According to reports Charles Stango, an alleged captain in the New Jersey mafia has agreed to plead guilty to murder for hire charges.
The 73-year-old DeCavalcante crime family mobster was recorded conspiring with other mobsters to have rival wiseguy Luigi Oliveri whacked. An FBI undercover agent also recorded Stango making threats against the mafia rival saying that he should have been put in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and had to meet death. His arrest was part of a three-year sting by the feds that led to charges against 10 members and associates of the Cosa Nostra family in Jersey.
“Charles (Charlie The Hat) Stango”
The plea deal agreed to by Stango calls for him to serve 10 years in prison according to a report from ganglandnews although he could get up to 12 years because of violations of his post-prison release restrictions. DeCavalcante family consigliere Frank Nigro and mob associate Paul Colella were also charged with being accomplices in the murder plot along with drug dealing and prostitution. But all charges against both men were dropped back in August by the U.S. Attorney’s office in a somewhat surprising twist. In a statement, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said that moving forward with a racketeering prosecution against the duo was not in the interests of the United States at that time.
The feds were able to record conversations between Stango, Nigro, Colella, and the undercover agent discussing the plot to kill Oliveri. According to the reports Stango who was located in Las Vegas at the time wanted Nigro or Colella to get permission from the DeCavalcante family hierarchy in Jersey to whack Oliveri. According to an arrest complaint from FBI agent Robert Conrad Stango who had a hit team ready and waiting was recorded multiple times pressing for an answer but neither Nigro or Colella would commit to the hit being sanctioned. During a recorded call back in February of 2015 Stango told Colella: “I wanna know if it’s a yes, or if it’s a no,” “Colella told Stango that he would try to get an answer for him, and that he would call him back the next day.”
In a call a couple of days later Colella told Stango an unnamed NJ mafia leader said to do what you feel like you should do but Stango wanted a direct answer saying “Go over it again with him and the two of youse decide, whether yes or no’, you know,” according to Conrad. Multiple calls followed between the three but neither mobster would tell Stango that he had the go-ahead to whack Oliveri. This didn’t seem to stop Stango from considering moving ahead with the hit later discussing ways to handle it with the undercover agent like throwing grenades into Oliveri’s business and a staged robbery where he would be shot to death. It seems the rambling of both Nigro and Colella were not enough to the feds to push forward with the charges seeing neither agreed to or passed along orders for the potential mafia hit.
