Colombo crime boss Joe Waverly to face trial for ordering the murder of an NYPD cop
He looks like an aging hippie, but federal prosecutors say Joel
"Joe Waverly" Cacace is a lethal gangster who has repeatedly broken the cardinal rule of gangland: don’t murder a prosecutor or a cop.
The ponytailed 72-year-old Colombo crime boss goes on trial Tuesday for ordering the 1997 murder of NYPD police officer Ralph Dols.
It is the last chance to bring Dols' killers to justice
Cacace is halfway through serving a 20-year-sentence for orchestrating the bungled 1987 hit on the former mob prosecutor William Aronwald, killing the intended victim's elderly father by mistake.
That murderous order came from jailed Colombo boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico who believed Aronwald had prosecuted mobsters in a disrespectful way.
Cacace, too, felt disrespected not only because ex-wife Kim Kennaugh had married a cop, but also because Dols was Hispanic, sources said.
"Joel Cacace is a thug and a cold-blooded murderer," Aronwald told The Daily News. "Crimes of violence have been his life."
During jury selection last week in Brooklyn Federal Court, defense lawyer Susan Kellman urged prospective jurors to keep an open mind about the charges even if they believe Cacace is a high-ranking mobster.
"I'm tired of being told every day that I'm going to be assassinated. It takes its toll on you," he said, according to court papers.
Cacace is halfway through
serving a 20-year-sentence for orchestrating the bungled 1987 hit on the
former mob prosecutor William Aronwald, killing the intended victim's
elderly father by mistake.
Aronwald, who waited 17 years to get justice for his father, said the idea that a conviction brings closure is an illusion. "You can't undo what has been done, but there's a relief that the why and how and by whom has been answered," Aronwald said.
Colombo snitches Dino Calabro and Joseph Competiello testified at the earlier trial that they were not told in advance of Dols' murder that he was a cop. Calabro testified that he wanted to whack Cacace for fooling them.
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