Tangorra, 51, was taken out of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) by deputy U.S. marshals three months ago and except for one or two days, hasn't been in general population at any federal prison.

Gang Land has learned, however, that Tangorra hasn't been talking to the FBI or federal prosecutors. He's been talking to himself, prison psychiatrists and other doctors about panic attacks and a severe case of depression, according to court records, law enforcement and underworld sources.

"He's a shrunken man," said a Gang Land source who saw him two weeks ago.

"He's lost about 65 pounds," said another.

Joey Flowers began behaving like fictional New Jersey Mafia boss Tony

Months earlier, after Tangorra was hit with federal loansharking charges and released on bail, Gang Land sources first noticed that Joey Flowers had begun to become unglued. Last May, he was spotted a block away from his Brooklyn home ranting and raving and waving a copy of the indictment.

"He was carrying on like a punk kid, not like a made guy, certainly not the way a capo should conduct himself over a shylocking case," said one source.

In September, Tangorra was squeezed a bit more by state racketeering charges.

By early this year, Tangorra, who has numerous spine, back and stomach

An open wound that remained following abdominal surgery became infected. On Jan. 19, after his lawyers complained about his deteriorating medical condition, Tangorra was taken to a local hospital which recommended a transfer to a prison hospital.

A week later, deputy U.S. Marshals removed him to the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY, where he remained until Feb. 14. After a few days in the nearby Westchester County jail, Tangorra was returned to the MDC.

"You're a fucking rat," taunted one inmate after another. Eventually, a fight broke out. Tangorra and an antagonist, whose name could not be learned, were placed in the hole, where Tangorra remains, too terrified to seek a return to general population.

"The rumors are incorrect. He is not cooperating," said Tangorra's lawyer Vincent Romano, who declined to discuss his client's psychiatric problems. Romano blamed the MDC for exacerbating Tangorra's "well-documented

"He couldn't get a clean bandage and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to keep himself infection-free. The MDC medical personnel think they can cure everything with a Band Aid," said Romano.

Making matters worse for Tangorra's psyche is the fact that Lester Ellis, the Luchese associate who shot Joey Flowers in the back as they tried to kill a loanshark victim who stiffed them, is cooperating against him.

Federal prosecutors William Gurin and Trish McNeill are not convinced that Tangorra needs psychiatric help, noting two weeks ago that he should be depressed, facing life if convicted of the racketeering and murder charges that are pending. If he weren't depressed, Gurin argued, that would be an indication that he had mental problems -- and might need a Dr. Melfi to smooth things out for him.

Brooklyn Federal Judge Alynne Ross disagreed. After examining Tangorra's medical records, she ordered a full psychiatric examination for him, suggesting the North Carolina prison hospital where Genovese boss Vincent (Chin) Gigante began his prison stretch in 1997.

Joseph Calco and Nicholas Tuzzio both testified about a feud between their families that climaxed in 1988 with the murder of Calco's brother Charles by Tuzzio's brother Louis.

The feud began when Nicholas Tuzzio stole a car that Charles Calco later took for a joyride in which he killed a pedestrian in a hit-and-run accident.

When police found the car, they recovered fingerprints of Nicholas Tuzzio, who was convicted and jailed. Under a settlement decree by Spero, Tuzzio kept his mouth shut and did the time, and the Calco family paid the legal expenses.

But Louis Tuzzio wanted vengeance. Along with a buddy, he beat Charles  Calco and hanged him in the basement of the Calco home.

Nicholas Tuzzio learned about it when he got out of prison and asked his brother if he had seen Calco.

"My brother says he's not around no more: 'I took care of that.' I said, 'What do you mean by that?' He says, 'I hung him,'"Nicholas testified.

Joseph Calco (left) learned about his brother's death minutes after it happened and rushed to the basement of his family's home, where he was met by police and his father.

"I saw my brother hanging from a rope around his neck," said Calco, adding that he knew immediately that Louie Tuzzio had killed him.

In January, 1990, on orders from Spero, Louis Tuzzio was shot to death in Brooklyn, his body stretched over the driver's seat of a car.