Convicted mob boss 'Vinny Gorgeous' ordered 2004 hit says former protege at new murder trial
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Facing death penalty: Vincent 'Vinny Gorgeous' Basciano could end up on Death Row if convicted of ordering a murder in 2004
Another alleged mobster has turned informer, testifying against his former boss in a stunner that could send one of New York's more colorful gangsters to Death Row.
Vincent 'Vinny Gorgeous' Basciano, 51, is already serving a life sentence for racketeering and attempted murder, but he could get the death penalty if convicted of ordering the 2004 murder of alleged mob associate Randolph Pizzolo.
Basciano's alleged former protege, Dominick Cicale, told a Brooklyn federal court: 'Randolph Pizzolo was killed on the orders of Vincent Basciano', according to the New York Daily News.
Cicale also described how he came to win Vinny Gorgeous' trust, which he said was through passing 'tests' that included resisting flirtatious advances by the boss's alleged mistress and showing up for appointments on time.
Earlier this year, Salvatore Volpe, an alleged low-level operative in Basciano's Bronx-based Bonanno crime family, told a court that Pizzolo had been targeted for causing trouble.
Volpe said Pizzolo boasted that he was going to 'level the Bronx' in revenge for not being indicted into the crime family.
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Rubbed out: Alleged mob associate Randolph Pizzolo died in 2004, and prosecutors hope to hold Vinny Gorgeous accountable
The court recently heard from former Bonanno boss Joseph Massino, the New York mafia's highest-ever ranking informer, who agreed to wear a wire in jail to record a conversation with Basciano about the 2004 killing.
Prosecutors played the recordings to the court, claiming they capture Basciano telling Massino, his predecessor: 'I gave the order. Randy was a f***ing jerkoff.'
Bonanno soldier Anthony Aiello has already pleaded guilty to killing Pizzolo, but now Vinny Gorgeous is accused of ordering the murder.
Cicale had previously testified against Basciano in 2006, helping earn a conviction against him for the murder of Frank Santoro, an alleged Bronx junkie who had reputedly threatened to kidnap Basciano's son.
Caught: Vinny Gorgeous captured on camera in a file photo
Basciano had also been convicted in 2006 on racketeering charges, which included involvement in illegal gambling and attempted murder.
Basciano came to be called Vinny Gorgeous because of his fondness for expensive suits, his suave grooming and the fact that he owned a Bronx beauty salon called 'Hello Gorgeous'.
A judge recently ruled that he be allowed five different suits to wear to court, as opposed to the one that is more typical.
The same judge has asked the U.S. Attorney General to drop the death penalty case against Basciano, on the grounds that it is going to cost the taxpayers too much money and the man is already behind bars, but the feds are intent on moving forward.
The case continues...
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