http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/40962.htm

it says they're being charged with murder conspiracy as well...wow, gosh...all this time, i didn't think conspiracies existed...but i guess it's just other peoples' conspiracies...we all know people in positions in governments in history have never conspired to do anything bad to anyone.


FEDS: BADGES SHIELDED MOB

By KATI CORNELL SMITH, LARRY CELONA and ANDY GELLER
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March 11, 2005 -- Two brazen former NYPD detectives led secret lives as Mafia hit men, whacking one wiseguy, delivering another for execution and passing on confidential information that led to the coldblooded murders of six others, prosecutors said yesterday.
In their most outrageous action, Louis Eppolito, 56 ?? who wrote the book "Mafia Cop" and acted in the movie "GoodFellas" ?? and Stephen Caracappa, 63, rubbed out Eddie Lino, a Gambino family capo, for $65,000, the feds said.

Almost as unthinkable, the dirty duo received $35,000 for delivering Gambino soldier James Hydell for execution by Luchese family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso.

Gaspipe believed that Lino, Hydell and two other men carried out a Sept. 14, 1986, attempt on his life and was hot for revenge.

Lino pulled the trigger in the fabled hit on Gambino boss Paul Castellano outside Sparks steakhouse on Dec. 16, 1985 ?? a killing that brought John Gotti to the top of the storied mob family.

At Gaspipe's request, the ex-cops also tried ?? but failed ?? to rub out Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano, the mob canary whose testimony put the Dapper Don behind bars for life.

And they were DumbFellas as well as GoodFellas ?? providing bad information that resulted in the tragic, mistaken-ID slaying of a mildly retarded man.



In all, Eppolito and Caracappa ?? one squat and loud, the other thin and quiet ?? were charged under racketeering laws with eight murders, two attempted murders, murder conspiracy, obstruction of justice, drug distribution and money laundering.

If convicted, they could spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

"These corrupt former detectives betrayed their shields, their colleagues, and the citizens they were sworn to protect," said Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf. "They used the confidential files of the NYPD as their personal yellow pages."

Eppolito ?? the son, grandson and nephew of mobsters with nicknames like "Fat the Gangster" and "Jimmy the Clam" ?? has had bit parts in movies, including playing Fat Andy in "GoodFellas."

He and Caracappa were busted Wednesday night in a restaurant off the Strip in Las Vegas, where they moved after retiring from the force in 1990 and 1992. They live across the street from each other on Silver Bear Way.

Cops did not try to bust them in their homes because Eppolito has a collection of more than 200 guns, sources said.

At a hearing in Las Vegas federal court last night, the two did not enter pleas, and the hearing was adjourned until today so their lawyers could have time to argue against the prosecution's request for no bail.

"The government is relying on the word of rats," snapped Caracappa's lawyer David Chesnoff.

Gaspipe, serving life for murder, raised the charges against Eppolito and Caracappa in 1994, but authorities felt he wasn't reliable. They now have a new witness.

According to federal and state prosecutors and court papers, Gaspipe placed the detectives on his payroll after the September 1986 hit attempt, paying them a retainer of $4,000 a month each, with more for extra services.

He called them his "crystal ball," sources said.

Using their NYPD resources ?? Caracappa was a founder of the Organized Crime Homicide Unit ?? the dirty duo determined the strike was carried out by a four-man Gambino crew, the feds say.

They identified Hydell as one of the crew, and in October 1986, they allegedly kidnapped Hydell, stuffed him into the trunk of a car and delivered him to Casso.

The underboss tortured Hydell until he gave up the names of the three others and then was murdered. His body has never been found.

Casso bragged he did the killing himself, shooting Hydell 15 times, sources said.

The detectives allegedly got $35,000 "extra" for their chilling efforts.

The next victim, Nicholas Guido, who was mildly retarded, was tragically slain in a case of mistaken identify.

The real target, also named Nicholas Guido, was a Gambino associate who lived in the same neighborhood, but was three years older.

The dirty duo fingered the wrong man, feds say. On Christmas Day, 1986, Casso dispatched a hit team to the wrong Nicholas Guido and he was murdered.

Nevertheless, Gaspipe gave the detectives a contract to kill Bartolomeo "Bobby" Boriello, a Gambino soldier who was supposed to be part of the hit crew.

But the pair had to abandon their efforts when a fellow cop discovered they were searching for Boriello, according to prosecutors.

Still, they allegedly gave Gaspipe information about Boriello's whereabouts plus an audio cassette in which the Gambino soldier repeatedly threatened the underboss and his family.

On May 13, 1991, Boriello was murdered.

In November 1992, the detectives allegedly accepted a $65,000 contract from Gaspipe to murder Lino, the last member of the hit squad.

Eppolito had retired from the NYPD, but Caracappa was still on the force.

On Nov. 6, 1990, the two allegedly followed Lino from his social club, pulled his Mercedes over on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn and killed him. Caracappa pulled the trigger, sources say.

The pair also tried to kill Gravano because Gaspipe thought he was linked to the four, but gave up, feds say. The pair also allegedly helped the underboss eliminate mobsters he thought were cooperating with the feds, including John "Otto" Heidel and James "Jimmy" Bishop, an official in the Painters Union Local 37.

Eppolito and Caracappa met in 1979 when they were both working in Brooklyn robbery.

Joseph Ponzi, the Brooklyn district attorney's chief investigator, and retired detective Thomas Dades, revived the investigation two years ago.

Additional reporting by Murray Weiss and Bob Shemeligian in Las Vegas
pisshead Reviewed by pisshead on . FEDS: BADGES SHIELDED MOB http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/40962.htm it says they're being charged with murder conspiracy as well...wow, gosh...all this time, i didn't think conspiracies existed...but i guess it's just other peoples' conspiracies...we all know people in positions in governments in history have never conspired to do anything bad to anyone. FEDS: BADGES SHIELDED MOB By KATI CORNELL SMITH, LARRY CELONA and ANDY GELLER Rating: 5