Real-life wiseguy Anthony Bazzini says he’s nothing like the fictional Tony Soprano.
Or, for that matter, any of the characters in “GoodFellas,’’ “The Godfather’’ and other mob movies.
So Bazzini, who will go on trail next month on charges of being part of a massive gangland effort to control the New York-New Jersey garbage-carting industry, has asked a federal judge to ask potential jurors:
* If they are “regular watchers or have been in the past regular watchers of ‘The Sopranos’ or similar programs.”
* If any of them or their family members has ever worked in the “waste-disposal industry.”
* If they “harbor potential bias or prejudice against Italian-Americans” or developed “a negative perception” of them based on “The Sopranos,” “GoodFellas” or “The Godfather.”
In “The Sopranos,” boss Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini, used a garbage-carting business as a mob front.
The feds say Bazzini, 54, of Glen Head, LI, is the “ghost owner” of Galaxy Carting in Ronkonkoma, which also did business in New Jersey.
He and 31 other reputed mobsters were busted in January for allegedly scheming with rival Mafia families to trash efforts to clean up the garbage business — and using strong-arm tactics to shake down owners of legitimate companies and secretly assume control of their operations.
Bazzini faces charges of loan-sharking and other racketeering offenses.
His lawyer, Raymond Perini, also wants his client to get a prude-free jury that can handle cursing.
He asked that prospective jurors be read the following statement: “You will hear foul language used by the defendants during the course of recorded conversations.
“Do you have any moral problems with the use of foul language? Will the use of foul and profane language impact your ability to render a fair and impartial verdict?”
The feds declined to comment, and Perini and Bazzini did not return messages.
Yahoo Local News – New York Post
http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info/?p=18280
via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info
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