WEBVTT - 5 - The Commission Trial Begins 0:00:02.680 --> 0:00:06.240 You're listening to Law and Order Criminal Justice System, a 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:09.720 production of Wolf Entertainment and iHeart podcasts. 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:16.920 In the criminal justice system, landmark trials transcend the courtroom 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:20.400 to reshape the law. The brave many women who investigate 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.280 and prosecute these cases are part of a select group 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:32.280 that is defined American history. These are their stories. December sixteenth, 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:35.320 nineteen eighty five, Midtown, Manhattan. 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.760 The bullets that ended Big Paul Castellano's life last night 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:42.000 may very well have been a payoff for getting into 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:43.320 such trouble with the Feds. 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.000 I was there that night, the night that he was murdered. 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:51.919 Former FBI agent Jim Kostler was meeting with Bob Blakey 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:55.680 and Rudy Giuliani at an event at NYU. The topic 0:00:55.720 --> 0:01:00.280 of conversation the biggest criminal trial against organized crime. I'm 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:01.560 in New York City history. 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:04.720 We were having the cocktails and it was all kinds 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:09.160 of brass from the NYPD and various district attorney's offices there, 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:10.320 and all of a sudden. 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.640 Bells go off and beepers go off. I get it called. 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:18.000 You know, Costellano has been murdered up at the Sparks Steakhouse. 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:21.960 Paul Castellano was the reputed boss of the Gambino crime 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.319 family and one of the most important defendants in the 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:26.959 upcoming case against the mob. 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:30.319 So I grabbed my boss and we get in the 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:32.080 car and we go up there. We missed the dinner. 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:34.800 We were right there in the thick of things. Whenever 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:37.959 the bodies were still laying on the street. Tommy Billotti 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:40.520 was laying out in the middle of the street. Castellana 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:42.959 was laying with his head down in the gutter right 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:46.039 next to the car. People everywhere, because you know, it 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:48.560 was at five o'clock at night and people were going home. 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:49.880 It was chaos. 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:53.240 As the reputed head of the crime Commission and the 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:56.400 godfather of the Gambino family, his appearance in court every 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:59.960 day and the preoccupation with his defense were bad for business. 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:05.240 Yes, the evidence accumulated against Castellano was a lynchpin in 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.720 the government's case, but his murder might turn it all 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:09.920 upside down. 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:21.600 You're not with the mob because you want to be. 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:25.320 It's the gangster that decides whether you're his associated. 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:28.680 On if you like your life, you will vote to acquit. 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:32.680 I'm anisee and Nicolazzi, my father should have been a 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:38.080 dead man from Wolf Entertainment and iHeart podcasts. This is 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:47.320 Law and Order criminal justice system. It had taken years 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:50.959 to assemble the case against the Commission. Now, just months 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.960 before the trial was set to begin, a key defendant, 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:58.040 Paul Castellano, had been gunned down in the street, a 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:01.400 stark reminder of the high stay for both the criminals 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:06.440 and those prosecuting their crimes. Paul Castellano and his newly 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:10.280 appointed underboss, Thomas Bollotti, had just pulled up in front 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:13.480 of Sparks Steakhouse for dinner. They were about to get 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:17.160 out of their car when assassins opened fire from close range, 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:20.000 killing both Castellano and Ballotti. 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:24.560 And obviously that ended his participation in the trial. 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:29.200 Michael Cherdoff was the lead prosecutor, just thirty two years 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.920 old at the time and facing off against the most 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:36.640 infamous figures in organized crime. Michael immediately knew the effect 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:41.400 Castellano's murder could have on their case. There were mountains 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.840 of evidence connecting the Gambino boss to the wider criminal 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:48.560 enterprise of the Commission, but all that evidence was now 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:53.840 potentially out the window. The prosecution needed to regroup and fast. 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:56.920 We had to really make sure that we kicked the 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:00.760 tires on everything and it was all solid, and that 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:04.320 kind of nervousness and anxiety is a great motivator in 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:08.240 terms of making sure you are doubling down on how 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:12.200 careful and how meticulous you are in both the factual 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:14.440 and illegal construction of the case. 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:17.840 There were three main goals in this trial, and it 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:21.479 wasn't going to be easy. One prove that the Mafia 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:25.680 and the Commission existed in the first place. Remember, for decades, 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:28.960 members of organized crime had dismissed the Mafia as a myth, 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:32.080 but now Michael had the receipts in the form of 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:37.120 wire tabs and testimony from cooperating witnesses. Two, Michael and 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:39.240 his young team of attorneys had to prove it the 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:45.039 remaining defendants, including Fat Tony Salerno, Tony Dux, Carlo Carmine Persico, 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:48.120 and some of their underlings, were indeed members of the 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:51.400 Mob's governing body, or that they conspired to carry out 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:56.039 its orders. And three, that their illegal influence included the 0:04:56.080 --> 0:05:02.080 control of major industries like concrete, construction and sanitation. Owen 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:05.960 one more thing, to prove the Commission conspired to murder 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:10.720 fellow mob boss Carmen Gallanti. Taken together, it was a 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:14.919 massive undertaking, especially considering that there was no one on 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:18.720 the prosecution team over the age of thirty two, and 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.320 they were up against the elder statesman of the mafia 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:24.960 crime bosses that had collectively spent over one hundred and 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:29.440 fifty years in organized crime. But as Michael explains, they 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:31.760 had assembled mounds of damning evidence. 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:36.520 We had witnesses, including a couple of contractors who had 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.880 paid the mob because they were required to, and they 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:42.479 kind of put a human face on what this was. 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:47.160 We had the tapes which had very explicit discussions about 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:51.840 shaking down contractors and getting money for concrete projects. We 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:55.520 also had a former boss of the Cleveland La co 0:05:55.520 --> 0:06:00.480 Osnostra family named Angelo Leonardo, who had been convicted in 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:03.919 another case years before it had turned state's evidence and 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:09.360 was cooperating with us. So we had multiple levels of evidence, 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:12.080 and by tying them all together and showing how they 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:16.040 cross referenced, that gives you a good measure of credibility. 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:21.080 But as Paul Castelano's murder proved, there were no guarantees. 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:25.159 Well, you're most nervous about are the witnesses. Are the 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:28.080 witnesses going to wind up being able to tell a 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:31.680 coherent story? Are they going to wither under cross examination? 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:33.279 Are they going to be able to stand up? 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:36.839 And are they even going to stay alive long enough 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:37.520 to testify? 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.359 Virtually no one who wanted to be a witness in 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:43.840 this case, as you can imagine. 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:48.600 That's Attorney Gil Childers, the Brooklyn prosecutor that had been 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:51.040 called in to help try some of the world's most 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:52.240 dangerous gangsters. 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.000 Even if it's the most innocuous testimony, who wants to 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.160 possibly get any of these people mad at you? There 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.000 was a lot of hand holding, a lot of cajoling, 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:05.520 a lot of pushing people to get them to testify 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.560 and make them understand that, you know, look, we can 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:10.720 do what we can to partake you, but you don't 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:11.600 really have a choice here. 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:16.560 For years, the mob had used intimidation and violence to 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:20.520 keep witnesses out of the courtroom and themselves out of jail. 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:24.239 But the government was ready to flex their muscles as well. 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:28.400 And while young, the prosecutors were a virtual dream team 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:31.720 of talent. Here's John Savay's. 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:36.960 Michael was the most senior person, and it was therefore 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:41.760 pretty well understood that he would make the opening statement 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:43.200 on behalf of the government. 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.200 John knew that Michael Chertoff would set a clear tone 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.840 and that no matter the experience or reach of the defendants, 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:56.280 prosecutors would not be intimidated. Only thirty one, John was 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:59.720 already an accomplished Harvard law graduate and a former clerk 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.960 to a Supreme Court justice, a clear up and comer 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:06.520 in the US Attorney's office, and Giuliani was confident he'd 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:09.600 be a strong addition to this team. The third in 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:13.720 their trio guild Childers. He had the trial experience needed 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:15.440 and would round out the team. 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:18.720 He brought to the table something that Michael and I 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:22.880 did not have, which is all of the forensics and 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:28.360 expertise around the triple murder that was a chief part 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:29.160 of the case. 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:34.000 I certainly had a tremendous advantage and luxury of having 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:38.000 two great lawyers who were very steeped in federal criminal 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:42.120 practice being my teammates. But when you're examining a witness, 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:44.160 you're up there, I'll say. 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:49.320 Alone, alone except for the alleged mobsters steering a hole 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:52.280 in his back and the scores of press outside the 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.400 courtroom that would be reporting on the trials every move. 0:08:56.200 --> 0:08:59.200 For the young prosecutors, it would be a baptism by fire. 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:04.800 This is the most important organized crime case arguably ever. 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:07.440 You certainly didn't want to be known as the three 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:11.440 guys who let the mob get off. 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:15.880 John had similar apprehensions, but he was also aware of 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:17.199 the unique opportunity. 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:21.319 We knew we were young. None of us had been 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:24.440 a prosecutor all that long, and there were moments where 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:26.640 we would, the three of us, we'd look at each 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:28.680 other and sort of feel like, I have to pinch 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:32.480 myself that we're actually getting to do this. 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:35.720 This case could make or break their young careers, not 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:39.000 to mention the career of their ambitious boss, Rudy Giuliani, 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:42.480 who was staking his inevitable run for the Mayor's office 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:45.120 on his promised takedown of the New York Mob. 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:50.200 And as the trial got closer and closer, that feeling 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.760 was very strong. But at the same time, we were 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:58.480 also working just ferociously hard. I mean just months and 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:02.120 months and months of seven day weeks, with each day 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:05.200 being fifteen sixteen hours low. 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:08.679 You know, you know the stakes, You're high, You're really 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:13.360 operating on adrenaline and will power to make sure you 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.280 are focused, because important than you want to make sure 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:18.400 is you don't want to make any mistakes. Somebody you 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:21.840 could undermine the case, factually or legally, so you have 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:22.920 to have your wits about you. 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:28.840 Michael Chertoff, Guild Childers, and John Savay's ready to take 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:32.680 on the challenge. But what about the risks? As the 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:37.200 murder of Castellano proved, even the bosses weren't immune from danger, 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:39.640 And do you know who else had caused for concern 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:45.559 members of the jury. As you might recall from our 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:50.199 first episode, in a previous trial against Banano boss Carmi Galanti, 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:53.480 one jury format was thrown down a flight of stairs, 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:57.959 resulting in a mistrial. Prosecutors knew it would be tough 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.880 to convince the jury to serve in a trial against 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:03.040 the city's most ruthless criminals. 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:05.559 They may turn out to be the biggest series of 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.320 mob trials in US history, but first the trials have 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:10.800 to begin, and what's slowing that process down is the 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:14.000 actual selection of the jury itself. Over three thousand potential 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:16.560 jurors have been called by the government, more than four 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:19.680 times the usual number. The US Attorney also asked for 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:22.440 and got anonymity for the jury, saying he feared the 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:24.359 mob would try to get to them. 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:28.320 As a rule, trial juries are not secret. Attorneys review 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:32.960 potential jurors names, occupations, and backgrounds to try and eliminate 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:37.080 potential bias. But his Gil Childers explains this case and 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:40.600 these particular defendants called for extraordinary measures. 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:47.479 The legal justification for anonymous jury really is concerning the press. 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:50.760 Very frankly, the judges instructed the jury that the reason 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:53.320 they're being pictononymously. 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:56.160 Is that he's concerned about the media trying to interview 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:57.400 them during the course of the trial. 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.199 But there was also the uncle spoken reason of juror 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:05.840 safety from potential bribery, coercion, or even violence. 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:10.079 Certainly, you can't tell the jury that the reason we're 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:13.040 holding your names from the public is because these guys 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:14.040 may try. 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:14.640 And kill you. 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:19.520 After jury selection, their safety became a top priority for 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:20.480 the federal government. 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:25.400 The US Marshall Service would take them all and drop 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:29.760 them off in one or two points of a transportation access, 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.280 so they'd take them to the Grand Central or Defend 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:36.360 station or a Porterfari bus terminal. Places where they did that, 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:39.640 they would be melting in with folks, and it would 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:42.640 be difficult to try and trace someone going home. 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:46.760 But as the trial was said to begin, the security 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:51.200 of everyone involved was just one of many challenges, because 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:54.720 the government's all star team of young prosecutors weren't the 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:58.240 only ones preparing for battle. Just as they'd been doing 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:01.679 for over a century. The Five Families were prepared to 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:05.640 do anything to protect their criminal kingdoms, and they weren't 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:22.800 going down without a fight. On September eighth, nineteen eighty six, 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:24.720 the Commission trial began. 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:27.680 Federal government says, if you want to know about the 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:30.920 mob and its rackets and shakedowns and robots, you should 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:33.800 ask a handful of men known as the Commission. They're 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:36.000 on trial starting today in a Brooklyn courtroom. 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:39.520 The cast of the Commission trial three alleged bosses of 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:43.280 organized crime families Anthony Tony Ducks Corlo of the Lukeesi 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:47.080 crime family, Anthony fat Toni Slano of the Genevese family, 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.800 and Carmine the Snake Persico, who allegedly runs the Columbo 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:53.720 crime empire. This is the first time the ruling Commission 0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:54.880 has been put on trial. 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:59.520 On the steps of the Manhattan Federal Courthouse, swarms of 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:03.040 report and cameras waited and watched as each car pulled 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:08.120 up one after another, the defendants arrived. Their names and 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:11.559 reputations had been whispered about for years, but this was 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.199 the first time many in the public had ever laid 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:17.040 eyes on some of the most notorious figures in the 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:20.920 New York underworld. The defendants slipped out of their cars 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:24.160 and quickly moved up the steps, their lawyers and bodyguards 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:28.640 keeping away the press. Inside the courtroom was a scene 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:33.080 for the history books. Mafia bosses, their underbosses, and all 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:36.960 manner of minions, soldiers and enforcers assembled in one room, 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:40.440 and predictably, most of them were dressed to the nines. 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:41.960 Here's Gil Childers. 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:46.680 The younger guys were coming in like Valentino suits, tie 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:50.640 bars and gorgeous ties and pocket squares. Then you had 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:54.880 Thatt Tony Soleardo, who would be in a sportcoat, collared 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:57.760 shirt buttoned all the way to the top, no tie. 0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:59.880 You know, when he was outside, he'd have this little 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:00.920 for Dora on. 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:04.760 For a public well acquainted with the mafia from the 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:08.960 Godfather movies, The defendant's appearances were often as intriguing as 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:12.800 the case itself. After all, the slick suited image of 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:16.320 the Hollywood mafio so was a lasting part of pop culture, 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:20.040 and the stars of this trial did not disappoint their audience. 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:24.280 In the Daily News and the New York Post, they 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:29.000 actually had a mob fashion column talking about how the 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:32.680 mob guys were dressed. We're trying these guys because they 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:36.920 extort people. They're filled with violence, they murder people. And 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:40.800 the newspapers are talking about what color suit they were wearing. 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:42.920 Did the tie really matched the suit, and did the 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:47.080 shoes and socks go with a suit? It was weird. 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:51.479 The baggy eyed man in the suit is Carmine Junior Persico, 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.520 and the camera shine man in the handcuffs is Anthony. 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:01.080 They may look like grandfathers, but I says they are 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:05.440 godfathers on trial for being members of the Mafiast ruling Council, 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:06.479 the Commission. 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:11.040 The courtroom was full to the brim. The young prosecutors 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:12.640 had never seen anything like it. 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:17.320 Well. The case attracted a huge amount of press attention, 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.520 and when the trial was first getting underway, the courtroom 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:26.160 was absolutely packed with spectators and a lot of press, 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:31.280 and that obviously creates a kind of electric atmosphere in 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:34.280 a courtroom. It was being conducted in one of the 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:40.040 large ceremonial courtrooms. My recollection of day one was walking 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:43.080 in and realizing we were going to be putting on 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:46.560 this trial in front of a very large audience. 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:49.920 For Gill and the rest of the team, it was 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:52.840 by far the biggest case any of them had ever handled. 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:56.880 Their every move and every possible mistake would be broadcast 0:16:56.880 --> 0:16:57.800 to the watching world. 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:03.400 There were daily press reports. Frequently, there was television news coverage. 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:06.040 You know that if you screw up, your name's going 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:07.720 to be in the paper for a bad reason the 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:08.280 next day. 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:12.680 Michael Chertoff would be the first one to take center stage. 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:16.960 On the morning of September eighteenth, nineteen eighty six, he 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.320 addressed the jury to give his opening statement. 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:25.080 In some ways, it's so consequential that you don't have 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:27.639 time to be nervous, to think about yourself. You're just 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:30.520 thinking about how do I present this to the jury 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:34.520 in a way that is understandable, that covers a significant 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.960 amount of evidence, it doesn't bog down in detail. And 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:41.000 also to make it clear what the stakes are, that 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:43.800 this is not just a routine case, but that you're 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:47.000 talking about the board of directors of the American Mafia, 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:50.639 the largest criminal organization in American history. 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.879 The prosecution intended to prove that the Commission was a 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:59.600 criminal enterprise and that each defendant committed multiple acts of racketeering. 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:03.679 I told you early on in my opening, this is 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:08.000 the largest and most vicious criminal business in the history 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:10.920 of the United States. And I went on to say 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:16.439 the Commission was dominated by a single principle, greed. And 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:20.280 I think those two statements from my opening Encapsuley what 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.119 the nature of the Commission and the American Mafia was. 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:26.920 In his opening remarks, Federal Prosecutor Michael Chertoff told the 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.240 jury that the Commission has been the governing body of 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:31.920 the Mafia all a cost in Austra for the last 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.760 thirty years. He said that on a government audio tape 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:38.400 fact Tony Solano describes a Commission as a sacred thing. 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:42.560 Michael made it clear that the Mafia had a devastating 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:46.119 impact on the lives and livelihoods of everyday citizens. 0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:51.159 He said Commission members rule over mafia activities, particularly the 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:54.520 concrete industry, with the power of an iron fist covered 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:56.960 by a velvet glove, and he says he has video 0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:59.840 and audio tapes to prove it. He says, unlike TV 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:02.879 and the movies, their threats to extort money are subtle 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:04.280 and unpleasant. 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:09.119 But just like in the movies, their methods were cruel, ruthless, 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:15.120 and often deadly. After Michael delivered his opening statement, it 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:19.440 was the defense's turn, and defense attorney Samuel Dawson did 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:22.600 something that no one in the courtroom ever saw coming. 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:26.720 In an unusual move, one of the defense attorneys admits 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:29.639 all of the defendants in this case are members of 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:30.320 the mafia. 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:35.399 In an effort to undermine one of the prosecution's main arguments, 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:39.359 the defense launched a preemptive attack. He admitted to the 0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:43.560 packed courtroom that the mafia did exist. Here's the defense 0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:45.200 attorney speaking to reporters. 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:48.840 We've told the jury that people are members of it. 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:51.639 But just as you heard me say, each one of 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:55.280 those jurors coming to this courtroom with all the beliefs, impressions, 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:57.679 or opinions about the mafia or whatever they think it is, 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:00.879 they pledged to us that they would put that side 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:04.320 and decide whether these men from the mafia in this 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:06.960 case did the crimes charged in this. 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:12.080 Case Dawson even confirmed the existence of the Commission and 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:16.360 its role as the mafia's governing body. However, he denied 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:20.359 a conspire to extort the concrete industry, claiming instead that 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:23.800 its function was to approve new members and settle disputes. 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:28.440 Former FBI agent Charlotte Lang remembers the shock they all 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:30.120 felt as he delivered his statement. 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:34.280 I can remember looking at your top. His mouth was 0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:37.399 wide open, and we were like, are you kidding me? 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:41.840 Because we had such excellent evidence that there was such 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:44.600 a thing as the Commission In Organized. 0:20:44.200 --> 0:20:49.399 Crime, John Savaye remembers thinking that the defense's daring strategy 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:52.040 was a smart play for a savvy jury. 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:56.800 It was obviously a bold move on that lawyer's part, 0:20:57.200 --> 0:21:02.800 but I certainly understand the stratug He made the tactical judgment, 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:06.600 I'm not going to try to eat up my credibility 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:10.240 with the jury by contesting something that's going to seem 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:13.159 so obvious to the jury. By the end of this trial. 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:18.840 The next big surprise when one of the defendants, Carmin Persico, 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:22.600 decided he would forego a defense attorney and represent himself 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:24.200 in the biggest trial of his life. 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:28.719 Carmine the Snake Persicoe, alleged boss of a Colombo crime family, 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:32.680 acting as his own attorney, stood to address the jury. 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:36.160 He approached the jury box, took off his glasses, smiled, 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:39.399 and said, my name is Carmin Persicoe. I am not 0:21:39.720 --> 0:21:43.119 a lawyer, he said, I'm a defendant. The government has 0:21:43.160 --> 0:21:47.360 to prove I'm guilty. He mock anticipated government witnesses against him. 0:21:47.640 --> 0:21:50.399 Referring to paid informants, he said they have contracts with 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:53.440 the government. Looking at the jury, he said the government 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:56.880 pays for them with your money and my freedom. 0:21:57.480 --> 0:21:59.959 Persico spoke to the jury with a mix of indignate 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:03.960 and folksy street charm, saying he intended to undermine the 0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:08.520 government's case by exposing an alleged bias, corruption, and illegal 0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:12.440 investigative methods. Here's Michael Carmine. 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:16.560 Perscoe was the one who was the most personally antagonistic. 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:21.320 Persco would occasionally demonstrate his anger or his disdain. 0:22:22.560 --> 0:22:25.760 There's an old saying about the defendant who represents himself 0:22:25.800 --> 0:22:28.359 in court that he has a fool for a client. 0:22:29.119 --> 0:22:32.280 But in cases as meticulously prepared as this one, no 0:22:32.440 --> 0:22:35.880 surprise is a good surprise, and managing a wild card 0:22:35.960 --> 0:22:40.959 like Carmine Persico would keep prosecutors on their toes again 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:43.800 and again. They would have to rely on their biggest, 0:22:43.960 --> 0:22:50.399 most effective weapon, the evidence, witness, testimony, surveillance, and especially 0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:54.320 recorded wiretaps, and they would start with the classic that 0:22:54.440 --> 0:22:57.720 dated all the way back to nineteen fifty seven, the 0:22:57.920 --> 0:23:04.840 infamous Appalachan Commission meet. You may remember that the Appalachan 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:08.080 Meeting in upstate New York was a historic summit of 0:23:08.240 --> 0:23:12.919 organized crime bosses. Law enforcement broke it up, sending Vito Genevi's, 0:23:13.080 --> 0:23:16.760 Carlo Gambino and Paul Castelano running through the woods. 0:23:17.720 --> 0:23:20.159 Of course, it caused a lot of belly aching from 0:23:20.240 --> 0:23:23.640 defense council. Who cares what happened in nineteen fifty seven? 0:23:23.880 --> 0:23:25.840 Is that what they're charged with? And of course the 0:23:25.880 --> 0:23:28.480 answer to that is yes, they are charged for that 0:23:28.520 --> 0:23:31.480 because they're part of this enterprise, and this enterprise existed 0:23:31.760 --> 0:23:32.760 back then as. 0:23:32.600 --> 0:23:37.760 Well, as Michael explains. The prosecution then presented the hours 0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:41.640 and hours of wiretap audio in which mob members referenced 0:23:41.680 --> 0:23:49.680 the commissionssion. 0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:51.920 Both on the tapes in the Palma Boy Social Club 0:23:52.160 --> 0:23:54.760 and the tapes in the Jaguars. They use the word 0:23:54.800 --> 0:23:58.200 the Commission they talked about the Commission. The Commission has 0:23:58.240 --> 0:24:02.120 decided the Commission's decide that so there was no question 0:24:02.680 --> 0:24:03.960 that the Commission existed. 0:24:05.160 --> 0:24:09.080 None was more significant than the jaguar bug, which overheard 0:24:09.200 --> 0:24:13.159 damning conversations between Tony Ducks, Caralo, and a lou Casey 0:24:13.240 --> 0:24:15.280 family capo named Salvator Avelino. 0:24:16.560 --> 0:24:19.399