Feb. 10, 1997 AN OFFER THEY COULDN'T REFUSEBy Jerry Capeci TOP gangsters like Liborio (Barney) Bellomo and Michele (Mickey Dimino) Generoso have all seen "The Godfather" three or four times. And they're used to making offers that people can't refuse.
And so, today, the acting boss and acting underboss of the Genovese family will plead guilty to extortion charges stemming from government efforts to remove the mob's stranglehold over Little Italy's annual San Gennaro Festival. In plea bargains negotiated over the weekend, Bellomo, 40, will be sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Generoso, 79, will receive between 15 and 21 months. In addition, both men will each forfeit about $250,000. Now 10 years is a long time, even with 50 days a year off for good behavior. And when you're 79, 15 months can be an eternity. But both sentences are decidedly better than life without parole. That's what they faced if they had been convicted on the original racketeering and murder, which included ordering a 1991 hit on Ralph DeSimone. They emphatically deny having anything to do with the gangland-style slaying and three polygraph experts backed them up. In an effort to have their lie detector test results admitted into evidence - which would have been a federal court first - the gangsters submitted to tests administered by the former chief polygraphist for the FBI. They even gave blood and urine samples immediately afterwards to prove they hadn't taken any mood-altering drugs, which might have helped them lie. Manhattan Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan, who had badmouthed two previous tests, was still thinking it over when jury selection began last week.
The lie detector play was nice, but these wise guys realized they got an offer they couldn't refuse. For the same reason, mob associates Anthony (Tony Waterguns) Pisapia, 58, Louis Zacchia, 71, Leonard Cerami, 48, and Michael Autuori, 46, agreed to plead guilty to extortion charges for systematically gouging exorbitant fees from the San Gennaro festival's vendors and keeping most of the money for themselves and their mob buddies instead of donating it to charity. They will forfeit about $3 million and receive jail terms ranging from 12 to 24 months, much less than faced if convicted of only a few of the many charges in the 65-count indictment. However, Genovese consigliere James (The Little Guy) Ida, 56, rejected a 15-year-deal that would have satisfied two murder and two attempted murder counts and other charges. Mob associate Louis Ruggiero, 66, turned down 10 years for one murder, and mobster Nicholas (Nicky the Blond) Frustaci, 65, rejected a 37-month deal for gambling and loansharking. This either proves that some offers can be refused, or that some mobsters ain't really wise guys.
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The other day,
however, Bellomo (right) and Generoso got an offer they couldn't refuse and decided to
forego a chance to make federal court history.
But even if
Kaplan allowed the test results to be used as evidence, and Bellomo and Generoso were
acquitted of the homicide, they probably would have gone down on some of the other counts
and faced much more time than prosecutors offered them. Under current sentencing federal
guidelines, if convicted of only one count of a multi-count indictment, they would face
the same amount of jail time.
