Being the first official mob boss in history to squeal for the authorities is finally paying off for Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino. The New York Post reports that a Brooklyn federal court judge ruled today to set the 70-year-old free, even though he’s only served twelve years of a life sentence for eight murder counts. According to Judge Nicholas Garaufis, it’s because “Massino may be the most important cooperator in the modern history of law enforcement to prosecute the American Mafia.”
Indeed, let’s remember all the nifty mob tidbits we’ve learned from him over the years, not to mention this piece of potential screenplay gold: “It takes all kinds of meat to make a good sauce.” According to his lawyer Edward McDonald, Massino — now a “very sick and tired old man” — will support himself “through Social Security and income from some modest rental properties” having forfeited $7 million in cash and more than 250 bars of solid gold. And just maybe, he’ll start an artisinal sauce business with his fellow foodies.
