Joe Waverly found not guilty of ordering murder of NYPD cop
A high-ranking Colombo gangster has been acquitted of ordering the 1997 killing of an NYPD cop who had married his ex-wife.
The federal jury took only four hours to clear Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace of murder in aid of racketeering in the killing of Police Officer Ralph Dols.
Cacace smiled, nodded his head and hugged defense lawyer David Stern. Then he touched his fingers to his lips and blew a kiss to family members in the court.
"The truth prevailed," Cacace's son Steve said outside court.
"It's the best day of my life!" added Cacace's sister Kathy Vandina.
Dols' mother and sister left Brooklyn Federal Court accompanied by somber FBI agents.
Last year, a different jury cleared Colombo gangster Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli of carrying out Cacace's alleged lethal order, along with hit man Dino Saracino, who allegedly shot Dols in front of the cop's Sheepshead Bay building.
Cacace, 72, is serving a 20-year sentence for racketeering after admitting to carrying out an order to kill a federal prosecutor and is not due to be released from prison until 2020.
Federal prosecutors argued that Cacace felt disrespected because his ex-wife, Kim Kennaugh, had married a cop and had a baby with him.
Kennaugh, dubbed "The Black Widow" by detectives because her second husband, a Colombo killer, was also whacked, did not take the stand in last year's trial, but she had received a subpoena to testify in Cacace's trial, the Daily News has learned.
But Kim told the feds she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and not answer questions under oath.
“I lawyered up,” Kennaugh told The News. "I don't like the way I was treated (by law enforcement) the last 16 years."
Kennaugh said she refused to testify not because she had anything to hide but because she feared the feds did not believe her and might bring criminal charges against her for perjury.
"I was never threatened (by Cacace); he never threatened Ralph," she said. "I just can't say something that wasn't true.
"(Dols' death) was a shock to me as to everyone else," Kennaugh said. "I know the truth. Ralph knows the truth. God knows the truth."
The anonymous jury rejected the testimony of cooperating witnesses Dino Calabro and Joseph Competiello, who were part of the hit team that killed Dols.
They pleaded guilty to the cop killing and are hoping they will receive a reduced sentence in return for their cooperation.
Dols' mother attended every day of the three week trial.
“It’s very upsetting,” she said on her way out of the courthouse.
http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/mobster-joel-cacace-acquitted-ordering-nypd-killed-murder-trial-article-1.1530148
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