Saturday, August 27, 2011

Mafia boss' mansion fails to sell


MONTREAL - Jailed mafia kingpin Vito Rizzuto's $1.9 million luxury home has "spacious living areas and an elegant garden and patio," but no buyers after three months on the market.
Sotheby's International Realty is overseeing the sale of the 29-year-old stone-faced mansion, which is steps away from the home where family patriarch Nick Rizzuto, Vito's father, was shot and killed as he cooked dinner last November.
A sniper fired the fatal shots from the same adjacent "immense wooded area" mentioned in the listing for Vito's home, which is touted as being "perfect for both raising a family and entertaining."
The mansion is registered in the name of Giovanna Cammalleri, Vito's wife. The pair are to be reunited next year when the 65-year-old mob boss wraps up a prison term for a 1981 mob hit in Brooklyn.
Realtor Liza Kaufman refused to discuss her client's reputed crime connections in an interview with QMI Agency. She said her client recommended a list price that's twice the municipal valuation of $1,000,100.

Reputed leader of Mafia sought FBI protection


Mark Rossetti, a reputed leader in the New England Mafia and an FBI informant, thought he would be protected by the bureau after his alleged crime ring was targeted by State Police investigators, according to documents filed in Suffolk Superior Court.
And, according to taped conversations contained in the court documents, Rossetti’s FBI handler told him not to worry, that “my job is to keep you anonymous and keep you safe.’’
“You don’t have anything to worry about if things down the road happen, but if that happens, we’ll have to deal with it as it comes,’’ the handler told Rossetti. “I will have to start working it out.’’
Rossetti’s relationship with the FBI has come under scrutiny since court documents were filed indicating he had been working as an FBI informant while allegedly running a crime ring that engaged in violence, extortion, debt collection, and drug dealing. He is also suspected in at least six homicides, law enforcement officials told the Globe.