In a stunning finish to one of the most closely watched law enforcement corruption cases in US history, a former FBI agent was cleared of giving up confidential information that a mafia family hit man used to kill four fellow mobsters -- either rivals or potential informers.
Lindley DeVecchio was cheered by his former colleagues before triumphantly leaving a Brooklyn courtroom on Thursday, finally cleared after spending 13 years under suspicion for his long and bizarre relationship with mob killer and informer Gregory Scarpa.
"After almost two years, this nightmare is over," said DeVecchio, referring to the time since his indictment. "I'll never forgive the Brooklyn DA's office for irresponsibly pursuing this case. My question is: `Where do I go to get back my reputation?'"
Prosecutors bent on bagging DeVecchio gambled by building their case on the shaky testimony of Linda Schiro, a mafia mistress since she met Scarpa at age 16. Their hopes imploded when two reporters surfaced with decade-old interviews -- captured on tape -- that left her credibility full of holes.
"We all knew he was innocent," said Jim Kossler, one of several former FBI agents who remained firmly in DeVecchio's corner. "This never should have happened. Never."
Allegations about leaks from DeVecchio to the ruthless mobster known as "The Grim Reaper" began after Scarpa's 1994 death in a Minnesota prison. A Department of Justice internal investigation found no reason to prosecute DeVecchio, who retired to Florida in 1996.
But in March last year, Brooklyn prosecutors announced DeVecchio's indictment on four murder counts, alleging the FBI agent had co-operated with the Colombo capo between 1987 and 1992.
Prosecutors had charged that Scarpa showered DeVecchio with cash, stolen jewelry, liquor -- even prostitutes -- in exchange for the confidential information. The case became a courthouse sensation, with its volatile mix of corruption, sex and mob violence.
It was not until Schiro began testifying this week that the case reached its unexpected conclusion. The key prosecution witness was the lone direct link between DeVecchio and the murders.
Once she finished her first day of testimony, veteran reporter Tom Robbins came forward with tapes made in 1997, when he and fellow journalist Jerry Capeci had interviewed Schiro for a never-published book. The tapes contradicted her sworn testimony against DeVecchio.
Her account "was so disturbingly different, we couldn't sit on it," Robbins said outside court after Thursday's dismissal.
There were discrepancies in Schiro's story even before the tapes surfaced. In the Justice Department probe and an earlier trial involving Scarpa's son, she made sworn statements that failed to implicate DeVecchio in the murders.
Schiro now faces possible perjury charges. Because of constitutional protections against double jeopardy, DeVecchio is clear of the charges and cannot be tried again.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in