[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
index.html
CNN logo
US navbar
Infoseek/Big Yellow
Pathfinder/Warner Bros
Main banner Start your retirement planning using Portrait Planning.
Click Here.
rule
REPUTED MOBSTER'S ADMISSION MAY CAUSE CASE TO CRUMBLE
Mercurio
June 18, 1997
Web posted at: 9:47 p.m. EDT (0147 GMT)
BOSTON (CNN) -- The trial of reputed mob boss Frank "Cadillac"
Salemme was thrown into disarray Wednesday when mob journeyman
Angelo "Sonny" Mercurio told a U.S. District Court he had been an
informant for the FBI.
The dramatic admission came after federal Judge Mark Wolf asked
Mercurio if he had been an informant for the FBI in 1989 -- the same
year his pals were being wiretapped by the agency. Mercurio, who is
serving time in Georgia for marijuana possession, faced a jail
sentence for contempt if he did not answer the question.
_______________________________________________________________
PEG TYRE's report as seen on CNN
VXtreme logo VXtreme Streaming Video
_______________________________________________________________
"Yes," he replied in a loud and clear voice. His disclosure could
threaten the government's case against Salemme, the reputed head of
the New England Mafia, and four other reputed mobsters.
Mercurio's answer raises questions about whether the Justice
Department misled a federal judge to get a wiretap that helped lead
to the conviction of other organized crime figures.
Judges will not grant wiretaps if they know authorities
haveinvestigative alternatives, such as informers.
"It is an important part of a mosaic that we're going to build to
argue that there has been outrageous government misconduct in this
case and ask for a retrial," defense attorney John Mitchell said.
Salemme's lawyers say they'll ask that the wiretaps be thrown out.
If the judge agrees, the case against Salemme, as well as mobsters
already convicted on wiretap evidence, could be in jeopardy.
Judge says government's credibility is at stake
The government's case against Salemme hinges on a wiretap recording
of a ceremonial induction into the Patriarca crime family in
Medford, Massachusetts, in 1989.
The wiretap information led to convictions against Salemme's alleged
predecessor, Raymond "Junior" Patriarca, and several others.
Mercurio's admission proved the FBI lied in sworn statements they
used to get permission for the tap. Agents claimed they needed the
electronic surveillance of the induction, when instead they had
Mercurio on the inside to help them. Scarpa
"The entire premise and entire foundation of the tap may well be
rotten, and the tape will be suppressed," defense attorney Anthony
Cardinale said.
It also potentially undermines 20 major mob convictions in New
England.
"I think FBI agents have gotten the message from the courts and from
Congress that in organized crime cases, anything goes," criminal
defense attorney Gerald Shargel said.
Wolf said he will continue to press to see if the FBI obtained other
wire taps by providing false information. At issue he says is the
credibility of the government in the eyes of its federal judges.
Correspondent Peg Tyre contributed to this report rule
Read the next US story:
* Negotiators optimistic about tobacco talks - June 18, 1997
Related stories:
* CNN - Federal jury convicts 12 suspected Mexican Mafia members -
May 30, 1997
* CNN - Mob bosses took a beating last year - Jan. 3, 1997
Related sites:
* US Mafia, Short History & Key Players
+ Patriarca, Raymond L.S.
* CSS Organized Crime Menu
* Gangsters!
* The New Mafia Order A history of the mafia from Mother Jones
Magazine
* GANG LAND: The Jerry Capeci Web Page
Search for related CNN stories:
________________________________________ ______ [Help]
Tip: You can restrict your search to the title of a document.
Infoseek grfk
Example: title:New Year's Resolutions
rule Message Boards
Sound off on our message boards
Tell us what you think!
You said it... [INLINE] Start your retirement planning using
Portrait Planning. Click Here. rule
To the top
� 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.