Mobster 'Vinny Gorgeous' Basciano put contract out on judge in his murder case, witness reveals
A defense witness let slip an alleged contract hit involving the judge in the Vinny Gorgeous trial.
Former Bonanno boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano once put out a contract to kill the judge currently presiding over his murder trial, a convicted drug thug testified Friday.
Defense witness Carlos Medina took the stand to trash the credibility of Dominick Cicale - Basciano's former right-hand man who testified for prosecutors earlier this week - but let slip that Brooklyn
Federal Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis was on the crime boss' hit list.
"\[Cicale\] said Vinny Gorgeous had put out a contract to kill the judge presiding in the case and other witnesses," Medina said under questioning by lead defense lawyer George Goltzer.
The lawyer quickly moved on to another question but the damage was done since the jury was not supposed to know that revelation.
Four years ago the feds seized an alleged hit list written by Basciano containing the names of Garaufis, federal prosecutor Greg Andres and several mob rats. Garaufis has presided over dozens of cases against the Bonannos since 2004.
Basciano gave the list to another inmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, but has maintained that it was part of a Santeria ceremony to ward off the bad vibes from the people named on the list, but prosecutors have contended that the mobster sought to kill them.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Taryn Merkl said Medina's statement may have "opened the door" to bringing in evidence about the alleged plot.
"We certainly didn't open the door," Goltzer shot back.
The defense team re-assessed its strategy after Medina finished testifying about an alleged plot by Cicale to accuse Basciano of trying to kill him in jail.
The defense case would be wrapped up in about four hours instead of four days as originally anticipated, Goltzer said.
Basciano is charged with ordering the murder of associate Randolph Pizzolo in 2004.
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