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News and Features about Organized Crime, Mafia and La Cosa Nostra taken from National and Local News Sources. In an attempt to get you this type of coverage in a timely manner we can not be responsible for the content of the following material. |
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4-15-02 Mob Boss Facing Life. Sentencing today for Bonanno king.
By JOHN MARZULLI,
April 15, 2002 --
That was nine years ago. Anthony Spero Today, when Spero — the former acting boss of the Bonanno crime family — enters Federal Judge Edward Korman's courtroom in Brooklyn for sentencing, he faces life in prison for racketeering and ordering three murders. He apparently "can handle it" because his lawyer did not file court papers seeking leniency from the judge. The 73-year-old Spero almost certainly will spend the remaining years of his life in prison, just like the last high-ranking Bonanno boss who went to trial on racketeering charges in 1986 and lost, Philip (Rusty) Rastelli. But Spero's Mafia legacy should give up-and-coming wiseguys pause. Spero wasn't flashy and didn't get taped on a wiretap or concealed bug. In fact, he was so low-key he didn't have a known nickname, according to law enforcement sources. Low Profile "He definitely was one of those old-style gangsters who avoided electronic surveillance and shunned the limelight," said Jerry Capeci, a spokesman for John Jay College of Criminal Justice and author of the Web site Ganglandnews.com. "What's interesting about Spero is that despite all the care that went into his daily habits, he still managed to get convicted on flimsy evidence," Capeci said. Of the 20 co-defendants in the indictment, Spero was the only one who chose to fight the charges and go to trial. The other 19 pleaded guilty and several key players agreed to cooperate with the feds. Underlings Testified Brooklyn Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Walden and Greg Andres, along with Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Chris Blank, lined up an array of rats including former Luchese acting boss Alfonse (Little Al) D'Arco and an assortment of ultraviolent thugs from Spero's so-called Bath Ave. Crew to testify against him. Not one ever received an order directly from Spero, but they recounted how junkie Vincent Bickelman was killed because he stole a diamond-studded dog collar from Spero's daughter during a burglary, how Louis Tuzzio had to die because he had botched a mob hit and how the killing of Paulie (Brass) Gulino was a no-brainer — he committed the capital offense of "mushing" Spero's face during an argument. That was good enough for the jury, which convicted Spero after only two days of deliberations. Defense attorney Gerald Shargel did not have much to say Friday about the sentencing. "I will reserve my comments for the courtroom," Shargel said, adding that he was filing a motion asking the judge to assign Spero to a federal prison that is not very far from his Staten Island home so his relatives can visit him. "He has a close-knit family," Shargel said. Original Publication Date: 4/15/02
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