Friedman receives 25 years in prison in Blitzstein killing

Kim Smith

Monday, Aug. 30, 1999 | 10:39 a.m.

Reputed Mafia hitman Richard Friedman was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday, but not before he vented his rage at those who prosecuted him.

Reading from a prepared statement, Friedman, 56, accused prosecutors of being "ethically and morally bankrupt" and interested only in adding "another notch" in their guns.

Friedman said the majority of the statements made by his co-defendants in the Herbie Blitzstein case were lies, but investigators took them at face value, proving that "truth and justice are elusive."

"Each day when I wake up in the morning I can look in the mirror and know I did not murder Mr. Blitzstein," Friedman said.

According to authorities, Blitzstein was murdered in January 1997 by those who wanted to take over his loan shark operation and other street rackets.

They alleged Peter Caruso hired Alfred Mauriello to kill Blitzstein and he, in turn, hired Friedman and Antone Davi to take care of the job. Two other men, Robert Panaro and Stephen Cino, were accused of orchestrating the murder from behind the scenes.

Authorities also arrested Anthony DeLulio and Louis Caruso, accusing them of benefiting from the burglary of Blitzstein's home.

Friedman and Davi fingered each other as the actual shooter.

Louis Caruso died of heart failure while awaiting trial. Panaro and Cino were convicted of conspiring to extort Blitzstein, but acquitted on murder-related charges. The other defendants entered plea agreements.

Mauriello got 180 months in prison. DeLulio got 18 months in prison, and Peter Caruso received 24 months. Davi, who would have testified against Friedman had he gone to trial, is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro said he isn't sure who actually shot Blitzstein but noted that Friedman entered a plea agreement when he could very well have gone to trial and rebutted the government's evidence against him.

"I know one thing that's unambiguous, and that's that Herbert Blitzstein is dead," Pro said.

Pro said he would go along with Friedman's wishes in that he would recommend that Friedman be imprisoned in a penitentiary in either Florence, Colo., or White Deer, Pa.

Friedman must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for release if he accumulates good behavior credits.

In a related matter Pro angrily rescheduled Friday's sentencing of Panaro and Cino.

Local laws require attorneys to file sentencing-related motions three to five days before a defendant is sentenced. Panaro and Cino's attorneys were filing motions through Thursday, Pro said.

"What I received from you was so voluminous, and it all started coming in Wednesday," Pro said. As a result it was "too damn late" for the judge to read it all.

"It's simply not fair to anyone involved to submit all of this material with any reasonable expectation for me to read it," Pro said.

Pro scheduled Cino's sentencing for Tuesday and Panaro's for Wednesday. Panaro faces between 21 months and 20 years in prison, and Cino get could anywhere from 36 months and 20 years.