Post by TonyBombassolo on Feb 28, 2024 19:34:44 GMT
www.upi.com/Archives/1981/09/22/Ex-convict-charged-in-killing-of-reputed-mobster/1071369979200/
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- An ex-convict was charged with murder and conspiracy Tuesday in the slaying of reputed mobster Frank 'The Attorney' Piccolo who was awaiting trial in a show business extortion plot officials said.
Gustave Curcio, 30, of Stratford, Conn., surrendered with his lawyer after an arrest warrant was issued and appeared in Superior Court. He was freed on a $125,000 surety bond posted by his brother, a bail bondsman.
'Somebody sure did a good job of framing me,' Curcio told reporters as he walked out of the police station to a car for the ride to court.
Piccolo, 58, a reputed lieutenant in Connecticut for the Carlo Gambino crime family of New York, was gunned down Saturday outside a telephone booth.
Piccolo was awaiting trial in U.S. District Court for an alleged conspiracy plot to extort money from Las Vegas entertainers Wayne Newton and Lola Falana through the use of threats, fear and violence.
Curcio, who operates the family cigarette vending machine business Hawley Enterprises, was convicted on narcotics charges in the early 1970s.
He is the brother of Francis 'Fat Frannie' Curcio, a reputed member of the Vito Genovese crime family of New York. Francis Curcio began serving a federal prison term in Lexington, Ky., last Friday.
The two hitmen who gunned down Piccolo escaped in a maroon van which led citizens and police in a wild pursuit to nearby Stratford. The getaway vehicle eluded police when it cut up a makeshift path through the woods which led to Curcio's home in an upper middle class neighborhood.
A police raid on Curcio's home Monday night netted five guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Officials said none of the guns seized was used in the Piccolo killing.
Authorities expressed concern the Piccolo murder would set off an internal gangland power struggle if the hit was not authorized by his mob family.
At least five other reputed organized crime figures in southwestern Connecticut have been killed in the last two years.
The fact that Piccolo was killed near a telephone may be important to investigators. A law enforcement source said it was likely the hitmen knew Piccolo would be in the vicinity of the phone booth either to make or receive a call.
Telephones Piccolo used previously were tapped by FBI agents and were a factor in his indictment for the alleged conspiracy against Newton, Miss Falana and her manager Mark Moreno.
Piccolo had been free on $50,000 bond. He and his cousin, Guido 'Bull' Penosi of Beverly Hills, Calif., were indicted on the conspiracy charge in June.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- An ex-convict was charged with murder and conspiracy Tuesday in the slaying of reputed mobster Frank 'The Attorney' Piccolo who was awaiting trial in a show business extortion plot officials said.
Gustave Curcio, 30, of Stratford, Conn., surrendered with his lawyer after an arrest warrant was issued and appeared in Superior Court. He was freed on a $125,000 surety bond posted by his brother, a bail bondsman.
'Somebody sure did a good job of framing me,' Curcio told reporters as he walked out of the police station to a car for the ride to court.
Piccolo, 58, a reputed lieutenant in Connecticut for the Carlo Gambino crime family of New York, was gunned down Saturday outside a telephone booth.
Piccolo was awaiting trial in U.S. District Court for an alleged conspiracy plot to extort money from Las Vegas entertainers Wayne Newton and Lola Falana through the use of threats, fear and violence.
Curcio, who operates the family cigarette vending machine business Hawley Enterprises, was convicted on narcotics charges in the early 1970s.
He is the brother of Francis 'Fat Frannie' Curcio, a reputed member of the Vito Genovese crime family of New York. Francis Curcio began serving a federal prison term in Lexington, Ky., last Friday.
The two hitmen who gunned down Piccolo escaped in a maroon van which led citizens and police in a wild pursuit to nearby Stratford. The getaway vehicle eluded police when it cut up a makeshift path through the woods which led to Curcio's home in an upper middle class neighborhood.
A police raid on Curcio's home Monday night netted five guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Officials said none of the guns seized was used in the Piccolo killing.
Authorities expressed concern the Piccolo murder would set off an internal gangland power struggle if the hit was not authorized by his mob family.
At least five other reputed organized crime figures in southwestern Connecticut have been killed in the last two years.
The fact that Piccolo was killed near a telephone may be important to investigators. A law enforcement source said it was likely the hitmen knew Piccolo would be in the vicinity of the phone booth either to make or receive a call.
Telephones Piccolo used previously were tapped by FBI agents and were a factor in his indictment for the alleged conspiracy against Newton, Miss Falana and her manager Mark Moreno.
Piccolo had been free on $50,000 bond. He and his cousin, Guido 'Bull' Penosi of Beverly Hills, Calif., were indicted on the conspiracy charge in June.
