Feds: Mobster ordered killing of Yonkers man he thought was a 'rat' stealing from him

Jonathan Bandler | The Journal News

Show Caption Hide Caption Video: Mobbed up in the Lower Hudson Valley The indictment by state prosecutors this week is just the latest brush with La Cosa Nostra for the Lower Hudson Valley

Feds say motive in '97 slay was that John Tortora thought Richard Ortiz was a "rat" who was stealing from Tortora's business

Richard Ortiz was stabbed to death outside The Mill tavern on Lockwood Avenue on Nov.11, 1997

Tortora is accused of hiring Ortiz's killers,who have not been identified

Tortora's lawyer insists his client did not know Ortiz and had nothing to do with the killing

Federal authorities suspect reputed Genovese mobster John Tortora Jr. ordered a Yonkers hit in 1997 because he thought the target was an informant who was stealing from his gambling business.

Tortora, 61, known as Johnny T., was arrested by the FBI and Yonkers police Thursday following his indictment on racketeering and murder charges.

He is accused of hiring others to kill Richard Ortiz, who was stabbed multiple times outside a Lockwood Avenue bar near his home on Nov. 11, 1997.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Fender cited the defendant's possible motives Thursday when she argued successfully against bail for Tortora in federal court in Manhattan.

The case was investigated for several years by the Yonkers police cold-case squad and turned over to federal authorities because of the suspected involvement of organized crime.

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Murray Richman, Tortora's lawyer, said his client did not know Ortiz, did not run a gambling business and had no involvement in the killing.

While prosecutors told him they have had evidence linking Tortora to gambling and loansharking activity since 2005, Richman said he suspects they more recently obtained an informant.

"Do you necessarily believe someone who may have gotten themselves in trouble and is now trying to help themselves by making claims against my client?" Richman asked.

Tortora is accused of being involved in illegal gambling, extortion and drug trafficking and is charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering and murder for hire.

The two murder charges carry maximum sentences of life in prison or the death penalty. It could take months before the U.S.Department of Justice decides whether to seek capital punishment.

In another mob-related case awaiting trialin federal court in White Plains, the government in May opted not to seek the death penalty against five Lucchese crime family members - Stephen Crea, Stephen Crea Jr., Matthew Madonna, Christopher Londonio and Terrence Caldwell - for their alleged involvement in the 2013 murder of a Lucchese associate in the Bronx.

Twitter: @jonbandler