Friday, Oct. 4, 2002 | 11:03 a.m.
Just 11 days shy of his 84th birthday, Sam Manarite may have earned the right to break the mob's code of silence.
But then he's also desperate to avoid spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Manarite, the pacemaker-implanted mob figure accused of shooting up an auto dealer's office Sept. 9, is telling his side of the story with the hopes of beating the attempted murder rap that landed him in the county slammer.
The FBI describes the silver-haired Manarite, who has an arrest record dating back to 1947, as a soldier in New York's Genovese crime family.
But though he sported a scar from a bullet wound in his left arm and often spoke in mob jargon, he looked like anyone's grandpa during a jailhouse interview this week, as he laid out his version of the shootout at Astro Auto Sales, 1430 S. Main St.
Dressed in navy blue jail garb, Manarite was cordial and polite while insisting that he fired off a round of shots at Astro Auto owner Dino Boggino in self-defense.
Manarite denied being a member of the Genovese family, but he acknowledged that he was a loan shark for 25 years before, as he put it, he "got pinched" on a federal money laundering conviction a decade ago.
"I was known as the best Shylock in town," Manarite said. "But I'm not connected to the mob. I'm no soldier. I'm just friends with people who are connected to the mob."
If he's telling the truth, Manarite may be the only loan shark in history to have no ties to organized crime.
On the day of the shooting, Boggino told police that Manarite, angry over a used car transaction, fired at him with a revolver after walking into the lobby of the dealership. Boggino said he ducked into his office, got a weapon and fired back, wounding Manarite in his left arm.
But Manarite, a diabetic who wears a pacemaker as a result of triple bypass surgery, said this week that Boggino fired first.
Manarite swears that's the truth on his wife's life. He planned to swear it officially under oath today during his preliminary hearing in Justice Court.
With a straight face, Manarite said he found the loaded revolver he used in the shootout in an alley near Astro Auto on Sept. 9. Knowing that he couldn't keep the weapon as an ex-felon, he decided to jump in his Cadillac and bring it to Boggino.
Manarite said he parked his car on Main Street and walked inside Astro Auto carrying the gun at his side in his arthritic right hand with the intention of giving it to Boggino.
But when Boggino saw the revolver, Manarite said, the car dealer ran into his office, pulled out his own gun and fired one shot at him. Manarite fired back to protect himself.
There's no other logical explanation for the shootout, he said.
"If I'm going to shoot someone, I'm not going to park my car in front of his store," Manarite said. "I would take him around the corner, put a couple of bullet holes in his head and walk away."
At least that's what any seasoned member of the mob would do -- not that Manarite is a member of the mob.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Victoria Villegas, who has witnesses to corroborate Boggino, isn't impressed with Manarite's claim of innocence.
"He has a lot at stake here," she said. "He has to come up with something. The fact of the matter is he's not supposed to have a firearm. He knows the consequences."
Even Manarite's lawyer, James "Bucky" Buchanan, doesn't believe Manarite's version of the shootout will prevent him from standing trial.
Buchanan, however, is hoping it will play to a jury down the line.
As for Manarite, he just wants a chance for his pacemaker to keep his heart pumping outside prison walls.
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