Vincent Basciano, nicknamed Vinny Gorgeous, has been convicted in a Federal Court, located in the Eastern District of New York, of having ordered the murder of Bonanno crime family associate Randolf Pizzolo.
Prosecutors Seek the Death Penalty
Federal prosecutors on the case claim that Vincent Basciano has killed and will kill again. They claim he’ll continue to kill people even if he is in prison.
Penalty Portion of Basciano’s Trial
Vincent Basciano’s lawyer, in a plea to the jury, asked that they choose their conscience between life over death. Mr. Basciano is already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of Frank Santoro in 2001. The death penalty demands by the government rely on informants working for the government. One of the informants is a former crime family boss.
Counsel for Mr. Basciano plans on pointing out that all of the witnesses to be presented by the government during the penalty portion of the case are themselves either murderers or have been involved with murders.
It is the prosecutor’s position, with regard to Mr. Basciano, that he killed people “to increase his standing in the Bonanno family.” He killed other men because they “embarrassed” him and he bragged about their murders!
Last Execution Was in 1963
There have been no executions either related to state proceedings or federal proceedings in the state of New York since 1963. However, the death penalty is still on the books. Will Mr. Basciano become the first man to receive the death penalty in almost fifty years? That’s up to the jury.
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