After being found guilty of murder for the second time earlier this month, Vincent Basciano a.k.a. Vinny Gorgeous is now in the midst of the "death penalty" phase of the trial, with prosecutors arguing that Basciano's "rage and desire to be a hoodlum" earn him the fate of being the first inmate to be put to death in New York state since 1954, the Times reports. A jury found that Basciano had killed Randolph Pizzolo as a "hit" to preserve the integrity of the infamous Bonanno crime syndicate.
According to the prosecutor, Basciano had lived a "cold-blooded and remorseless life," and that Mr. Pizzolo, who was gunned down in Greenpoint in 2004, "didn't deserve to be executed, he didn't deserve a bullet in the brain, he didn't deserve to be left in the gutter." However, Basciano's lawyer pointed out that Pizzolo "willingly participated in dangerous and illegal activities," and death was surely just another risk of being the mob.
If the jury spares Basciano of the death penalty, he will receive another life sentence in addition to the one he is already serving. It's worth noting that in these dire financial times we live in, executing Basciano will cost significantly more than letting him remain in prison the rest of his life. Unless he lives like that prison scene Goodfellas, in which case we should totally kill him.
