Mafia snitch Joseph Massino, the first N.Y. crime boss to ever testify in court as government witness, said Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn that he hopes his cooperation gives him a chance to die outside of prison, Newsday reported.
“I am looking for a little light at the end of the tunnel,” Massino, 68, the ex-head of the Bonanno crime family, said on the fifth and final day on the witness stand, the Long Island newspaper reported.
Massino, who is serving two life sentences for his role in eight murders, testified against his former crime captain Vincent “Vinny From The Bronx” Basciano, 50, who is charged in the murder of mob associate Randolph Pizzolo in late 2004, Newsday reported.
Massino began cooperating with the feds, in good part, to help his wife, daughters and mother, Newsday reported.
He worked out a deal that they could keep certain real estate, Newsday reported. He was forced to forfeit more than $12 million in assets including millions in cash he hid at his Howard Beach home, Newsday reported.
