Perp Walk

Jerry Capeci

It was a cool, crisp, sunny Friday afternoon in downtown Manhattan, like many other spring days before or since. But this particular day, March 30, 1984, was special, unlike any other in the annals of law enforcement. A team of city, state, and federal investigators left FBI headquarters at 26 Federal Plaza along with Mafia boss Paul Castellano and began walking slowly toward the U.S. District Courthouse at Foley Square a few short blocks away as newspaper photographers and television cameras recorded every step. Castellano, whose name would become a well-known example of mob violence the following year as the victim of a spectacular midtown Manhattan assassination orchestrated by John Gotti, was an important organized crime figure in his own right. He had been arrested that morning as the lead defendant in a racketeering indictment that accused him of heading an enterprise that had killed 25 people during a 10-year ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.