Vincent Basciano

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Vincent Basciano
Vincent Basciano on a security camera.
Born	November 14, 1959 Brooklyn, New York, USA

Vincent J. Basciano (born November 14, 1959), known by the moniker "Vinny Gorgeous", is reputed to have been a boss of the Bonanno crime family. He is also on the New Jersey List of Excluded Persons (also on that list is former Philadelphia Cosa Nostra boss Nicky Scarfo and Pittston boss William D'Elia).

Basciano was acquitted in 1994 of supplying heroin to a smuggling ring that reaped $10 million a year from 1985 to 1991.^[1] He became Boss in 2003 and is rumoured to do family dirty work even though he is in a leadership position. [1]

[edit] Arrest and Trial

On November 19, 2004 Basciano was arrested on charges of racketeering and illegal gambling. He was arraigned the same day by United States Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom at the U. S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York. The case was later assigned to United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis.^[2]

A racketeering and murder trial for Basciano began on February 16, 2006 in Brooklyn Federal Court. During a discussion about a man he's charged with shooting in 1985, Basciano blurted out to reporters that the victim is a convicted child molester. A parade of Bonanno informants will be testifying in Basciano's trial, including former boss Joe Massino, who was like a father to Basciano; recent turncoat Dominick Cicale, who was like a son, and lawyer Thomas Lee.^[3] After Basciano was arrested in 2004, he promoted Cicale to capo and put him on the crime family's ruling panel.

Later, Cicale was arrested and was charged with two murders - the 2000 shotgun killing of Frank Santoro in the Bronx, which he says he committed along with Basciano, and the 2004 rubout of Randolph Pizzolo, which Cicale says was on Basciano's orders.^[4]