John Bologna, left, and Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno in a surveillance photo taken in Springfield in 2002.

Don't Edit

By STEPHANIE BARRY | sbarry@repub.com

New York gangster John Bologna died in prison.

It was something of an irony, since he played the long game to stay out of jail for decades as an FBI informant. All the while, he still made a robust illegal living shoulder-to-shoulder with Mafia bosses from New York City to Springfield.

Also known as "JB" or "Big John" at well over 6 feet tall, Bologna made a name for himself locally after being exposed as one of the primary agitators behind the 2003 murder of Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno. The colorful capo was killed amid a bid for power by a younger regime in Greater Springfield, according to records and trial testimony in U.S. District Court. Bologna and other New York players gave Bruno's killers the green light, he ultimately disclosed to prosecutors under duress.

Following Bologna's death in January, The Republican was able to obtain the full archive documenting the breadth of Bologna's cooperation with the FBI. This is the first public look at the partnership between the federal government and the shadowy informant who concealed his cooperation with the FBI until a few years before his death.

Bologna's day of reckoning came 17 years after he began cooperating with the FBI as an informant. He was later designated a "cooperating witness" for the U.S. Justice Department, filtering information back to law enforcement about scores of members of the five New York crime families of La Cosa Nostra.

The hundreds of pages of FBI summaries on Bologna's cooperation recently obtained by The Republican suggest he was as pervasive in the New York Mafia as sand on Coney Island Beach.

Beginning in 1996, the records show, Bologna chronicled bosses and underbosses, turf wars, promotions, double-crosses, corrupt cops and politicians, betting parlors, bag men and drop spots.

His briefings included some of the best-known names in the mob: Gotti, Gigante, "Sammy the Bull" and Gambino, to name a few. President Donald J. Trump, Madonna and other New York luminaries even made cameos in Bologna's reports to law enforcement in the mid-1990s.

By 2010 Bologna's cooperation with the government had ruptured Greater Springfield's mob hierarchy. After Bruno's death, the area's reservoir of "made men" with the Genovese crime family began to run dry. Bruno's rival, Anthony Delevo, died in prison in 2005. Another Don fell ill. And Anthony Arillotta, Felix Tranghese and Emilio Fusco were eventually arrested in connection with the Bruno murder.

Arillotta loyalists including West Springfield brothers Freddy and Ty Geas, Arillotta's enforcers, and Frankie Roche, the paid shooter who killed Bruno, also were caught up in the prosecution. Roche was the first arrested and the first to the table with law enforcement, but officials were aiming higher than Roche's fringe status.

Arillotta made a swift decision to turn on his co-defendants after his arrest in 2010, and the remaining ones fell like dominoes, one way or another. With their cooperation and testimony, Bologna and Arillotta took out acting New York street boss Arthur "Artie" Nigro, the puppet master behind Bruno's murder. Nigro is now serving life in prison after a jury convicted him in 2011.

Arillotta very recently was released from prison, opting out of the federal Witness Protection Program and returned to Springfield — a bold move that surprised many.

Bologna, 75, died behind bars on Jan. 17, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Law enforcement officials said his death came after an extended illness. No further details were available. He was suffering from diabetes and recovering from a stroke and prostate cancer at the time of his guilty pleas to nine criminal counts in January 2011 before a federal judge in Manhattan, court transcripts show.

The admissions, including murder conspiracy, racketeering, extortion and gambling, could have triggered a 140-year prison sentence. But, Bologna received just eight years behind bars in 2013.

It still was not a survivable penalty.

Don't Edit

An FBI "302 report" on John Bologna from 1974.

Don't Edit

Chapter 1: Bologna's beginnings with the FBI

Bologna was from Port Chester, New York, a largely working-class village in Westchester County just outside the city. Its main landmark was the former Life Savers candy factory, which closed in the early 1980s. Its population of around 29,000 has remained nearly the same since the 1950s.

He was born in Yorktown, a nearby community with historical links to the American Revolution — including the notable fact that an ally of Benedict Arnold enjoyed his last breakfast at a restaurant there, before being captured and hanged as a spy.

Records show that Bologna racked up several arrests for illegal gambling in the 1960s and 70s, was a target of the FBI in the early 1970s and became a tipster by 1996.

While he was initially a valuable trove of information for the FBI about other gangsters, Bologna ultimately became a nuisance — and a liability as a potential trial witness — for federal prosecutors after they discovered he had concealed his own illegal activities for years while serving the government.

Court testimony and documents show he continually lied to his minders until they finally took him off the streets in 2010, revoking a $1 million bail agreement that also allowed him travel in the continental U.S. This came months after he pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel and federal prosecutors took care to label him only as "John Doe" in court records.

Reached for comment, his longtime handler, retired New Jersey FBI Agent Robert Bukowski, said he had lost track of Bologna years ago and was unaware he had died. Of Bologna's duplicity, Bukowski said it is one of the perils of infiltrating a criminal enterprise using one of their own.

"Occasionally in law enforcement we try to use one bad guy to catch other bad guys. Sometimes this works out and sometimes is does not. When they violate our trust and commit or are suspected of committing a crime we immediately stop any association with them, as in this case," Bukowski wrote in an email.

"Unfortunately we cannot keep 24-hour tabs on these individuals, but when information surfaced of his involvement in a crime he was immediately turned over to the investigating squad and I had no other contact with him. He was not the first one to violate this trust and I'm sure he will not be the last. What I find very telling is the fact that he died in prison," Bukowski added, signing off to a reporter with: "Be faithful to the truth."

Don't Edit

File photo / AP

Convicted mob boss John Gotti sits in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, listening to opening arguments in his trial in this Jan. 20, 1990. According to a source, John Bologna switched alliances between the Gambino crime family — which Gotti once led — to the Genovese faction.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Chapter 2: "I'm better than a made guy"

A former associate of Bologna who spoke on condition of anonymity said Bologna was known as a "puddle jumper" who switched alliances between the Gambino crime family to the Genovese faction. Bologna ultimately became Nigro's "right hand," according to court records, though Bologna had his own crew in Port Chester, the associate said.

According to the man — who lost touch with the burly gangster after Bologna entered the Witness Security Program in 2010 — Bologna resisted overtures to being formally inducted into the Mafia.

"I'm better than a made guy, JB would say," according to the associate. "JB thought once you were made it was like putting a target on your back for the Feds."

He said, and court records support, that Bologna owned a social club in Port Chester, where he held meetings and hosted high-stakes card games. The associate said Bologna once ordered him to go "destroy a car" owned by another man who opened another social club Bologna felt was in too close proximity.

"I set it on fire," the associate said. The club closed shortly after, he said, adding that it was not the first or the last time he wreaked havoc on behalf of Bologna, a benefactor whom he met at his father's restaurant in the 1980s.

Bologna seemed bigger than life, the associate recalled. He himself was dazzled by the "respect" paid to local wiseguys and was taken in by television and movies. The associate began taking bets for Bologna around 1990. While Bologna was not beyond ordering his crew to deliver beatings or commit arson, he was likable and recognized the value of good manners, according to his former crew member.

"He remembered to ask after everyone's family. Anyone who was in jail — they got a Christmas card from JB. Guys like that remember those things once they get out," the former associate said.

So, Bologna gained access to the meetings and dealings and gossip of the underworld up and down the East Coast. Big John also had "good connections" with local politicians, according to the associate.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Chapter 3: Bologna the historian

Included in the reams of FBI "302 reports" obtained by The Republican, a Sept. 23, 1996, account flagged an upcoming political fete "for the conservative party" at Alex and Henry's restaurant in Westchester County:

"Following that party there is going to be a private party at the home of Al Pirro, husband of (then) Westchester County DA (Jeanine Pirro). This party is by invitations only and the attendees will be businessmen as well as others. Source continued that other people connected to Pirro's dealings may also be present at the party ... Source further stated that Pirro was presently doing construction work in California and is also involved in a business deal with Donald Trump."

Indeed, the Pirros' wealth and influence in the New York Republican party was well-documented. Jeanine Pirro was once labeled "The Golden Girl of the New York GOP" by New York Magazine and one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People." Jeanine Pirro's promising political future was dogged by her husband's alleged ties to the mob and his philandering, according to published reports. Jeanine Pirro unsuccessfully challenged Hillary Clinton for her New York Senate seat in 2005.

Al Pirro, a real estate attorney, served time in prison for tax fraud. The couple split in 2007, and Jeanine Pirro is now featured on a Fox News show called "Justice with Judge Jeanine."

Bologna also detailed his involvement in New York's lucrative garbage hauling business, its storied link to the mob and infighting between investors and family members:

"Source stated that all the monies paid to Matthew 'Matty the Horse' Ianniello by (garbage carting magnate) Tommy Milo was paid in cash. Ianniello's 'boy' was Nick Milo (Tom Milo's brother). Nick was closer to Ianniello and in close contact with him every day. Tommy Milo was very mad at this close relationship between Ianniello and his brother. Source continued that when Ianniello went to jail, Tommy Milo brought the monies to Barney Ida. The exchange of monies took place in Lou Cherico's office."

In 1996, a sweeping federal indictment out of a New York federal court came down. The charges were aimed at the trash industry, its mob ties and bribery of local politicians. Tom Milo and several mob heads connected to the Gambino and Genovese crime families were ensnared. Ianniello, who died in 2012, had his hands in labor unions, adult entertainment and garbage, reports state.

Ianniello was once identified as acting boss for the Genovese family, succeeding Vincent "The Chin" Gigante when Gigante died in 2005. Ianniello was indicted several times for mob-related activities, but died at home after his last release in 2009.

New York attorney Louis Cherico — whose name is littered through the hundreds of pages of Bologna's reports — was convicted in a mortgage fraud scheme in 2012 and sentenced to one year and a day in prison. He argued at trial that he was only trying to help his clients.

Bologna was involved in "building the business" for Milton Sanitation and did that primarily by underbidding other companies, he told Bukowski. Bologna claimed he did not participate in extortion or pay any money to the "wise guys downtown." He nonetheless was paid $2,000 per week and received a company car and health benefits, he reported to the agent.

"Source further stated that if problems would arise due to territories or business moves, the problems were then taken to downtown New York City to be settled. Decisions made down there were never challenged by any of the 'wise guys' in Westchester County," Bologna told his handler.

Don't Edit

East Harlem's Rao's cookbook serves up spicy anecdotes with meatballs https://t.co/jk5PdVinvF pic.twitter.com/3Bl0yaDJMS — Eat in Harlem (@EatInHarlem) November 9, 2016

In addition to the maneuverings of mobsters within the ranks of their respective families, John Bologna provided information about a range of topics, such as the infamous wait list at the East Harlem restaurant Rao's.

Don't Edit

Chapter 4: Local color

In late 1996, Bologna informed the FBI there had been changes in regime in terms of Gambino mob captains. All had their eyes on a player they regarded as a vulnerable and well-known mark.

"Sonny Ciccone has taken over for Jimmy Brown's spot on 86th Street in Brooklyn. Joe Gambino has taken over 'Little Tony's' spot in New Jersey. Joe Gambino is 'head captain' out of Connecticut with Louie Rico and Tony Migal. '(Michael DiLeonardo) Mikey Scars' has taken over for Danny Marino in Brooklyn. 'Nicky Coraho' has taken over for his father 'Joe Butch's' spot. Craig DePalma has taken over for his father Greg DePalma," he reported to Bukowski.

"Source further stated that all four 'crews' are getting strong together to knock out John Gotti Jr. He is considered trouble and not smart enough to perform his job," one report stated.

After his father "The Dapper Don" or "Teflon Don," feared head of the Gambino family, went to prison in 1999, "Junior" Gotti assumed power — but published reports featuring his former running buddies show they privately considered him a simpleton and a coward.

Junior Gotti was tried four times in federal court, and prosecutors missed every time. They announced they had given up after his last trial in 2010. The lead prosecutor on his last trial in 2009 was Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Honig — the same prosecutor who headed up the first Bruno trial in Manhattan in 2011. Honig has since gone on to be New Jersey's top prosecutor at the state level.

In addition to the maneuverings of mobsters within the ranks of their respective families, Bologna provided local color that could only be offered up properly by an insider.

For instance, in 2005 Bologna reported on the business model of "Rao's," a wildly popular Italian restaurant on Pleasant Avenue in Harlem. The owner, the late Frank Pellegrino, died in late January. He was unapologetic about the organized crime control of the few tables in the small restaurant and its two-year waiting list.

According to Bologna, even the absurdly long wait list was a myth. In fact, it was longer.

"The individual (Bologna) stated that the restaurant is totally controlled by organized crime. The individual said the only way to get a reservation at a table is to be 'sponsored' by a Wise Guy," Bukowski wrote.

"The individual stated that if you can obtain the exact table a politician, celebrity or even a prominent doctor or lawyer sat at, you can tell exactly what Organized Crime family ties they may have, and even who would have to give the OK for them to get a table there. The individual added that recently Madonna walked in without a table and was turned away," Bukowski wrote of Bologna's account.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

File photos

According to one of John Bologna's accounts, in 2002 there were only six "made guys" in Springfield — including, left to right above, Albert "Baba" Scibelli, Adolfo Bruno and Anthony Delevo.

Don't Edit

Chapter 5: Welcome to Springfield

As for his first forays into Greater Springfield, Bologna began providing fragmented reports to his handler in 2002 about the players and the landscape.

There were only six "made guys" in Springfield including Bruno, Delevo (who died in prison in 2005), Albert "Baba" Scibelli (who died of an illness in 2012) and others whose names he claimed he did not know. Bologna portrayed his presence in Springfield merely as window dressing to help advertise Bruno's stock with New York City bosses, after Bruno's underlings became occasionally impertinent.

But in fact, Bologna was pocketing thousands in illegal proceeds derived from Springfield, he later disclosed to his handlers.

Many of the "rent" payments were coming from James Santaniello's bars, Bologna reported. The Longmeadow businessman's strip clubs and other spots had become longtime feeders for organized crime. Bologna said he had known Bruno for years, and that Bruno's reach extended far beyond Springfield.

"The individual further added that Bruno meets regularly with 'Louie Shanks' from Providence, Rhode Island and Carmine (last name unknown) the Consigliere from Boston. Bruno is also known to travel around Springfield with an older unknown individual who is reportedly a legitimate person, uninvolved with the business," Bukowksi write on Aug. 8, 2002, based on Bologna's accounting.

A month later, Bologna told the agent he had met with Bruno and Boston mob lawyer Anthony Cardinale. Bologna labeled Cardinale as a "loudmouth" and a braggart about his association to "wise guys" in the Boston area. The attorney even cited the chapter in which he appeared in the novel "Black Mass," which chronicles the collusion between Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger and a corrupt FBI agent.

Bologna continued "that there are two former FBI employees or agents that are reportedly providing information to Bruno and his people," without being more specific. Bukowski noted that he could not verify that information.

A month after that, Bologna reported that Bruno and Baba Scibelli were profit-sharing and providing financial backing for all the area's sports-betting and numbers businesses.

"(Bologna) said that 'Rico,' who is described as an older gentleman, makes the pick-ups of the 'works,' all the paperwork for the numbers business, from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Club. The individual added that they use the Massachusetts state lottery number as their number ... The individual added that there are many internal problems in the operations and the people involved," the account continued.

As the club was the site where Bruno was fatally shot one year later, one could read some foreshadowing into the report.

Bologna later reported that Patsy "Scop" Deluca, a Genovese captain from New York City, planned to travel to Springfield and stay at the Sheraton, where Bologna himself often slept, for the "making" of seven new members: two from Boston and five from New York, he said. The two from Boston were "Rooster" and Tony Volpe, Bologna reported.

The pair from Boston was later rejected because one reportedly had a drug problem and the other was "too old," according to Bologna, who also suggested induction may have been losing its cache.

"The individual added that the 'Family' has a new way to get rid of people they do not want around anymore. They promote them, believing they will draw attention to themselves by law enforcement, making them targets. This is easier than 'whacking them.' Law enforcement does their dirty work for them," he told his handler.

Don't Edit

File photo / Dave Roback, The Republican

Springfield detectives at the shooting scene of Adolfo "Al" Bruno in November 2003.

Don't Edit

Chapter 6: Bruno's last year

A March 2003 report includes more detail about the players in Greater Springfield. Mobsters were warned not to pester Santaniello too much, as he had a relative on the police force. The account referred to Santaniello's many business holdings with his wife, and referred to the ill-fated Gold Club in Chicopee as "Bruno's place, although he claimed to have two 'front men.'"

Bruno also established new "bag men" in Donald Hykel and Jake Nettis, Bruno's co-defendant in the botched 1981 murder of small-time New York hood Joseph Maruca. Bruno was acquitted at his second trial in 1994 in Hartford. Nettis was sentenced to nine-to-10 years for murder conspiracy.

"Nettis is in his mid-70s and brings in the 'ribbons and guns,'" Bologna noted.

The same report identifies former Western Massachusetts energy broker Michael Armitage as the "money man, backing the gambling and (loansharking) operations for Bruno. Armitage is allegedly worth approximately $500 to $600 million ... The individual indicated that Armitage would be a good person to approach and attempt to obtain his cooperation," Bukowski reports, based on Bologna's feedback.

Armitage was never charged with fronting money for Bruno, but was a frequent companion of Bruno at son Victor Bruno's Worthington Street bars and restaurants in the late 1990s — flashing cash, drinking heavily and buying rounds for other patrons.

Armitage was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for fraud and tax evasion in 2011 in connection with a handful of investment schemes. He was released in September 2016, according to records made public by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

He could not be reached for comment for this story.

The next report on Springfield, according to materials obtained by The Republican, was a brief accounting of Arillotta potentially being "made" in February of 2004 — three months after Bruno died in a hail of bullets in the social club's parking lot.

Oddly, there are no accounts or a whiff of gossip about the murder at that time from Bologna, who said he stopped coming to Springfield on Nigro's advice. Tranghese had been made acting boss, he told his handler, but Deluca was in charge.

Records show Bologna was quizzed by Bukowski about Roche after Roche's arrest in Florida in 2004, but he shrugged off the inquiry, saying he had never met him and knew nothing of the plot — a barefaced lie, subsequent records indicate.

Bologna continued to feed the FBI about new bosses and underbosses in the Gambino and Genovese crime families, plus a shady group of "Albanians" in 2005 and 2006. Danny Leo became the new Genovese boss in 2006, according to Bologna, with Mario Gigante as his acting underboss. Trash carting businesses were beginning to thrive again after former New York Gov. Rudy Giuliani's crackdown in the 1990s, Bologna reported.

In 2007, Bologna's briefings with Bukowski appear to end.

Don't Edit

File photo / The Republican

Anthony Arillotta in Hampden Superior Court in January 2008.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Chapter 7: Bologna is forced to "come clean"

Bologna's thick FBI file contains pages of hand-written notes from Jan. 18, 2010, after Arillotta's arrest and after Bologna had worn a wire during a meeting with Arillotta in an attempt to get him to talk about his involvement in Bruno's murder.

Arillotta didn't bite, according to court testimony, but it spooked him enough to cut his own deal with the government.

In the end, Arillotta was Bologna's undoing as much as Bologna was Arillotta's, according to Arillotta's testimony in two murder trials in 2011 and 2012.

Arillotta appeared as the government's star witness in the first trial of Nigro and the Geas brothers — all serving life sentences for murder conspiracy and other crimes — and the second trial of Emilio Fusco, a Longmeadow gangster serving 25 years in prison for racketeering.

Bologna never made it to the witness stand, given how testimony and court documents suggest he bamboozled the government and only came clean about his own crimes in dribs and drabs, and under duress. In turn, defense lawyers apparently thought calling him to the witness stand, with all his knowledge, was too much of a gamble.

According to a sentencing memo drafted by the government in 2013, Bologna was caught in a an illegal gaming ring in 2007. He ended up offering himself up to agents not only as an informant, but as a "cooperating witness" — a different level of collaboration that included wearing a wire on his friends and associates.

He identified as a Gambino associate for 30 years. However, he met Nigro in the late 1990s and became his driver for a time, he told FBI Agent Joy Adam, a New York city agent.

Nigro introduced Bologna to Bruno while they were mulling a deal over a trash dump in Ohio, according to FBI reports. The deal never materialized. However, Bologna spent more time at Bruno's side at Nigro's request, a 2010 report by Adam reads.

"Bruno was not being respected by his crew members, who were doing things without checking with him," Bologna told her. "Bruno used (Bologna) to show that Bruno had New York's backing."

Bologna traveled to Springfield nearly every weekend, identified new extortion marks, and shared in the profits, he ultimately admitted to Adam. Bruno's relationship with Nigro eventually began to sour and the ambitious Arillotta stoked the flames.

Shortly before Bruno's murder, Bologna and Arillotta met under the awning of a beauty parlor in Port Chester during a rainstorm, he told agents.

"Arillotta began complaining about Bruno and saying Bruno was a rat and Bruno was not paying the money that he should," according to Adam's report. "Arillotta told Bologna that Arillotta was told to do something."

Bologna ultimately admitted that he recognized only Nigro could have given the order to kill Bruno, knew Tranghese had been made acting capo in Springfield, and knew Arillotta had been "made." The shifts in power took place behind Bruno's back, Bologna told agents. Bologna considered these "red flags" that Bruno was not long for this world, he told agents.

Bologna also noted that Arillotta gave him some pricey cigars as thanks for his induction, and that he joined in urging Arillotta to have Bruno murdered.

"(Bologna) told Arillotta that Arillotta had been told something to do, so then Arillotta should do it," Adam's report reads.

Two weeks after Bruno's murder, Freddy Geas came to Bologna's club and whispered in a back room that "he had a guy named Frankie shoot Bruno ... four or five times, including being shot in the testicles," according to the records.

Nigro's reaction to Bruno's murder, according to Bologna: "F--- it, he's dead."

Don't Edit

A screen capture from the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Don't Edit

Chapter 8: Dueling informants

In 2003, when Bologna received a subpoena about the Bruno murder from Massachusetts State Police on his front steps, Nigro advised that "it would pass." And, it almost did.

Six years passed after Bruno's before law enforcement got a real break in the case that would result in its sweeping resolution: Arillotta came clean; truly clean. He confessed to many crimes involving Nigro and Bologna, which then led authorities to confront Bologna anew about minimizing his involvement in and outright lying about crimes.

For one, he neglected to mention the attempted 2003 murder of New York masonry union official Frank Dadabo, who was believed to have defected to the Luchese family after he had long been "Artie's guy."

Bologna was present when Nigro recruited Arillotta and the Geases to execute Dadabo and scouted Dadabo's neighborhood and car. Arillotta and Ty Geas shot Dadabo at point-blank range in May of 2003 as Dadabo was starting his car for his commute to work. But, Dadabo survived.

Arillotta testified that Nigro advised him to work on his head shots.

On the witness stand in 2011, Dadabo said he and Nigro remained friends and only had a slight disagreement — over Tony Bennett concert tickets. He never identified his shooters.

Bologna also left out an attempt on Nigro's life. During his own information dump with law enforcement officials, Arillotta said that, in retrospect, Bologna was adept at creating strife among mobsters where there had previously been none.

A federal prosecutor wrote in Bologna's sentencing memo that Bologna had been afforded many opportunities to "come clean."

But, clean was never his style.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Additional coverage

See a selection of the FBI documents here »

Don't Edit