Last Rites (16 page)

In 2001, a U.S. House Investigating Committee began holding hearings looking into the misconduct of the Boston FBI office. The hearings were interrupted by the terrorist attacks on 9-11. Former FBI agent Dennis Condon, who had heard that the hearings would be reconvening, stated, “Don't you have anything better to do?” The House Government Reform Committee has been listening to evidence stating that for decades Boston FBI agents provided tips to organized crime leaders to help them eliminate witnesses against them, sent innocent men to prison for life, lied to other law enforcement agencies and covered up crimes committed by their informants. The major goal of the committee is to identify how much FBI headquarters knew about the Boston office's misconduct. Massachusetts representative Bill Delahunt, who presides on the committee, stated, “What we have revealed here is an institution in dire need of reform, with no accountability, no transparency and a total lack of controls.”

Now the families of two women—the widow of a small-time mobster who has been missing for years and the widow of a Tulsa multimillionaire who was killed gangland style at his country club—whose bodies were found in a shallow grave along the outer reaches of Boston Harbor are suing the FBI. The two women whose bodies were found were girlfriends of Stephen Flemmi. Their bodies were only discovered after another Bulger associate led police to the burial grounds. These lawsuits have put the Justice Department in a difficult situation. To date, there have been six lawsuits filed and more are expected. The problem is that the burden of proof is lower than in the criminal trial, in which agent Connolly was acquitted of the most serious charges, including complicity to murder. Also, there may be further damaging revelations. Some of the damaging evidence that has been introduced was hidden in FBI files. The information stated that Vincent Flemmi, who murdered Teddy Deegan in 1965, was an informer for the FBI. Despite knowing this, the FBI allowed another of its informants to testify that four innocent men had committed the killing. Then there was the 1965 memo to J. Edgar Hoover saying that Flemmi had committed the killing and would kill again but that “the informant's potential outweighs the risks.” Attorney Libby has found the government's answer to his lawsuit paradoxical. He represents the estate of Roger Wheeler, the chairman of Telex, who was killed in 1981 on orders from Bulger. Attorney Libby was notified the same day that Mr. Connolly was convicted. The Justice Department stated that it was moving to dismiss his lawsuit on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. Libby stated, “There is some irony in the government saying the Wheeler family should have known, from a half continent away, twenty years ago, that government agents were committing murder.”

Charles Pouty was sent to the Boston FBI field office in 1997 as part of a team of FBI and Justice Department investigators sent there to investigate allegations of misconduct. These allegations were brought to light at a hearing being presided over by United States district judge Mark L. Wolf. Pouty and the team quickly and hastily produced a report that found no wrongdoing within the five-year statute of limitations. A year later, at another hearing with Judge Wolf, even more evidence came to light, most of which was cited as misconduct at Connolly's trial. One of the acts that the team missed occurred in December 1994, when agent Connolly tipped off Bulger about the coming indictments, which gave him ample time to flee. Some officials have been critical of Pouty and his team. However, in their defense, the team only had five weeks to look into twenty-five years' worth of questionable activity. When reviewing the evidence that has been brought to light against the Boston FBI field office, it becomes apparent that there is a culture of concealment within the FBI. The bureau would get itself into a protective mentality where it cared less about justice and more about protecting itself from agent mistakes.

In the end, Connolly was sentenced to forty years in prison for his part in the murder of a Miami gambling executive in 1982. Miami-Dade circuit judge Stanford Blake rejected the defense's claims that a four-year statute of limitations had expired on Connolly's second-degree murder conviction in the killing of John Callahan. Judge Blake stated that the motion on that issue was filed past a ten-day deadline but was probably legally correct. There almost certainly will be an appeal on this case. It is doubtful if it will be overturned.

Gigi's life is disturbing in a productive way. He takes center stage in this Shakespearean tragicomedy. He is a paradox of greatness and wretchedness. Gigi is no bumbling simpleton. He is thoughtful, polite, reflective and extremely compassionate. Yet his father's past actions have had powerful consequences that have reverberated into his life. Big Eddie Marino inevitably bequeathed his traits to his sons, Eddie and Gigi.

In recent years, Eddie Portalla has had legal troubles of his own. On Friday, May 20, 2005, he was found guilty in a federal court on charges of cocaine distribution conspiracy and money laundering. In January 2003, an undercover DEA agent posed as a drug dealer who knew Jason and Salvatore Carrillo. The undercover agent met with Eddie Portalla at his business, Wakefield Communications, on Western Avenue in Lynn, Massachusetts. During the two meetings with the undercover agent, he informed Portalla that he was a drug dealer and that he had cash from illegal sales of drugs. Eddie sold the agent cellphones and activated them under fictitious names at both meetings. The DEA had wiretaps of Portalla saying that they could turn a telephone on under any name or they could buy a track telephone and put it under a fake name. The track telephones can also be bought in a store and turned on under a false name from home. Weeks prior to the meetings with the undercover agent, another man came into the store and asked Eddie if he could launder some money for him. Eddie told him no and then called the FBI to report the incident. The telephone call was never mentioned by the prosecution. The sales of the telephones were charged as two counts of money laundering. The government also presented evidence that Eddie provided the Carrillos with false W-2 forms. These forms stated that they were employed at his business as sales associates earning between $70,000 and $80,000 a year. It was the government's assertion that these W-2 forms helped the Carrillos obtain a two-bedroom oceanfront condominium, two luxury apartments and various high-end automobiles.

During the eight-day trial, the government was able to establish that Eddie knew that the Carrillos were selling cocaine and that he sold them phones knowing that they would be used to violate the narcotic laws. Eddie was originally offered a plea agreement that stated he would have to serve two years. He refused the plea on the basis that he didn't feel as though he had committed a crime. He never touched any drugs, he was never present during any of the drug deals and he came in on the investigation only during the last two weeks. He didn't care where the money came from, he just wanted to sell telephones and make money. As for the W-2 forms, the Carrillos had a thriving business: they owned Miss Q Billiards in Malden. However, they couldn't show enough income to qualify for a mortgage. Therefore, they asked a friend to say that they worked for him so they could get a mortgage, and he did them a favor. The government had a mortgage broker on a wiretap informing them how to launder money so they could provide a down payment and cash assets. The funny thing is that the government never pressed charges against the mortgage broker. Eddie was sentenced to ten years. Currently, he has been able to overturn the sentence and is due to be released. He denies any involvement in the drug conspiracy and feels that he is a victim of his last name.

In recent years, the mob has used the federal prison system as a way of networking and increasing its criminal connections. Going to prison has always been an occupational hazard for mob guys. The constant police scrutiny, wiretaps and surveillance eventually lead to criminal cases, which lead to prison sentences.

Anthony W. Fiore Jr. and Richard Gomes are both Patriarca associates and were placed center stage during John Gotti Jr.'s trial. Prosecutors attempted to undermine Gotti's claim that he had retired from the Gambino family. The prosecution introduced evidence that Gotti was treated as a mafia boss while incarcerated. The evidence was a photograph of Fiore and Gotti posing in the prison yard. Fiore has been in prison for the past fifteen years for running an armored car robbery gang. Another piece of evidence the prosecution introduced was a recorded prison conversation in which Gotti instructed his lawyer to send $500 to Gomes in prison. Gomes was a close personal friend of John Gotti Sr., the most famous mob boss in America. John Gotti Jr. stated on tape, “He was very dear to my father. I know he's in jail, I know he's, that he's broke, people came through here and told me this. This is a great guy. This is a real man.” Gomes had served nearly twenty years for shooting two men outside a wiener shop in Olneyville. He died at the age of seventy-three, shortly after being released from prison. On the wall of his apartment in Providence hung photos of his friends, Gotti and Patriarca Sr. Rhode Island State Police major O'Donell said, “Fiore has to have power to be in Gotti's presence. It helps Fiore gain power and prestige.” Fiore is also a lifelong friend of mob hit man Tillinghast.

Carrozza was released from prison on March 24, 2008, at the age of sixty-eighty. His present status is unknown. J.R. Russo lost his bout with leukemia in June 1998 at Springfield Federal Prison Hospital. Deluca was released in June 2004 and has been keeping a low profile since his release. The Massachusetts and Rhode Island State Police task forces are keeping a close watch on these men as they are being released from prison. Law enforcement realizes just how unstable the peace of the underworld really is and is vigilantly watching to ensure that another war doesn't break out.

Many law enforcement officials have claimed that the mafia of today is nothing but a bunch of thugs running around appropriating the title “mafia” to give themselves an inflated sense of importance. Former president Lyndon Johnson's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice stated in its report that there was a nationwide criminal entity consisting of thousands of criminals “working within structures as complex as those of any large corporation, subject to laws more rigidly enforced than those of legitimate government.” It all began with Lucky Luciano's evolutionary adaptation of the Sicilian mob. He welcomed doing business with outside ethnic groups and established treaties with these groups in order to allow both groups to benefit and prosper. He realized that without efficiency and profits, no group would be able to survive for very long. The changes he implemented are perhaps his greatest contribution to the continuing longevity of organized crime.

The mob will undoubtedly keep its stranglehold on the northeastern part of the United States because there is a large contingent of Italian-Americans living in the area. It is important to remember that the remorseless, deviant sociopaths defame the very ethnic banner of Italian-American that they carry so proudly. The trouble with America today is that there are absolutely no obligations attached to living here. We've broken out of our social shackles and are free to follow our own bliss. Not to mention the economic classes within the organization.

Perhaps the best secret to the success of organized crime has been the American public's fascination with these men of honor. From the days of George Raft and James Cagney to
The Sopranos
, the public has been cheering for the wise guy. It is important to remember that this country was founded by men who broke the law to escape British rule. This may be why we raise these men to iconic status. Although we are tempted to glorify these men and their lifestyle, we need to see them as they are. These men are broken; their lives are void of meaning because they worship at the altar of the almighty dollar. They wake up every morning and perform their daily tasks, all the while searching for something they will never find: peace and contentment. Nobody in the mob today wants to be a boss or in any position of power. This is because the title becomes a bull's-eye for the FBI. They also have to keep a watchful eye out for guys who are looking to sell them out. These guys are smart, clever and fun to be around. You could go out to eat and have a few drinks with them and you'll laugh all night long. The time you spend with them can also be potentially dangerous. Theirs is a dangerous world best observed from a safe distance.

Gigi's life is a parable about life and crime. Most of the guys he hung around with are dead, in prison, moved out of the neighborhood or are keeping a low profile. Still, in retrospect, he fared better than most when you consider that many kids he grew up with died tragically by Revere mainstays—drugs and a bullet.

As the seventeenth-century French philosopher François duc de la Rochefoucauld said, “It is more shameful to distrust one's friends than to be deceived by them.” This quote seems to sum up life in the mafia.

B
IBLIOGRAPHY

N
EWSPAPERS

Boston American
, September 16, 1960.

———, September 24, 1960.

Boston Globe
, April 7, 1987.

———, January 16, 1999.

———, October 2, 1998.

Boston Herald
, February 21, 1997.

———, March 27, 2000.

———, May 27, 1999.

———, September 30, 1999.

Chelsea Record
, November 26, 1996.

Lynn Daily Evening Item
, May 25, 1999.

Worcester Telegram and Gazette
, January 13, 1999.

———, March 3, 2000.

———, October 14, 1998.

O
THER
S
OURCES

Boston Magazine
, 1997.

FBI field reports

Maloney, J.J. “The Great Brinks Robbery.”
Crime Magazine
.

U.S. Attorney's Office transcript of conversation, October 29, 1989.