Vincent John Basciano (Italian pronunciation: [baʃˈʃaːno]; born November 14, 1959)[1] is an American mobster who became acting boss of the Bonanno crime family after the arrest of Joseph Massino.[2] Basciano was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 2011.
Vincent Basciano | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Vincent John Basciano November 14, 1959 New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Vinny Gorgeous Vinny from the Bronx Vinny B |
| Occupation | Crime boss |
| Predecessor | Joseph Massino |
| Successor | Michael Mancuso |
| Allegiance | Bonanno crime family |
| Conviction(s) | Weapons possession (1987) Racketeering, conspiracy, illegal gambling, attempted murder (2006) Racketeering, conspiracy, murder, illegal gambling, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, solicitation of murder (2007) Racketeering, murder, conspiracy, firearms possession (2011) |
| Criminal penalty | One year imprisonment (1987) Life Imprisonment (2008) Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (2011) |
Biography
editBasciano is nicknamed "Vinny Gorgeous", due to owning a Bronx beauty salon called "Hello Gorgeous", and for his fastidious grooming, hairstyle and looks. In 2011, reporters noted that despite being imprisoned in solitary confinement the past four years, Basciano still looked perfectly groomed in the courtroom.[3]
Arrested in 2004, after a lengthy trial, Basciano was convicted in a racketeering trial for running illegal gambling and attempted murder on May 6, 2006. However, due to a hung jury, Basciano was not convicted of the 2001 murder of Frank Santoro.[4][5]
After Basciano's first murder trial, prosecutors retried him on those counts on which the jury hung in the first trial. On August 1, 2007, Basciano was convicted of murdering Santoro, who tried to kidnap Basciano's son.[6][7]
Previous Bonanno boss Joseph Massino turned state's evidence in 2004 and reported that Basciano had conspired to kill prosecutor Greg Andres, but after Massino failed a polygraph test regarding the discussion he agreed to wear a wire when the acting boss Basciano met Massino in jail. Jurors heard one recording of Basciano boasting, "I'm a hoodlum. I'm a tough guy. Whatever happens happens. Let's go." In another, a wistful Massino mused about the demise of the family. "We was OK until I got pinched," he said. "We was on top of the world."[8] While Massino was unable to extract an unambiguous confession regarding Andres, he did record Basciano freely admitting to ordering the murder of associate Randolph "Randy" Pizzolo.[8][9] On May 16, 2011, Basciano was convicted of ordering the 2004 murder of Pizzolo.[10] On June 1, 2011, a jury rejected a prosecution request for the death penalty and instead sentenced Basciano to life imprisonment.[11][12] Basciano was initially serving his life sentence at the supermax prison ADX Florence, but was transferred to the nearby United States Penitentiary, Florence High in Florence, Colorado[13][14] for a time, then USP Big Sandy, and is currently incarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Coleman.[15]
On March 6, 2014, Basciano's cousin and lawyer Stephen DiCarmine was indicted and charged with defrauding $250 million in bonds, while being the executive director of white-shoe law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf.[16][17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Vincent J. Basciano". New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement exclusion list. State of New Jersey. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
- ^ John Marzulli (2004-05-26). "Bonannos' new boss is salon owner, trial is told". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ Marzulli, John (2011-04-26). "It's style first for Vinny Gorgeous: Basciano KOs headphones as secret mob tapes roll in court". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
- ^ William K. Rashbaum (2006-05-10). "Former Salon Owner Is Convicted of Racketeering, but Not Murder". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ John Marzulli (2006-05-11). "More trials for Basciano". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ John Marzulli (2007-08-01). "Pretty quickly, Gorgeous found guilty in '01 slay". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
- ^ "'Vinny Gorgeous' guilty of murder". UPI.com. United Press International. 2007-08-01. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
- ^ a b Moynihan, Colin (2011-05-25). "Ex-Mob Boss Says Deputy Sought to Kill Prosecutor". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- ^ Marzulli, John (2011-04-14). "Ex-Bonanno Mafia boss Joseph Massino was scared of his wife, recordings reveal". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
- ^ Maddux, Mitchel (2011-05-16). "Bonanno crime family boss Vincent 'Vinny Gorgeous' Basciano found guilty in gangland hit". New York Post. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
- ^ Tom Hays (2011-06-02). "NYC Mobster Vinny Gorgeous Avoids Death Sentence". ABCnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ^ Anahad O'Connor (2001-06-01). "For Mobster, a Life Term, Not His First, Offers Relief". New York Times.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-02. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ "Inmate Locator". www.bop.gov. Retrieved Feb 2, 2021.
- ^ Marzulli, John (24 August 2015). "EXCLUSIVE: Mobster Vinny Gorgeous rewarded with move from Colorado Supermax". nydailynews.com. Retrieved Feb 2, 2021.
- ^ Find an inmate - Federal Bureau of Prison
- ^ "Inmates running the asylum". The Economist. Mar 7, 2014. Retrieved Feb 2, 2021.
- ^ Freifeld, Karen; Stempel, Jonathan (6 March 2014). "Four indicted in U.S. for fraud in Dewey & LeBoeuf collapse". Reuters. News. Retrieved 5 February 2022.