Gotti mafia man, Kevin McMahon, avoids life sentence by snitching on Charles Carneglia
He was the late John Gotti's lucky charm - and mob canary Kevin (The Midget) McMahon lucked out himself Friday.
McMahon, 43, dodged a life sentence for two gangland murders and was sentenced to time served - less than five years in prison.
The light punishment was a reward for his testimony against the Gambinos' fearsome hit man, Charles Carneglia.
Brooklyn Federal Judge Jack Weinstein apologized to the grief-stricken daughter of slain armored car guard Jose Delgado-Rivera but said McMahon's cooperation was critical in the government's effort to dismantle the crime family.
The skinny, 5-foot-2 hood showed none of the swagger that he once displayed on the streets of Howard Beach, Queens, while hanging out with Gotti and his crew at the height of the mob boss' power.
After McMahon helped fix a jury, leading to Gotti's acquittal in 1986, the Teflon Don said McMahon brought him good luck and wanted him nearby at card games.
Prosecutor Roger Burlingame said McMahon's cooperation was particularly courageous because Carneglia and his mobster brother John had taken the homeless kid under their wing.
"The truly horrific thing about the Carneglias is the manipulation of a 13-year-old who had been rejected and betrayed at every turn, and they saw that as an opportunity for a flunky who would run through walls for them, a henchman at their disposal," Burlingame said.
McMahon declined to speak in court but poured out his feelings in a letter to the judge.
"I truly believe John Carneglia saved my life. . . . I was sleeping in freezing cold sheds and stolen cars," he wrote.
"My biggest mistake was when John Carneglia went to prison in June 1989 I should have moved away. Instead, I felt obligated to John and his family and I became closer to Charles Carneglia. This is how I got involved in these heinous crimes, which I sincerely regret."
McMahon participated in the 1990 killing of Delgado-Rivera during a stickup at Kennedy Airport, and the slaying of mobster Louis DiBono in the World Trade Center garage.
Defense lawyer Stuart Grossman said McMahon "cried like a baby" after testifying against Carneglia, whom he called "uncle."
0 comments:
Post a Comment