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Switching sides (cont.)

Choosing sides


	Gregory Scarpa Sr. died of AIDS-related illness in 1994. His relationship to the FBI at that time dated back at least 30 years. Although they knew he was dying, federal officials never questioned him about his relationship with the FBI agent who dealt with him even though other agents made charges that the relationship had grown too friendly. (Associated Press)

It was the first week of December 1991, and Vinnie Fusaro was stringing Christmas lights outside his home in Brooklyn. Gregory Scarpa Sr. was one of several passengers in a car that drove slowly by.

In a sworn statement given two years later to the FBI — when Scarpa was already in prison and near death — a government informant named Larry Mazza gave this account of what happened next:

Scarpa had his window open and his rifle ready as the car approached Fusaro’s Brooklyn home. Scarpa fired three shots, killing Fusaro. A month later, he gunned down Nicholas Grancio.

Both Fusaro and Grancio were middle-aged, small-time hoodlums whom Scarpa believed were Orena loyalists in the battle for control of the Colombo crime family.

During this time — and throughout the Colombo crime family war — DeVecchio would call or meet with Scarpa almost every day during the Colombo crime family war, agents and the documents said.

Based on that, Orena’s attorneys believe DeVecchio was aware that Scarpa committed the murders.

"Despite the knowledge that Greg Scarpa killed Grancio, and was believed to be actively prosecuting the war, the FBI did nothing to monitor or curtail Scarpa’s irrepressible violence, or otherwise reign him in," Orena’s attorneys would write later. "He was not arrested, or interrogated, for this crime. At no time did the FBI seek a search warrant for Scarpa’s home to determine if Scarpa possessed the gun that killed Grancio. ... After Grancio was killed, Scarpa remained utterly free and unfettered to kill again — and so he did."

DeVecchio has denied having any knowledge at the time of Scarpa’s role in these murders, but there was no doubt DeVecchio and Scarpa were close. They even had a code. When DeVecchio had to call Scarpa, he would sometimes refer to himself as "Mr. Dello" or "Mr. Della." In turn, Scarpa would call himself "34" and refer to his FBI contact as the "girlfriend."

No one outside the FBI knew about this cozy relationship, though a lot of people had their suspicions. Attorneys for Victor Orena were certainly curious.

Orena faced a nine-count racketeering indictment in late 1991, charging him with murder, murder conspiracy, firearms possession, extortion and loan sharking — all stemming from his fight with the Colombo family faction that included Gregory Scarpa Sr.

Orena’s attorneys believed most of the evidence had been fabricated by Scarpa, with the aid of DeVecchio. Before Orena’s trial, they asked the FBI to turn over everything they had about Scarpa, since it was their belief he had started the internecine war and caused most of the bloodshed.

Federal prosecutors eventually turned over only 77 pages of documents about Scarpa’s work with DeVecchio, although in subsequent cases, thousands more would be released. There wasn’t a single word about the gunmen who had tried but failed to kill Scarpa in 1991, precipitating the mob war that followed.

Orena’s attorneys believe they know why. Their theory is the attack was staged, and Scarpa then used it as an excuse to declare war on Orena and his loyalists.

When the lawyers tried to find the forensic evidence that should have been gathered at the scene, they found the shell casings were missing; the photographs were missing; and there was no report filed on interviews with Scarpa.

As aspects of the relationship became known, DeVecchio admitted to his superiors that Scarpa would bring him gifts. When Cabbage Patch Dolls were popular but scarce, Scarpa gave a few to DeVecchio for his children. He gave him fine wine, pasta and other homemade Italian dishes during the holidays.

Orena’s attorneys were unable to make their case without the thousands of pages of information about Scarpa and DeVecchio they suspected were in FBI files but were unable to obtain. Orena was convicted on the charges in 1992. The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals turned down his appeal based on prosecutorial misconduct and other issues — as has the U.S. Supreme Court.

He still hopes he can persuade a judge through a writ of habeas corpus petition that the actions of the government have sent him to prison illegally.

While Orena remains in prison, more than a dozen other men involved in the Colombo crime family war have either been acquitted or had their cases dismissed because of the Scarpa-DeVecchio connection.

DeVecchio has retired from the FBI. Scarpa died in 1994 of AIDS transmitted by a blood transfusion during stomach surgery in 1986. He was 65.

The FBI had known for years he was in poor health. Yet no federal official ever questioned him about the issues raised by his relationship with the FBI during the Colombo Family crime war.

Last month, his son, Gregory Scarpa Jr., testified in New York during his own racketeering case that DeVecchio had given his father "carte blanche" to commit crimes, including five murders, so long as he kept working as a government informant.

Scarpa Jr., 47, is arguing that he received that same protection from the government.

DeVecchio, who was granted immunity in the case in exchange for testimony, disputed that. Scarpa Jr., already doing a 25-year sentence for drug smuggling, was convicted in October on conspiracy charges. He has not yet been sentenced.