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News and Features about Organized Crime, Mafia and La Cosa Nostra taken from National and Local News Sources. In an attempt to get you this type of coverage in a timely manner we can not be responsible for the content of the following material. |
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11-6-99 U.S. prosecutor confirms Natale role as witness. Her remarks made official that, as was long suspected, the former mob boss will work with the government. November 6, 1999
By George Anastasia Federal authorities made official yesterday what wiseguys, wannabes and their defense attorneys have known for months. Former mob boss Ralph Natale is a cooperating government witness. "Ralph Natale has signed a plea agreement with the United States government," federal prosecutor Mary Futcher said during a bail hearing in U.S. District Court in Camden for Anthony Viesti, Natale's onetime friend and driver. Futcher said Natale, 66, is providing extensive information about a mob-controlled methamphetamine distribution scheme for which he, Viesti and four others were indicted in June. She also said Natale had offered additional information "on all aspects of organized-crime activities." Natale, the highest-ranking mob figure ever to cut a deal with the government, began cooperating in August, a move that quickly circulated in underworld circles and was widely reported in the news media. When Futcher made the disclosure yesterday, U.S. District Judge Joseph Irenas quipped, "I read about that" in the newspaper. Viesti, 65, was charged along with Natale and four others in a drug-conspiracy case in which, authorities allege, roughly seven pounds of methamphetamine were distributed in South Jersey between November 1994 and March 1998. But his attorney, Leonard Baker, argued yesterday that Viesti, who lived in Washington Township, was little more than a "go-fer" for Natale and that he ought to be released on bail pending trial. Referring to a series of secretly recorded conversations that are the heart of the drug-conspiracy charge, Baker argued that conversations among the alleged conspirators included references to Viesti as a minor player who was only part of the group because of his longtime association and friendship with Natale. Futcher, however, argued that information being provided by Natale and other tapes show that Viesti played a key role in both the distribution and manufacturing of the methamphetamine. The case is based on 56 conversations secretly recorded by mob informant Ron Previte, who was working with the FBI. At one point during her argument, Futcher was asked by the judge if Viesti "was a cook," that is a street-level chemist who manufactures methamphetamine. But before Futcher could respond, Viesti, from his seat at the defense table, said: "Your honor, I cook spaghetti. She's crazy." Futcher later said that Viesti, while not a cook, bragged about his extensive involvement and knowledge of the methamphetamine trade in numerous conversations recorded by Previte. She also argued that Viesti was facing from 12 to 28 years in prison if convicted and would be a flight risk if released on bail. Following a one-hour hearing, Irenas denied Viesti's bail request. No trial date has been set in the case. As she left the courtroom yesterday, Futcher declined to provide more details about Natale's cooperation agreement. More information about Natale's plea and about what he has told authorities could surface next week in a related hearing for jailed reputed mob underboss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. Merlino is facing separate drug charges in another case based on tapes made by Previte. Natale is expected to provide additional information and testify against Merlino.
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