Witness says wiseguy Dino Saracino schemed to shake down dying cancer victim
A sicko Colombo gangster proposed shaking down the family of a young leukemia victim in exchange for life-saving bone marrow, a government witness testified Wednesday.
The scheme was revealed during the cross-examination of mob associate David Gordon in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Defense lawyer Sam Braverman accused the turncoat of hatching a plan to extort $20,000 from cancer patient Jonathan Nigro after learning his bone marrow was a match for transplant.
A visibly upset Gordon shot back that his mob superior, Dino "Little Dino" Saracino, concocted the scheme. Saracino, a reputed soldier in the crime family, is on trial for three gangland murders.
“I donated blood and they notified me that I was a match,” Gordon, a former mortician, told the jury.
“Upon telling Dino Saracino I was a match, he told me that I should hold out and request money. It would be foolish to donate (bone marrow) without getting money.”
Gordon claimed that he went for a follow-up medical test and learned that Nigro’s condition had worsened and he was too ill for a transplant.
“I don’t think I ever asked the (transplant) coordinator for money,” Gordon insisted. “I didn’t embarrass myself and ask the coordinator for money to save someone’s life. That’s pretty s-----.”
Nigro died in 2000 at the age of 26.
“I lost a beautiful son, and it’s a shame they had to bring my poor son’s name up," Ella Nigro told the Daily News.
She called Gordon’s claim of being a bone marrow match “preposterous,” pointing out that more than 1,000 people were tested and entered into a bone marrow registry, but no match for Jonathan was found.
“I would have sold my soul to save my son’s life,” she said, “but it never got to that point.”
Gordon secretly recorded incriminating conversations with Saracino and claimed that the gangster admitted committing a murder in the basement of his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, home, which he called “The Dungeon.”
Saracino’s co-defendant, former Colombo street boss Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli, is charged with six murders.
The scheme was revealed during the cross-examination of mob associate David Gordon in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Defense lawyer Sam Braverman accused the turncoat of hatching a plan to extort $20,000 from cancer patient Jonathan Nigro after learning his bone marrow was a match for transplant.
A visibly upset Gordon shot back that his mob superior, Dino "Little Dino" Saracino, concocted the scheme. Saracino, a reputed soldier in the crime family, is on trial for three gangland murders.
“I donated blood and they notified me that I was a match,” Gordon, a former mortician, told the jury.
“Upon telling Dino Saracino I was a match, he told me that I should hold out and request money. It would be foolish to donate (bone marrow) without getting money.”
Gordon claimed that he went for a follow-up medical test and learned that Nigro’s condition had worsened and he was too ill for a transplant.
“I don’t think I ever asked the (transplant) coordinator for money,” Gordon insisted. “I didn’t embarrass myself and ask the coordinator for money to save someone’s life. That’s pretty s-----.”
Nigro died in 2000 at the age of 26.
“I lost a beautiful son, and it’s a shame they had to bring my poor son’s name up," Ella Nigro told the Daily News.
She called Gordon’s claim of being a bone marrow match “preposterous,” pointing out that more than 1,000 people were tested and entered into a bone marrow registry, but no match for Jonathan was found.
“I would have sold my soul to save my son’s life,” she said, “but it never got to that point.”
Gordon secretly recorded incriminating conversations with Saracino and claimed that the gangster admitted committing a murder in the basement of his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, home, which he called “The Dungeon.”
Saracino’s co-defendant, former Colombo street boss Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli, is charged with six murders.
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