Saturday, December 10, 2005

DeLay and Abramoff and the Sopranos

Reported by me previously, the story of Jack Abramoff's wiseguys getting a recalcitrant business deal moved forward in their favor by bumping off the recalcitrant business owner has taken a turn for the worse (if you're the bad guys, that is):

According to an article just posted in the (South Florida) Sun-Sentinal, Adam Kidan looks set to flip and testify against Abramoff in the SunCruz case down in Florida.

A "change of plea" hearing has been set for December 15th.

Here's something I don't quite get, though. As we've noted many times before, there's at least some very suggestive evidence that Kidan played a role in the death of Gus Boulis, the guy he and Jack bought SunCruz from.

Even that is a bit generous: Kidan was in a feud with Boulis that had already led to one physical altercation between the two men. Then or around that time Kidan, who has a history of Mafia associations, puts three known mobsters on the SunCruz payroll, hiring them as either caterers or 'security consultants' or both. Then those three guys mow Boulis down in a gangland-style hit.

You know, call me suspicious.

That is Josh's summary, but the Sun-Sentinel article has a bit I want to excerpt just for the nicknames:

By November 2000, Kidan had contacted an old friend, Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello. Moscatiello had signed a contract with SunCruz to be a "catering consultant" at $25,000 a month, according to court records. Kidan said he thought Boulis was going to kill him, according to statements Moscatiello gave police. Moscatiello, a known associate of the late crime boss John Gotti, promised to smooth things over.

Moscatiello put Kidan in touch with Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, who ran "Moon Over Miami Beach," a company that, among other things, is described in records as a security firm. One of the men who worked for Ferrari was James "Pudgy" Fiorillo. In September, Moscatiello, Ferrari and Fiorillo were indicted in Boulis' murder. Kidan has not been charged in the case.

Frankly, David Chase has written better subplots.

So, if you're caught up with your reading, you now know that Jack Abramoff, someone whom Tom DeLay has described as one of his "closest and dearest friends", has been implicated in a mob hit, and the mobster who 'allegedly' ordered the hit is about to flip.

I think we're out of popcorn. Will these mixed nuts do?