Strollo gets shorter sentence for helping to rout out others

With good behavior, the former mob boss could be out in late 2008.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
CLEVELAND -- Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains' victim-impact statement likely helped shorten former mob boss Lenny Strollo's prison term.
Gains, gunned down in his Boardman home Dec. 24, 1996 -- on Strollo's order -- spoke at the Canfield Township man's sentencing Tuesday in U.S. District Court. The county prosecutor said maybe getting shot was worth it because what followed was the dismantling of a corrupt organization.
Gains said that, though his life will never be the same, he wouldn't make a sentencing recommendation to the court. Instead, he deferred to the government, represented by Craig S. Morford, an assistant U.S. attorney.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley said Gains' being able to "take off his victim hat" and defer to the government "had great impact on me."
The sentence
The judge could have sentenced Strollo to 14 years in prison but accepted Morford's recommendation of 12 years and eight months. The range was 11 years three months, to 14 years, with Strollo's Cleveland lawyer, Roger M. Synenberg, asking for the low end, based on his client's age and heart condition.
The judge said the federal Bureau of Prisons can continue to handle the medical needs of Strollo, who turns 73 in April.
Once out of prison, Strollo will be on three years' supervised release and must do 250 hours of community service. No fine was imposed. He was given credit for time served and with good behavior could be out in late 2008.
The once-powerful organized crime figure was indicted Dec. 10, 1997, on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations violations of aggravated murder (of rival Ernie Biondillo Jr. in June 1996), casino-style gambling and numbers lottery. He was taken into custody Dec. 11, 1997, and has remained in protective custody since then, with his whereabouts kept secret.
Strollo reached a plea agreement and became a government witness in February 1999. Since then, he has participated in countless interviews with FBI agents and federal prosecutors, and testified at trials.
Sentencing was delayed
Judge O'Malley said sentencing was delayed so Strollo could fulfill his cooperation agreement. She said his federal time will include safety considerations to protect him from those he testified against and will run concurrent with two concurrent 10-year state prison terms.
The state sentence was handed down in November 1999 on charges that nearly mirrored the federal racketeering case. The state charges included the attempted murder of Gains.
Synenberg said Strollo's state time is up Dec. 8, 2008.
Strollo, using a cane, walked slowly into Judge O'Malley's court wearing a gray sweat shirt and navy blue sweat pants. His appearance hasn't changed much after slightly more than six years behind bars -- his hair is still dark with only tinges of gray at the temples, but he has developed a slight paunch.
Judge O'Malley, meanwhile, permitted Melissa Biondillo Rich of Boardman to give a victim-impact statement. The judge said, however, that given the nature of the government's allegations, Rich's father had participated in organized crime activity, too.
"While you feel victimized, you are not a true victim within the meaning of the law," the judge told Rich. Gains was a true victim, the judge said.
Words for Strollo
Rich said Strollo can still enjoy his family, she can't, and "I used to hate you, now I pity you." She called Strollo a hypocrite for attending her father's funeral and shaking her hand.
Strollo, both hands clasped on his cane, showed no emotion as he sat and listened to Rich's remarks, sometimes glancing her way.
Later, Strollo, standing to address the judge, his voice faltering, offered apologies to anyone he'd hurt intentionally or unintentionally and apologized to the court. Judge O'Malley said she wasn't the one he needed to apologize to.
Saying he was "overcome," the aging federal inmate said he apologized to his family.
To the "young lady who spoke [Rich]," he hoped that the good Lord would give her comfort. He said the expression that fit his situation is "too soon old, too late smart" and there was nothing more he could say than "I'm sorry."
Morford, in explaining the extent of Strollo's cooperation to Judge O'Malley, said whatever information he provided was "like money in the bank."
He said the government could have gone to trial and put Strollo in prison, but the same corrupt system would still exist. The government needed to go "high, broad, wide and deep" to break the criminal enterprise, he said.
Morford said that Mahoning County, when the organized crime investigation began in 1994, was corrupt, violent and out of control. He said it had been that way for more than 50 years, with more than 50 mob-related murders, long before Strollo.
Information he provided
Strollo provided information about a number of unsolved homicides and about La Cosa Nostra activities in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and New York, Morford said. Strollo also provided information that led to the convictions of former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., ex-Mahoning County Judge Martin W. Emrich, ex-Youngstown Municipal Judge Andrew Polovischak Jr., three men involved in the Biondillo hit, ex-Mahoning County Sheriff Phil Chance, ex-Mahoning County Prosecutor James A. Philomena and others.
Morford said he found Strollo to be the most cooperative and productive witness he'd seen in 20 years as a prosecutor. Strollo will continue to testify as needed in federal, state and local cases.
After court, Synenberg said it was a fair sentence under the circumstances and Morford's remarks were "on point" about the help Strollo gave the government.
Biondillo's elder brother, Anthony Biondillo, 69, said Morford painted Strollo as a saint. "He did a better job for the defendant than the defendant's attorney."
Rich said Strollo should have received life in prison.
meade@vindy.com