Mobsters 'Thrilled' at Giuliani Charges

'The Messenger' reports mafia is 'thrilled' former prosecutor is now the target of RICO law
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 17, 2023 6:55 PM CDT
Mobsters See Giuliani Charges as 'Karma'
U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani speaks to reporters at a news conference in New York City, Thursday, Dec. 13, 1984.   (AP Photo/Debbie Hodgson, File)

Long before he joined up with Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani used the RICO Act to go after the mafia in New York City. As the BBC notes, the young US Attorney wielded the racketeering law to obtain indictments against 11 mob leaders and associates back in the 1980s. Now that Giuliani finds himself on the wrong end of a RICO prosecution, how do the mafiosi feel? "You can quote me to say, 'They're f------ thrilled,'" mob lawyer Murray Richman tells the Messenger. He clarifies that many love Trump, "but all of them are almost unified in their position of hating" Giuliani.

Others voice similar sentiments. "It's not just an ironic result but it's a just result," says Jerry Lichtman, who represented John "Junior" Gotti in court. "He was a horribly dishonest prosecutor and the wheel of karma is about to crush him." Giuliani has accused Georgia prosecutors of misusing the RICO statute against him, Trump, and 17 others in a "ridiculous" manner, but his mafia critics say he did the same against them.

Not all with mob ties are in agreement, however. A former Gambino family hitman, John Alite, tells Insider the charges are "insanity" because there's no comparison between politics and mob crime. "The reason why I am speaking up for Giuliani and Trump is because they're not me," he says. "They're not guys that did the wrong thing. They have no business being treated like this." (Meanwhile, Guiliani's legal fees are mounting.)

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