turn informer (after the Gambinos' Sammy Gravano and the Luccheses' Anthony Casso), but he had spent most of his three decades in the Mafia as a close confidant to Massino. This closeness allowed prosecutors to introduce evidence of over three decades of criminal activity by Massino, and enabled Vitale to cover his brother-in-law's entire criminal history in his testimony. The only witness called by Massino's defense was an FBI agent to challenge Vitale's reliability. On the strength of testimony from Vitale and other turncoats, Massino was convicted on all 11 RICO counts on July 30, 2004. Facing the prospect of the death penalty for ordering Sciascia's murder, Massino almost immediately began talks for a plea deal of his own. He formally pleaded guilty to that charge on June 23, 2005 and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. Vitale had admitted to 11 murders, but for his cooperation, was sentenced to time served on October 29, 2010, and entered the witness protection program. Vitale's testimony led to the convictions of 51 organized crime figures. Vitale returned to the stand again in March 2012 to testify against Thomas Gioeli. References Crittle, Simon, The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino Berkley (March 7, 2006) Pistone, Joseph D.; & Woodley, Richard (1999) Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, Hodder & Stoughton. . Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. . Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. 1947 births Living people American Mafia cooperating witnesses American gangsters of Sicilian descent Bonanno crime family People who entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program Federal Bureau of Investigation informants People from Maspeth, Queens