Colombo soldier dodges jail sentence after dying of liver and heart failure
Colombo goon Ralph Scopo Jr. (center) died at 63, avoiding conviction on extortion charges..
Feds 110, Colombo crime family 1.
That’s the scorecard for the government in its historic takedown of the city’s five Mafia families in January 2011.
Reputed Colombo soldier Ralph Scopo Jr. died last week of liver and heart failure, making him the only gangster from the massive sweep to escape conviction.
“He has to answer to a higher judge,” said a law enforcement source.
Scopo, 63, had been filing letters to Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto for nearly two years detailing his deteriorating medical condition, as wiseguy after wiseguy pleaded guilty to charges in more than a dozen separate indictments in New York.
Charged with extorting coffee errand-runners of the Cement and Concrete Workers Local 6A, Scopo was confined to his Long Island home under electronic monitoring with leave for doctor visits and to exercise in a swimming pool at the gated community where he lived.
When last convicted of racketeering, Scopo claimed at his 2006 sentencing that he had less than two years to live, according to court papers.
Scopo’s father, Ralph Sr., was a gangster who died in prison and his brother, Joseph Scopo, was whacked during the Colombo family civil war.
While Scopo beat the rap by going to the big social club in the sky, the feds’ impressive convictions include Gambino capo Bartolomeo "Bobby" Vernace for killing two men in a Queens bar over a spilled drink in 1981; Colombo acting boss Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo and underboss Benjamin Castellazzo, and Gambino consigliere Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo.
Scopo’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
That’s the scorecard for the government in its historic takedown of the city’s five Mafia families in January 2011.
Reputed Colombo soldier Ralph Scopo Jr. died last week of liver and heart failure, making him the only gangster from the massive sweep to escape conviction.
“He has to answer to a higher judge,” said a law enforcement source.
Scopo, 63, had been filing letters to Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto for nearly two years detailing his deteriorating medical condition, as wiseguy after wiseguy pleaded guilty to charges in more than a dozen separate indictments in New York.
Charged with extorting coffee errand-runners of the Cement and Concrete Workers Local 6A, Scopo was confined to his Long Island home under electronic monitoring with leave for doctor visits and to exercise in a swimming pool at the gated community where he lived.
When last convicted of racketeering, Scopo claimed at his 2006 sentencing that he had less than two years to live, according to court papers.
Scopo’s father, Ralph Sr., was a gangster who died in prison and his brother, Joseph Scopo, was whacked during the Colombo family civil war.
While Scopo beat the rap by going to the big social club in the sky, the feds’ impressive convictions include Gambino capo Bartolomeo "Bobby" Vernace for killing two men in a Queens bar over a spilled drink in 1981; Colombo acting boss Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo and underboss Benjamin Castellazzo, and Gambino consigliere Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo.
Scopo’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mobster-ducks-jail-heart-failure-article-.1485741#ixzz2houEWnvN
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