An elderly alleged Genoese mobster accused of beating the owner of a Manhattan steakhouse as part of an extortion plot did so not to collect a gambling debt, but because the victim called him a “washed-up Italian” and “without balls,” he claimed. his lawyer. at the start of his trial on Wednesday.
Anthony “Rom” Romanello, 86, an alleged boss of the Genovese crime family, was simply defending his honor after restaurateur Shuqeri “Bruno” Selimaj insulted him, and he “hits like a girl” anyway, the man said. Defense attorney Jerry McMahon to the jury in Brooklyn. federal court.
“He didn’t hit Bruno to collect a gambling debt,” McMahon said during his opening statements. “Bruno told him that he was a finished Italian, that he had no balls, that he was nothing.”
“He punched him, that 86-year-old guy who was sitting there, he punched him because Bruno insulted him in the face.”
The wise old man and an alleged accomplice, reputed Genoese soldier Joseph Celso, are on trial for two counts of extortion after allegedly being recruited by a Queens bookie and aspiring actor to collect an $86,000 gambling debt he owed. They had two relatives from Selimaj.
Taking the stand later Wednesday, Selimaj described how Romanello paid him a visit at his since-closed Lincoln Square Steak on May 11, 2017, and became enraged after Selimaj told him he was only willing to pay the part of the debt owed by his nephew, and not his nephew’s brother-in-law.
Anthony “Rom” Romanello’s lawyer said that when he hit a restaurant owner it was to defend his honor, not to carry out an extortion plot. Spencer Burnett
“Rom kept saying, ‘I’d like to hit you’… I said, ‘You don’t have the guts to hit me,’” Selimaj told the jury.
“A few seconds later, he punched me.”
Prosecutors played jurors a video of the right-hand blow that connected with Selimaj’s jaw during testimony.
After being beaten, Selimaj told Romanello that there were security cameras in the establishment, causing the alleged lifelong mobster to run out of there with his team.
Selimaj filed a police report that night, but ended up retracting it within 24 hours because his brother had relayed a threatening message from Celso that it would be a bad idea to pursue the complaint, he testified.
In a written statement to the NYPD, Selimaj recanted, claiming that Romanello had “a few drinks” during the confrontation and that the two had known each other for 30 years.
“So it was a misunderstanding between him and me. “I think he didn’t want to do that,” Selimaj wrote.
But on the stand, Selimaj said the retraction “was not true.”
“I was afraid that this gangster was going to hurt me. [hurt] “my nephew,” he testified.
Romanello is accused of punching a restaurant owner in the face to force him to pay an $86,000 debt owed by his relatives. Spencer Burnett
During McMahon’s cross-examination, jurors were read a transcript of a voicemail Selimaj left Romanello after he was beaten, in which he taunted and cursed the mobster.
“Why don’t you come suck my cock, you son of a bitch? This is Bruno,” Selimaj allegedly said.
Selimaj told the jury he did not remember leaving the message.
McMahon, in his opening statement, warned jurors that prosecutors would try to portray Romanello as having delivered the punch to Selimaj’s face like 1950s American boxing legend “Rocky Marciano,” adding: “The “People who have seen the video will say that my client hits like a girl.” .”
The encounter took place while Romanello was a weekly guest at Selimaj’s diner, where the smart defendant spent more than $1,000 on each dinner, McMahon said.
But Brooklyn federal prosecutor Rebecca Schuman told jurors that Selimaj was aware that getting on his employer’s bad side would not end well.
“Bruno knew that crossing Romanello could have real consequences – violent consequences,” he said.
Joseph Celso is on trial alongside Romanello and allegedly threatened the restaurant owner into withdrawing a complaint he filed with police after Romanello beat him. William Farrington
The prosecutor described to jurors how Celso, who also faces an obstruction of justice charge, allegedly sent a threat to Selimaj to withdraw the police report, saying “things could get even uglier” if he did not comply.
Selimaj relented, recanting the police report and paying his nephew’s $6,000 debt, and the $80,000 owed by his nephew’s brother-in-law, to apparent Genoese partner and aspiring Albanian movie star Luan Bexheti, Schuman said.
Celso’s lawyer, Gerrard Marrone, told the jury that his client was not involved in any extortion scheme.
“He didn’t threaten anyone, he certainly didn’t hit anyone,” Marrone said. “My client is not involved in the drama.”
Selimaj, who was the first witness called by prosecutors, told the jury that he had received a visit in March 2017 from an Irish bookmaker, Mike Regan, informing him about his relatives’ debts and the names of Romanello and Anthony “Tough.” Tony” Federici.
He took that to mean that Regan “was going to use his muscles against me” if the debt was not paid off, testified Selimaj, the owner of Club A Steakhouse.
Romanello and Celso were allegedly recruited by Luan Bexheti for the extortion scheme. William Farrington
Then, a few weeks later, Celso, Romanello and others returned to the restaurant and Romanello yelled at Selimaj demanding the money.
“I was afraid because no one jokes with the mafia,” Selimaj testified. “It wasn’t a joke.”
“I was hoping they would pay the debt because if they didn’t pay it, they would be killed,” Selimaj said of his nephew and his nephew’s relative.
“Rom told me Tony [Federici] He said hello and was going to come visit you,” Selimaj recounted the barely veiled threat.
Romanello has beaten an extortion case before: he was acquitted more than a decade ago in the same court where he currently faces trial.
Celso, for his part, was acquitted in a murder trial in 1993 after the main witness left the country.
He was charged with the 1991 murder of 19-year-old Manuel Mayi, a student at Queens College in the Dominican Republic.
Mayi was chased for 16 blocks and fatally beaten by a mob of nearly a dozen people after he was seen painting graffiti in Corona.
Bexheti, who once starred in a movie called “Albanian Gangster,” pleaded guilty in the ongoing case on Oct. 4.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn