Bonanno crime family soldier Baldassare (Baldo) Amato was convicted of racketeering back in 2006 and was sentenced to life in prison.
His crimes included two murders and being part of a mafia-controlled illegal gambling operation. The 65-year-old mobster maintains he was innocent and continues to fight his conviction in a variety of ways. In his recent efforts, he took a shot at his onetime lawyer Diarmuid White claiming that he was no good because of his previous representation of former Bonanno family boss turned rat Joseph Massino. White was part of the Massino defense team for a period of time before Massino decided to become a turncoat and work with the feds.
“Baldo Amato”
According to Amato, the lawyer’s previous work with Massino affected his decisions in plea talks and his decision on whether or not to put Massino on the stand. But Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis said he did not believe White’s defense was below constitutional standards and he could find no inherent conflict with him under the circumstances. Putting Massino on the stand could’ve been a gamble because the former mafia boss could have backed up another person’s testimony on one of the murders. Seems like the former New York mafia soldier will have to once again to back to the drawing board although he seems to be running out of angles.
