Escape from Rikers Island: Society Wanted Him in Prison, the Mob Wanted Him Out!

By Thomas LoFrese

About the Book
Sometimes called the Alcatraz of the East, Rikers lsland in New York City sits in the East River between northern Queens County and the Bronx. lt is·a place where no one would ever want to be incarcerated. In this instance a well known mobster, Joey "Chop Shop" Terelli, was being held there. A short distance away, his trial for the brutal bloody murder of several people in a warehouse in Queens, was being held. His crime was being compared to the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929. His attorney, Ed Marone, was doing his best in court for Terelli but the mob was not satisfied with how things could turn out. They insisted that the best chance to make him a free man again would be to arrange for an escape from Rikers lsland before the conclusion of a trial. To attempt this task the mob gave Marone no choice but to assemble a group of societal misfits to stage a jailbreak and with the backdrop of a pandemic and major tragic events in Ed Marone's personal lite the impossible was to be attempted.
About the Author
Thomas LoFrese, P.l. is a licensed private investigator in the state of New York and president of TL Services lnvestigations, LLC. lnvolved in investigations of all types for over fifty years in private industry and governmental agencies, he and his staff currently provide investigative services for both Civil and Criminal cases. Listed as an expert by New York City and Nassau County, NY.; he is also a member of the National Council of lnvestigation and Security Services and the Associated Licensed Detectives of New York State.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Sep 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889256519

Book preview

Chapter 1

CourtHouse Results

The snow drifted down slowly at first, but the flakes were extremely large like the size of a dime, causing it to accumulate at an incredibly fast rate as it became more intense. The entire landscape changed, and the snow began to bring all movement to a standstill. Snow has a way of hiding any trace of activity as it alters the appearance of everything, usually for the better, when the blanket of snow is thickest.

It was 1 pm on Friday, January 22nd, and Queens Boulevard, in front of the Queens County criminal court building, started to become jammed up with cars as people who worked in the area began to head home before the storm. While it was not predicted, the storm looked like it would cause major problems for them on their journey home. In New York state, the Criminal Court handles misdemeanors and Supreme Court handles felony cases, and even though many people think Supreme Court is the highest court, it’s not in New York. If you get convicted in Supreme Court, the door is still open to an appeal to the Appellate Division. If you lose that case, you can get the Court of Appeals to review your case. On this day, a special case was on trial. It was a case unique to this court and this courtroom had been specially chosen by the New York State Office of Court Administration and the New York State Attorney General with political pressure from the federal government.

The court is located at 125-01 Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens, right in the middle of Queens County. Queens Boulevard is a major roadway in Queens with as many as five lanes headed toward Manhattan and five lanes headed to Jamaica, Queens, the gateway to JFK airport.

The building where the court is located is part of a large complex on a 5.4-acre site. In addition to the courthouse, it contains offices for the NYC Department of Probation, Department of Correction, Offices used by the District Attorney, and the Queen’s House of Detention for men, in the rear of the building. The third floor where TAP-B Part (Trial Assignment Part) of the 11th JD Criminal Term of the Supreme Court is located became crowded with camera crews and their equipment as the ninth day of the trial of Joey Terelli, aka Chop Shop Terelli, was expected to come to an end. Many cases are settled in this courtroom, but not this case. Reporters from all across the country and some international crews leaned on the large plate glass windows looking out onto Queens Boulevard. They were getting nervous about getting home or back to their hotels in the surprise storm; however, they all knew they were there to report history.

There had been rumors of death threats to Justice Thomas as well as one of the Assistant District Attorneys assigned to the trial. Justice Thomas could only be described as an Abraham Lincoln lookalike. Only nine months from retirement Justice Thomas decided that he did not want to become part of a circus and decided that no press would be permitted in the courtroom during any part of the trial. The only non-involved person that would be able to give the media some idea of what was taking place was the courtroom sketch artist, the guy who draws those pictures of participants. The pictures are usually so bad you wouldn’t know who the person in the picture was even if you were related.

Justice Thomas’ long legal career gave him a reputation for being fair. He seemed undisturbed by anything, but of course, he carries a 9mm pistol. The Queens DA had assigned four Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) to the trial so that no one person would feel intimidated. Twice as many court officers as there would normally be were present in the courtroom and several more walked the hallways. No one thought any of this was an overreaction to the situation. Justice Thomas’ court was at the end of the hallway with three other courtrooms on the floor, but on that day, there were no other conferences or trials scheduled for this usually busy floor.

The hallway where the crowd gathered outside the courtroom is about fifteen feet wide with a twelve-foot ceiling. It has ceiling-to-floor plate glass windows opposite the courtrooms so you can look out northwest toward Manhattan and down onto Queens Boulevard. Below the windows are baseboard heating units that not only heat the area but also prevent the windows from fogging up. The carpet on the hall floor was in good condition even though most court employees talked about it having been there since around 1961 when the building was constructed. The patterns are like the kind you find in a gaudy casino. The overhead fluorescent light fixtures are too bright even though several of their long bulbs are either out or flickering wildly. The walls are real wood, but not the dark mahogany color of the stately-looking courtrooms you see in the movies; these are a light tan like an unfinished pine, more like people would have had in their basements in the sixties. The most impressive sight in the hallway is the brass plaque with the judge’s name on it affixed above the large heavy double doors leading into the courtroom. Every so often, a court officer would come out to quiet down the noisy crowd, if only for a few minutes.

Around 4:15 pm, which was later than the court usually stays in session, the large double doors flew open, and a court officer emerged from the courtroom. He stood about 6’5" tall and was quite burly. His uniform looked like it was the first day he wore it, possibly to look good for the cameras, and his sergeant stripes were proudly displayed on the shoulders of his uniform. A large cluster of metals and bars adorned the left side of his shirt, giving him the appearance of a man of great importance. With a deep voice that would command extra attention, like the drill sergeant on graduation day at a military academy, he shouted out that there would be a press conference in the main lobby by the main entrance doors. The sergeant then requested that all non-court personnel exit the floor. Of course, some of the reporters tried to ask him questions, but it was obvious that he had been ordered to say nothing, prolonging their agonizing wait with his silence. Like a guard at Buckingham Palace, he stood still in front of the courtroom, just looking straight ahead regardless of any distractions. Several other court officers came out of the courtroom, and all knew that they were there to enforce the sergeant’s orders. The six stainless steel elevators with lighted arrows above them pointing down were getting packed, and the occupants were speculating on what the verdict could be.

On the first floor, there was quite a bit of chaos with the backdrop of a whiteout from the heavy snow falling on Queens Boulevard. It was the kind of snow that kids pray for so they could get a snow day from school. An older lady with long white and blonde hair, wearing an old red sweater, which allowed both of her elbows to poke through, set up a podium. The podium looked like it had seen better days as well, but the lady knew what she was doing as she made it look suitable for this special event as reporters added their microphones to it. After a while, when it looked like the reporters were finished with the podium, in a sweet but loud voice, she asked if all those with microphones had completed setting them up on the podium or near it. Like answering a schoolteacher when they were young, most of the group shouted out, Yes ma’am!

It looked as if every major TV station from the Tri-State area and the major cable stations were there as well as some international news organizations. Several languages were spoken in the crowd, so it was clear that this was no ordinary press conference; it had plenty of international interest.

A reporter from an independent camera crew could be heard broadcasting live. He was reminding his audience that Joey Terelli was on trial for the murder of seven people in a very violent situation, and in addition to firearms, a machete was used. The reporter was comparing it to the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929 because it also took place in a warehouse and just like this crime exactly seven people lost their lives. In that crime, Al Capone, aka Scarface, was implicated but never convicted. Terelli is to the East coast what Capone was to Chicago in the twenties. Capone had been sliced with a knife, giving him the name Scarface while Joey was known as Chop Shop for reasons no one seemed to know. The reporter made sure to mention Joey’s grandfather, even though he has been dead for years, having been involved in organized crime back in Sicily.

An elevator marked B just beyond the podium opened up and at a fast pace out walked Edward T. Marone, Esq., Terelli’s defense attorney. He exited and went straight to the podium as if he had rehearsed this moment. It was just that he had experienced these types of press conferences many times as he routinely represented high-profile clients, especially those who were considered Mob members. This was no exception as his client was the infamous Joey Chop Shop Terelli, the reason for the crowd.

Marone stands 5’7" tall and was in great shape for a fifty-seven-year-old man. He is the son of a former New York City police officer, now deceased and his mother a waitress is also deceased. As a young man, he had been involved in the Boy Scouts, eventually becoming an Eagle Scout. In high school, he was involved in several sports and clubs and excelled in all his endeavors. With financial aid and a part-time job, he also became very active in college. In law school, he was top of his class and was the editor of their journal. His first job was as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx DA’s office thanks to the connections of one of his uncles. After a few years, he opened his own office in Queens, NY, where it still is located. At this time, he was also very active in charitable events put on by the Bar Association.

This day, with his blonde hair, in his dark blue suit with a bright red tie, he looked at the crowd with no emotion visible on his face. He beat the DA’s office to the podium so that in itself was a victory for him. Like a symphony conductor, he raised both his hands in the air and gained the crowd’s undivided attention; and silence came over the noisy crowd. Cameras flashed, but even then, Marone did not smile.

Marone started by asserting the innocence of his client to the charges against him, and while concealing his satisfaction with the current outcome, he said he was disappointed by what happened in the court today. The feeling that there had been a conviction rapidly evaporated as he announced that there had been a mistrial, and the crowd instantaneously seemed to all have a look of disappointment. He went on to talk about a juror who had been negotiating to sell the story of what took place during the trial and in the jurors’ room. The court had learned about it because the juror’s girlfriend was active on social media and was bragging about her boyfriend. Marone then tried to blame the DA’s office for not finding this out earlier in the trial so that his client could get this witch hunt over with.

Although he gave his fiery speech with conviction, Marone knew that things had not gone well for his client. He was worried about what would happen at his second shot at a trial, how long it would take to schedule again, and the possibility of a new judge. Every defense attorney knows that any delay in a case usually goes to their benefit, but he didn’t have that feeling under these circumstances. Every step of the way he had delayed with procedural hearings and objections as he knew witnesses moved away or didn’t want to stay involved, started to forget details, get in trouble with the law, and cases like this, just disappeared. Even in this case the prosecution called for a Sirois, which is a hearing on a missing witness, but could not prove Terelli had anything to do with said missing witness. He thanked the reporters for their time and said he looked forward to a new trial and that the DA’s Office wanted one as well. He said he wanted the opportunity to prove his client is innocent.

Only two of the four young ADAs came to the podium immediately after Marone left and disappeared into the crowd. A lot of the reporters followed Marone, hoping to get more details, but he quickly bolted out the front door and vanished into the snow, which was now being whipped up by a strong north wind.

One of the young ADAs, a tall slim Asian American male in his early thirties, standing at the podium told the crowd that the state had an airtight case against Terelli and knew justice would prevail, even if it had to be delayed. His co-worker, a heavy-set white male in his late twenties smiled in approval. With a devilish smile the, Asian American ADA, just out of law school, said that the defendant was considered a flight risk, and because of the horrific crime, there was still no bail, and the defendant would be back on Rikers. The ADAs ended the interview with no questions, not realizing that a good showing at an interview like this one could positively affect their future careers and lead them to greater notoriety; perhaps they didn’t want that notoriety knowing the type of people that Joey allegedly associated with.

The reporters were all equally disappointed and attempted to chase down the ADAs for more information with no success as the two young men quickly slipped into an office that the DA maintains on the ground floor of the building and is guarded by a New York City Police officer.

Once in their office, the young men were debriefed by a managing attorney, Stephanie Stanton Esq. She demanded the details of the trial and questioned everything they did. It was obvious that the DA was not satisfied with the results and requested the debriefing, but she could find no fault by any of the prosecution team.

Reporters had to begin summarizing the day for their viewers and/or listeners while keeping a watchful eye on the weather story outside. Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, another event was taking place.

Chapter 2

The Parade

Right after the mistrial had been declared, several court officers wearing oversized bulletproof vests led Joey Terelli out a side door of the courtroom to a