Civil trial begins for men framed in mob killing

There's no question that the FBI recruited notorious hit man Joseph "The Animal" Barboza as a witness against local Mafia leaders, then turned him over to state prosecutors in a case that led to the wrongful conviction of four men for a 1965 gangland murder in Chelsea.

But yesterday, on the first day of a civil trial seeking more than $100 million in damages from the federal government, a Justice Department lawyer asserted the FBI can't be blamed because state prosecutors were responsible for investigating and trying the case.

"The FBI is not liable," said the government lawyer, Bridget Bailey Lipscomb .

But lawyers for Peter Limone , Joseph Salvati , Henry Tameleo, and Louis Greco accused the FBI of making a "mockery" of justice by failing to tell state prosecutors or defense lawyers about evidence that suggested Barboza had framed the four men for the slaying of small-time hoodlum Edward "Teddy" Deegan.

Limone, 72, and Salvati, 74, spent more than 30 years in prison before they were exonerated five years ago, while Greco and Tameleo both died in prison.

"The FBI initiated the prosecution by delivering a perjurious witness to the state prosecutor, knowing his testimony was false," said Boston lawyer Juliane Balliro , who represents the families of Limone and Tameleo . "But for the deliberate misconduct of the FBI, these men would not even have been indicted, let alone convicted for the murder of Edward Deegan."

The lawsuit accuses the government of malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent supervision of FBI agents, conspiracy, and loss of consortium by the men and their families.

Deegan was gunned down in a Chelsea alley in March 1965, but local police were unable to solve the slaying until the FBI struck a deal with Barboza. He was sentenced to a year in prison for his role in Deegan's murder and his testimony led to the 1968 conviction of the four men. Tameleo, Limone, and Greco were initially given the death penalty, then later sentenced to life. Salvati was also sentenced to life in prison.

Lawyers for the four men allege the FBI failed to disclose that agents listening in on an illegal bug planted in the offices of New England Mafia boss Raymond L.S. Patriarca overheard Barboza and his sidekick, Vincent "Jimmy" Flemmi, seeking permission to kill Deegan several days before the murder, according to lawyers.

The FBI also didn't disclose internal memos that suggested Barboza was framing the four men, while protecting Flemmi. Barboza was killed in 1976 and Flemmi died in prison in 1979.

Vincent Flemmi was an FBI informant at the time of Deegan's slaying, according to FBI memos.

Hartford lawyer Austin J. McGuigan, who represents the Salvatis, said FBI memos reveal that the FBI believed Vincent Flemmi had killed seven people, including Deegan, yet agents continued to use him because "his value as an informant outweighed the risk."

During opening statements yesterday before US District Judge Nancy Gertner, Lipscomb asserted the FBI "had no obligation" to share internal documents with state prosecutors, but also said agents provided some information about the Deegan murder to state and local police.

She also said that two of the defense lawyers involved in the state trial had previously been involved in another case where they were given access to some of the evidence gathered from the Patriarca bugging operation.

However, lawyers for the four men said the internal FBI documents didn't surface until six years ago, when they were found by a Justice Department task force investigating the FBI's mishandling of longtime informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi -- brother of Vincent Flemmi.

The new evidence prompted a state judge to free Limone from prison in 2001. Salvati was freed from prison in 1997 after he was pardoned.

After yesterday's court session, Limone, who was with his wife and four children, said he couldn't understand how the government could claim that they had no obligation to turn over the documents or that it wasn't critical to the case.

"It was their paperwork that got me out," said Limone, noting that it was obviously crucial since it led to his release after 33 years in prison.