Deliberations Start In 'Mafia Cops' Trial

(CBS) BROOKLYN A jury has started deliberating the fate of two retired NYPD detectives charged with being paid hit men for the mafia on eight counts of murder, two counts of attemtpted murder and various other racketerring charges.

The pair Louis Eppolito, 57, and Stephan Caracappa, 64, together with their flamboyant defense attorneys transformed the federal courthouse in Brooklyn into what resembled the set of a Hollywood mobster movie.

Authorities allege Eppolito, 57, and Caracappa, 64, were involved in eight killings between 1986 and 1990 while on the payroll both of the NYPD and Luchese underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso. In return, they helped Casso avoid arrest, warned him of impending investigations and committed killings for up to $65,000 a hit, prosecutors said.

Late last month, U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein ruled that 11th-hour revelations by jailed Mafia underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso would not be cause for a mistrial, as the defense attorneys Bruce Cutler and Edward Hayes had asked for. Both attorneys had informed Weinstein, with the trial nearing an end, that Casso, notoroiusly violent capo of the Luchese crime family, was claiming that their clients were innocent of some of the charges, reversing previous allegations he made against the pair.