Death to the Prosecution

By John Paul Carinci

The trial of Peter “Big Hands” Crangi, the aging head of the Filaggio Mafia family is scheduled to begin in a week. Crangi, suspected of murdering over one hundred victims in his long career, is on trial for racketeering, gambling, narcotics trafficking, tax evasion, and murder. But everything changes when Stanley Soloman, the lead federal prosecutor on the case, drowns in an alleged boating accident while vacationing in Florida.

Now as Assistant Prosecutor Justin Flavin nervously steps in to head the prosecution team, he cannot help but wonder whether his boss died at the hands of the Mafia. As the trial begins, Flavin knows there will only be a conviction if the courtroom testimony of Rocky Mancresi goes off without a hitch. But as the threats and murders continue, only time will tell if Flavin can survive the trial of the decade. Unfortunately for him, mobsters never go away quietly.

In this exciting crime thriller, a young federal prosecutor must take over the complex and dangerous court case of a mob kingpin after his boss dies in a suspicious accident.

“Yet another amazing edge of the seat book by John Paul Carinci as he weaves us in and out of masterful suspense. A wonderful read!”
—Ellen George, author and book reviewer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: May 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781480887558

John Paul Carinci

John Paul Carinci is an insurance executive and president of Carinci Insurance Agency, Inc. He is also a songwriter, poet, motivational speaker, and CEO of Better Off Dead Productions, Inc., a movie production company. Carinci is the author of multiple novels and self-help guides as well as several screenplays.

Book preview

DEATH

TO THE

PROSECUTION

JOHN PAUL CARINCI

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Copyright © 2020 John Paul Carinci.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-8756-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-8754-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-8755-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020909150

Archway Publishing rev. date: 05/15/2020

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

For my wife, Vera.

For all those who are rooting us on from above.

And for the angels inside of all.

CHAPTER 1

L ife sometimes can throw a curve that not only throws one for a loop but pounds one senseless for what seems like an eternity. One day everything is fine and paradise on earth that has never been better. Then, wham, slam, earth-shattering time!"

It was quite sudden. Like the phone call from Hell. One that sets the mind wandering, racing in speeds never recorded before.

It was 11:30 at night, before bedtime. When the phone rings at that time, you just know that it’s bad. The heart jumps and one’s mind naturally gravitates to the worst possible scenarios. Maybe it was about my mother or my wife Alice’s mother? My one-year-old son, Luke, was sleeping and my wife was already in bed.

I instinctively grabbed the phone after one ring. It’s amazing how fast one can be when they feel the need to quiet the startling sounds of life.

Yes, hello, I blurted, knowing it would stop the ringing from disturbing my son and wife of almost two years.

What? I screamed into the phone. It was all I could say after hearing the news of death that completely caught me off guard.

I know that life is not guaranteed to any of us. That life at best is totally unpredictable, and could end in an instant. But death of a healthy person is devastating, even more so if that person was close.

Immediately, my heart sank. I felt flush and warm all over. My wife, Alice, entered the kitchen and mouthed the words, Is everything all right?

All I could do was shake my head, No. My mind raced.

What is it? she mouthed.

Hold on, please, I said into the phone. As I put my hand over the mouthpiece, I told my wife, Stanley Soloman, the lead federal prosecutor on the Crangi case, is dead…

What? she said out loud.

I’m sorry, I said into the phone to the police captain on call. And I continued to get briefed on the death of the top federal prosecutor, and my close friend, Stanley Soloman.

My wife and I quickly sat down in our kitchen. My knees were weak, though I hadn’t paid attention to that. As I listened to Captain John Slattery, I kept acknowledging a yes every so often, but my mind was a million miles away.

Stanley had been on vacation with his wife, Leslie, and their three children. They were in sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the weather was perfect for a winter getaway, during the school vacation. The date was December 29, 2016, a date that I will never forget.

Stanley was only forty-two. His wife was thirty-eight, and his three children were sixteen, twelve, and nine. Stanley, according to the Captain, was on a boat with his wife’s brother, Tom. It appeared that bad weather had hit them on the ocean. The boat capsized and they both drowned.

The bodies were found floating a mile away from the capsized, twenty-two- foot fishing boat they had rented. It was all too much for me to digest. I felt like I had been hit with a ton of bricks. I needed time to sort it all out.

After I hung up with Captain Slattery, I needed a drink. Something, anything with alcohol. My wife stared at me without saying a word. I fixed myself an Amaretto on the rocks. I knew it was almost midnight, but I didn’t care; I needed to take the edge off.

My wife waited for me to speak. I can’t believe my boss is dead!

It’s so sudden! she said. Leslie must be a wreck.

She lost her husband and brother in an instant, I agreed, shaking my head in disbelief.

Justin, isn’t it very strange that the lead prosecutor, Stanley, dies while on vacation right before the highest profile trial he was working on was set to begin in a week? she asked wide-eyed.

I thought carefully before I answered her. Alice was right. It was a strange coincidence that the federal prosecutor in charge of the trial of a known, long-term Mafia hitman, had suddenly died.

Peter Big Hands Crangi, the head of the Filaggio Mafia family, was suspected of murdering over one hundred twenty people in his long career. He was indicted on federal charges of racketeering, gambling, narcotics trafficking, tax evasion, and murder. But I couldn’t allow my wife to get more worried than she had been after she found out that I was assisting the lead prosecutor in the upcoming trial.

Hon, we can’t jump to conclusions now. Boating accidents happen all the time in Florida. The weather there can be volatile at times. They claim that Florida is the lightning capital of the country, I said, trying to calm any fears that were starting to emerge in my lovely wife of two years.

Of course, I was lying. I was immediately concerned about a Mafia connection as soon as the police captain informed me of my boss’s death. The Crangi trial was the biggest trial and investigation that has taken place in the past few decades in New York City.

The Mafia over the last several years has shrunken. The gambling decline in illegal venues has diminished due to legalization and saturation in so many states, making gambling so easy for Americans. The drug trade is still huge and is a real moneymaker for the Mob, along with extortion, threats, and murders.

But through the take-down of Mafia family members, some have cut deals by selling out bigger fish in the families over the last few years. The government will put certain individuals into witness protection programs in order to indict higher-up criminals.

The State of New York federal prosecutor’s office has built some very big cases over the past years against the Mafia families, but the Crangi case stands out as one of the highest profile cases in recent history.

Peter Crangi has for over twenty years headed the Filaggio Mafia family. The Filaggio family, due to extreme violence, has nearly killed off the rival families and has grown to one of the strongest. Crangi is believed to be a ruthless killer in his criminal history. His Mafia nickname is Peter Big Hands. He stands at 6’6" and weighs in at two hundred ninety pounds. He is a very imposing figure.

Crangi got his start in the Filaggio family early on as an enforcer and collector of debts. He had a reputation for severe temper issues. He would occasionally set out to collect on an arrears gambling debt of thousands of dollars. When the person told Crangi he couldn’t pay back what he owed, he would lose his temper, put his extra-large hands around his neck, and proceed to squeeze the life out of him. Many times he got carried away and killed people not intended to lose their lives. He eagerly would volunteer to carry out ordered hits of targets.

Peter Big Hands Crangi quickly rose through the ranks of the Filaggio Mafia family, becoming a made man at an early age and over the years winning over the top seat at the table after personally executing Tony The Nose Filaggio over territory issues.

For many years, the FBI tried and failed to build a credible case against the noted mobster. Not until Rocky The Bats Mancresi ratted out Crangi did the district attorney’s office, headed by Stanley Soloman, have the ideal case against Crangi.

Crangi was arrested over six months earlier and held without bail. The streets around the courthouse were filled with protestors calling for Crangi’s release. In Queens, where Crangi was working and living, the crowds were aggressive in their protests. One police officer, a female, was crushed to death in the rampage one late night after a gun was fired in the air by a protestor.

At the courthouse, the flag was destroyed and the pole was cut down in the middle of the night. The protestors demanded that Crangi, the head of the family, be released.

The National Guard was called out as only a precaution in response to the large number of protestors who were destructive in their rebelling. There were looters in the crowd, breaking business windows, and even turning over police cars.

Crangi was a hero figure for the average middle-class population, and some made it known through their marches. Peter Crangi routinely paid for and ran street festivals in his Queens neighborhood. He systematically donated to children’s hospitals all across the country. He held yearly fireworks displays and offered free amusement rides to children of neighboring towns.

He was loved by many, though he was a ruthless killer. He was debonair in his manner and dress, and claimed that law enforcement could never pin anything on him.

Crangi was a powerful figure, paying off anyone he could to get ahead. But when Rocky The Bats Mancresi sold out Crangi in exchange for release into witness protection, everyone knew the old hard-nosed Mafia kingpin was in deep trouble.

There were Vegas odds that Rocky The Bats was going to wind up floating in the Hudson River very soon after singing to the district attorney. The public wanted Rocky to pay for being a rat.

Before Stanley Soloman died, the lead prosecutor had built a case with many years of evidence. But the only way there would be a conviction of Peter Crangi was with the courtroom testimony of Rocky Mancresi.

Though the case was extremely high profile and riskier than ever, Stanley told me it was a slam dunk. Now Stanley is gone. The case had been passed down to me, and I was deathly scared to suddenly be the new lead prosecutor in charge.

CHAPTER 2

T he wake and funeral of Stanley Soloman and his brother-in-law, Craig Glantly, was tremendously sad. There was much media presence at the wake and funeral. There was speculation that the Mob was responsible for the deaths of Stanley and his brother-in-law. My wife now was very concerned.

As much as we tried to have the trial start date moved back, we were told by the judge that the trial must go on. The government had a list of many witnesses to testify against Crangi. We had worked for many years to build such a strong case against Crangi.

The line to view Stanley’s body at the wake was clear around the block of the funeral parlor. There were federal, city and state officials. The Mayor and Police Commissioner also made an appearance. We also attended Craig Glantly’s wake and funeral, an equally sad event. They were only two days apart.

Something very scary happened on the first day of Stanley Soloman’s wake. When everyone was paying their respects suddenly the smell of gas was very strong. The personnel at the funeral parlor in the Queens funeral home, Johnson’s, quickly escorted everyone out of the building.

The blaring of the sirens was loud as we saw three fire trucks, an ambulance, and three police cruisers respond within minutes.

There were so many people outside, many from the funeral parlor’s several ongoing wakes, and also onlookers. We were ushered down the street, a block away from the funeral home. We were not allowed back in that evening. But many remained around for the eventual outcome of the investigation of gas. The gas company responded. After the main gas line was shut down, it was slowly determined to be a cracked gas line pipe in the basement of the funeral home.

It was more than suspicious in the eyes of many, including me. The police opened an immediate investigation.

We all ultimately went home, only to return the next day once again for a very crowded wake.

Was this some weird message from the Filaggio Mafia family? Or was it a supporter of the Mafia kingpin Peter Big Hands Crangi? Was it possible someone wanted to blow the entire building up with an intentional leak from the deliberate cracking of a gas pipe? Could the building have exploded into a ball of flames?

The fire chief who was on the scene said that it was certain that the entire building would have exploded if the leak had gone unchecked for as little as a half hour more.

I was fairly certain this was no coincidence, rather a warning of sorts. The message was received loud and clear: The Filaggio Mafia family was still here, strong as ever, though Peter Crangi is behind bars. The message I received personally was, We know who you are, how to find you, no matter where you go, and we will not be going away, ever.

I kept reminding myself that this case was not about some small-time thug, some one-shot killer who killed out of passion. This was a ruthless, powerful Mafia kingpin who had tremendous power, wealth, influence and public support.

He could, if he wanted, order a hit on twenty people in an instant. Without lifting a finger, Crangi could move mountains. His resources were unlimited. The Filaggio Mafia family had been around for over a hundred years and was the strongest of the now-dwindling families. It was as if this family acquired the remnants of the other families that disappeared or were knocked off completely by the Filaggio strong-arm family.

As a powerhouse of wealth, the Filaggio family had the resources for the most powerful and successful team of lawyers in history.

The prestigious and huge law firm of Mavitch, Blatham, and Sullivan was made up of 492 lawyers in three countries, England, US and China. Established in London in 1892, and with Park Avenue offices, they specialize in corporate law and litigation and are the number one law firm for defense in criminal law. Historically, they have defended the highest profile cases of the Mob, including Harry The Hound Brianni, the head of the powerful Scanchini family, in the extortion charges where Brianni was shaking down some of the largest corporations in America for millions. Two executives were murdered in the shakedown attempts of the Scanchini family until finally the corporations were agreeable. Not until the feds got involved was Brianni indicted.

Through the magic of the expertise in defense strategies, delays and months of trial time was the law firm able to get Harry The Hound off scot-free.

The lead defense attorney for Peter Crangi was Roger Blatham, a descendant of the founder of the Mavitch, Blatham, and Sullivan Law Firm. He had a reputation of being a shark in the courtroom, stopping at nothing when questioning a witness for the prosecution. Blatham has been held in contempt on several occasions, almost as if he looked forward to it. You would get the sense that he was the mobster and not the criminal defense attorney.

We spent weeks interviewing potential jurors. We went through over one hundred each. The potential juror candidates were very reluctant to be selected. There were all kinds of reasons why each person shouldn’t serve. The young ones were prejudiced in favor of the Mafia kingpin, Crangi. The elderly claimed that they were biased against the Mob, which they felt for too long a period had gotten away with everything.

Then there were the older women who were ideal for the prosecution, but they had various medical conditions that disqualified them. Or others had memory issues that disqualified them. The older gentlemen were historically favoring the Mob. We found over the years that there was a mystery connected to their thinking about the lifestyle of the Mafia.

There was the attraction of the money, fancy suits and drinking of expensive liquor. The attraction of the glamorous women who catered to the Mafia lifestyle. The toughness, the guns, the rubouts of their enemies. It all added up to admiration by many for a Mafia life that the admirers knew far too little about.

There were the African Americans and Hispanic Americans who would favor the Mafia historically in a trial, especially with the head of the mob on trial.

Also, the fact that the head of the Mafia family on trial is 75 years old, along with his likable reputation by so many, makes it extremely difficult to have a fair and unbiased trial.

So we needed an Asian American and a mature, sophisticated woman to help our cause. The juror selection dragged on and on. Attorney Blatham kept turning down my choices for jurors. I kept turning down his favorite choices.

People these days frown upon serving on a jury. If the case is high profile, they may want to avoid the fanfare. If the case carries with it the slightest hint of danger of retaliation from the Mafia, people will do anything to avoid serving.

There are those few isolated individuals who actually look forward to serving. They want to fulfill their civic duty.

Maybe some look forward to the excitement of a courtroom case. Maybe they have a boring life, or perhaps they just want to be responsible citizens. Again, they are few and far between. It is a real pleasure to have that type of person serve because they are very attentive to the testimony at hand and are more level-headed in their final decisions.

Every evening my wife