Brooklyn City Councilman Domenic Recchia, a top Democrat recruit for Congress, has written a federal judge, asking for leniency for a convicted mobster. And not just any mobster. Angelo Spata, the mobster convicted of racketeering and illegal gambling, is the son-in-law of Colombo crime boss Carmine Persico. Persico is currently serving a 139-year prison sentence.
The letter pleading Spata’s case was sent on City Council letterhead. Recchia told the judge that Spata had provided some help after Hurricane Sandy and had hosted a children’s carnival after the storm. “I hope you (sic) that you will take these thoughts into consideration as you make your deliberations,” Recchia wrote.
“It’s not every day that a Congressional candidate goes to bat for the mafia, but that is exactly what Shady Dom Recchia has done,” said Ian Prior, NRCC Spokesman. “Whether it’s his good friend Vito Lopez or Colombo crime boss Carmine Persico, Recchia seems far more concerned helping sexual predators and Mafiosos than hard-working Staten Islanders.”
Recchia, who is running against GOP Rep. Michael Grimm in New York’s 11th District, is a top Democrat recruit. He was one of the first members of the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Jump Start” program, designed to provide early support to top-tier candidates.
The DCCC’s Executive Director, Kelly Ward, described Recchia as “a fiscally responsible leader who has proven his ability to get results as Chairman of the Finance Committee for the New York City Council.” The Colombo crime family certainly hopes Recchia can “get results” for one of its members.
Perhaps someone gave Recchia an “offer he couldn’t refuse.”