Friends of Ours

Report: Genovese Capo Turns Gov't Witness

Anthony Arillotta, the reputed Genovese capo out of Springfield, MA who was indicted last February for his alleged role in the 2003 hit of his predecessor Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, may now be playing for Team America as reported by Jerry Capeci for The Huffington Post.  Also charged for their alleged roles in the Bruno hit are Arthur Nigro, a reputed former acting Genovese boss, and Fotios "Freddy" Geas, a supposed sometime enforcer for Arillotta.  Frankie Roche, the admitted triggerman in the Bruno slaying, alleges that he was paid $10,000 by Geas for the job.

It's rather ironic that Arillotta may have flipped since he allegedly sought the rubout of Bruno based on the suspicion that the latter had become a government informant as reported by Stephanie Barry for The Republican:

Investigators describe Bruno's slaying as a classic mob hit in every sense: the much-younger Arillotta allegedly sought permission from New York bosses to take Bruno out because the mobster was perceived as a weak leader and had raised suspicions he was working as an informant for the FBI, according to the indictment.

The trial against the defendants is scheduled for November 1 in the federal courthouse in Manhattan, and Capeci writes that according to a source Pasquale DeLuca may be indicted as an additional defendant:

Late yesterday, as news of Arillotta's apparent defection spread like wildfire in organized crime circles, a usually reliable source told Gang Land that the feds were planning to add aging Genovese wiseguy, Pasquale (Scop) DeLuca, who is identified as a co-conspirator in the Massachusetts case, as a defendant. DeLuca, 78, is currently serving a five year prison stretch for being part of the conspiracy to murder mobster Ralph Coppola, who was killed in 1998 and whose body has never been found.

Speculation In Big Al Hit Case

Speculation is brewing that indictments may be coming down the road against additional defendants in connection with the 2003 hit against New England Genovese capo Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno.  The trial for Fotios "Freddy" Geas, charged with planning the hit against the gangster, is set for March 1, and federal prosecutors have filed a "recent flurry of sealed documents" and "defense lawyers in the case have completely corked the flow of information" as reported by Stephanie Barry for The Republican:

Rumors about new arrests have run rampant among lawyers and shady figures alike since early last week. * * * Geas, 42, is charged with murder in aid of racketeering in 2008 after being implicated by admitted shooter Frankie A. Roche, who turned government witness and has pleaded guilty to shooting Bruno in the parking lot of South End neighborhood club on Nov. 23, 2003. Roche told the FBI Geas paid him $10,000 to kill Bruno amid a turf war among members of the so-called "Springfield Crew" of the New York-based Genovese crime family. Names of other suspects have cropped up in previous court filings, only to be dismissed by law enforcement officials as premature. They include Anthony J. Arillotta, 41, Bruno's reputed successor, and New York [reputed] mobsters Pasquale "Scop" Deluca, 78, and Arthur "Artie" Nigro, 65, none of whom has been charged in connection with Bruno's killing.