Opinion ID: 1212404
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Murder of John Otto Heidel

Text: Soon after Eppolito and Caracappa were placed on retainer, Casso asked Kaplan to have them find out whether Lucchese Crime Family associate John Otto Heidel was cooperating with the authorities. Eppolito enlisted the help of Caracappa and later reported to Kaplan that Heidel was, in fact, cooperating. Kaplan gave the information to Casso; in October 1987, Casso had Heidel killed. Thereafter, Eppolito gave Kaplan audio tapes that Eppolito said he had removed from Heidel's apartment while investigating the murder. He told Kaplan, this will prove that I was right, that the guy was cooperating, and that he was taping people. (Tr. 651.) Kaplan gave the tapes to Casso, who subsequently-informed Kaplan that the contents of the tapes confirmed that Heidel had been cooperating with the authorities by recording conversations.