FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A former co-defendant testified Wednesday in the retrial of a reputed mobster charged in the 2001 execution of Miami Subs founder Gus Boulis.
James "Pudgy" Fiorillo took the stand late Wednesday afternoon, describing how Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello was the mastermind in the Feb. 6, 2001, execution of Boulis in Fort Lauderdale.
Fiorillo testified that he was ordered to get rid of the car used by the shooter, which he was told to wipe down well, and the murder weapon.
Dwayne Nicholson was another of the prosecution's key witnesses who testified against Moscatiello. Nicholson is the former bodyguard for Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Nicholson continued his testimony Wednesday, claiming that Moscatiello recruited him to kill Boulis a year before the fatal shooting. Nicholson testified that he would hurt Boulis, but he refused to kill him.
"I told him straight up, 'No. I won't kill him. I'll break his legs. I'll hurt him. You know, but I won't kill him,'" Nicholson testified. "For a minute he said, 'OK, we'll figure out something else.' I thought that was the end of it."
Ferrari and Moscatiello are both alleged members of the Gambino crime family, and the state claims Ferrari reported to Moscatiello.
Prosecutors allege the killing was carried out by John "J.J." Gurino, who was killed in a dispute with a Boca Raton delicatessen owner.
Nicholson said he realized that he knew too much and was likely to be killed next, so he went into hiding.
"I'm thinking that, OK, they're looking for me now because, again, because I knew what was going to happen," Nicholson said. "I knew who was going to do it. I was supposed to be involved in it and I wasn't."
Shortly after the killing, Nicholson contacted police to implicate Ferrari, Moscatiello and Fiorillo.
Fiorillo also testified against Ferrari during his trial.
In exchange for his testimony, Fiorillo will not spend any more time in prison, receiving credit for time served.
Moscatiello faces the death penalty if convicted.
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