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(New York City) More than a decade before The
Sopranos, real life gay mobster John D'Amato was gunned down after he was outed.
Monday, Stefano Vitabile, 71, was sentenced to life in prison for the killing.
Viabile's trial had all the markings of a TV series.
D'Amato (pictured), known to his associates as Johnny Boy, was a boss in the DeCavalcante crime
family. In a 1991 video shown in court John Gotti was seen giving D'Amato the
traditional Mafia kiss on the cheek.
But in 1992, a jilted girlfriend outed D'Amato to the
mob.
DeCavalcantes consigliere Vitabile didn't pull the
trigger - that was done by Anthony Capo - but Vitabile did order the hit.
Capo in a deal with prosecutors for a lighter sentence
testified against Vitabile in the 3 year trial.
"Nobody's gonna respect us if we have a gay
homosexual boss sitting down discussing La Cosa Nostra business," Capo told
Manhattan federal court in 2003.
He also described how Vitabile ordered the
hit.
"The rule in La Cosa Nostra is not to take
down a boss without the permission of the commission," Capo said.
Capo then described how in 1992 he and another mobster
arranged to pick up D'Amato on the pretext of going to a meeting
"John D'Amato got in the car and sat in the
back," Capo said. "He said, 'Let's go eat,' and as we drove away, I
turned and shot John D'Amato."
Vitabile also was convicted of conspiring in two other mob-related murders
and conspiring to commit extortion. He will spend the rest of his life
behind bars.
The killing and sensational trial grabbed the
interest of The Sopranos producers who made mob character in the series Vito
Spatafore gay.
In the hit series Spatafore, played by
actor Joe Gannascoli, fled to New Hampshire after
two other gang members spotted him in a gay bar.
They passed on the information to brother-in-law Phil Leotardo
who ordered a hit on Spatafore.
He was killed in the series in a motel room while
Leotardo looked on.
©365Gay.com 2006
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