Report: Abramoff Ex-Partner Knew Of Slaying
Report: Abramoff Ex-Partner Knew of Slaying
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...900484_pf.html
(Gold9472: If Abramoff's ex-partner knew, does it stand to reason that Abramoff knew as well?)
The Associated Press
Friday, June 9, 2006; 3:11 PM
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A man who purchased SunCruz Casinos with lobbyist Jack Abramoff in 2000 has told authorities he knows who killed the casino's founder the following year, according to a report published Friday.
Adam Kidan told authorities in a 2 1/2-hour interview last month that John Gurino, who was later killed by a business partner, shot SunCruz founder Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis in 2001, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. The paper did not say how it obtained the taped interview.
Kidan and Abramoff had previously insisted, through their attorneys, that they knew nothing about Boulis' killing. Three other men are charged with murder in the case.
Kidan's attorney, Joseph R. Conway, confirmed that Kidan met with authorities but would not discuss what was said. He noted that Kidan's plea agreement to fraud charges stemming from the SunCruz purchase requires him to cooperate in state and federal investigations.
"He has been and will continue to do so," Conway told The Associated Press on Friday.
Abramoff's attorney in Miami, Neal Sonnett, said in an e-mail Friday that he had no comment "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."
Both Kidan and Abramoff are cooperating with authorities after pleading guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in the SunCruz purchase. They were sentenced in March to nearly six years in prison for 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.
The three men charged with murder in Boulis' death are Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello, 68; Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, 49; and James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, 28. All have pleaded not guilty.
Kidan told investigators he learned the details of the killing from Moscatiello and Ferrari but that he was not told the triggerman's name, the newspaper reported. He 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.
Gurino's business partner, a deli owner, was convicted of manslaughter last year after arguing that he killed Gurino in self-defense.
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 been involved.
Assistant State Attorney Brian Cavanagh told the paper he could not discuss the case. Calls placed early Friday by The Associated Press to Cavanagh, Moscatiello attorney David Bogenschutz and Ferrari attorney Michael Becker were not immediately returned.
