli was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court yesterday to 18 years in prison for racketeering and murder conspiracy raps. It's tantamount to life in prison, as Gioeli is 62 (though he looks more like 82) and apparently of ill health. In a split verdict that stunned many trial watchers, Gioeli was acquitted in 2012 of several murders that could have sent them away for life -- among them the 1997 hit on NYPD cop Ralph Dols , who married the ex-wife of Joel “Joe Waverly” Cacace , a former Colombo consigliere. The two also cleared of the 1999 slaying of Colombo underboss William “Wild Bill” Cutolo , and the 1995 execution of Colombo associate Richard Greaves. But Gioeli was convicted of plotting the murders of Frank Marasa and John Minerva and was also found guilty of crimes committed on his quest to win power . His attorney, Adam Perlmutter, noting the gangster's age and health condition,...

Tommy Gioeli on Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace's victory (at least he stopped putting the blame for the murder on Wild Bill , see story )... Alleged Mob Boss Tommy Gioeli's Voice : Congratulations In today's post I would like to congratulate my friend and onetime codefendant Joel Cacace on his justified victory over a petty, deceitful, and corrupt prosecution team led by my old nemesis, the new head of the Organized Crime Dept. for the Eastern District of New York, Elizabeth "Lizzy the Liar" Geddes.