Animal by Casey Sherman

Author:Casey Sherman [Sherman, Casey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781555538217
Publisher: Northeastern University Press

The Animal avoided prosecution for his major crimes such as the murders of Ray Distasio and Teddy Deegan, but he found himself in and out of court on lesser offenses—offenses that still carried jail time. In January 1966, Barboza was put on trial for assaulting a police officer, illegal possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana, and disturbing the peace. Through some legal maneuvering on the part of his lawyer, a young attorney named F. Lee Bailey, Barboza was convicted only of the least serious charge—disturbing the peace, and was given a six-month jail sentence at the Deer Island House of Correction near Logan Airport. While behind bars, Barboza was put on trial again, this time for resisting arrest and fleeing police.

“He was speeding your Honor,”66 Barboza’s mob lawyer Al Farese explained in court. “He was fleeing police officers who thought he was someone else.”

The judge nodded and looked at Barboza. “If he had lived a better life, he wouldn’t be fleeing.”

“He changed his name to Baron so that he can change his life,” the lawyer pointed out.

This drew a laugh from the judge. “Mr. Farese, when Barboza changes we’ll all be on the moon,” the judge replied. Barboza was given a $35 fine and ordered back to Deer Island. Three more gangland murders were committed while Joe was behind bars. One victim was Barboza’s former training partner, Tony Veranis. In the words of Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, Veranis coulda been somebody. He coulda been a contender. As a boxer, Veranis was one of the best welterweight prospects ever to come out of Massachusetts. He had fifteen hard-fought wins under his belt, with most victories coming by knockout. But he had also taken a beating in the ring, and the mileage began to show when he started complaining of severe headaches. In his next bout, Veranis was knocked down in every round and was later rushed to the hospital, where he fell into a coma. He recovered just enough to get back into the ring once again, but his best days were clearly behind him. He soon hung up his boxing gloves and fell into a life of crime.

Veranis was a minor criminal who carried major debts with the mob. He was constantly fending off loansharks that had come to collect what they were owed. One gangster continually stiffed by Veranis was Barboza crew member Tommy DePrisco. Veranis, who was fearless and oftentimes drunk, ran into DePrisco’s friend Johnny Martorano at a club opening in late April 1966. The former boxer boasted that he had just kicked DePrisco out of South Boston with his tail between his legs. Veranis told Martorano to fuck off and then reached for his gun. Martorano, who was every bit as capable as Flemmi and Barboza, drew first, shooting Veranis in the head and killing him with one shot. The former boxer’s body was later dumped in the Blue Hills of Milton.

A month later, talk of Veranis’s murder would subside as the Winter Hill Gang was able to hook a much bigger fish.

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