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Fbi helped mob in crime spree { March 30 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/30/nyregion/30cnd-agent.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/30/nyregion/30cnd-agent.html
March 30, 2006
Ex-F.B.I. Agent Accused of Role in Four Organized Crime Killings
By JOHN HOLUSHA
and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
A former F.B.I. agent was accused in an indictment today of "acting in concert" with members of organized crime in the murder of four people during the 1980's and early 1990's, according to District Attorney Charles J. Hynes of Brooklyn.
"This is the most stunning example of official corruption I have ever seen," Mr. Hynes said in a statement. He said a federal agent whose job is to protect lives instead assisted in murder.
The retired agent, R. Lindley DeVecchio, 65, is charged with providing the gangster Gregory Scarpa Sr. with information that led to the killings.
Mr. DeVecchio, who retired in 1996, was the leader of the F.B.I. team that investigated the Colombo crime family and developed ties to Mr. Scarpa, a captain in the Colombo family, in investigating mob activities.
Mr. DeVecchio was to be released on $1 million bail after arraignment this afternoon. The bail was to be $100,000 cash with the remainder guaranteed by five former F.B.I. agents, who were among the 45 retired agents that gathered in the courtroom to express support for Mr. DeVecchio.
New information provided by Mr. Scarpa's longtime companion, Linda Schiro, led to the indictments, said a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing nature of the investigation.
Mr. Hynes said the most recent investigation began in February 2005 after a member of the House Judiciary Committee, William Delahunt, Democrat of Massachusetts, brought allegations involving Mr. DeVecchio to his attention. Mr. Delahunt had been investigating F.B.I. involvement with organized crime.
Mr. Hynes said that Mr. DeVecchio diverted to himself "more that $66,000" in F.B.I. funds intended for Mr. Scarpa as payment to information.
A group of retired agents supported Mr. DeVecchio's position that he did not provide improper information to Mr. Scarpa, noting that he had previously been investigated and cleared of similar charges by the Department of Justice.
"The department concluded that there was no basis for the allegations and dismissed the probe," they said, in a statement posted on the Web site www.LinDeVecchio.com.
Mr. DeVecchio is facing a sentence of 25 years to life if convicted of the charges of second degree murder, Mr. Hynes's office said.
Two organized-crime figures, Craig Sobel and John Sinagra, were indicted with Mr. DeVecchio. Mr. Scarpa died of AIDS in prison in 1994.
Mr. DeVecchio, who lives in Sarasota, came to New York Wednesday evening to turn himself in to the district attorney's office. One of his lawyers called the charges "a complete fabrication."
According to the indictment, Mr. DeVecchio told Mr. Scarpa that Mary Bari, 31, a onetime girlfriend of Alphonse Persico, a mob member, was cooperating with authorities. She was killed on Sept 25, 1984.
Another victim was Patrick Porco, 18, who was killed in May 1990, supposedly for providing authorities with information on a killing by Mr. Scarpa's son.
Joseph DeDomenico, 45, known as Joe Brewster and a soldier in the Colombo family, was killed on Sept 17, 1987, the authorities say, after he came under suspicion of mob leaders for his drug use and closeness to born-again Christians.
The final victim was Lorenzo Lampasi, 66, who was killed on May 22, 1992, in the driveway of his Brooklyn home for aligning himself with a Colombo family faction feuding with Mr. Scarpa.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
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