cannabisnews.com: Pot Ring Busted by Feds! 





Pot Ring Busted by Feds! 
Posted by FoM on February 06, 1999 at 05:48:33 PT

Federal prosecutors have busted up a Marijuana ring that operated two stash houses out of apartments in Bay Ridge, authorities said yesterday.
Couriers for the ring usually traveled to Las Vegas to pick up bulk packages of marijuana that had been smuggled from Tucson, Ariz. The marijuana was then brought back to Bay Ridge, where it was packaged and sold, authorities said. Court papers did not specify the addresses of the apartments, but law enforcement sources said one was on 80th St. and one on 95th St.. Among the 10 people charged is a reputed mobster who, prosecutors said, gained entrance into the Gambino crime family by carrying out a murder for Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano.Frank Fappiano, 36, isn't charged with murder, but prosecutors cited his alleged role in the 1990 slaying of Eddie Garofalo in a letter filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.The letter, seeking a warrant for agents who arrested Fappiano at his Staten Island home, said he and another man shot Garofalo as Gravano watched.Defense lawyer James DiPietro railed over the contents of the letter, pointing out that Fappiano has not been charged with the killing. "He vehemently insists upon his innocence," said DiPietro. "Frank Fappiano is not a violent person. He has no prior criminal history."He also said Fappiano, who's been collecting disability since a 1991 car accident, deplores drugs.The warrant letter, however, paints a different picture, saying authorities learned about the Garofalo shooting from Gravano — the Gambino underboss-turned-informer. The letter describes Fappiano as a Gambino soldier.Garofalo's daughter, Laura, is suing Gravano for wrongful death in an effort to seize the profits of his best-selling book, "Underboss." The letter also says agents are investigating Fappiano's alleged role in the March 1995 killing of Joey Scarpa, son of FBI mob informant Gregory Scarpa.Joey Scarpa was allegedly killed for robbing the 95th St. stash house in 1995.Fappiano pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and is due in court for a bail hearing today.
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