The family has been hammered by federal judges because of their ties to another family, the Colombo  family.

First, Manhattan Federal Judge John Keenan told Andrew that a minor parole violation that normally calls for no time or up to eight months in prison means 19 months in prison for him because he's a reputed Mafia boss.

Keenan ruled parole officials did not abuse their discretion by hitting him harder than normal because Russo was seen walking and talking with Colombo underboss Joel (Joe Waverly) Cacace for seven minutes by an FBI agent on stakeout duty in Manhattan on May 20, 1996. The ruling, filed in mid May, was released early this month.

Keenan's ruling means Russo will serve a total of 25 months. Russo's parole was violated on Sept. 13, 1996 when he was arrested on racketeering charges. He earned no parole credit for his first six months behind bars, however, since during that period he was technically being held on $3 million bail in the racketeering case. His parole violation sentence did not begin until the following March, when he posted a $3 million bond. He's due out in October, about the time he goes on trial.

"It's an injustice," said Russo's lawyer, George Santangelo. "We are moving the case to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in an effort to correct it."

It could be a big waste of time. The appeals court, in a case involving Russo's son Joseph (JoJo), and Russo's nephew, Anthony (Chuckie), both reputed Colombo capos, reinstated a federal murder conviction against

After a ten-week trial, two years of post-trial motions and two rounds of oral arguments, Brooklyn Federal Judge Charles Sifton threw out the murder count because the prosecution failed to disclose information that was material to their defense.

In Sifton's judgment, if the defense had known Colombo capo Greg Scarpa (left) had been an FBI informant for decades, and placed that before the jury, it could have affected the guilty verdict. Scarpa had killed four men during the war, but when giving information to the FBI, he omitted these little facts.

Since statements Scarpa allegedly made to fellow mobsters during the war came into evidence from gangsters who cooperated, Sifton ruled that defense lawyers should have been able to use the fact that he lied to the FBI because there was a lack of physical evidence tying the Russos to the murder.

The appeals court, in a lean 20 page opinion, overturned Sifton's meticulous 99-page ruling. Sifton is the least reversed jurist on the Brooklyn Federal Court bench.

An important aspect of Sifton's ruling cited the failure of trial prosecutors to give the defense a key FBI document. The three-judge appeals court panel  noted that the trial prosecutor never saw the document, ignoring the fact that the prosecutor's supervisor had received the document before trial and failed to disclose that for two years.

"The message the court is sending," said Anthony Russo's attorney, Alan Futerfas, "is that if you are a reputed organized crime figure, we will construe the law however we have to in order to keep you in jail."

Futerfas said he will ask the appeals court on Wednesday to schedule an en banc hearing of the appeals court's entire panel of 15 judges to rethink the ruling.

Don't bet on that.

Vincent Rizzuto Jr., (right) a fugitive wannabe Gambino mobster whom Gang Land told you about last week, is preparing to turn himself in to face federal drug and racketeering charges including the murder of Joseph Schiro.

Rizzuto, who has been on the run for more than three years, apparently decided to spare family members the grief and pressure they were sure to face from federal officials who believe they harbored him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Walden and James DiPietro, lawyer for Rizzuto's brother and co-defendant, Joseph, told Brooklyn Federal Judge Edward Korman of Rizzuto's plans last Friday.

Three days earlier, Walden was in court with another former fugitive, Paul Ragusa, (left) who had been on the lam for 18 months - five of them on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

Ragusa gave up last January, soon after his sister was nabbed on drug charges and the feds threatened to deport his father. Ragusa pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in a deal that calls for him to serve 19 years.

ASK ANDY
This week, Andy, seen in this familiar pose - apparantly too familiar to one Gang Land reader who's been bugging us for a new shot of our organized crime expert - reading one of his all time favorite books, "Mob Star," answers a query from reader Chip Regalmuto about old time Chicago gangster - Charles Nicoletti.

Charles (Chuckie) Nicoletti was one of the Chicago Outfit's top triggerman during the 1950's and early 1960's. Nicoletti was involved in as many as 20 mob hits during his days as a Chicago soldier, according to Bill Roemer, the late FBI agent and author.

Born in 1916, Chuckie had a tumultuous childhood and quit school after eight grade. Nicoletti started training for his life's career rather early. In 1929, Nicoletti killed his  father in what was eventually ruled a justifiable homicide. He quickly moved into the orbit of the Chicago Outfit - joining the "42 Gang," a teenage street gang that was a farm team for the mob. The 42 Gang included three future Chicago mob bosses, Sam Giancana, Sam Battaglia and Phil Alderisio. After they had all moved up to the big leagues of Chicago crime, Nicoletti's clout was greatly enhanced.

By the late 1950's, Nicoletti had a feared reputation as a hitman and was one of the usual suspects brought in for questioning whenever cops thought they had a gangland-style-slaying on their hands. In 1962, he was arrested while driving a so-called "work" car, specially equipped with hidden compartments for guns, rear lights that turned off, a souped up engine, special reinforcement on both sides, bullet proof glass and a rotating rear license plate. It was no surprise the next day when a mob associate was found slain near where Nicoletti had been detained.

Around this time, Nicoletti agreed to meet with Agent Roemer, who was trying to develop informants. Despite a long cat-and-mouse discussion in which Nicoletti disclosed that he showed legitimate income by claiming to work for various car dealerships, Roemer failed to turn the gangster.

In the mid-1960's however, Nicoletti's luck began to sour. In 1965, Giancana was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to testify before a grand jury. When he was released the next year, mob powerhouse Tony Accardo officially dethroned Giancana and Nicoletti's stature began to decline, even though Battaglia and Alderisio had two-year-runs at the top. 

By 1975, Giancana (left) was ailing, and he was killed in an insurance play by the leaders of the Outfit. They didn't fear a Giancana comeback but were concerned that his ill health might make him susceptible to increasing federal pressure. If Giancana talked, the entire Outfit hierarchy could go down. Nicoletti was not happy about his friend's killing and foolishly voiced his displeasure several times. His inability to stifle himself proved to be a  fatal mistake. On March 29, 1977, Nicoletti took three .38 caliber slugs behind the ear as he sat in the front seat of his car.

At first, the mob floated a story that Nicoletti had been killed in a revenge slaying for his hit on a Milwaukee mob leader. This was just smoke and mirrors. The Outfit had silenced an unhappy employee who could prove to be dangerous either with his gun or his mouth.