Mafia Boss Turns Rat at Trial

Joseph C. Massino became the first Mafia boss to ever testify against one of his former associates on Tuesday, as he took the stand at the Brooklyn-based trial of Vincent Basciano, who is charged with ordering a murder. “If you need somebody to kill somebody, you need workers — it takes all kinds of meat to make a good sauce,” said Massino, who had also been a restaurateur. Massino was convicted of seven murders in 2004 and pleaded guilty to an eighth. He is the only official boss of a New York crime family to ever cooperate with federal authorities.