Judge Reverses Jury
A federal judge has overturned a verdict against Benny DiCostanzo after the jury convicted him and co-defendants Anthony "Toto" Anastasio, a reputed Gambino soldier, and David Benedict in a racketeering trial last October as reported by Jeff Harrell for the Staten Island Advance:
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan confirmed the 45-year-old Oakwood scrap metal dealer's mob denials by granting a motion reversing the guilty verdict on one count of conspiracy to extortion. "The evidence presented by the government is insufficient to establish … Benedetto DiCostanzo's guilt under any count of the indictment, even when viewed in the light most favorable to the government," Judge Cogan wrote in his decision. "There was no evidence that could establish, or even create an inference, that DiCostanzo played a role in the extortion charged in the indictment," the judge noted.
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