Carmine the Snake

by Frank DiMatteo

  Carmine begrudgingly agreed, so a hearing was held to determine Carmine’s advisor. Carmine testified briefly, telling the judge that his regular lawyer, Frank A. Lopez, was free to represent another defendant in the case if he chose. (Lopez did pick up a new client. Gerald McMahon was fired and Lopez repped Gerry Lang.)

  Carmine said, “I will be using the advice of attorney Stanley E. Meyer.”

  Judge Owen said, “I gather, presumably, we will not hear Mr. Meyer’s voice during this trial. We will only hear your voice, is that right?”

  Carmine replied, “Your honor, the truth of the matter, I am only having a lawyer sit by me because you directed me to have a lawyer sit by me. I am trying to follow your rules or else I would sit there alone.”

  * * *

  Jury selection for criminal trials is usually conducted in a courtroom, with prospective jury members sitting in the jury box during voir dire. For this case the process, beginning on September 8, 1986, took place in the jury room with only the defendants and the lawyers present.

  Prospective panelists were interviewed individually, without any other candidates present. All were assured that their names would be kept secret, and they would be referred to if necessary during the proceedings by number only.

  When no prospective juror was in the room, Carmine asked Judge Owens to instruct future prospects that the Mafia was not a criminal organization and that to be in the Mafia did not necessarily mean that you were a criminal.

  Judge Owens refused.

  The men and women from the jury pool were questioned by the prosecution and the defense, and often by the judge as well. During voir dire, Carmine repeatedly expressed concern about the jury pool’s attitudes toward the “so-called Mafia,” whether they believed in it, feared it, etc.

  When Judge Owen asked one prospective juror what she thought about the Mafia, Carmine complained that His Honor’s line of questioning was too brief and did not dig deeply enough into the prospective juror’s belief systems.

  Judge Owen became impatient with Carmine’s complaints and said, “I really thought I exhausted that.”

  The judge asked a male member of the pool who worked as a word processor, “Do you have any impressions as to anything called a Mafia or a Cosa Nostra?”

  The man replied, “I have no impressions at this time as to whether this exists or not. It is up to the Government to prove it in this case.”

  This man ended up on the jury.

  Asked the same question, another man replied, “It is my belief that Mafia is an organized crime kind of proposition that is involved in all kinds of questionable activities.”

  He was excused.

  Not all of the citizens marching through Judge Owen’s chambers were picked or not picked based on their opinions on organized crime. The jury pool was a cross-section of society and as such contained the young, the old, the male, the female, the big, the little, the loud, and the quiet.

  One memorable fellow was released immediately after telling Judge Owen that he was an actor and often had trouble distinguishing fact and fiction.

  After the person left, Judge Owen said he smelled a malingerer. “Now there goes someone who just doesn’t want to serve,” the judge said.

  One of the trial players quipped, “There goes our chance to be rated by a pro.”

  A retired social worker was excused from jury duty when she revealed her marriage to the NYPD’s deputy inspector.

  And on and on it went. It was tough to sit a jury in a case like this, but not impossible, and by being methodical and reasonable, they got the job done.

  Carmine asked that extortion charges against he and Gerry Lang be dismissed because of double jeopardy. Persico and Lang had a whole second trial going on for extortion in the construction industry, charges that were practically indistinguishable from the charges here. Why the redundancy? Who did it serve?

  The request was denied.

  Men who represent themselves in trials, especially complicated conspiracy trials such as this based on laws that were relatively new, never do a great job. Civilians who can do an adequate job are few and far between, and Carmine, to his credit was better than most.

  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Chertoff delivered the opening statement for the prosecution. He was thirty-two years old and looked younger despite a substantial moustache. He told the jury about the commission system, the heads of the various families, or their representatives, meeting to discuss the business of the Mafia.

  Chertoff said, “What you will see is these men, these crime leaders, fighting with each other, backstabbing each other, each one trying to get a larger share of the illegal proceeds. You are going to learn that this commission is dominated by a single principle: greed. They want more money, and they will do what they have to do to get it.”

  The commission, he said, had been around for years, ever since the five-family system in New York was set up by Lucky Luciano in 1931. He planned to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the commission approved three murders, including that of Carmine Galante.

  Chertoff noted that only four of the five families were represented on their distinguished panel of defendants. The Gambinos were missing because Aniello Dellacroce had died of cancer and Paul Castellano was gunned down outside Sparks Steak House, or else they would have been invited to the party as well. (Ironically, one of the tapes the government would have used against Castellano had he been alive was of him griping about Sparks Steak House. Castellano complained that Sparks wasn’t paying him, and the steak house was going to have to be closed unless Sparks paid up.)

  * * *

  If you’ve ever been to the fights—boxing, MMA—you know the tension in the air just before the bell rings. Adrenaline you could smell. Well that was the way it felt in that courtroom, the gallery full. The stars came out to watch. James Caan and Robert Duvall were there, stars of The Godfather. Caan and Carmine were buddies from back in the days when Caan was studying to play Sonny Corleone.

  The tension grew as the defense attorneys took turns getting the jurors in the correct frame of mind to acquit, as it finally came time for the boss to address the jurors. Carmine wore a black pinstripe suit, white shirt, and red tie. He was balding and had heavy bags beneath his eyes.

  With a small nod, Judge Owen said, “Mr. Persico.”

  Carmine rose, and stepped up to the lectern. He gave the jury his most pleasant smile, and there was nothing reptilian about it. The jurors felt a warmth. It was surprisingly difficult to see him as a monster.

  “Judge, gentlemen of the defense, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. By now I guess you all know my name is Carmine Persico, and I am not a lawyer. I’m a defendant. Sitting at this table.

  “You’ve heard all the lawyers before me talk to you and tell you what your oath was as a juror, what you promised us in the jury room and what we expect of you. We’re going to hold you to them because I believe you gave those answers in good faith and honestly. So I’m going to hold you to it.

  “What I’m going to talk about is the witnesses that will be called in this case and the defendants’ obligation. As a defendant I have no obligation. I could have sat down in that chair and not say a word. I don’t have to call a witness. I don’t have to produce a document. They have to prove I’m guilty. And I tell you they can’t prove it. When the witnesses take the stand, at the end of the case, they will have no evidence against me, Carmine Persico. They will have none.

  “They’re going to bring a lot of witnesses here. A lot of FBI agents they’re going to bring. They’re going to bring a lot of another type of witness. They’re going to get up here witnesses that committed murder. Committed extortion. Bribery. Every crime you could think of. Dope dealers, polluted the city with dope.

  “These witnesses are going to get up on the stand and tell you they reformed, that they are here to tell you the truth. They want to be believed. You look at them. You watch them when they talk. Not only what they say. Watch how they carry themselves.
How bold and brazen they are. And the reason they are so bold and brazen is because they have contracts with these people. They signed contracts. They entered into agreements with the government. They paid them for that testimony.

  “You know what they paid them. They paid them your money. Your money and my freedom is the payment these witnesses got. It will all come out on the witness stand. They had contracts. Written contracts. They’ll get up there and tell you how honest they are and how they are reformed. You’ll find some of them are doing life in prison. They want to come home. They want to be free. You’ll get others who got six-thousand, seven-thousand a month. They pay them to come here. That’s the kind of witness they’re going to bring in here.

  “I don’t have the power to do that. I can’t pay a witness. I could pay a witness to come here for one day, for his testimony here for that one day, but I can’t afford to pay a witness five-thousand a month. That’s illegal for me to do it. But it’s legal for them. They could do it. I can’t tell a witness that’s in jail come and testify for me, I’ll give you freedom. I can’t do that. But they could do it. The government could do it. And they did it. They’re powerful people. Not me. Not the people sitting at this table. They’re not powerful. The government is powerful and they’ll tell you, the witnesses that get up there, who they fear. They don’t fear us. They fear the government. Not us. Not me.

  “That’s the type of witness they’re going to ask you to believe. But I also tell you bring your common sense into court. Use your every day common sense when you listen to them people talking from that witness stand. Don’t let them blind you. All the other lawyers told you about Mafia and labels and all that. I’m not going to go over that. You just listen to their witnesses. You’ll see when Mr. Chertoff questions them, they’ll be right direct, yes, answer every question. But when there is such a thing as cross examination, on cross examination these witnesses here, you’ll hear, ‘I don’t remember. I don’t recall. I don’t remember.’ Count the times they say I don’t remember. But when Mr. Chertoff asks them questions, they will remember everything. They’ll go back twenty years and remember. We’ll ask them what they had for lunch and they may not recall.

  “That’s evidence. All kinds of evidence. Not just words. Watch how they act on the stand. That’s evidence, too. That’s the kind of evidence that the government is going to want you to send somebody to jail on.

  “Labels? Labels, I tell you are a smokescreen. Mr. Chertoff told you to keep your eye on the issue, not the labels in the indictment but the charges in the indictment. Keep your eye on the issues. I say that, too. Keep your eye on the issues.

  “Mr. Chertoff says this Mafia, Cosa Nostra, whatever he wants to call it, is all about making money. Orders go down, money went up. I’d like to know where that money went. You won’t see it coming to me. They’re going to present evidence but they won’t prove the money went to me. Orders went down, money came up. That’s okay, but they can’t try me on gossip, on rumors. You’re going to want proof. Let them prove it to you. That’s their job, to prove it to you. It’s not my job to prove anything.

  “They tell you I gave Ralphie Scopo orders. You won’t hear me on the tape talking to Ralphie Scopo. You won’t hear Ralphie Scopo on one tape speaking to me. You won’t hear Ralphie Scopo utter my name. You won’t see me in a picture with Ralphie Scopo. The government can’t put Ralphie Scopo with me. The witnesses will come here and they’ll try to do it. All right. Let them prove it. Let them try to do it. Call the witnesses.

  “Besides the witnesses that will take the stand, besides the money they paid them, there is such a thing called immunity. Immunity, the judge will explain it to you, but immunity is the witness will get up there and testify to all his past crimes, behavior, all his bad acts, and he won’t go to jail because they told him, ‘Tell us, you won’t have to go to jail.’ They gave him immunity, the people with the power gave them immunity. I can’t give them immunity. If I call a witness, if I choose to call a witness, he will not have immunity. He’ll sit up there and have to talk and tell the truth. And they’ll be watching him. See if he makes a mistake. You can bet if he makes a mistake he’ll have problems. I don’t know about his witnesses, what happens if they make a mistake. I don’t have the right to give immunity but he has. That’s another thing you should consider.

  “Now, you have a lot of FBI agents going to take the stand. Every time they get on the stand, Mr. Chertoff will ask them what is your job and they will say I’m a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to the organized crime task force. There you go again with the labels. Special label. Special agent, every one of them is a special agent. They mean nothing more than anybody else. They have a motive. They get paid to do what they do. Just because they say they’re special agents or they belong to an organized crime task force doesn’t mean they are any more sincere, any more honest. You must study them and watch how they testify. I say them special agent and organized crime task forces are just another form of labels. Because they know they are going to come here and testify and they want to impress all you people.

  “I hope to God that you do bring your common sense with you. After you finish hearing everything in this courtroom you’ll know what the government is trying to do. You’ll figure it out.

  “Bear with me please. I have so many notes here, I don’t know. I’m getting a little confused. I’m a little nervous, too. I’ll try not to be too long.

  “Well, I don’t want to repeat myself but again you will not hear me on tape. You won’t see a picture of me. They’ll show you a lot of pictures, but you won’t see one of me.

  “They talked about my son. I want to see what they say about him.

  “They say they are going to try to convince you that I was not around and when I was not around I gave Gerry Lang orders to carry out for me. These men sitting at this table are individuals. We’re all responsible for our own actions. I gave no orders to Gerry Lang and I think Gerry Lang is man enough to take care of himself. He doesn’t need any orders from me. You’ll hear that on the stand, too. Gerry can take care of himself. None of these people need me to do anything.

  “You’ll hear talk about the construction industry. I own no construction company. I never worked in construction. I have no interest in concrete companies. You wouldn’t hear me speaking to any concrete construction owners of companies, ready mix cement companies, no union delegates. I have no interest in concrete. If they say I have, let them prove it. I have no interest.

  “Don’t let them blind you, ladies and gentlemen, with all the labels, with Mafia, Cosa Nostra. That’s not what the case is all about. All the lawyers told you that. I’m not going to take up too much of your time but I have to tell you, listen to the evidence. Listen to it the way they told you, with clear conscience and common sense and I’m sure after you hear all the evidence you will acquit me and find me not guilty.

  “Thank you.”

  * * *

  Carmine’s opening had been far better than Chertoff had expected, but there were elements he thought he could score points with. Each time he called a witness that was an innocent crime victim, he always made sure to point out to the jury how “bold and brazen” they weren’t.

  During the trial, the Chicago Tribune claimed to have an inside source, a lawyer who knew Carmine well, and from him they offered insight into what made Carmine tick. The source said Carmine was “Intuitively intelligent. While he’s so far not doing the job a good lawyer would do, he is doing a fantastic job for an organized crime guy.” Regarding Carmine’s scruples, the guy opined, “As mob guys go, he’s loyal to his friends and he won’t kill you unless he has a reason.”

  The government carefully laid out its case for the jury: the men on trial were bosses and underbosses of different but affiliated criminal enterprises, and they ran organizations that individually, and sometimes in conjunction, committed an assortment of crimes including scores of murders.

  Carmine ran the Colom
bo family, they said. To demonstrate this, the prosecution showed the jury videotapes, played audiotapes. As promised, Carmine didn’t appear on the tapes, but he was mentioned frequently, and always with reverence. Junior was the guy in charge.

  Carmine remained alert and active in the courtroom. He was always quick to interrupt when he thought a witness wasn’t speaking clearly enough to be heard by the jury, or if the lawyer’s legalese was above the jury’s head.

  He sat mute however as the prosecution entered into evidence exhibit after exhibit of bills paid in connection with the Persico compound in Saugerties and noted how the conspicuous spending was impossible unless Carmine was the master criminal they said he was.

  * * *

  Some of the liveliest moments in Carmine’s courtroom performance came during his cross-examination of prosecution witness Joe Cantelupo, who had identified Carmine in his direct testimony as boss of the Colombos.

  Cantelupo told the court he was forty-three years old, born in Brooklyn, raised in West Islip, way out on Long Island, graduated from high school there in 1961, served in the army for four years, and went to work for his dad’s Dyker Heights realty company. Although he had never been convicted of a crime he admitted illegally finagling finances for friends. Back in the day he was also involved in fencing and shylocking. Those were the days when everyone worked for Joe Colombo.

  During Cantelupo’s direct examination, the government used him to explain how shylocking worked, so he carefully explained that debtors paid two percent weekly, that this was called the vig, for an indefinite period of time—until such a time that they could pay back the balance of the loan as a lump sum.

  Cantelupo testified that he’d seen Carmine Persico having face-to-face meetings with Joseph Colombo, in a fashion that led him to believe Carmine was a key man in the Colombo family—even all those years ago.