New York – Two retired detectives accused of moonlighting as hit men for the mob went on trial Monday, with prosecutors saying the men kidnapped and killed victims picked out by a Mafia underboss.
But a defense attorney said Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa were honest public servants targeted by mobsters intent on staying out of jail.
The mobsters “called each other tough guys, good fellas, until the jail door shut,” said attorney Bruce Cutler, best known for his defense of Gambino boss John Gotti, during his opening statement in federal court. “Then they wet their pants and called mommy – the government.”
Eppolito, 57, and Caracappa, 64, are charged with racketeering, conspiracy and other charges for allegedly going on the payroll of Luchese family underboss Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso.
“The two men were not traditional mobsters,” prosecutor Mitra Hormozi told the jury. “They were better. They could get away with murder because these two men were New York City police detectives.”
The men allegedly were involved in eight murders while working for Casso. In return, they helped him avoid arrest, warned him of investigations and committed killings for up to $65,000 a hit, Hormozi said.
Hormozi told the jury how the detectives arrested mobster Jimmy Hydell in 1986, then turned him over to Casso for execution and a $30,000 payoff.
The same year, the pair allegedly provided the underboss with information to locate Nicholas Guido, a mobster involved in a murder plot against Casso. The inaccurate tip led to an innocent man with the same name; he was killed in a hail of gunfire on Christmas Day 1986, authorities say.
Caracappa spent 23 years with the New York Police Department before retiring in 1992.
He and Eppolito retired to Las Vegas and were arrested a year ago.
