Free Republic

A former bartender at John A. Gotti's social club testified yesterday that the club had hot-pink walls and an elaborate buzzer system and that a crucial prosecution witness — a turncoat mobster who claims that he made plans in the club to carry out a kidnapping Mr. Gotti had ordered — was never there. The bartender, George DiBello, suggested that the witness, Joseph D'Angelo, would surely have noticed the unusual décor of Our Friends Social Club, in Ozone Park, Queens, if he had been there, as he claimed in his testimony. Was there anything unusual about the décor of the...

NEW YORK -- A radio talk show host swung his arms from side to side on the witness stand Monday as he relived his 1992 shooting in the back of a taxi during a kidnapping prosecutors blame on John A. "Junior" Gotti. The eyes of most jurors at Gotti's racketeering trial seemed fixed on the witness, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, as he recounted how a routine cab ride to work changed abruptly in June 1992 when a masked gunman popped up from the front passenger seat and aimed a handgun at him. "Take this," Sliwa recalled the man saying...

John "Junior" Gotti, who insists he quit the mob family run by his late father, the "Dapper Don," watched jury selection start yesterday at his racketeering retrial in Manhattan. One prospective juror was quickly disqualified: a former supervisor of the FBI's organized crime squad. The most serious charge facing Gotti is the 1992 kidnapping of radio host Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime-fighting group, who allegedly was targeted by "Junior" Gotti because of his on-air rants against the late John Gotti.

The jailed son of late mob boss John Gotti neared freedom on Monday after a judge agreed to release him on $7 million bond, less than a week after declaring a mistrial on the bulk of his racketeering case. Under bail conditions approved by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin, John A. ``Junior'' Gotti would be released from a federal lockup in lower Manhattan, but remain under house arrest in his home on Long Island until a possible retrial early next year. Gotti, 41, was still in custody Monday as paperwork was finalized. His lawyers said he could be home with...

Guardian angels founder Curtis Sliwa couldn't believe his eyes: The Mafia boss who - according to a key witness - ordered him killed 13 years ago managed to escape conviction. Here, the outspoken radio host tells Daily News reporter Adam Nichols that he now fears John A. (Junior) Gotti wants the botched job finished: Now he wants me dead. I am a dead man walking. John Gotti Jr. will rejoin his family, and I know there are Gotti cohorts who have taken a solemn vow to do what they failed to do before: end my life. They're going to celebrate...

Testifying against John A. Gotti today, Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, described in vivid detail being shot at point-blank range while sitting in the back seat of a taxicab 13 years ago. Mr. Sliwa relived the shooting before a jury in Federal District Court in Manhattan, where Mr. Gotti, 41, the scion of the Gambino crime family, is being tried on racketeering charges. Mr. Gotti is facing a 42-page indictment including securities fraud, loansharking, construction industry extortion, and charges of conspiracy to kidnap Mr. Sliwa. He was indicted in July on charges of ordering...

He's stood up to tough guys all his life - and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa's parents expect him to deliver a knockout blow against John A. (Junior) Gotti when he faces off with the reputed mob boss in federal court today. It's a confrontation the elderly couple says the crimefighter-turned-radio-celebrity has been longing for. "He's looking forward to the chance to stand up in court and help put this guy away," Chester Sliwa, 84, said in an exclusive interview with the Daily News. The younger Sliwa, 51, who's usually running his mouth in morning drive time as co-host of...

John Gotti's son tried to silence radio host Curtis Sliwa permanently in an infamous 1992 rubout attempt - all because the Guardian Angel gave his father the devil, prosecutors charged yesterday. For John (Junior) Gotti, set to finish up a prison term for racketeering on Sept. 7, the new charges mean he could face a sentence of 130 more years if convicted. For Sliwa, the indictment was a "vindication" of a 12-year struggle for justice in an attack that left him with wounds to both legs. "I hope to live long enough to see him go straight to hell," said...

This is the D.C. Chapter's press release for the Freedom Rally Against Terror and Tyranny: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS RALLY WEST FRONT OF CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2003 What: FREEDOM RALLY AGAINST TERROR AND TYRANNY When: SATURDAY, OCTOBER, 25, 2003 - Program runs from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Where: West Front of the Capitol Building at 3rd Street on the Mall Organizer: The D.C. Chapter of Free Republic Purpose: To show support for our men and women in uniform serving abroad and at home fighting the war on terrorism, and to give voice to...

<p>Unhappy with the mayor's policy banning yellow ribbons on municipal property, ralliers marched through town Saturday, tacking the offending emblems on everything from the front door of the town hall to the mayor's car.</p> <p>Led by Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, about 100 marchers left ribbons along the main street, then affixed dozens more to a pine tree when they reached an old school building that now serves as town hall for this central New Jersey borough's 522 residents.</p>

I arrived at the Stop and Shop Plaza on route 35 in Keyport NJ at about 3:10 pm. Keyport is in Monmouth County, about half an hour or so from NYC. The guest speaker (and organizer) was to be Guardian Angels founder and WABC 770 AM radio personality Curtis Sliwa. Curtis was late, as he was coming from a previous rally in Fieldsboro (?sp?) NJ, the mayor of which gained notoriety for banning public displays of flags or yellow ribbons on public property. While waiting with the crowd (about 200 and still growing), I was able to reach the Mark...

WABC's Curtis Sliwa and The Guardian Angels Provide Tactical Air Support at the Patriots Rally for America III Curtis Sliwa and Guardian Angels Provide Tactical Air Support Stories and Photos: SUPPORT OUR TROOPS - Patriots Rally for America III - 1/18/2003 - After-Action Report Support our troops, deport Ron Kuby PHOTOS: Patriots Rally III - January 18, 2003 PART 1 PHOTOS: Patriots Rally III - January 18, 2003 PART 2 PHOTOS: Patriots Rally III - January 18, 2003 PART 3 PHOTOS: Patriots Rally III - January 18, 2003 and January 19, 2003 LIVE THREAD: PATRIOTS RALLY FOR AMERICA III (As...

The Support Our Troops Patriots Rally For America III, co-sponsored by the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic and MOVEOUT (Marines and Other Veterans Engaging Outrageous Un-American Traitors) was held on Saturday, January 18, 2003, at the Constitution Gardens area of the Mall overlooking the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and other war memorials. It was a crisp clear morning and it was extremely cold -- 9 degrees. In fact, it was the coldest day so far this winter in Washington, D.C. Doctor Raoul volunteered to be at the site early to oversee the set up of the stage and sound system....

[...]As opinion-driven Fox has surged into first place in the ratings race among cable news channels, and more straight-laced CNN has hired well-known on-air talent such as Connie Chung, MSNBC executives have been pleading for money from their corporate bosses, NBC and Microsoft, to make the station more than an embarrassing, money-losing also-ran.[...]Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes, who got a show just last January, declined to move to MSNBC's daytime lineup and will be off after July 15, the day most changes take effect.[...]