By Jerry Capeci

Colombo mobster Gregory Scarpa Jr. (right) has probably been reading a lot of cloak and dagger thrillers. He opened his defense to racketeering and murder charges with a heavy dose of international intrigue, espionage and double cross, and threw in some 1960s civil rights history.

All this as he blamed his father for the crimes for which he is on trial, and his mother, as well as his father's long-time lover, refused to take the witness stand for him. It set the stage for a frenetic finish with federal prosecutors asking for a mistrial, and a frustrated Brooklyn Federal Court judge ousting the press as she tried to finesse her way out of this mess.

From the witness stand, Scarpa said that he spied on World Trade Center bombing mastermind Ramzi Yousef for the FBI to help fight international terrorism. He said he used a miniature -- "about two inches," he said -- spy-type camera to photograph terrorist formulas for explosives Yousef slipped to him through the cracks in the wall of his cell. He said he warned the FBI that Yousef was plotting to kill a federal judge and a prosecutor, and tricked the terrorist into making overseas phone calls that were monitored by the FBI.

Scarpa befriended Yousef while they were housed in a maximum security section of a Manhattan jail awaiting trial. Scarpa was put there in 1995 for his own protection after he beat up Lucchese Mafia boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso (left). At the FBI's suggestion, Scarpa acted belligerent and rebellious and eventually won Yousef's confidence. He convinced Yousef the Mafia had a militia wing that operated a company that would smuggle a cellular phone into the prison that they both could use for secret phone calls.

Scarpa said in many ways he was like his father, Greg Scarpa Sr., (right) a top echelon FBI informant for 30 years, who regarded himself as a James Bond figure. Mission Impossible was a favorite television show.

"He was a real feared person," he said. "Everybody feared him. If he said something you listened. I don't care who you were, you listened."

Scarpa said the FBI used his father as an operative to help solve hate crimes during the 1960s. But his father often acted like Julius Caesar, always threatening to kill people, and that's where they differed, Scarpa said, denying involvement in five murders he is charged with. He said he was  inducted into the Mafia, but was an exception to the rule that requires members to take part in a murder before they are "made."

Scarpa said his father told him about a 1964 trip he made to Mississippi in which he helped the FBI find the bodies of three civil rights workers killed by the Ku Klux Klan.

"He put the gun in the guy's mouth. Said `Where are the bodies? This is the last time. I'm going to blow your head off,'" Scarpa told the jury. The bodies were located, several KKK members were arrested and a few were eventually convicted.

His lawyer, Larry Silverman, in his opening remarks, said Scarpa is being blamed for his father's sins by prosecutors and his father's crew members, who couldn't buy their way out of jail by telling on their boss, since he's dead. The elder Scarpa died of AIDs in 1994 at age 66.

Scarpa's testimony was designed to show that his father was so important to the FBI that he got a free ride on a slew of murders that included those listed in his racketeering indictment.

Scarpa (left) said his father had illegal dealings with his FBI agent Lindley DeVecchio, a supervisor who was suspected of corruption. The Justice Department investigated him for nearly two years but did not charge him  with any crimes or violations of FBI rules.

As he has done in the past, DeVecchio testifying under a grant of immunity from prosecution, denied any wrongdoing from the witness stand.

Silverman called Linda Schiro, who lived with Scarpa Sr. for more than 25 years and had two children with him, as a witness. Silverman said she knew of her lover's corrupt dealings with DeVecchio. After being told she that she could be grilled about crimes she was allegedly involved in, Schiro took the Fifth and refused to testify.

Faced with a similar problem, Scarpa's fallback witness, his mother Connie  also refused to testify. "They're trying to make my son pay for his father's sins,  and it's not right," she said outside court.

Meanwhile, prosecutors Sung-Hee Suh and John Kroger were arguing that  Silverman attended a June 1996 "proffer session" at which Scarpa, then seeking a cooperation deal, admitted taking part in the 1982 slaying of Alfred Longobardi, one of the five men Scarpa is charged with murdering. They said it amounted to a serious conflict of interest that required Judge Reena Raggi to declare a mistrial.

In his testimony, Scarpa denied a role in Longobardi's murder. The prosecution wanted to call a rebuttal witness to testify that Scarpa admitted his role in the killing and gave a "detailed account" of the slaying that was consistent with other prosecution evidence in the case.

Raggi conceded the conflict was serious before she kicked the press out of  court.

Scarpa asked Raggi to preclude the rebuttal testimony because he cannot call Silverman, the only witness he has who can back his version, because Silverman is his trial lawyer.

Raggi rejected Scarpa's motion, but so far, has not called a mistrial. Under case law cited by the prosecutors, a mistrial seems warranted, unless Scarpa waives his right to have Silverman testify on his behalf. Stay tuned.

The rules are simple as usual: One guess per person, via e-mail, of course. Anyone caught submitting more than one guess will be rubbed out - with all entries eliminated. Deadline is Nov. 1.

There are three prizes. First prize is an autographed copy of Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti.  As most readers know, the book is one of the favorite mob books of Andy, Gang Land's organized crime historian. (Those are his hands holding Mob Star at the right.) It is also out of print. But we have a copy and are putting it up as first prize. Autographed, of course.

Second prize is a copy of Murder Machine, also by Gene Mustain and yours truly. Third prize is an autographed copy of Gotti: Rise and Fall. In case of ties, prize winners will be selected at random.

Just to be different, and difficult, there are six questions, each worth the same 15 points. Question No. 2 has a 10-point bonus part. Good luck.

1. Name the singer who originally had the Frank Sinatra-like role of Johnny Fontaine in "The Godfather" but backed out fearing a negative reaction? Hint. He had a top ten hit with "On The Street Where You Live."

2. Name the Canadian singing group that sang at the August 1956 wedding of Salvatore (Bill) Bonanno and Rosalie Profaci. For extra credit, name the group's three top ten hits at that point in their career.

3. Name the night club singer who became a comedian and a Las Vegas fixture noted for his "insult" humor after a Chicago gangster orchestrated a  disabling attack on him in 1927.

4. Name the Colombo capo who prevented Morris Levy, the Genovese family backed head of Roulette Records, from muscling in on the Shangri-Las after the group had a No. 5 hit with "Remember" (Walking In The Sand) and a No. 1 with "Leader of the Pack" in 1964.

5. Name the hit song by Mickey and Sylvia that typified the relationship  between Robert DeNiro and Sharon Stone and was playing when they first met in the movie, "Casino."

6. Name the three top ten hits that Jay and the Americans had while Jay Black, who sang at a couple of weddings of John Gotti's kids, was the group's lead singer.

Gotti's lawyer Bruce Cutler (right) said the home owners were "ordinary, common folk of means and good reputation" but reporter Charlie LeDuff, while not refuting that notion, showed their familial connections to Gambino family wiseguys and wannabes.

Organized crime investigators knew almost all the co-signers of Junior's $10 million bail. The parents-in-law of slain mobster Bartholomew (Bobby) Borriello, onetime aide to Junior (left) and former chauffeur for Gotti's father during his heyday, put up their $185,000 home; the grandmother of Junior's close buddy John Ruggiero posted her $360,000 home; the parents of reputed Gotti crew member Anthony Amoroso put up their home as did the mother of another Gotti crony, Steven Kaplan.

ASK ANDY
Andy, our organized crime historian seen here with one of his favorite Mafia books, "Mob Star," replies to several recent queries and gives an  overview of the Mafia families that have laid claim to mob rackets in New Jersey along with some thumbnails about some of the major players who have operated in the Garden State.

There are seven Mafia families that operate in New Jersey, but only one is viewed as homegrown - with it's original base in the Newark area. It is still generally referred to as the DeCavalcante family for the boss that Joe Valachi identified as family leader in the 1960's, Simone (Sam the Plumber) DeCavalcante.

Like most La Cosa Nostra families, the roots of this group go back to the first decades of the century. In 1930, the Boss was Stephano Badami, Underboss was Sam Monaco. On Sept. 10, 1931, Monaco disappeared until his body floated ashore in Newark Bay three days later.

Phil Amari became the next leader. He was a drug dealer and was well known by the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which had a large file on him and his activities. He was also involved in labor racketeering, gambling and loansharking and one of his key associates was the father of future Boss, John Riggi. According to FBI bugs, Amari's reign was not a happy one and it's likely he was deposed in a bloodless coup.

Next up was Nick Delmore who became boss in 1957, not too long after Monaco's 1931 murder was apparently avenged. On Mar. 31, 1955,  Badami was lured to a restaurant and stabbed to death. A Monaco brother was questioned, but released. In 1961, Delmore stepped down and was replaced by DeCavalcante, who was later overheard on an FBI bug explaining that the Commission had given Delmore the top spot, but in an effort to avoid family feuds that plagued Amari's tenure, had put him on probation for one year before making him the official boss. Like his predecessors, The Plumber's main rackets were gambling, loansharking and labor racketeering.

Early in his reign, DeCavalcante arranged a sitdown with Philadelphia boss Angelo Bruno to settle differences involving that city's induction of members from Trenton. What the bugged conversations make clear is that disputes between the bosses were decided by the Commission, and that conflict over territory was and would be a continuing problem in New Jersey.

A quick look at a map shows why the Philadelphia mob became involved in southern New Jersey. Camden is just across the river from Philadelphia and Atlantic City has been an easy commute ever since a railroad joined Camden and the Atlantic Ocean resort in the mid-1880's. Philadelphia mobsters expanded northward during the reign of underboss Marco Reginelli from 1946 to 1956 and solidified their hold under a succession of powers including Anthony (Tony Bananas) Caponigro, Ralph Napoli, Pasquale Martinario and Joseph Licata.

The Genovese Family has been active in New Jersey more than 80  years. Willie Moretti was an early strongman closely associated with Abner (Longy) Zwillman. Joe Adonis was heavily involved in gambling in the Garden State and Gerardo Catena carried on after Moretti was murdered and Adonis deported in the 1950's. Other gambling forces included Angelo (Gyp) DeCarlo and Ruggiero (Richie the Boot) Boiardo. The Genovese Family also gained control of the vast New Jersey docks, wrestling control from the Irish. Capo Tony Provenzano initially rode the coattails of his mentor, Anthony (Tony Bender) Strollo, and then became a powerful force in Teamsters Union during the 1960's and 1970's. A decade later, consigliere Louis ( Bobby) Manna (right) was in charge of the family's New Jersey rackets.

The Bonannos have had some interests in the Garden State. The most famous Bonanno soldier in New Jersey was Joseph (Bayonne Joe) Zicarelli.  When he was made, Zicarelli became part of a crew headed by capo Joe Notaro whose members ranged from Brooklyn to the Bronx. During the early 1960's, Zicarelli had the misfortune to be recorded on an FBI bug. Transcripts were released in 1969 and Zicarelli became a public sensation the second time in two years. In 1967, a close association with Congressman Cornelius Gallagher was revealed by Life Magazine, destroying Gallagher's career. Joe Bonanno had an interest in a Newark Airport Hotel and one of his capos, Tony Riela, operated from that base well into the late 1970's. The small Bonanno presence in New Jersey has faded since that era.

According to the FBI, the Luccheses rose in power in New Jersey during the 1980's because of turmoil in Philadelphia after Bruno was assassinated in 1980. Consigliere Anthony Caponigro, was executed for his role in Bruno's killling, and Philadelphia leaders focused on that city's rackets. Heading the Lucchese climb were Anthony (Tumac) Accetturo and the Tacetta brothers, Martin and Michael. Eventually, a feud between New York leaders and the New Jersey wing coupled with federal prosecutions seriously weakened the Lucchese fortunes in New Jersey.

The Gambinos have also had a presence in New Jersey. During the reigns of Carlo Gambino and Paul Castellano, soldier Nicky Russo operated a number of gambling activities, often in partnership with the Philadelphia
Family. An FBI bug overheard future Philadelphia bosses Phil Testa and Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo discussing one such endeavor in 1977. Several Gambino cousins from Cherry Hill were heavily involved in heroin traffficking, an accommodation from Bruno that gave Gambino's relatives permission to operate in his territory. The Cherry Hill Gambinos were heavily involved in the heroin trade, and passed lots of money to the family's New York leaders, from Gambino to Castellano to John Gotti.

The Colombos have had a much smaller presence in New Jersey. Most recently, capo Thomas Petrizzo was charged with extorting the company that was building the Newark Airport monorail. Petrizzo was also hit with labor racketeering charges in New York and is serving time in federal prison. So called Yuppie capo Michael Franzese also operated vast bootleg gasoline tax scams in New Jersey.