Double cross in mob tied hot dog beatdown: victim busted when he seeks payoff from thug turned-snitch
A Bronx hot dog vendor is facing jail time for taking a bribe from a Gambino associate--whose crew had roughed him up for not paying protection money, authorities said.
Robert Sirignano, 60, told Gambino thug Pat Lombardo he'd forget the beat-down if Lombardo paid him $15,000, prosecutors said.
"I will drop the charges if you pay me five thousand dollars now and ten thousand dollars next Tuesday," Sirignano told Lombardo in Sept. 2009, according to court papers. "I will tell the DA you didn't do anything to me."
But it was a classic double-cross: Lombardo had become a secret government informant and set up the bribery sting with authorities, sources said.
The case against Lombardo and two associates-- who were accused of beating Sirignano with a hammer and torching his hot-dog van in Aug. 2008-- were dropped a short time later.
Lombardo and pals Robert "Bobby Fingers" Francella and Gregory Monzeglio all have long rap sheets ranging from murder to assault.
But Sirignano, who had a loaded .45 Colt Derringer pistol in his hand when he met with Lombardo, is the only one still facing charges.
The new details emerged during a hearing in Bronx Supreme Court Tuesday, where Sirignano's lawyer voiced his disgust with Lombardo.
"They (the district attorney) say he's moved away and is nowhere to be found," said lawyer Steven Kessler, who claims his client was entrapped.
It's not clear whether Lombardo is helping the government with other cases.
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