Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [103]
AMW JOINS THE MANHUNT
On May 17, just over three months after Nicky went on the run, “America’s Most Wanted” profiled him on its TV show. Its report recapped his criminal history and the pending charges. The heat was on Nick big time.
And “AMW” cameras were on hand 12 days later when, with his lawyer by his side, an exhausted-looking Nicky Corozzo surrendered to authorities on a street corner outside the FBI’s office in lower Manhattan. At his arraignment, Nicky pled guilty to all charges and was ordered held without bail.
VINDICATION
On August 14, 2008, Nick Corozzo avoided a jury trial by pleading guilty to ordering the January 26, 1996, murder of Robert Arena, which also resulted in the death of Thomas Maranga. Andrew was on an airplane on the way to testify against Nick when the deal was made.
“It happened while I was in flight,” Andrew remembers. “When I landed, I was told that Nicky’s defense team had worked out a deal with the U.S. Attorney. Nicky pled guilty to being part of the conspiracy to murder Robert and Thomas. Hearing that was music to my ears. After so many years of being called a liar and all the denials by Nicky and his attorneys, I was finally vindicated. And he had been exposed for the liar he is.”
THE ACCOUNTING
On April 17, 2009, Nicky Corozzo was sentenced to 13½ years in federal prison for his role in the Arena and Maranga murders.
In July 2008, he had pled guilty to the state enterprise corruption charges. On April 28, 2009, he was sentenced to a prison term of 4½ to 13½ years on those charges.
Corozzo is serving the sentences concurrently at a federal correctional facility. His projected release date is March 2, 2020, two weeks before his 80th birthday.
26
Lessons
When Andrew and I began writing this book, he was emphatic about one of the things he wanted to accomplish. His primary goal was to get the word out to young men, who might be considering a life of crime, that they’d be making a very bad mistake. He hoped that learning what he’d gone through would cause them to think twice before going down that road.
In closing, he wants to reiterate in his own words the lessons he learned while living the life. And he hopes those lessons will discourage others from following in his footsteps.
“Being an organized-crime guy is for losers. I say that based on my own experience. When I got into the life, I was excited. I thought I was part of something—a family that took care of its own. Everybody looked out for each other and nobody would dare fuck with us. That’s what I thought. I was wrong.
“For fifteen years, I was a predator. Everybody was a potential victim to me. From the time I got up in the morning until I went to sleep at night, I planned, plotted, and schemed how I could take advantage of people. If I could get their money through fraud, I would. If I could get it through robbery or burglary, I would. And if I could get it through violence or the threat of violence, I would.
“I made a lot of money during those years. I also made a lot of money for my boss, Nicky Corozzo, and the Gambino crime family. To make that money, I hurt an awful lot of people. They weren’t all victims of my crimes either. Some of them were the people who cared about me the most, who loved me. But I didn’t think about that then. I hurt virtually everyone I came in contact with physically, financially, or emotionally.
“Do you know what I ended up with when it all came crashing down? Nothing. I didn’t have a goddamn dime. Nicky and some lawyers did okay on me. But it turned out that I hurt all those people for nothing. When the end came I was broke, facing decades in prison and under a death sentence from a couple of organized-crime families. A real success story, huh?
“If that isn’t a turn-off, try this. When I was still in the life, but having second thoughts, my father wanted to make a point. He asked me to write down my ten closest friends