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- Three prosecutors, including U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, urged FL Governor Scott to release informant Kevin Bonner
- ”Without Mr. Bonner, we would not have been able to disband an organized crime network that operated in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” One FBI agent writes
- Bonner helped bring about the arrest of two Gambino crime figures, Ronnie “One-Arm” Trucchio and John Alite, who had fled to Brazil
- Conditions of Bonner’s release into the witness protection program require he undergo a drug test every two weeks
Florida Governor Rick Scott and the state Cabinet on Wednesday ended the long prison sentence of a robber-turned-mob informant who helped to break up the Gambino crime family in Florida and New York.
Four Republican statewide elected officials commuted the sentence of Kevin Bonner, who had been serving a 24 years of a state sentence and placed him in the federal witness protection program, Steve Bousquet of the Miami Herald was reporting Wednesday evening.
Three federal prosecutors — U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III in Tampa, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in New York and former U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch of New York, now the U.S. Attorney General — all sent letters to Scott supporting Bonner’s release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Trezevant and retired Tampa FBI agent Charlotte Braziel were among those who urged the release of Bonner.
“This is an exceptional case,” Braziel testified. “Mr. Trezevant and I have never sought clemency for any witness. Mr. Bonner was an exceptional witness. He earned this. … Without Mr. Bonner, we would not have been able to disband an organized crime network that operated in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.”
From the Herald:
Trezevant said Bonner’s grand jury and trial testimony in Tampa a decade ago led to convictions of two Gambino crime figures, Ronnie “One-Arm” Trucchio and John Alite, who had fled to Brazil. Bonner testified that Alite was John “Junior” Gotti’s “right-hand man” in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Trezevant noted that Bonner was instrumental in stopping the Gambino Crime family from setting up a base in the Tampa Bay area.
Bonner is set to get a new identity courtesy of the state of Florida and US Federal Government.
“I am ashamed of what I’ve done to get this time,” Bonner wrote. “Yet these years, as tough and painful as they’ve been, have given me the opportunity to develop into the person I am today — a more humble, thoughtful and caring human being.”
Bonner repeatedly robbed dry cleaning stores to support his drug habit but prosecutors insist he had no role in any murders.
“For us, Mr. Bonner was the perfect witness,” Trezevant said. “He was very bright, he was completely candid and truthful, and he has an absolute photographic memory.”
Bonner will be required to undergo a drug test every two weeks for his first year of probation, according to conditions of his parole.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
