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By Jerry Capeci

Last week, federal prosecutors asked that jurors' names be kept secret so it would be harder for Gotti to bribe one, and they got another codefendant to agree to testify against him. Earlier, defense lawyers asked Judge Barrington Parker to suppress much of the government's evidence from the trial.  

Privately, however, opposing lawyers are fine-tuning a deal in which Gotti and most codefendants would plead guilty in return for jail terms that call for much less than the maximum 20 years they would face after trial. This info comes from sources on both sides of the case.

Even Bruce Cutler, the outspoken lawyer for Gotti and his jailed for life father, while stressing that he is preparing for trial, has said the idea of a plea "is not hogwash" and that "every criminal case can be resolved."

An eventual plea deal is a key reason why Craig DePalma gave up on a scheduled bail revocation hearing on Tuesday. As Gang Land reported last week, his bail was revoked on Oct. 2 after he made an unauthorized trip to a Friendly's restaurant and violated conditions that required virtual house arrest for him at his girlfriend's home.

In court that day, DePalma's attorney John Mitchell said that while the restaurant stop was a technical violation, his intentions were good. He met an old high school buddy to inquire about construction work. By chance, on a trip to Mitchell's office the previous day, DePalma had met his friend,  who owns a company repaving the Bronx River Parkway, and set up the meeting. And on the day in question, an hour before they met, DePalma had told his federal Pretrial Services officer he was looking to get a job.

The Pretrial officer, whose duties are similar to a parole officer's, confirmed that aspect of DePalma's story. Judge Parker scheduled a proceeding to hear from the construction company official and reconsider his ruling.

But before the hearing, Mitchell cancelled the session. Since DePalma was planning to plead guilty anyway, he figured he might as well stay in jail and out of trouble, and earn prison credit that will shorten his stretch about six years down the pike. It will also give him an opportunity to spend some time with his father Greg, an ailing Gambino mobster who has been jailed since they and Gotti were arrested in January, and who also plans to plead guilty and be done with it.

Meanwhile, the Junior Don's jailed-for-life dad, (right) the onetime Dapper Don and still official Gambino family boss is recovering from surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his throat at the federal prison hospital in Springfield, Missouri that he underwent on Sept. 26.

The rules are simple as usual: One guess per person, via e-mail, of course. Anyone caught submitting more than one guess will be rubbed out - with all entries eliminated. Deadline is Nov. 1.

There are three prizes. First prize is an autographed copy of Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti.  As most readers know, the book is one of the favorite mob books of Andy, Gang Land's organized crime historian. It is also out of print. But we have a copy and are putting it up as first prize. Autographed, of course.

Second prize is a copy of Murder Machine, also by Gene Mustain and yours truly. Third prize is an autographed copy of Gotti: Rise and Fall. In case of ties, prize winners will be selected at random.

Just to be different, and difficult, there are six questions, each worth the same 15 points. Question No. 2 has a 10-point bonus part. Good luck.

1. Name the singer who originally had the Frank Sinatra-like role of Johnny Fontaine in "The Godfather" but backed out fearing a negative reaction? Hint. He had a top ten hit with "On The Street Where You Live."

2. Name the Canadian singing group that sang at the August 1956 wedding of Salvatore (Bill) Bonanno and Rosalie Profaci. For extra credit, name the group's three top ten hits at that point in their career.

3. Name the night club singer who became a comedian and a Las Vegas fixture noted for his "insult" humor after a Chicago gangster orchestrated a  disabling attack on him in 1927.

4. Name the Colombo capo who prevented Morris Levy, the Genovese family backed head of Roulette Records, from muscling in on the Shangri-Las after the group had a No. 5 hit with "Remember" (Walking In The Sand) and a No. 1 with "Leader of the Pack" in 1964.

5. Name the hit song by Mickey and Sylvia that typified the relationship  between Robert DeNiro and Sharon Stone and was playing when they first met in the movie, "Casino."

6. Name the three top ten hits that Jay and the Americans had while Jay Black, who sang at a couple of weddings of John Gotti's kids, was the group's lead singer.

It's put up or shut up time for mobster Greg Scarpa Jr. (left), who has hinted he may take the witness stand in his own defense  tomorrow, when his trial resumes after the Columbus Day holiday.

Federal prosecutors rested last week after their last witness, Mario Parlegreco, testified that Scarpa killed five men in the 1980's and was a partner in crime with his notorious father, the late Greg Scarpa Sr. (right). Parlegreco (below right), an admitted killer and long-time Colombo family associate, took part in three of the five rubouts, he testified.

Greg Jr., 47, asserts that his father -- who got a free ride on a slew of murders and a bunch of other crimes because he was a top echelon FBI informer -- is the guilty Scarpa, the one involved in loansharking, illegal gambling, tax fraud and the five gangland-style slayings listed in the racketeering indictment.

The prosecution's first witness, William Meli, (left) put both Scarpas at the scenes of several killings, but testified that the younger Scarpa was Meli's Colombo family superior and took part in all five murders charged in the case. Meli participated in all five killings, he testified.

ASK ANDY
Andy, our organized crime historian seen here with one of his favorite Mafia books, "Mob Star," answers a query this week from J.J. Petroski, a native Chicagoan looking for a mob history primer about his new town, Tampa.

For decades, the Tampa Family has been involved in the whole gamut of racketeering activities -- illegal gambling, narcotics trafficking, extortion, loan sharking, and labor racketeering.

The family was headed for decades by the late Santos Trafficante Jr., who also went by the name of Louis Santos. He was one of the 58 mobsters nabbed at the infamous 1957 Cosa Nostra conclave at Apalachin, New York. Investigations following that fiasco revealed that Trafficante was very active in the Casino business in Cuba. You can read about this era in: LITTLE MAN by ROBERT LACEY.

When Castro took over Cuba in 1959, the mob, including Trafficante, was  kicked out empty handed. The CIA, then-as-always-scheming to get rid of Castro by any means possible, had a brainstorm (that's a misnomer for sure) that included recruiting Chicago mobster Johnny Roselli, a mere soldier, who had to get permission from his boss, Sam Giancana, who had to get Trafficante's okay since the operations would be originating on his territory. When these plots were revealed decades later, Trafficante received much unwanted publicity that caused conspiracy theorists to place him into a plot to kill Kennedy. This was solely based on very shaky evidence. You can read about this in: CASE CLOSED by GERALD POSNER.

Much earlier on, in 1963, the testimony of Mafia turncoat Joe Valachi (right) enabled authorities to prepare a chart on the Tampa Family which, while not too accurate, had Trafficante at the top and made the public aware that such a criminal organization existed.

In 1966, Trafficante was arrested along with 12 other powerful mobsters while eating in an Italian restaurant in Queens, New York. It appears that they were relaxing after attending a Commission meeting held elsewhere. Trafficante and a few of the others, in an action that was juvenile and stupid, returned to the restaurant and invited the press to take pictures. I guess they were trying to prove that they were being harassed and had nothing to hide. All it did was inflame the FBI and the local police and bring more unwanted publicity.

In 1987, the Senate held more hearings called, predictably, "Twenty Five Years after Valachi." This time, authorities presented an updated chart of the Tampa Family that had Frank Diciedue, identified only as a soldier in 1963, as Trafficante's underboss, which he was until Trafficante's death.

A Tampa representative was present at a Mafia meeting that was discovered by the police three decades before the Apalachin affair. This was in Cleveland in 1928. Ignatzio Italiano was arrested along with Joe Profaci and a number of other Mafia leaders. You can read about this event in: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CLEVELAND MAFIA by RICK PORRELLO.