03.24.06 -
Abramoff Gets Call in Boulis
Case Murder Suspect's Attorney Wins OK to Server Subpoena
Fallen super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his former business partner soon will
be subpoenaed by defense attorneys to give sworn statements in the Konstantinos
"Gus" Boulis murder case.
The attorney for murder suspect Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello filed
paperwork this week asking to question Abramoff and Long Island businessman
Adam Kidan about the SunCruz Casino founder's gangland-style slaying. Broward
Circuit Judge Michael Kaplan granted the request Thursday after prosecutors
agreed to it.
Prosecutor Brian Cavanagh said the Broward State Attorney's Office had been
concerned about subpoenaing Kidan and Abramoff because it didn't want to give
them any form of immunity. Kidan has not been eliminated as a suspect in the
murder case, Cavanagh said.
"The point we made in court was we weren't saying he would be a suspect in
place of the present defendants, it's a question of whether he will be an
additional defendant," Cavanagh said. "All the defendants are
innocent until proven guilty and certainly at the present time Mr. Kidan is not
under indictment so there has not even been a formal allegation at this
juncture."
Attorneys for Kidan and Abramoff declined to comment Thursday, but they have
said their clients had nothing to do with the murder plot.
Kidan's attorney, Joseph Conway, said last month that Kidan is ready to testify
as part of a plea deal he cut with federal prosecutors. Kidan and Abramoff have
pleaded guilty to lying on financial statements and creating phony documents to
convince lenders to back their bid for SunCruz, a Dania Beach-based gambling
ship fleet.
The SunCruz fraud case enabled prosecutors to leverage Abramoff into
cooperating with a potentially wide-ranging federal investigation into
congressional bribery and influence peddling.
Moscatiello's attorney, David Bogenschutz, wrote in court papers that he needed
to question the two men because "the SunCruz Casino sale is at the
heart" of the murder case.
Boulis was ambushed Feb. 6, 2001, shortly after he left his Fort Lauderdale
office. One car stopped in front of his BMW; a second car pulled up alongside
the self-made millionaire and he was sprayed with bullets.
In the months leading up to his murder, Boulis and Kidan had been locked in an
acrimonious battle over SunCruz. Boulis had cut a deal to sell SunCruz to a
partnership including Kidan and Abramoff, but the business agreement had soured
and Boulis wanted to regain control.
A Broward County grand jury indicted Moscatiello, 67; Anthony "Little
Tony" Ferrari, 49; and James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, 28, in September
for Boulis' slaying. All three have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder
and conspiracy to commit murder. They could face the death penalty if
convicted.
Prosecutors have suggested the three defendants killed Boulis to ensure he
didn't take back SunCruz. While Kidan ran SunCruz, he paid $145,000 in
consulting fees to companies tied to Moscatiello, who had admitted ties to the
Gambino crime family and to late mob boss John Gotti, according to court
records A company controlled by Ferrari received an additional $95,000 for
security from Kidan's SunCruz, court records show.
Attorneys for Moscatiello and Fiorillo have been arguing that the state's case
isn't strong enough for them to be in jail without bond. Their bond hearing
will continue this afternoon.
- Jon Burstein: South Florida Sun -
Sentinel Staff Writer
Return to Recent News
