Opinion ID: 2541
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Attempted Murder of Capozzalo

Text: The evidence, seen in the light most favorable to the government, see Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), showed the following. The series of events that ended in Spinelli's conviction for the attempted murder of Patricia Capozzalo began with a self-fulfilling mistake. Members of the Luchese crime family incorrectly suspected Peter Chiodo, a captain and long-time member of the family, of cooperating with the government. They therefore plotted to kill him. On May 8, 1991, Chiodo was shot thirteen times but survived. After the attempt on his life, Chiodo was informed by intermediaries that members of the Luchese family would kill his entire family if he cooperated with the government. In the face of these events, Chiodo decided to cooperate with the government. His family was relocated with the exception of his sister, Patricia Capozzalo, who refused to move. Chiodo agreed with the government that he would testify against several organized crime members including Vic Amuso, the boss of the Luchese family. To intimidate Chiodo so that he would not testify, members of the Luchese family decided to murder his sister. The hit on Capozzalo was approved by Amuso and was to be carried out by Richard Pagliarulo, who had taken over Chiodo's role as captain of a crew. Pagliarulo's crew included the defendant Spinelli, his brother Robert, and Dino Basciano. Pagliarulo put Spinelli in charge of planning the murder. Spinelli assigned Basciano to be the shooter. On March 10, 1992, Spinelli, Basciano, and the rest of the hit team waited for Capozzalo near her house. As Capozzalo was parking her car, Spinelli blocked her car with his van. Basciano walked up to her and fired at her through the driver's window. While he was shooting, his gun fell apart. Capozzalo was hit in the ear and the back. According to her testimony several bullets came so close that she could feel a breeze. She survived and was then relocated by the government. Spinelli was later arrested on charges unrelated to the attempt on Capozzalo. In prison, he associated with Frank Gioia, a member of the Luchese crime family, who later became a witness for the government and testified against Spinelli. Spinelli complained to Gioia that his contributions to the attempt on Capozzalo were not properly appreciated, given that he had not been inducted into the Luchese family and was not reimbursed for his expenses. Shortly after he complained to Gioia, he was inducted into the Luchese family. Later, in January 1994, the defendant spoke again to Gioia in prison about his role in the attempt to kill Capozzalo. According to Gioia's testimony, Spinelli complained that he wanted to plead guilty to the attempted murder, but the Luchese family would not allow it.