Mar 31 2008
‘Vinny Gorgeous’ Gets Life In Prison
NEW YORK — Reputed Bonanno mobster Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole for the 2001 hit on a mob associate shot while walking his dog in the Bronx.
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Basciano, 48, in Brooklyn federal court for the gangland slaying of Frank Santoro, an alleged drug dealer.
Basciano, who once ran a Bronx beauty salon called “Hello Gorgeous,” had been convicted of the Santoro slaying but now also faces a second trial, this a death penalty case, for the 2004 slaying of mob associate Randolph Pizzolo.
Known for his impeccable appearance and groomed silver hair, Basciano, also called “Vinny from the Bronx,” had allegedly run the Bonanno crime family briefly after boss, Joseph Massino, was arrested in 2003. Massino turned informant and secretly recorded Basciano allegedly talking about a plot to kill a prosecutor, officials said.
Basciano has been held in solitary confinement in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center for the last two years after authorities found an alleged hit list targeting Garaufis and a federal prosecutor. Basciano had said the list was a Santeria ritual to thwart conviction.
‘Vinny Gorgeous’ Gets Life In Prison - POSTED: 7:56 pm EDT March 31, 2008 -http://www.wnbc.com/investigations/15756523/detail.html
