or how did that work?
A: Most of the time, in the beginning especially, Louie came alone. Then Louie and I had a big argument, and Louie said he wanted to meet Gaspipe, and I said, Louie, that don’t make no sense. Why do you want to do that? He said, We’ve been so good with our information, I think we deserve more money. I said, That isn’t going to happen. You are not going to meet him. He says, I’m willing to stand on one side of the door. He could be on the other side of the door. We don’t have to see each other. I said, Louie, that isn’t going to happen, and he got a little indignant with me. We had an argument, and if you look at Mr. Eppolito, he is three times my size.And I pushed him out the door to my house, and we had an argument, and I said don’t ever come back to my house anymore.
Q: When did any meetings happen after that?
A: About a month later, Steve Caracappa came to my house with a box of cookies, and he says, Is it okay if we talk? And I says sure. I like Steve. I liked him then. I like him now. I am not doing him any good by being a rat, but I always liked him.
Q: What did you and Mr. Caracappa talk about?
A: Him and I talked about continuing the service of Gas, instead of Louie. He would meet with me because he knew Louie and I had the argument. Louie must have went back and told him, and I also told him.
Q: Then you said a certain amount of time went by before you started to meet with Mr. Caracappa?
A: A month after that, Steve came to my house. If my wife was sleeping, we would talk in the living room, which was the first room into the house. If my wife was awake, we would go into the back to where my daughter used to live.
Q: Mr. Kaplan, did there come a time that you learned where Mr. Caracappa was assigned within the police department?
A: Louie had told me that Steve had a big job. He was assigned to the major-case squad, and he was there acting with FBI agents on a daily basis.
You find out right now what a greedy imbecile we have here in Eppolito. He has precisely what it takes to be a thieving, conniving Mafia cop.
A: One time Louie Eppolito was getting a C-note, and he said, I’m going away on vacation. This was—we were new friends at that time, and he told me, I’m taking my family away on vacation, and I’m taking my mother-in-law with me, and my American Express is just about maxed out, and would I—would I be willing to send him some money if he needs it. And I said, Louie, why would we want to do that? If you need the money, I’ll give it to you now. He says, No, I really don’t want the money unless I need it. But if I need it, will you promise me you’ll send it to me? And I said yes.
Eppolito stands on the shores of Gravesend Bay, Brooklyn, about to take a trip to the Caribbean, during which he may need more money than he has. He asks Kaplan if he can provide, and Burt says yes, fine, come and get it. But no, Eppolito does not want the money in Brooklyn. He wants it delivered to him in the Caribbean. And not by Western Union, which might cost ten dollars. No, he says, “If I need it, have somebody buy a round-trip plane ticket and a hotel room to bring it to me,” which could cost more than the loan. The prosecutor asks and Kaplan answers.
A: And he did call me from one of the islands, and he said he needed the money, and I gave the money to Tommy, and he took it down to him. I think it was a couple of thousand dollars. It may have been three. Louie was in one of the islands. Caribbean—I don’t know how you pronounce it.
CHAPTER 11
In 2004, two years before Burt Kaplan took over this courtroom, Joe Massino sits in another one just down the hall and looses the worst of devils, the one who betrays hell. Joe Massino sits in the lights and imagines he lives again on one of the great nights of his life, when he swore in a whole squad of new Bonanno soldiers at the J & S Cake plant on Fifty-eighth Road in Middle Village, Queens.
“You can be proud of being in this
A: Most of the time, in the beginning especially, Louie came alone. Then Louie and I had a big argument, and Louie said he wanted to meet Gaspipe, and I said, Louie, that don’t make no sense. Why do you want to do that? He said, We’ve been so good with our information, I think we deserve more money. I said, That isn’t going to happen. You are not going to meet him. He says, I’m willing to stand on one side of the door. He could be on the other side of the door. We don’t have to see each other. I said, Louie, that isn’t going to happen, and he got a little indignant with me. We had an argument, and if you look at Mr. Eppolito, he is three times my size.And I pushed him out the door to my house, and we had an argument, and I said don’t ever come back to my house anymore.
Q: When did any meetings happen after that?
A: About a month later, Steve Caracappa came to my house with a box of cookies, and he says, Is it okay if we talk? And I says sure. I like Steve. I liked him then. I like him now. I am not doing him any good by being a rat, but I always liked him.
Q: What did you and Mr. Caracappa talk about?
A: Him and I talked about continuing the service of Gas, instead of Louie. He would meet with me because he knew Louie and I had the argument. Louie must have went back and told him, and I also told him.
Q: Then you said a certain amount of time went by before you started to meet with Mr. Caracappa?
A: A month after that, Steve came to my house. If my wife was sleeping, we would talk in the living room, which was the first room into the house. If my wife was awake, we would go into the back to where my daughter used to live.
Q: Mr. Kaplan, did there come a time that you learned where Mr. Caracappa was assigned within the police department?
A: Louie had told me that Steve had a big job. He was assigned to the major-case squad, and he was there acting with FBI agents on a daily basis.
You find out right now what a greedy imbecile we have here in Eppolito. He has precisely what it takes to be a thieving, conniving Mafia cop.
A: One time Louie Eppolito was getting a C-note, and he said, I’m going away on vacation. This was—we were new friends at that time, and he told me, I’m taking my family away on vacation, and I’m taking my mother-in-law with me, and my American Express is just about maxed out, and would I—would I be willing to send him some money if he needs it. And I said, Louie, why would we want to do that? If you need the money, I’ll give it to you now. He says, No, I really don’t want the money unless I need it. But if I need it, will you promise me you’ll send it to me? And I said yes.
Eppolito stands on the shores of Gravesend Bay, Brooklyn, about to take a trip to the Caribbean, during which he may need more money than he has. He asks Kaplan if he can provide, and Burt says yes, fine, come and get it. But no, Eppolito does not want the money in Brooklyn. He wants it delivered to him in the Caribbean. And not by Western Union, which might cost ten dollars. No, he says, “If I need it, have somebody buy a round-trip plane ticket and a hotel room to bring it to me,” which could cost more than the loan. The prosecutor asks and Kaplan answers.
A: And he did call me from one of the islands, and he said he needed the money, and I gave the money to Tommy, and he took it down to him. I think it was a couple of thousand dollars. It may have been three. Louie was in one of the islands. Caribbean—I don’t know how you pronounce it.
CHAPTER 11
In 2004, two years before Burt Kaplan took over this courtroom, Joe Massino sits in another one just down the hall and looses the worst of devils, the one who betrays hell. Joe Massino sits in the lights and imagines he lives again on one of the great nights of his life, when he swore in a whole squad of new Bonanno soldiers at the J & S Cake plant on Fifty-eighth Road in Middle Village, Queens.
“You can be proud of being in this
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