Mob informant says Taccetta innocent of golf-club murder scheme

TOMS RIVER, N.J. - A mobster-turned-informant has filed court papers saying his cousin, a reputed Lucchese crime boss, was not involved in a scheme leading to a notorious 1984 Mafia hit.

A lawyer for Thomas Ricciardi, who is in hiding through the federal Witness Protection Program, filed an affidavit in Superior Court on Thursday claiming Martin Taccetta was not involved in the death of Vincent J. Craparotta, who was beaten to death with a golf club in 1984.

In 1993, Taccetta was acquitted of that murder but convicted of extortion along with Ricciardi. Prosecutors successfully argued the men conspired to kill Craparotta, a Jersey Shore contractor, to intimidate his nephews into sharing proceeds from their gambling business.