Meet the family of canaries who brought down an elusive Mafia don.
Richard “Shellackhead” Cantarella, 59, his wife Lauretta Castelli, 57, and his son, Paul, 31, decided over the Christmas holidays to join hands in the federal witness protection program.
Shortly afterward, on Wednesday, reputed Bonanno boss Joseph Massino was indicted on murder and racketeering charges.
“He was close [to Massino],” one underworld source said of Cantarella. “It’s no accident the indictment came down right after he flipped and that his son was not named in it.”
Just as Bonanno was being arrested, attorneys assigned to Cantarella, his wife and son, received letters telling them they had been replaced by lawyers who had previously represented Mafia turncoats – an action that in the mob carries with it the sure stench of a rat.
Once the Cantarella family lived a lavish lifestyle – cashing in on 13 parking lots they owned in Manhattan.
They kept several homes on Staten Island, including a $1 million mini-mansion in the Huguenot section. Parked outside were their Cadillacs, Jaguars, Mercedes-Benzes and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
But three months ago the trio were arrested during a sweeping crackdown on mob activity.
With Cantarella suddenly facing life behind bars for murder, his son looking at a stiff term for kidnapping and home invasions, and Castelli mulling several years in prison for witness tampering and money laundering, the trio opted to cut a deal.
Word of the singing family began circulating Wednesday, when lawyers James LaRossa, who represented Cantarella, and Gerald Shargel, who represented Paul Cantarella, were told they were going to be replaced.
The lawyers were stunned by the missives because there was no hint of the betrayal to come when they last visited their clients in jail before the holidays, sources said.
Cantarella’s lawyer, LaRossa, was replaced by Larry Krantz, who hammered out a sweet deal for Gambino underboss Salvatore “Sammy Bull” Gravano – five years in prison for 19 murders and other crimes in 1991.
Shargel was booted in favor of Nicholas DeFeis, whose firm recently brokered a cooperation deal for DeCavalcante boss Vincent “Vinny Ocean” Palermo that has rocked the New Jersey-based crime ring mimicked by “The Sopranos.” A third letter was sent to a lawyer for Castelli.
Meanwhile, the trio has disappeared. Castelli, who was out on bail, has vanished. Yesterday, the blinds were drawn on their Staten Island mansion and packing boxes were stacked in the hallway. The house looked like it had been left in a hurry.
And Cantarella and his son have been moved out of the Metropolitan Detention Center. No one will say where they have gone.
Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts