By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
Fed prosecutors are putting in a good word for convicted killer and tough guy Salvatore “Good Looking Sal” Vitale, a Bonanno family mobster who is set to be sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court. He hopes to avoid a life sentence.
Newsday reports that prosecutors, in a court filing, are advocating that Vitale get a break in sentencing because his cooperation was “devastating to the mafia” and worthy of a “substantial” sentencing break.
Prosecutors in a court document described the cooperation as “groundbreaking by any measure.”
Newsday reported that Vitale’s testified against his close friend and brother-in-law Joseph Massino, who was the boss of the Bonanno family.
Newsday reported that Vitale provided the FBI with evidence about more than 30 gangland murders or attempted murders. Court papers say he also helped identify hundreds of mobsters.
In court papers the prosecution described Vitale, who had been charged with racketeering, this way:
Vitale was, for more than three decades, associated with the Bonanno organized crime family of Cosa Nostra (the “Bonanno family”). He rose to leadership positions in that enterprise, and ultimately, as the underboss and acting boss, he served in two of the most powerful positions in the American mafia.
“He has committed, sometimes daily, a wide array of crimes that include horrific acts of violence. He engaged in murder repeatedly, including the eleven murders to which he pled guilty. For most of his adult life, Salvatore Vitale lived outside the laws of the United States.”
