Former murder suspect Armando Rea pleads guilty to using mafia contacts to get union job
Armando Rea pictured in November, leaving Federal Court in Brooklyn.
By taking the plea deal, Armando "Mondo" Rea avoided charges that he conspired to kill a Bonanno mobster who had angered a family capo by making jokes about that boss’ mother.
Rea, 59, who has been living in semi-retirement and poor health outside Las Vegas, admitted that he illegally used his "Mafia connections" to secure a coveted job with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 807 to work the loading dock of the sprawling convention center on Manhattan’s West Side from 1988 to 1994.
Rea pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion in Brooklyn federal court and now faces 12 to 18 months in prison as part of the plea deal, said his defense attorney John Meringolo.
The wiseguy had been facing 20 years in prison if convicted on the mob hit charge.
The feds had originally charged Rea with killing notorious Genovese crime family hit man Gerard "Pappa Bear" Pappa, who was gunned down on July 10, 1980 inside the Villa 66 restaurant in Borough Park.
Pappa had reportedly angered Genovese boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante by making unsanctioned hits against two Colombo made-men in a dispute over drug money.
But prosecutors dropped that murder charge in a new indictment last month that instead accused Rea of conspiring to murder Charles "Crazy Charlie" Tervella, a Bonanno acting capo who had been targeted for a hit after making jokes about the mother of James "Big Louie" Tartaglione, a capo and proposed street boss whose mother was hard of hearing, a source said.
The prosecution case against Rea appeared to be hindered by conflicting witness statements from various former mobsters who are now acting as government informants, a source said.
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