QUOTE
Jun 9, 2:00 PM EDT
Ex-Abramoff partner: shooter in Boulis murder died 3 years ago
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- An associate of John Gotti killed three years ago was the person who fatally shot SunCruz Casinos founder Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis in 2001, a partner in the purchase of the gambling boat company told investigators.
Adam Kidan, who bought SunCruz from Boulis with lobbyist Jack Abramoff in 2000, told authorities in a taped interview May 1 that John Gurino was the person who shot Boulis, said Art Carbo, an investigator with the Broward County State Attorney's office and a former Fort Lauderdale detective on the case.
"He came up with all of this information," Carbo told The Associated Press on Friday. "That name had never come up before that."
Earlier this year, Kidan and Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the SunCruz purchase.
Kidan's attorney, Joseph R. Conway, confirmed that his client did meet with authorities in May but he would not discuss what was said. Conway noted that Kidan's plea agreement in the case requires him to cooperate in state and federal investigations.
"He has been and will continue to do so," Conway told said Friday.
Abramoff's attorney in Miami, Neal Sonnett, said in an e-mail Friday that he had no comment on Kidan's statement "other than to repeat what I've said publicly before: that Mr. Abramoff has never had knowledge of any facts related to the Boulis case."
Kidan's statement was made as part of a detailed 2 1/2 hour interview he had with Fort Lauderdale homicide detectives and the lead prosecutor in the Boulis murder case, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which first reported about the statement Friday.
Prosecutors said they would release the taped interview next week after it is edited to remove certain names and details.
Kidan and Abramoff were sentenced in March to nearly six years in prison after pleading guilty to concocting a fake wire transfer to get bank funding for the purchase. Abramoff also pleaded guilty in a federal bribery investigation that is examining his dealings with members of Congress.
Three men are charged with first-degree murder in the Boulis case and could face the death penalty if convicted. Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello, 68; Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, 49; and James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, 28, have all pleaded not guilty in the case.
Kidan told investigators he learned the details of the killing from Moscatiello and Ferrari but that he was not told the triggerman's name, Carbo said. Kidan said Moscatiello told him in 2004 that the man was dead and he pieced together who it was after learning the man was killed in a Florida deli by his business partner in 2003.
Kidan also told authorities that Moscatiello told him the murder did not go as planned and that the pair had originally planned to kidnap Boulis and bury him, Carbo said.
After Moscatiello confided in him, Kidan told authorities that Ferrari said, "This happened. We have no choice it happened and now you're involved in it. If it ever comes down to it, I'm going to say you paid us...Don't screw with me or I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill your family.'"
Moscatiello has previously denied being involved in the Boulis slaying, telling police after his arrest in September that his two co-defendants were involved and may have been acting on Kidan's orders. According to that taped statement, which has been made public, Moscatiello insisted he only wanted to tie up Boulis in court.
"I'm not going to go down the yellow brick road for something that I would ... I would have been dead set against," Moscatiello told police.
Boca Raton deli owner Ralph Liotta admitted killing Gurino, 48, saying it was in self-defense. Liotta was convicted last year of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He said Gurino had lent him $26,000 to start his restaurant but threatened him and his family because the debt hadn't been repaid.
Gurino's brother, Angelo Gurino, told the Sun-Sentinel that he had never heard of the Boulis murder and did not think his brother could have had a part in the killing.
Moscatiello's attorney David Bogenschutz and Ferrari's lawyer Christopher Grillo didn't return phone messages seeking comment Friday.
Ex-Abramoff partner: shooter in Boulis murder died 3 years ago
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- An associate of John Gotti killed three years ago was the person who fatally shot SunCruz Casinos founder Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis in 2001, a partner in the purchase of the gambling boat company told investigators.
Adam Kidan, who bought SunCruz from Boulis with lobbyist Jack Abramoff in 2000, told authorities in a taped interview May 1 that John Gurino was the person who shot Boulis, said Art Carbo, an investigator with the Broward County State Attorney's office and a former Fort Lauderdale detective on the case.
"He came up with all of this information," Carbo told The Associated Press on Friday. "That name had never come up before that."
Earlier this year, Kidan and Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the SunCruz purchase.
Kidan's attorney, Joseph R. Conway, confirmed that his client did meet with authorities in May but he would not discuss what was said. Conway noted that Kidan's plea agreement in the case requires him to cooperate in state and federal investigations.
"He has been and will continue to do so," Conway told said Friday.
Abramoff's attorney in Miami, Neal Sonnett, said in an e-mail Friday that he had no comment on Kidan's statement "other than to repeat what I've said publicly before: that Mr. Abramoff has never had knowledge of any facts related to the Boulis case."
Kidan's statement was made as part of a detailed 2 1/2 hour interview he had with Fort Lauderdale homicide detectives and the lead prosecutor in the Boulis murder case, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which first reported about the statement Friday.
Prosecutors said they would release the taped interview next week after it is edited to remove certain names and details.
Kidan and Abramoff were sentenced in March to nearly six years in prison after pleading guilty to concocting a fake wire transfer to get bank funding for the purchase. Abramoff also pleaded guilty in a federal bribery investigation that is examining his dealings with members of Congress.
Three men are charged with first-degree murder in the Boulis case and could face the death penalty if convicted. Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello, 68; Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, 49; and James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, 28, have all pleaded not guilty in the case.
Kidan told investigators he learned the details of the killing from Moscatiello and Ferrari but that he was not told the triggerman's name, Carbo said. Kidan said Moscatiello told him in 2004 that the man was dead and he pieced together who it was after learning the man was killed in a Florida deli by his business partner in 2003.
Kidan also told authorities that Moscatiello told him the murder did not go as planned and that the pair had originally planned to kidnap Boulis and bury him, Carbo said.
After Moscatiello confided in him, Kidan told authorities that Ferrari said, "This happened. We have no choice it happened and now you're involved in it. If it ever comes down to it, I'm going to say you paid us...Don't screw with me or I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill your family.'"
Moscatiello has previously denied being involved in the Boulis slaying, telling police after his arrest in September that his two co-defendants were involved and may have been acting on Kidan's orders. According to that taped statement, which has been made public, Moscatiello insisted he only wanted to tie up Boulis in court.
"I'm not going to go down the yellow brick road for something that I would ... I would have been dead set against," Moscatiello told police.
Boca Raton deli owner Ralph Liotta admitted killing Gurino, 48, saying it was in self-defense. Liotta was convicted last year of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He said Gurino had lent him $26,000 to start his restaurant but threatened him and his family because the debt hadn't been repaid.
Gurino's brother, Angelo Gurino, told the Sun-Sentinel that he had never heard of the Boulis murder and did not think his brother could have had a part in the killing.
Moscatiello's attorney David Bogenschutz and Ferrari's lawyer Christopher Grillo didn't return phone messages seeking comment Friday.