Pizza Connection Trial
United States v. Badalamenti | |
---|---|
Court | United States District Court for the Southern District of New York |
Full case name | United States v. Gaetano Badalamenti et al |
Decided | March 2, 1987 June 22, 1987 (sentencing) | (verdict)
Verdict | Guilty as to 18 defendants Not guilty as to 1 defendant 2 defendants pleaded guilty 1 defendant died before trial |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Pierre N. Leval |
The Pizza Connection Trial (in full, United States v. Badalamenti et al.)
Background
The trial centered on a Mafia-run enterprise that involved processing heroin from Sicily, morphine purchased from Turkey and Southwest Asia, and cocaine from South America, for final distribution of the drugs in the United States through independently owned
For about a year, the prosecution, consisting of Richard A. Martin,
One of these witnesses was Sicilian Mafia pentito Tommaso Buscetta, who had already revealed information to Italian magistrate Giovanni Falcone to prepare for the Maxi Trial, was extradited in December 1984 to the United States where he received a new identity from the government, American citizenship and placement in the Witness Protection Program in exchange for new revelations against the American Mafia in the Pizza Connection Trial.[12][13][3][14]
Another witness was Sicilian Mafia pentito Salvatore Contorno, who followed the example of Buscetta, and began collaborating in October 1984, and also testified at the Maxi Trial.[15][16][17]
Former
Trial
Defendants
Out of those arrested, 22 Sicilian-born defendants stood in the trial that began on September 30, 1985:[19][2][7]
- Gaetano Badalamenti
- Salvatore Catalano
- Joseph Lamberti
- Salvatore Mazzurco
- Salvatore Lamberti
- Giovanni Ligammari
- Baldassare Amato
- Vincenzo Randazzo
- Pietro Alfano
- Emmanuele Palazzolo
- Samuel Evola
- Vito Badalamenti
- Giuseppe Trupiano
- Giuseppe Vitale
- Lorenzo DeVardo
- Giovanni Cangialosi
- Salvatore Salamone
- Salvatore Greco
- Frank Castronovo
- Gaetano Mazzara
- Francesco Polizzi
- Filippo Casamento
Developments
Buscetta provided no direct connection between the defendants and drugs.[20] Contorno testified that defendant Frank Castronovo, cousin of Carlo Castronovo in Sicily, used pizza parlors as fronts in the United States.[20] Contorno also testified that he had a meeting in 1980 in Bagheria about heroin and had seen Castronovo there with three other defendants—Salvatore Catalano, Gaetano Mazzara, and Salvatore Greco.[20] Pistone testified that he was told that a Bonanno faction headed by Dominick Napolitano had formed an alliance with a Sicilian faction, which involved Salvatore Catalano.[18]
Verdicts
Over the course of the trial, Gaetano Mazzara was murdered and Pietro Alfano was seriously wounded,
References
- ^ "United States v. Badalamenti, 614 F. Supp. 194 (S.D.N.Y. 1985)". Justia Law. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Gaetano Badalamenti, 80; Led Pizza Connection Ring, The New York Times (Obituary), May 3, 2004
- ^ a b "LA FINE DI ' PIZZA CONNECTION' - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it. March 4, 1987. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (July 28, 1998). "Acquitted in 'Pizza Connection' Trial, Man Remains in Prison". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Lubasch, Arnold H. (March 3, 1987). "17 Found Guilty in 'Pizza' Trial of a Drug Ring". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c Hornblower, Margot (March 3, 1987). "18 GUILTY IN 'PIZZA CONNECTION' TRIAL" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ a b c d e "The Pizza Connection". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ "GAETANO BADALAMENTI SI RIFIUTA DI RISPONDERE AL MAGISTRATO - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it. June 6, 1984. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ http://www.uonna.it/impastato-cronologia.htm Archived April 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine impastato-cronologia le vicende del processo
- ^ Dickie, Cosa Nostra, p. 337-38
- ^ Sterling, Octopus, p. 112
- ^ "BUSCETTA: ' ONORE AL GRANDE EX NEMICO' - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). May 26, 1992. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ "CITTADINANZA AMERICANA AL PENTITO BUSCETTA - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). November 15, 1985. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ "VECCHI E NUOVI PEZZI DA NOVANTA - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). February 8, 1986. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 147
- ^ Stille, Excellent Cadavers, pp. 130-32
- ^ Dickie, Cosa Nostra, p. 290
- ^ a b "AGENT TELLS ABOUT TENSION IN BONANNO GROUP". The New York Times. February 9, 1986. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ "United States v. Badalamenti, 626 F. Supp. 658 (S.D.N.Y. 1986)". Justia Law. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c Lubasch, Arnold H. (January 3, 1986). "Witness Tells of Invitation to Join 'Pizza Connection'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Five of the top defendants in the 'pizza connection'..." UPI.
- ^ Acquitted in 'Pizza Connection' Trial, Man Remains in Prison Archived February 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, July 28, 1988
- ^ a b "'PIZZA CONNECTION' BADALAMENTI CONDANNATO A 45 ANNI - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it. June 23, 1987. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0788168363.
- Blumenthal, Ralph (1988). Last Days of the Sicilians. Crown Publishing. ISBN 0-8129-1594-1.
- Stille, Alexander (1995). Excellent Cadavers. Vintage.
- Decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, U.S. v. Casamento, 887 F. 2d 1141 (2d Cir. 1989)