Underworld in shock as hitman quits Mafia and tells court: I'm gay

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 3:53 PM on 20th October 2009

Confession: John Gotti Jr, who is on trial in New York (file photo). During his trial yesterday former Mafia hitman Robert Mormando made the startling confession that he is gay

A mob hitman stunned the underworld yesterday when he renounced his membership in La Cosa Nostra and  revealed that he is gay.
Robert Mormando - a divorced father of two - said he is denouncing the Mafia and living as an openly gay man.
He clearly rejected the blood oath he made to the criminal organization when he appeared in court in New York charged with an attempted hit.
'That's the first time I've heard this in court,' Federal Judge Jack Weinstein said. 'I've asked many Mafia members and they've always refused.'
Defence lawyer Nancy Ennis said: 'He has been openly gay since he left the mob.'
He is now living a 'peaceful working life' with his partner who, despite his controversial stand, has refused to enter a witness protection programme, Ms Ennis said.
Members of the Mafia do not accept a gay lifestyle within its ranks although there is no specific rule that inductees must accept.
Former DeCavalcante crime boss John D'Amato was murdered in 1992 for being gay.
Mormando, 44, was being sentenced for the shooting of Queens bagel store owner Angelo Mugnolo, who was wounded in the driveway of his home in 2003.
The killing was allegedly ordered by Vincent Gotti, the younger brother of late crime boss John Gotti, who suspected the baker was fooling around with his wife.
Mormando became a government informant shortly after the shooting.
Defence lawyer Nancy Ennis told the judge Mormando was given the contract a month after he was inducted into the crime family in 2002.
'He was summoned to perform an act that he found totally unacceptable afterward,' Ms Ennis said.
'He did follow through, but he found the incident to be so disagreeable shortly after that he started having strong thoughts about leaving the mob.
'He was living in hiding, not from law enforcement, but from La Cosa Nostra,' she said.
The hitman was sentenced to time served - which was no time at all. He had faced up to 17 years in prison.

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