Post by WaTcHeR on Mar 25, 2006 11:40:08 GMT -5
03/26/2006 - A retired FBI agent has been charged with helping a mob informant carry out at least three bloody hits, the Daily News has learned.
The blockbuster indictment delivered by a secret Brooklyn grand jury caps an exhaustive six-month probe into allegations that Lindley DeVecchio, a federal agent for 33 years, helped his longtime Colombo crime family informer, Gregory Scarpa Sr., wipe out at least three enemies, a well-informed source said.
Prosecutors do not believe DeVecchio was directly involved in the slayings - including that of Mary Bari, a beautiful brunette - but they presented evidence the agent gave Scarpa information that led him to kill, sources said.
DeVecchio is expected to be arraigned on at least three counts of second-degree murder in Brooklyn Supreme Court next week. He could face up to 25 years to life in prison on each count if convicted.
DeVecchio declined to return a phone call to his Florida home and his attorney Mark Federo said he was unaware of any indictment.
"The allegations that he is involved in the murder of Mary Bari or gangsters or anyone of that sort is absolutely ridiculous," Federo said. "We will vigorously defend against those allegations and will do so in court."
DeVecchio, an FBI supervisor for 11 years, has long weathered accusations of an improper relationship with Scarpa. But he was cleared of wrongdoing after a two-year federal probe in 1996 and by a federal judge in 2004.
Scarpa, a violent sociopath who died in prison in 1994 at 66, rose through the ranks of the Colombo family and was a paid FBI informant for more than 30 years. For 13 of those years, beginning in 1980, DeVecchio was his handler.
The Brooklyn grand jury heard evidence that DeVecchio told Scarpa in 1984 that Mary Bari - a dark-haired beauty who hung out with a Colombo family mobster - was a paid informant for the FBI. Scarpa shot her dead on Sept. 24, 1984, in a Brooklyn club as his son, Gregory Jr., held her down, according to court records quoted by the Web site Gangland News.
A second victim, Joseph (Joe Brewster) DeDomenico, was killed in 1987 after DeVecchio told Scarpa the mobster might become a turncoat, sources said. In 1992, during the 1991-93 Colombo family war, DeVecchio also is accused of helping Scarpa find and kill Larry Lampesi, a mob rival, sources said.
The office of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, which led the probe, declined to comment yesterday. The FBI did not return calls.
The blockbuster indictment delivered by a secret Brooklyn grand jury caps an exhaustive six-month probe into allegations that Lindley DeVecchio, a federal agent for 33 years, helped his longtime Colombo crime family informer, Gregory Scarpa Sr., wipe out at least three enemies, a well-informed source said.
Prosecutors do not believe DeVecchio was directly involved in the slayings - including that of Mary Bari, a beautiful brunette - but they presented evidence the agent gave Scarpa information that led him to kill, sources said.
DeVecchio is expected to be arraigned on at least three counts of second-degree murder in Brooklyn Supreme Court next week. He could face up to 25 years to life in prison on each count if convicted.
DeVecchio declined to return a phone call to his Florida home and his attorney Mark Federo said he was unaware of any indictment.
"The allegations that he is involved in the murder of Mary Bari or gangsters or anyone of that sort is absolutely ridiculous," Federo said. "We will vigorously defend against those allegations and will do so in court."
DeVecchio, an FBI supervisor for 11 years, has long weathered accusations of an improper relationship with Scarpa. But he was cleared of wrongdoing after a two-year federal probe in 1996 and by a federal judge in 2004.
Scarpa, a violent sociopath who died in prison in 1994 at 66, rose through the ranks of the Colombo family and was a paid FBI informant for more than 30 years. For 13 of those years, beginning in 1980, DeVecchio was his handler.
The Brooklyn grand jury heard evidence that DeVecchio told Scarpa in 1984 that Mary Bari - a dark-haired beauty who hung out with a Colombo family mobster - was a paid informant for the FBI. Scarpa shot her dead on Sept. 24, 1984, in a Brooklyn club as his son, Gregory Jr., held her down, according to court records quoted by the Web site Gangland News.
A second victim, Joseph (Joe Brewster) DeDomenico, was killed in 1987 after DeVecchio told Scarpa the mobster might become a turncoat, sources said. In 1992, during the 1991-93 Colombo family war, DeVecchio also is accused of helping Scarpa find and kill Larry Lampesi, a mob rival, sources said.
The office of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, which led the probe, declined to comment yesterday. The FBI did not return calls.