“I suggest at your age . . . you ought to be thinking about getting out of that life, worrying about who’s coming knocking at your door putting handcuffs on you.” That was the advice of U.S. Dist. Court Justice I. Leo Glasser (E.D.N.Y., Reagan) to two septuagenarians at their May 8 sentencing: John “Johnny Green” Faraci, 79, reputed Bonanno soldier, and Jerome Brancato, 74, reputed Gambino soldier. The two and a third reputed “wiseguy,” Gambino capo Louis “Big Lou” Vallario, 60, pled guilty and were sentenced to probation for their roles in conspiring to bribe a union boss of Serv. Employees Int’l Union Local 32B-32J in N.Y.C. There have been nine guilty pleas in the case, plus landlord Abe Wieder and union delegate Ismet Kukic await trial.
Glasser grew annoyed at attempts to downplayed the trio’s roles. When Faraci’s attorney, Vincent Romano, noted that his client, whose criminal record spans nearly 25 years, had fought in WWII’s Battle of Normandy and won the Bronze Star, the unimpressed 78-year old judge snapped, “So did I.”
Further, when Glasser asked Faraci whether he had anything to say, an apology to his family for “aggravating” them was not well-received. “You’ve been doing that, putting your family through aggravation, since 1978,” Glasser replied as he flipped through pages of Faraci’s rap sheet. [Daily News, N.Y. Post 5/9/02]