NewsMonday, October 15, 2007 11:06 PM CDT

Comments (0) |

E-mail this page |

Print this page |

Enlarge type |

Reduce type |

Search archives |

RSS feeds |

Add to My Yahoo!

Former FBI agent goes on trial for alleged corruption with mob

By Tom Hays
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A former FBI agent charged with murder fed a mobster-turned-informant confidential information that was used in four brutal slayings, a prosecutor said in opening statements Monday.

The prosecutor described the pact between ex-agent L. Lindley DeVecchio and the late Colombo crime family capo Gregory Scarpa as an “apparatus” that furthered their careers on either side of the law.

“One of the byproducts of the apparatus was murder,” prosecutor Joseph Alexis told a state trial judge.

Authorities said DeVecchio began cultivating Scarpa, nicknamed “The Grim Reaper,” as an informant in 1980. As years passed and the internal struggle for control of the Colombos intensified, prosecutors claim the ethical boundaries of the mole and his FBI handler began to blur during their weekly meetings, with deadly results.

An indictment alleges Scarpa plied DeVecchio with cash, stolen jewelry, liquor -- and even prostitutes -- in exchange for confidential information on suspected rats and rivals amid a civil war raging within the Colombo family.

DeVecchio, 66, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder in what prosecutors have billed as one of the worst law enforcement corruption cases in U.S. history.

Supporters for DeVecchio, who is free on $1 million bail, include a cadre of former agents who put up the money to cover his legal bills.

Lawyers say the case will hinge on the credibility of a witness -- the late gangster’s longtime girlfriend.

Until now, Linda Schiro was too afraid to speak out. But Schiro, who was with Scarpa nearly three decades, was coaxed into testifying about what went on behind the scenes with assurances authorities would protect her life.

“Linda Schiro was the love of Greg Scarpa’s life,” Alexis said. “Linda Schiro knows all of Greg Scarpa’s secrets.”

Defense attorney Douglas Grover sought to portray Schiro as a paid government witness and shameless opportunist who framed DeVecchio at the behest of overzealous prosecutors, and to improve her chances for a tell-all book deal about Scarpa, who died behind bars in 1994.

Schiro is “someone who’s so desperate and so financially driven, she’ll say anything,” Grover said. “She’s capable of manufacturing anything about anybody, any time.”

Schiro was expected to take the witness stand in the latter stages of a trial expected to last a month or more; also set to testify is Scarpa’s imprisoned son. At DeVecchio’s request, the trial is being heard by a judge and not a jury.

E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS

Show comments | Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories

Subscribe to the Pantagraph

Contact the Pantagraph staff

Home page | Previous page | Top

Ads by Yahoo!

Natural Training Pants Are Safer

Create A Healthy Home For Your Family. Free Coupons & Newsletter.
SeventhGeneration.com/trainingpants

Learn Forex Trading

Forex.com®- Free eBook when you sign up for a risk-free Practice acct.
www.FOREX.com

Practice Forex Trading

Start trading with a free $50,000 demo account. Play before pay.
www.fxcm.com

Take a look

Former FBI Agent L. Lindley DeVecchio, right, sits in court with his attorney Ginnine Fried as his trial got underway Monday, Oct. 15, 2007, in New York at state Supreme Court in Brooklyn. Prosecutors have billed the trial as "one of the worst cases of law enforcement corruption in the history of this country," and accused DeVecchio of feeding a mobster-turned-informant confidential information that was used "to devastating effect." Former Colombo crime family capo Gregory Scarpa brutally killed four people, prosecutor Joseph Alexis said, "and the defendant helped him do it." (AP Photo/Jesse Ward, Pool)

Video