Primo Cassarino
Primo Cassarino | |
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Born |
Primo Cassarino (born April 26, 1956) is a New York mobster who became an enforcer for Gambino crime family, and extorted money from actor Steven Seagal.
Foulest mouth in Brooklyn
Born in 1956 to first generation immigrants from
Cassarino's own lawyer once observed that his client had "the foulest mouth in Brooklyn."[2] At one point, law enforcement recorded Cassarino berating a debtor who was late on a loan payment:
a greaseball [bleeping bleep]. ... You're a greaseball no good [bleeper]. ... You're a [bleeping] slimy [bleeper]. ... You better hope I don't see your [bleeping] face . . .[2]
In 1997, Ciccone started receiving extortion payments from Carmine Ragucci, a leader of the Conservative Party of New York State and a terminal owner. It quickly became Cassarino's job to transfer these payments from Ragucci to Ciccone.[3]
In April 2001, Cassarino was tasked with delivering cash payments from Ciccone to Gambino boss
Steven Seagal
In January 2001, Cassarino participated in an extortion attempt against actor
How the [expletive] do you put him in the back, he's six-foot-what, five? He didn't want nobody to shoot him in the [expletive] head. If he was sitting in the front, I'm right behind him.
At the meeting, Ciccone bluntly told Seagal that he had a choice of making four promised movies with Nasso or paying Nasso a penalty of $150,000 per movie. If Seagal refused, Ciccone would kill him.[5] Seagal, who later claimed that he brought a handgun to the meeting, was able to stall Ciccone and escape the meeting unharmed.[6]
Conviction
On March 17, 2003, Cassarino, Peter Gotti, Ciccone, and Richard V. Gotti were convicted of labor racketeering, extortion, and 63 other counts under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.[7] Seagal testified for the prosecution about the mobsters' extortion attempt.[8]
In August 2004, Cassarino received an 11½-year prison sentence. At his sentencing, Cassarino said that the mob life was finished. He begged his children to continue with their education and make decent lives for themselves. Soon after his sentencing, Cassarino became a government witness in hopes of reducing his sentence.
In 2005, Cassarino testified for the prosecution in the trial of Genovese crime family capo Lawrence Ricci.[9]
References
- ^ Marzulli, John (October 6, 2009). "Mob rat Primo Cassarino sues city to get a fatter pension". New York Daily News. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ a b Marzulli, John (February 14, 2003). "'BLEEPING' GOTTI TRIAL". New York Daily News. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ Marzulli, John (January 29, 2003). "POL TRASHED AT GOTTI TRIAL Say he delivered mob cash". New York Daily News. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ Marzulli, John (February 4, 2003). "It's all a blur at Gotti trial Shaky camera mars surveillance". New York Daily News. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ Marzulli, John (February 10, 2003). "Seagal's mob terror Star to testify on scary date with gangsters". New York Daily News. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ Gendar, Alison (March 16, 2010). "Action star Steven Seagal under seige [sic] again by lawsuit from mobbed-up movie producer Julius Nasso". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ "STEVEN SEAGAL AND THE MOB" Archived 2006-12-15 at the Wayback Machine TruTV Crime Library
- ^ Marzulli, John (March 18, 2003). "GOTTI & 6 TAKE FALL IN B'KLYN THE TEFLON'S LONG GONE". New York Daily News. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ "PRIMO CASSARINO AND HOMICIDE AS THE AMERICAN MAFIA'S ULTIMATE REPRISAL" Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Gangster Inc. November 1, 2005