Judge Nicholas Garaufis Mob Ties
Taking time off from crippling New York’s Fire Department, federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis lately has been playing haberdasher to a mobster.
Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano, a former Bonanno crime-family boss, found himself without a tie as jury selection began at his third murder trial Tuesday morning in Brooklyn.
So Garaufis did something thoughtful: He lent the convicted murderer a Brooks Brothers tie.
It’s not the first time they’ve played dress-up. During a 2007 murder trial, Garaufis lent Basciano a shirt and tie when he came to court in an undershirt.
This odd couple has been keeping company since 2004, when the Brooklyn judge first presided over one of the mobster’s many court dates.
But while they’re growing old together, they’re not exactly best friends: Basciano scrawled Garaufis’ name on what prosecutors described as a “hit list” in 2008.
Which makes this current episode all the more baffling.
It’s bad enough that Garaufis tears the shirt off his back to accommodate the sartorial desires of such as Basciano, convicted in 2007 for murdering a gangland rival.
But what’s worse is the utterly hostile manner in which he treats upright citizens who come before his bench.
Case in point: Garaufis has done untold damage to the FDNY by seeking to impose racial-hiring quotas and dictate the exact racial makeup of its new recruits.
To that end, he’s blocked the FDNY from hiring new classes of rookie firefighters, burdening veterans and costing the city millions in overtime pay.
What it adds up to: Garaufis has a special place in his heart for killers convicted in his own courtroom.
The FDNY? Not so much.
Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano, a former Bonanno crime-family boss, found himself without a tie as jury selection began at his third murder trial Tuesday morning in Brooklyn.
So Garaufis did something thoughtful: He lent the convicted murderer a Brooks Brothers tie.
It’s not the first time they’ve played dress-up. During a 2007 murder trial, Garaufis lent Basciano a shirt and tie when he came to court in an undershirt.
Nicholas G. Garaufis
But while they’re growing old together, they’re not exactly best friends: Basciano scrawled Garaufis’ name on what prosecutors described as a “hit list” in 2008.
Which makes this current episode all the more baffling.
It’s bad enough that Garaufis tears the shirt off his back to accommodate the sartorial desires of such as Basciano, convicted in 2007 for murdering a gangland rival.
But what’s worse is the utterly hostile manner in which he treats upright citizens who come before his bench.
Case in point: Garaufis has done untold damage to the FDNY by seeking to impose racial-hiring quotas and dictate the exact racial makeup of its new recruits.
To that end, he’s blocked the FDNY from hiring new classes of rookie firefighters, burdening veterans and costing the city millions in overtime pay.
What it adds up to: Garaufis has a special place in his heart for killers convicted in his own courtroom.
The FDNY? Not so much.
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