NOTICE:

Tom states through out his testimony that his Grandfather was Guiseppe "Joe The Boss" Masseria. He further states that his father and mother were married at 13 years old in Sicily.

Fact:

Masseria, Joe

byname JOE THE BOSS, original name GIUSEPPE MASSERIA, leading crime boss of New York City from the early 1920s until his murder in 1931.

Emigrating from Sicily at age 16, Masseria associated with a band of Italian killers and Black Hand extortionists and committed burglaries and other petty crimes, but in 1920 he began to create the power that gave him control or a percentage of the profits of most of the Italian-run rackets in New York. In 1930 he declared war on Salvatore Maranzano and allied rivals, and some 60 gunmen and leaders on both sides were slaughtered in the resultant gang war. It ended on a Wednesday afternoon in April 1931, when Masseria was himself shot down by his own men while sitting in a Coney Island restaurant called Scarpato's Nuova Villa Tammaro. The assassins were Vito Genovese, Albert Anastasia, Joe Adonis, and Bugsy Siegel, led by Lucky Luciano.

To cite this page:
"Masseria, Joe" Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
<http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=1472&sctn=1>
[Accessed 10 September 1999].

So, Joe The Boss was IN AMERICA at 16 years of age.. he never had children born in Sicily. In fact, Tom's mother could not have met Tom's father in Sicily at 13 years of age and been married and then emigrated to America as he swears.

*******************

Further, Tom states that after he "took" down the men in the storefront, not once, but several times,  three "wise men" came to his house and informed him that his grandfather (Joe The Boss) was respected and that is the reason he is not dead or hurt . He goes on to say, that these very men inform him that his father could have had a place of respect in their family. Tom then states that he went to these men, and told them HE wanted that place.

Yet, Tom wants the world to believe that these men represented the GAMBINO Mafia Family. Throughout his testimony, Tom undeniably states he was a member of the GAMBINO family. Yet, IF Joe The Boss WAS Tom's Grand Father, which he was not, then Tom would have been a member of the Genoveses Family.

****************

RE: read the family histories:

GAMBINO
     The first boss of the Gambino family was Salvatore D'Aquila. He was the boss of Bosses until he was murdered in October, 1928, in Brooklyn, NY. He was succeeded by Frank Scalise, who was in control until 1931. Vincent Mangano represented stability for the family as he was in control from 1931 to 1951. Albert Anastasia took over in 1951 and ruled until his murder in a barbershop in 1957. He formed Murder, Inc., the group that killed an estimated 400 people in his time as boss of the family. Anastasia's sanity began to be questioned by other members of the family. This led to his murder by the Gallo brothers, Larry and Joe, in a hotel barbershop. Carlo Gambino took over in 1957 and ruled until 1976. He is generally known as the best boss of the family. He tried to keep a low profile. He was not a man who like his name in the papers. This helped when some of the other wiseguys in the city were always on the front page of the New York Times. Carlo Gambino turned the family into the most profitable one in the city. Gambino never served a day of jailtime in his life. When Carlo was on his deathbed in 1976, he chose Paul Castellano to succeed him. Castellano was Carlo's cousin, and brother in law, so Carlo thought it was a good choice to let Paul take over. This move upset Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce, who had been family underboss since 1965. Dellacroce thought that he would be taking over the family, but he obeyed Gambino's wishes and was rewarded by Castellano by remaining in the number two spot in the family.
     Paul Castellano was regarded as more of a businessman than a gangster. Castellano lived in his mansion on Todt Hill on Staten Island, where he rarely ventured out into the city. The soldiers and captains in the family began to resent this. They felt that Castellano was losing touch with them. In 1985, Paul Castellano and his bodyguard, Tommy Bilotti, were assassinated in front of Sparks Steak House in NYC in a move that was orchestrated by Gambino capo John Gotti. Gotti's mentor, Dellacroce, had died two weeks before the assassination. Gotti had waited for Dellacroce to die so he could take out Castellano. Gotti then took control of the family and was known as the "teflon don" for his acquital in three separate trials in the late 1980's. In 1991, the feds indicted John Gotti, along with underboss Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano and consigliere Frank "Frankie Loc" Locascio on racketeering and murder conspiracy charges. In a shocking move, Gravano turned state's witness and testified against his boss. Gravano was sentenced to 20 years in prison for 19 murders and he served less than five.

********8******************

GENOVESE
     The Genovese family's first boss was Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. He became the boss of bosses after the murder of Salvatore D'Aquila. He ruled until 1931. He was succeeded by one of the most famous mobsters in history, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano. He got the nickname Lucky because he was assaulted by a rival gang and was left for dead, but he survived and gained even more power. Luciano was in power until he was forced to go to Sicily in 1936 because of criminal charges against him in New York City. Luciano was succeeded by Frank Costello. Costello was a close friend of Luciano's and kept the power in the family that Luciano had. He remained in power until he was shot in the head by Vincent "Chin" Gigante who was on orders from Vito Genovese. The next boss of the family was its namesake, Vito Genovese. He was in charge for four years, until 1959. The family was then ruled by a three man "ruling council". This consisted of Tommy Eboli, Jerry Catena, and Mike Miranda. They were in power until 1972. Frank "Funzi" Tieri took over then. Funzi was the boss for nine years. He died in 1981. Phillip Lombardo became the boss in 1981. He was replaced only a few weeks after he took over. Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno became the family's boss from 1981 to 1987. He was jailed in 1987 on racketeering charges, and he was replaced by the current boss, Vincent "Chin" Gigante. Gigante was convicted in the summer of a series of racketeering charges. His sentencing date is in late November. The acting boss of the family, Liborio "Barney" Bellomo, entered a guilty plea to charges of extortion for the role of the Genovese family in the San Gennaro festival. The street boss of the Genovese family during Gigante's incarceration is Dominick "Quiet Dom" Cirillo. He has been compared to Gigante in that he is one of the experienced men in the family. He rarely conducts business over the telephone. He is very cautious about his meeting places. Many people expect the family to continue their prosperous ways under Cirillo.

*********************10

From Mafia to Ministry
By  Tom Papania

  I was a raised in a household that - there wasn't much love there. My father and mother were married at thirteen years old in Sicily. They came to America. My father had no education. He would take any job that was available. He worked usually two jobs, sometimes three jobs.

[Emigrating from Sicily at age 16, { joe the boss } Masseria associated with a band of Italian killers and Black Hand extortionists and committed burglaries and other petty crimes, but in 1920 he began to create the power that gave him control or a percentage of the profits of most of the Italian-run rackets in New York. In 1930 he declared war on : {...no kids 13 years old in Sicily getting married and immigrating}  ]

When he would come home from work, he would begin drinking and just go to sleep. My father never did the things with me that most fathers do with their sons. He never took me to a ballgame. He never took me fishing. He never even put his arms around me, and I never even heard him call me "son". The only attention I ever got from him was when I did something that he didn't like. He would take me into my room, and he had this big leather strap. In those days they used to use it to sharpen straight-edge razors. It was doubled-side, wide leather strap. And he would take me into the room, and he would hit me with that. And at the least little thing wrong, if something went wrong at the job, if something was wrong between him and my mother, he would take me into the room. He would take everything out on me. And I realized at about 9 or 10 years old that as soon as I started crying, he would stop hitting me and just walk out of the room. He wouldn't say a word. He would just leave, and that was it. And I made a commitment to myself, at that age, that if my father wasn't going to show me love, I was never going to allow him to see any more of my tears. And in the beginning when he used to come into the room and hit me with the strap, it was very hard for me to hold those tears back. He was a big man. He was a strong man. And that was a big belt. But, I held it back, and as time went by, my heart became just so calloused, I believe that by the time I was teenager I didn't have any tears left to shed. And I would intentionally get him upset. So, he would bring me in the room, and hit me with the strap. And I would just look at him and laugh. And he would just walk out of the room.

[NOTE HOUSE OF CARDS
...it had taken blood, sweat, and so much fear and agony; it had cost him his childhood and most of his teenage years; it had denied him school, friends, and memories he would have had of Proms, Boy Scouts, his first Football and Baseball game, Rides with girl friends to the beach and movie theater; it had denied him family and joy and all of those precious moments we hold so dear to our hearts: "MEMORIES OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS WITH FAMILY"!]

When I was about fifteen years old, I was coming home from school one day. And by the railroad tracks, I saw a gun on the ground. It was an old gun. It was rusty. It had no bullets in it. And I picked it up and when I got together with my friends later on, I came up with this idea. There were these old Italian men that used to stay in this storefront. And they always had a lot of money. They were dressed very well. And I came up with the idea that if we covered up our faces, we could go in there with this gun and hold them up and get all their money. And then we could take the money. And we can go to Coney Island and go on all the rides and get the cotton candy and the hotdogs.

[FromHouse Of Cards {Joe was 16}

Scooping all the cash from the tables, Joe ordered his subjects to empty their pockets inside out, strip, and keep facing the walls after they left or their waiting partner would blow them away. Calling Sergio from behind the main poker table--where he had remained, entranced by a performance he could not believe--they backed their way to the cash register.

Spying the register out of the corner of his eye, Joe hit the sale button and removed the cash. Grabbing all of the bills, he took the change tray and, like an actor in a scripted James Cagney movie, threw the change on the floor with the statement...

"Save it for the sweeper"...]

And, at first, they didn't want to do it. But, I convinced them to do it - that they wouldn't know who we were. And we went in there. And we went in the storefront. And there was about thirty or more men in there.

[NOTE House Of Cards:
"Waving the gun around so as to keep the fact of its impotency secret, Joe noticed that Sergio had not budged! Joe was demanding the attention of over thirty Mafia figures and their subjects! The room contained over thirty guns--in the hands of experienced wiseguys whom made a living killing! Yet Sergio had not moved an inch from the counter."]

And I took the gun out and told everybody I wanted their money. And they put all their money on the table. And I came up with even a better idea. I realized that there were only three of us and over thirty of them. And when we left, they would probably chase us. So, I made each one of them take their pants off. I not only got their money, I got their respect, their dignity. And when we left, about two blocks later, we threw the pants down, took the money and went to Coney Island. We were very nervous the first time we did it. But, it went by so easy, we came back three more times in the course of about four or five months.

[NOTE House Of Cards

Suddenly, the torrid anger boiling for years beneath Joe’s created world frothed to the surface, keeping his impotent revolver pointed up-wards, he began stripping everyone of their guns and cash as he hurled bitter abuse upon their persons: "What you looking at?! Get your #@%$ against the wall... ...yea you, I'm talking to you! YOU PUNK! How long have you--Tony-- ripped off the dreams of so many!? Give me that watch... and the $%^%$#$ rings!...."

One night, I was at home having dinner with my mother and father, and there a knock on the door. And my father opened the door. And there was three men standing there, all dressed in black. And these weren't the three wisemen at the door. And they began speaking in Sicilian. And I heard them say to my father "We need to come in and speak to you and your son. It's very important." And I heard my father answered back in Sicilian,"I told you men never to come near my family or never to come near my house, and I want you to leave right now." And one of the men said, "If we leave right now, you won't have a son in the morning. We said this is important.' And my father told my mother to go into the bedroom, and the men came in. They sat down and one of them point his finger right in my face and he said, "We know it's you that has the gun and has come in there and has taken our money and our pants. But, the only thing that's keeping you alive is the respect that we have for your grandfather."

[NOTE: {Ganglandnews.com and twenty other sources} the fact is, these men were supposed GAMBINO members, Joe was Genovese. and, more than one time, in same neighborhood, same people??]

And I didn't understand that, because my grandfather had died before I was even born. My mother and father never even spoke of him. I didn't even know his name. And here these men are telling me that I'm alive, because of the respect they have for a dead person. And this man went on to say that if you do it again, even the respect we have for your grandfather won't save you. And they just got up, and they just left. My father took into the room and probably gave me the worst beating I ever got.

[NOTE: House Cards

"Who da hell do youse dink you are?" BANG! "Snatchin’ trucks on my turf!" BOOM! "Ya oughta gotten da %$%^ beatin outa youse a long time ago!" WHAM! "DON’T YOUSE EVER RAISE YA HANS TA ME! YOUSE HEAR ME!" SMACK! BOOM! BANG! "An rememba, dose guz are my friends! Been my friends for ten years!" CRASH! "An stop bringing dat stuff up about ya old man! He’s dead, got dat? He ain’t eva done nuttin for your mother or youse guz!" BANG! "He deserved what he got!" CRASH! SMACK! BOOM! "Ya just like im an I ain’t gonna put up wid it! I call da shots! You $%$#$% little punk.. !" BOOMBOOMBOOM! "Da word iz on da streets, youse guz don move nuttin! NUTTIN!" BOOM! "An jus like youse father, an example haz gotta be made!" CRASH!

Other than the TV and an occasional sound of a beer can being opened, the house was quite as Joe lay upon the nicked, terrazzo looking -- and apparently bleeding -- linoleum kitchen floor. Joe’s siblings had remained tucked deep within their beds with pillows over their heads while the horrendous shouting and interrupting dreadful blows reverberated through the apartment.

Wheezing through the mucus and red foamy liquid covering his face, he remained where he was and how he was for two hours; frightened to budge an inch less Joe Pag return with his fists or belt. His attempt to defend himself had come to no avail and he knew there was absolutly no way to even contemplate a plan of action let alone succeed at one. He was about to begin crawling to his brothers room when he heard the knock on the door, he immediately ceased his endeavor and waited the out come.  ]

I still didn't cry. And I asked them, "Who is my grandfather? He's dead, and these men still have respect for him? Who is he?" And my father told me never to ask about my grandfather. And if I was ever to go by these men again, he said "I won't hit you", he said, "I'll kill you. Stay away from these men." But, I was very thick-headed. The next day when I came back from school, I went right into that storefront. Those men were there. And I just sat down and I said, "I demand to know who my grandfather is, if you're keeping me alive because of him." And one man said to me, "You know your father is a very foolish man." And I said, "I didn't come here to hear about my father. I hate my father." I said, "One of these days, I'll kill my father. I said, "I want to know about my grandfather."

[NOTE: House Of Cards:

Joe began once more to live on the streets and in empty apartments throughout the neighborhood. Smoking Marlboro reds and drinking rum and coke, he commanded respect where ever he went, backing it up with a fist or pipe. He began to discover bits and pieces of information on the various operations of the wiseguys whom occupied the neighborhood. He soon discovered many of the older associates treated him with a sort of special deference. Some talk of his father and other relatives trickled down to him. He began to "pump" information in his desire to discover what had happened to his father. One guy in particular, an old man named Feranzi, took a special interest in him and Joe was proud of it. By his fourth month he had established a reputation for taking care of "business". Feranzi began sending wiseguys to him when they needed a car for a "job" or some windows broken. "Hey Joe, Feranzi sent me, we need a red, '62 Volkswagen... You get $100.00. Deliver it to Junior's place -- here's an advance of $50.00." Pauly would heist the cars, Donny deliver them. After a while it became easy. They dressed in fine clothes and always had money]

And this man told me that my grandfather was Joe Mazaria [Tom's spelling, not ours, it is MASSERIA] , known as Joe the Boss. And the FBI claims that he's the one responsible in the 1900's for bringing the Mafia over from Sicily. They told me that he was the boss of all the bosses in New York, and Lucky Luciano had killed him in order to become boss. And that my father could have been a very, very powerful and wealthy man in New York. But, my father wanted no part of them.

[NOTE:on 700 club, Tom said MATERNAL. that his MOTHER was the daughter of Joe The Boss, and had been married at 13 in Sicily... but as records and facts are seen, Joe The Boss came to America at 16, fathered NO children in Sicily, and never went THERE and fathered any children. And, so, a direct position for Tom's father is nonsense, in addition, Joe The Boss was GENOVESE, Tom claims these men, again, are Gambino]

They said that my father doesn't have to work two and three jobs. "You don't have to live like you're living. And that's why we're saying your father's very foolish." And I started thinking. And I said to this man, and this man was Carlo Gambino. I said, "Well, I'm my father's only son, and if he doesn't want this position, then I can have it, right?"

[NOTE: Britanica Encyclapedia So, Joe The Boss was IN AMERICA at 16 years of age.. he never had children born in Sicily. In fact, Tom's mother could not have met Tom's father in Sicily at 13 years of age and been married and then emigrated to America. Additionally, Tom would never have met Gambino in a situation as this.]

And he said, "Yes". And I said, "Okay, I'll take it". And he said, "No, not at fifteen years old you won't. There's a lot of things that your father should have been teaching you that we'll have to teach you." And I wanted to be in this thing called the Mafia for one reason only. I wanted to hurt my father the way he had hurt me by not showing me love, the rejection that he had shown me. Because the Mafia didn't impress me. Because at fifteen years old, four times I took all their money and their pants. They didn't really impress me as gangsters.   But, I finally found a way that I could get even my father. If he'd rather work all these jobs and drink himself to almost death, rather than get involved with them, I found a way to hurt him. And they started teaching the things that my father never taught me. They taught me how to make money without working, making money off of people that did work, stealing and different things, con games. And I was making a few hundred dollars a week, and I doing was very good.

[NOTE: HOUSE OF CARDS

They had hijacked twenty seven trucks in two weeks and still could not keep up with the demand. No matter the product, a buyer could be found--in fact, even two hundred cases of pigs feet discovered in a truck purported to carry cigarettes sold for twenty five cents on the dollar! Money flowed and Joe was living in a motel by the airport. He even had a phone! A few hundred dollars every week! Though Joe was not the leader of the pack, he operated as the "captain" of his crew. Good old Feranzi had opened many doors and the older guys knew it was due to Joe’s unique friendship with this "retired wiseguy". ]

When I was seventeen years old, they came to me, and they gave me a gun. This time it wasn't an old gun. It wasn't rusty, and this time it had bullets in it. And I took a vow that I would live and die by that gun. A piece of paper was put in my hand. It was set on fire. They said that if I betray the Mafia, I would burn like this paper was burning and go to hell.

[NOTE:OK, here we go:So, Tom claims he was a made GAMBINO soldier at 17...
{while Pastor Kelly of land mark church in Atlanta, his purported mentor and accomplice all looked on},

As reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 1987:
(2) "But Papanier denied being a member of the Gambino syndicate and said he moved to Atlanta to work for Coppola's Jilly's rib restaurants in 1983 to sever his informal ties with organized crime and "start my life over." "Fed Testimony

I couldn't wait to go home after I got that gun.

[NOTE .45  HOUSE OF CARDS
* To "FATHER": I dedicate and state to the world my regrets, love, and sorrow... for my Knight in Shining Armor-- who wore a trench coat and carried a 45.
And, the gun in question Tom speaks of is a .45. In the day and age of the times Tom is speaking of, a .45 was a rarity. ]

And she said, "You have no idea what it was like for my mother and I every day when my father left the house, never knowing whether he was coming back. And one day the police came to the house and told us he was killed. He wasn't coming back." And she said, "These men killed my father, and I don't want them killing my son." So she said, "I'm praying that you will seek God for your protection". And that's just the answer I wanted her to say. And I pulled out the gun and said, "Here's my protection. I can't see this Jesus you're always praying to. And I don't know that he'll be there when I'm in trouble. But, I know this gun will be with me, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And I know how to use it. I'm not afraid to use it. So, don't pray that prayer for me any more." She just continued crying. I said, "Is there anything else you're praying for me?" And she looked up at me and said, "Yes, I pray that someday you'll become a priest". And that's very funny when you're waving a .45.

[NOTE HOUSE OF CARDS

"Where did you say you got the money from? Jeanette inquired as he laid the money on the table, beaming with pride.
"I won it at the track off of the money I brought with me... it’s yours! Really, I got more!" He repeated, boldly showing another several thousand dollars.
"What track and what race." She asked with a doubtful look.
"I won it, that's all. Listen take the money, you know you need it! I’m gonna head for "Miami"." He lied.
"I don't care where you say you got it. I know it had to come from dishonest means. GOD will punish you, do you understand what I'm saying." She admonished as she swept the money off the table.
He was devastated. He was blown away: "THIS IS NOT RIGHT! THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG HEEEERE! WHY ARE YOU DOOOOING THIS TO ME?" He screamed as he began picking up the money. "GOD DOES NOT EXISTS--IF HE DID, THEN WHY DID WE WIND UP THE WAY WE DID!? HUH! HERE YOU SIT, ACTING LIKE I’M WRONG AND YOUR FRIENDS HAVE TAKEN MY LIFE; MY FREEDOM; CAUSED ME TO SUFFER... HELL, YOU DIDN’T EVEN CARE WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME... DID YOU? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK STOLE MY BUSINESS IN NEW ORLEANS?... HUH? HERE I AM, RETURNING TO HELP YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU! AND WHO TOLD ME I COULD NOT COME HOME, HUH? WHO?"
Joe could hear Jeanette weeping as he flew down the stairs and ran towards the waiting car and Pauly... ]

I just thought of the offerings I could have got in church if I was a priest waving a .45. And I looked at her and I said, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say." I said, "Mom, I never once knew why I was brought into this world. And, now I know." I said, "My father wouldn't take the rightful position that this family should have. So God allowed me to come into the world to step into my grandfather's shoes." And I said, "I'm going to be better than my grandfather was. I'm going to be more violent, more wealthy, more powerful." I said, "So, you don't ever have to pray for me ever again." Tears were still coming down her eyes. She looked at me, and she said, "Not the Mafia, not you - can ever make me stop praying. " And she said, "I won't stop praying until God answers those prayers."

It wasn't long before that I was called to use the gun. They called me in. And they said, "Tom, you've been doing very good. You're making a lot of money for yourself. You're making a lot of money for us." And I was always big and strong and knew how to take care of myself. I was a fighter. And they used to send me out to collect money. I was seventeen and eighteen years old, and they would send me out to grown men to collect money they owed. And I always came back with every penny. I was very proud of it. If I had to beat them up with a baseball bat or stab them with an ice pick, whatever I had to do, short of killing them, I would do to bring the money back. And I was very proud of this. I was growing in the Mafia. I was getting a reputation.

And they said, "Now, is the next step. Some men have hijacked a truck in the Garment District. It was an inside job. We killed the man on the inside. That's already taken care of. But, the two men that hijacked the truck, they're hiding out in Kansas. We want you to go there. We want you to shoot both of these men. We don't want you to kill them. We just want you to set an example for everybody to see what happens if they should steal from us." And they said, "We don't want you using your right name. So, we have some identification for you. Here's the plane ticket. Just go there. Soon as you get off the plane, somebody knows who you are. They'll come to you. They'll give you keys to the car, and they'll give you a gun. And they'll give you pictures of the two men that we want to shoot. And they'll tell you exactly where they are. Just go there. Shoot the two men and come right back."

Everything that they told me was exactly the way they told me. When I got there, a man met me. He gave me the keys. He gave me the gun. He gave me pictures. He gave me directions. I went there. I shot the two men. I came back to the airport. Kept looking in the rear view mirrors. Nobody was following me. I made a few extra turns. Felt very safe. Got back to the airport. Waited until they were boarding the plane. And I got on the plane. And all that was on the plane was policemen. And as soon I boarded the plane, they said my name. They put handcuffs on me. Telling me I was under arrest for shooting two men. And they even knew the names of the two men. I didn't even know their names. I only had their picture. Brought me before a judge. And the judge said, "You know, you're Italian. You're from New York. And you're down here shooting people. Are you in the Mafia? Is this a contract?" And I had taken a vow of silence at seventeen years old, and I didn't even answer the judge. And he said, "If you're going to be quiet like this when you come before me for the trial," he said, "I'll send you away for the maximum time that I can." When it came time for me to go before the judge, I still kept that vow of silence. I didn't say a word. He sentenced me to two 5 to 10 year sentences in the Kansas State Penitentiary.

I went there, and at that time, it was probably the worst and toughest prison in the United States. As big as I was, and as tough as I was handling myself, I had to fight almost every other day for survival in that place. My mother and father had found out that I was arrested and put in jail for shooting somebody. And my father disowned me. He said, "I didn't have a mother, I didn't have a father." And not to write any letters, not to make any phone calls, that they didn't exist any more. And that I had chosen a new family. And my father wrote to tell me that I had broken my mother's heart, and he never wanted me to speak to my mother again. Five and a half years went by. I finished the first sentence. I was paroled to my second sentence and sent back to New York.

When I got back to New York, I didn't want to go see those men right away. I thought I had failed them. They told me to go shoot two men and come back right away. I shot the two men. But, it took me five and a half years to get back. And I really believed that I had failed them. But, they knew I was out, and very shortly they sent for me to that same storefront where everything started. When I went there I had a gun. I always walked around with a gun. The day I got of jail, I got a gun.

As soon as I walked in, a man came up to me and said, "Tom, do you have a gun on you?" I said, "Of course, I do." He said, "Well, can we have it?" And I said, "No". And there was a table close by. I said, "But, I'll put the gun on the table." And they said it was all right. I wanted that gun as close to me as possible, so if these men were going to kill me, then I can get the gun and kill as many of them as I could before they killed me. And I sat down and the first question I was asked was, "How was prison?" And I was cocky and arrogant, and I said, "Look, I don't have any scars, no broken bones or anything." I said, "I handled myself. I survived." And then he leaned back, and he said, "Is there any one thing that you had thought about all the time that you were in prison?" And that was very easy for me to answer. Because the day that I was arrested until the day I was released, five and a half years later, I wondered what I did wrong. How I messed up that I was caught. And this is what I told him. And he looked at me and he said, "Now, you are going to understand why we wanted your gun." And he said, "You may not understand this right away." He said, "In time, you will.

[NOTE:

Imagine this....????? farce}

He said, "Everything that we asked you to do so far, you've been very loyal, you've done it. But, we didn't know what would happen under pressure. We didn't know if you had to go to jail, how you would hold up. So, we had to give you a test." And he said, "You passed our test." And got up and opened up his arms, and said, "Welcome to our family, son."

[NOTE: did not Tom say he WAS MADE INTO THE FAMILY 7 YEARS PREVIOUSLY???? Imagine ANY Mobster sending a 17 year old kid to jail for 5 plus years to test him? After MAKING HIM A SOLDIER?? ]

First man that ever called me, "son", that sent me to jail for five and a half years. Broke my mother's heart. And he's got his arms opened with a smile, calling me, "son". All I could think of was that gun on the table. Killing him and everybody in that room. But, before I had a chance to reach for the gun, there was a book on this table. And he opened up the book. I had seen this book many times before. This was the book where they lent people money. And the amounts and all the interest were in there. And he turned to me and he said, "Tom, if you could have any business that you want, any at all, which would you choose?" And he knew that I always like the nightclub and discotheque business. And I told him that. And he turned the book around, and he said, "Pick one". You know it's amazing how fast the rage and anger disappeared. How quick I forgot about my mother's broken heart. How quick I forgot about those five and a half years in prison. I was going to be a nightclub owner now. Now I had a smile on my face. And I looked at the book, and there was two of them there that I really liked that I knew were very good clubs. And I asked him if I could have some time to think it over, 'cause I couldn't make a decision right now. And he said, "No problem. Take both of them. You deserve it." This was the beginning of my business life in the Mafia.

From two nightclubs, I eventually went to four and to six restaurants. By the time I was thirty years old, I was involved in the longshoremen business, the trucking business, the warehouse business. Every fruit and vegetable, every piece of meat, every fish that came into the ports and the different places in New York City, I was getting a kickback from. I was now making hundreds of thousands of dollars, not just hundreds any more, but hundreds of thousands of dollars. I was growing.

[NOTE: 1

Subject: Re: Information Please
Date: Tues, 23 Mar 99 23:02:08 -0700
From: Jerry Capeci <capeci@ganglandnews.com>
To: Michael <EDITED> <EDITED>

its tom papania and he's a small time hood from statan island ny who's making a career for himself by telling tall tales and selling tapes as a man of god. he was never a member of the gambino family and i doubt he ever saw paul castellano in his life.

jerry

<. . . if he is claiming to have been third in line to Paul Castellano he is misquoting himself . . .   JC>

jerry
capeci@ganglandnews.com
http://www.ganglandnews.com

Note 2 HOUSE OF CARDS:

his last venture--one he began with $2,500 and built in two years into an eleven-thousand, five hundred foot group of companies involving one-hundred people, featured in major news papers, TV programs, and magazines, with clients including such renown names as Sylvester Stallone, Bob Lee (Boxing Commissioner and I.B.F. President), Bob Beamon (Olympic Hero), Maynard Jackson (the Mayor of Atlanta in 1993), and many, many, more, blossomed four years in a row -- the longest he had ever remained in a single place -- and threatened him with security and happiness, he began to truly believe the Curse of Alphonso had ended and he had discovered his purpose and happiness]

Then, there came a time again a few years later that I would go back to jail. This time a man came into one of my restaurants. And he stole a lot of stocks. And he would work with stocks and bonds. And he just did a deal for four and a half million dollars. And he came into the restaurant with a suitcase full of four and a half million dollars and asked me if I would hold it for him for a month or two. Because the people he was dealing with were new. He didn't know them. He didn't trust them. And he said, "I've given them the stocks, and they had given me the money. Now, they can just come to my house and kill me and get the money back." He said, "So, if you'll just hold the money for me for a while." And I put it in the safe in the restaurant. The next day, the FBI came in. And unknown to him, he was working with undercover agents. And the money was marked and everything. And they arrested me. And I went before the judge. And the judge knew me. I had been before him dozens of times before on different assault charges and extortion charges. And he said, "Tom, we know you had nothing to do with the stocks and bonds, the theft of it or the sale of it. We know this man just brought it to your restaurant for you to hold." And he said, "If you'll just testify to that, you can walk out of the courtroom." And I tell the judge, "You know me better than that." I said, "What's the maximum I can get." He said, "Well, it's a conspiracy charge. The maximum I can give you is two years." I said, "Give me the two years, so I can go ahead and get it over with." He gave me the two years, and this time it was much different. By this time, the American Civil Liberties Union had stuck their noses into the prisons and turned them into college campuses.

There was no more a deterrent to crime, and there was no longer a penitentiary or a prison. It was now a "correctional institution". They sent me to Petersburg, Virginia for my two years. And when I got there, the red carpet was rolled out. I had my own private room. I had my own stereo, my own refrigerator, my own ice machine. I had all things I had at home. They told me the one thing that I had to do was work, 'cause everybody at this jail had to work. So, I had a job from 11:30 in the morning to 11:45 in the morning. They gave me a broom, and I swept the basketball court. After that, I'd go out and get some suntan lotion, lay out in the sun, and work on my tan. And the time that I was in there, I used to go to church on Saturday. A Catholic priest used to come in on Saturday and hold services. And the only reason I went to church on Saturday, he used bring a bunch of girls in with him. And I'd just go over there just checking out the girls.

And one day he came in, and he walked up to me. And I had only four or five months left to do to finish my sentence. And he said, "You know, Tom, I've been in jails and I've seen many people." And he said, "But, you're different than other people." And I looked at him and laughed. I said, "Of course, I'm different. I'm the third highest in the Gambino family.

[NOTE: Atlanta Journal 1987 Quote from FedTestimony

(2 Atlanta Journal ) "But Papanier denied being a member of the Gambino syndicate and said he moved to Atlanta to work for Coppola's Jilly's rib restaurants in 1983 to sever his informal ties with organized crime and "start my life over." "Fed Testimony]

I eventually got out. I went back to New York. And it was business as usual. Every penny that was due to me was given to me. After all the businesses were taken care of while I was gone. It was like I went on vacation and just came back. Nothing had changed. But, there was something deep inside me all those years. As I was getting power, as I was getting wealth, and buying all the materials things that anybody could dream of, there was always a void in my life. There's always something missing. And I would go out and buy something. And it would satisfy me maybe 24 hours, maybe 48 hours. But, then that void would come back. So, when I got back to New York. And I said, "Maybe I need to get out of New York for a while. The police know me here. I'm under surveillance 24 hours. My phones are bugged. And every time I drive some place, I've got a whole parade behind me following me. Maybe, it's freedom that I don't have." And I spoke to my boss. Carlo Gambino had died of natural causes in 1976. And Paul Castellano had taken over, his brother-in-law. When I was first initiated into the Mafia, I had conditions.

[NOTE
"But Papanier denied being a member of the Gambino syndicate and said he moved to Atlanta to work for Coppola's Jilly's rib restaurants in 1983 to sever his informal ties with organized crime and "start my life over." "Fed Testimony]

I told Carlo Gambino that I would not become a member of the Mafia unless I answered directly to him.

[NOTE

Another SLIP?? Tom does NOT say this when he describes being "MADE" at 17 years of age. In fact, if you read tom's own testimony, Tom was made at 17 and says NOTHING at all about this "fact".]

And a man from Florida called me up. And he said, "Tom, I have a friend in Atlanta, Georgia that has a couple of restaurants. And he's interested in opening one in Atlantic City. And he's a good friend of mine. Can you give him a break? He's a real good friend." I said, "Well, tell him to come up and we'll talk and I'll see what I can do." And the man came from Atlanta, Georgia up to Atlantic City, New Jersey. We met, and we started talking. We had a lot in common. We were both single. We were both wearing Rolexes with diamonds all over them. We were both driving Mercedes. He had lake houses and penthouses. I had penthouses in New York. We had a lot in common. We liked fast women, fast cars, fast boats. So, we hit it off real good. And he was telling me about his restaurants. And I wanted to go down to Atlanta and see the restaurants, because I had never been to the South. And the only thing that I knew of the South is what I saw on the television program, "Hee-Haw". And that's what I thought the South was like, and I couldn't imagine these restaurants he was describing. And we went to Atlanta, I was very, very impressed. In fact, when I saw the skyline of Atlanta, I thought we made a wrong turn some place, and we were back in New York City. And my first look at Atlanta. And I said, "This is what New York would be like, if someone would clean out all the filth and all the garbage and all the crime. It's nice here." And he showed the restaurants. And they were very, very well run, and they were very prosperous restaurants. And I was going to do something with this man, because I wanted these restaurants for myself. He had four of them, and I wanted to open six more and then go public with it and then just sell it public. And I wasn't going to give him any of the money. And we went back to Atlantic City. And I said, "I tell you what I'll do. You don't have to give me any money. Just give me a percentage in your business, in the restaurants. But, I want to really expand the business." And he said, "Ok, fine." And we didn't draw any contract. There were no attorneys. It was a handshake. And I told him, every month, I want him to put somebody on a plane and just fly them up to New York and bring me my percentage. And every month somebody would come up and it would be between forty and fifty thousand dollars each month they would come and bring me. And almost a year had gone by, and every month faithfully, the man came up with the money.

[NOTE:

"But Papanier said the items found in his home were old keepsakes that he did not want to throw out. He admitted having tried to call Bilotti, but said it was to check out potential investors for a Jilly' s franchise in New York. "Fed Court Testimony]

"But Papanier denied being a member of the Gambino syndicate and said he moved to Atlanta to work for Coppola's Jilly's rib restaurants in 1983 to sever his informal ties with organized crime and "start my life over." "Fed Testimony

And I got a phone call from the man in Florida, who originally called me. And he said, "Have you heard about Carl?" And I just received some money a few weeks ago, and I didn't hear anything. And I said, "No". He said he was kidnapped by some drug dealers. And they want a million dollars or they're going to kill him. He said, "Do you think you can help him?"

And I had to stop and think, because I remember when I was seventeen years old. I remember Carlo Gambino telling me, "Don't ever get involved in drugs with this family. The other families are involved in drugs. But, we're not. We're making billions of dollars a year without the drugs. And if you ever get involved in drugs once, there'll be no second chance. " And I knew they were very serious about this, because three of my friends had been killed just for doing one-time drug deals. So, I knew how serious they were about drugs. But, the greed in me was so great, I started thinking if this man gets killed, I won't see the forty or fifty thousand dollars each month. I was making millions, and I was worried about forty or fifty thousand dollars. And then I reasoned with myself, "Well, he's not a drug dealer. Drug dealers kidnapped him." So, I said I would help. The position that I had, and the networking, the contacts that I had, within 72 hours I found out who was behind the kidnapping, who kidnapped him.

I knew the whole story. There was one man in the Mafia in Detroit, Michigan. Another one in Miami, Florida, organized and arranged this whole thing, and they hired three drug dealers to kidnap him. I called these two men, and I asked them to meet with me. They met with me. And we sat down and I asked them about this kidnapping. And they were really proud about it. They were telling me how easy it went, and they had this man. And they were sure that they were going to get the million dollars. And they were probably going to kill him anyway, because he was a nobody. And that's when I surprised them. I said, "He's not a nobody, he's with me. And I own a percentage of the restaurant." I said, "Now, I want him set free immediately. And I want an example set of those three men [Joseph Cam was murdered] that kidnapped him. And if an example is not set, I'm coming back here and setting an example with the two of you."

  [NOTE Atlanta Journal

"Regarding the murders, Papanier denied plotting with Coppola to kill associates Daniel Forgione and Joseph Cam. Instead, as Coppola had done, Papanier pointed the finger at a key prosecution witness who implicated both accused racketeers in the South Florida murders." Fed Court Testimony. ]

I got home. Within two days, I was told two of the kidnappers were found dead in the street with bullets in the back of their heads. The third man had evidently seen his two friends were killed, and he just ran away and went into hiding. The man that owned the restaurant called me up and said, "Tom, I understand it was you that got me set free. I don't know how I can ever thank you." I said, "I do. We're going to increase my percentage in your business." Increased it. It went up a lot more each month.

  [NOTE  Atlanta Journal Constitution quoted the Court Room Testimony concerning the TESTIMONY of TOM under Oath, with Pastor Kelly of Land Mark Church LOOKING ON:
1- "Coppola was kidnapped in 1982 by Cam and two other men. Coppola, who said his captors tried to coerce him into surrendering stock and money, was held for three weeks before police rescued him. Cam's body turned up six months later dumped on a Florida playground, and federal investigators in Atlanta began a probe that lasted three years"

2- "Regarding the murders, Papanier denied plotting with Coppola to kill associates Daniel Forgione and Joseph Cam. Instead, as Coppola had done, Papanier pointed the finger at a key prosecution witness who implicated both accused racketeers in the South Florida murders." Fed Court Testimony]

A few months had gone by, and he called me up again. This time, you could tell by his voice, he was very, very nervous. Something's really bothering him. And he said, "Tom". He said, "I need your help again." And I said, "I've already saved your life. What more can I do for you?" And he said, "Well, I found out two of the kidnappers were killed. And the third man has been calling me up and he's saying he knows he's next. But, before they kill him, he's going come and kill me, and my mother and father, and my whole family. And Tom, I believe this man, because every day I was there kidnapped, this man put a gun in my mouth and said he was going to enjoy killing me. And even if we came up with the million, he was going to kill me anyway." And he said, "I know he'll kill me. I'm afraid. Please send somebody down to protect me, and I'll pay them whatever you tell me to pay them." I had thought I was looking to get out of New York for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity.

And I could go down there myself, oversee all these restaurants and expedite everything. And I said, "I'll do better than send somebody down, I'll come down myself. And as far as paying me, don't worry about it. We'll just increase my percentage a little more." By now, I had more percentage in his business than he had. Went down there. And the first thing I asked him, "What is the most exclusive area to live? Where are the more expensive houses?" He told me. I went and got a house there.

[NOTE Atlanta Journal Constitution:
"Around the same time the murder conspiracy against Forgione was being planned, Biscuiti testified, Coppola and Papanier had had a falling- out that climaxed when Papanier "backhanded" Coppola during a meeting in a Jilly's restaurant in Atlanta. Coppola decided to take Papanier off the Jilly's payroll and stop paying rent on his Dunwoody home, Biscuiti said." Fed Court Testimony ]

Moved in. So, I had this expensive house in an expensive neighborhood. I was already driving a Mercedes. I already had the Rolex. Always walking around with suits. So, the people in the neighborhood thought I was just another yuppie that moved in. And I noticed something when I was in Atlanta. Once a month, I'd have somebody come in and check my phones. They weren't bugged. I could go to places. People weren't following me. I knew I wasn't under surveillance. I felt a sense of freedom. But, there still was that void inside of me. Now, that I had that freedom that I thought was the void, I found out that it wasn't the void. And almost a year went by, and we opened up six more restaurants. And I was already talking with General Mills about buying it, going public with it. Just buying it, leaving him out. 'Cause I didn't care. Once I got the restaurants, they could kill him. They could do what they want. I wasn't there for him. I was there for me.

[NOTE Atlanta Journal Constitution (notice the restaurants are FRANCHISES)

"Last week, a federal strike force hauled in its net - a grand jury racketeering indictment of a dozen people including Coppola, two associates in his Jilly's restaurant business, a former bodyguard, an alleged pornographer and several alleged drug smugglers and dealers. . . .For nearly a decade, Coppola had run Atlanta restaurants and sold Jilly's franchises, driven fine cars and bought prime Northside land. When he walked into his restaurant, the waitresses jumped. He moved with bodyguards, and his girlfriend wore diamonds."  .Fed Court Testimony

(3) "For more than 13 years, law enforcement authorities followed the career of Carl Louis Coppola. But when he was kidnapped in 1982 by a longtime friend and when the friend's body turned up six months later dumped on a Florida playground, the investigation began in earnest. Last week, a federal strike force hauled in its net - a grand jury racketeering indictment of a dozen people including Coppola, two associates in his Jilly's restaurant business, a former bodyguard [Tom] , an alleged pornographer and several alleged drug smugglers and dealers."]

And one Friday night, he came to me and said, "There's been a death in my family, and I'm going to the funeral." And I said, "Well, every one knows that I'm here for you. Nobody's going to bother you. You go to the funeral yourself." And I didn't tell him the reason I didn't go to funerals. But, the reason was at funerals, people cry. And to me, crying was a sign of weakness. The last time I cried I was ten years old.

[NOTE: HOUSE OF CARDS

The last time Joe remembered crying in the presence of others occurred when he was five. ..]

And I was now thirty-nine years old. And I didn't want to be around people that cried, not only because to me was it a sign of weakness, but also it reminded me when I was a little boy, and my father used to beat me. So, he went to the funeral, and I stayed at the restaurant. And shortly after, a man came in. And I had given instructions, "Anybody comes looking for this man, whether the man is there or not, send him to me." And this man came over to me and asked me where he was. And I said, "He'll back in a little while. How can I help you?" And he said, "Well, your friend owes me some money." And I looked at this man. And he didn't have any fancy jewelry or any fancy clothes. I knew he wasn't one of our suppliers. And I just wanted this man to leave. And I said, "How much does he owe you?" And he said, "Eight-hundred dollars." And I just went into my pocket and gave him eight-hundred dollars. And he started to walk away. I just stopped him. And I said, "You're not one of our suppliers. You have nothing to do with these restaurants. What does he owe you eight-hundred dollars for?" And he said, "Cocaine. Everyday he buys eight grams of cocaine from me and pays me the next day." And when I heard this, I just became enraged.

[Tom is not telling us that HE knew of the cocaine dealing and the fact he was there to protect what was a cash cow! for the mob]

[NOTE Atlanta Journal Constitution:
"Around the same time the murder conspiracy against Forgione was being planned, Biscuiti testified, Coppola and Papanier had had a falling- out that climaxed when Papanier "backhanded" Coppola during a meeting in a Jilly's restaurant in Atlanta. Coppola decided to take Papanier off the Jilly's payroll and stop paying rent on his Dunwoody home, Biscuiti said." Fed Court Testimony ]

Went home. Went to sleep. Woke up Saturday morning. When I got up Saturday morning, I just slid to the edge of the bed. I just started looking at the house that I had. Everything inside the house was custom made. The house itself was custom. All the furniture, my jewelry. I had custom touches to the car. Pride began to swell up inside me. I looked at all that I had, and I started remembering how little my father had. And I thought to myself, "My father had two and sometimes three jobs and had nothing. I don't have any job and look at all that I have." And I just looked over everything and I said, "I done this all by myself. Nobody's ever helped me. Nobody's ever given me anything. And I've got so many more things I want to do. So many places to go". And for the first time in my life, I experienced something. I told you earlier that usually the way to become the boss in the Mafia, is not to have patience and wait for the boss to retire, but to kill the boss.

[NOTE

The Atlanta Journal, 1987) ) Around the same time the murder conspiracy against Forgione was being planned, Biscuiti testified, Coppola and Papanier had had a falling- out that climaxed when Papanier "backhanded" Coppola during a meeting in a Jilly's restaurant in Atlanta. Coppola decided to take Papanier off the Jilly's payroll and stop paying rent on his Dunwoody home, Biscuiti said." Fed Court Testimony ]

And even though I was the third highest,  people tried to kill me three times. I was stabbed once. I was shot. I, myself, was kidnapped and tied up and thrown into an old warehouse. And they set the warehouse on fire. And all three times, I just was able to escape death. My own boss used to tell me, "I hope I'm not alive when you become the boss of this family." He said, "You're the most violent and most cold-hearted man I've ever met. A knife can't kill you. Bullets can't kill you. And now fire can't even touch you." And he said, "You're the only man that I've ever seen that had absolutely no weaknesses at all." And this why people feared me. I had no weaknesses. I had grown men tell me when I used to go collect money. They would look into my eyes, and all they could see was their death. They would come up with the money. They would call up my boss and say, "Don't ever send Tom again. Send somebody else, but not him." But that morning, something happened to me. I never experienced fear in my life. I knew I would choose a life that I would just live from day to day. Tomorrow wasn't promised to me. I knew I could make a million dollars today. And I had to spend it today, because I didn't know if there was a tomorrow. Because I knew people within my own family would probably be the ones to kill me to get my position, to get my wealth and power. But that morning something happened that I was gripped with fear, and I even started shaking on the end of the bed. As I looked at all these things and my head was swelled with pride, a small voice began to speak to my heart. And it wasn't like the clouds opened and a bolt of lightning came out and Charlton Heston's voice spoke to me.

It is with great interest that i read the info on tom papania because he was my mother's boyfriend and husband from approx. 1982 to 1989.     it does not surprise me that he has lifted the life story of another man, because if he were to tell his own it would have to include the years of mental and physical cruelty he inflicted on my mother and me while he was a deacon at Landmark Church in Peachtree Corners. One bit of information, though, is that the Pastor of our church when Tommy was in prison, and the one that testified at the trial (i think)  was Fred Kelly, Not Jack Kelly. Jack is Fred's son, and i guess that he has taken over at Landmark. I can't believe that after all we went through with tommy that the church (landmark) will support him, especially when it is quite obvious that he is lying, and that his motives are questionable$$$$ When I read Tommy's testimony I couldn't believe what he was saying about having money and cars and an expensive house.   My mother (she was on the cover of the AJC with Tommy when he was acquitted and even I got to testify at the trial) and I have discussed this, and while we know it is wrong to pray for the downfall of another human being, we both wish you luck in reclaiming what is yours- your personal history.  If there is any way i can help, please let me know. (name available)

NOTE : Mrs. Tom Papania
(she changed her name after the divorce) up to a year AFTER the trial called. Said Tom abused her and her Daughter! Said she brought it before Fred Kelley at Landmark Church but was rebuffed. She then separated from Tom do to his lies and abuse. Said Tom is lying! She said, and I quote: "Call Tom, tell him you spoke to me, HE WILL TALK TO YOU! " -- "I cannot just sit here idly as Tom ruins your life and continues to con people..." ---" Tom is a PATHOLOGICAL liar..." 

It was a small, still voice in my heart. And this voice even knew my name. And the voice said, "Yes, Tom, look at all this. You've done this all by yourself. Nobody's ever helped you. You've never asked anybody for anything. " He said, "You never even asked me for anything." He said, "But, I know something that you don't know. You're going straight to Hell."

And I knew this was the voice of God. And I believed that God was telling me that He was going to kill me. And I looked at God the same way I looked at my father. If I didn't please my father, if I did something wrong, my father would punish me. And now I displeased God, and He was going to punish me - the ultimate punishment. He was going to kill me. And I didn't see any visions of angels or any lights or anything like that. This was just a small voice inside me. But, I began to speak openly in the room, and there was nobody there. And I said, "God, where were You when I was a little boy when I really needed You?

God, where were You when all I ever wanted was my father to put his arms around me, and tell me he loves me, and call me son? God, that's when I really needed you. Where were You then? And I remember the first time, the first million dollars I ever made in one lump. I brought it home and threw it all out on the living room floor. Halfway through counting it, I stopped and I looked at the door of my house. And I said if my father would only knock on that door. Then, when I opened it, his arms would be opened. He would tell me he loved me and call me son. I said I'd give all this away. I'd give it all up. But, God, You never sent my father. When I needed You, You weren't there. And I don't need You now. Look at how powerful I am. Look at how wealthy I am. Why should I need You? " And I started thinking, and all of a sudden, the pride came back, the fear went away.

I was thirty-nine years old, making millions and millions of dollars a year. Done everything I ever wanted to do. If I didn't have anything, it's because I didn't want it. I started thinking, "What do I have left to live for, just to get old? I'm already powerful. I'm already rich. All I have left is to get old. " And I turned around and I spoke out loud. I said, "God, I'm going to show you how powerful I am, how I still don't need You. I'll take my own life, before I let You take it. " And I reached over to the night stand. I took out a gun, and I cocked it. I put it to my head. And I said, "God, not even You can stop me. I'm in total control of my life."

The phone rang. I picked it up. And I had met a man a few months earlier, who was originally from New York. And he was a legitimate businessman. He wasn't a gangster or anything. And when he saw me and heard my accent, he knew I was from New York and kept inviting me come over to his house for dinner. His wife cooked the best Italian food that anybody cooks. And I was basically alone every time he called. I would give him the same answer, "I'll call you back", and never did. And here he was calling me again inviting me to dinner.

And I've got a gun in one hand, cocked to my head and I got a phone in the other with a dinner invitation. You talk about the "Last Supper". And he started with the dinner invitation. And I said, "I'll call you back". And he said, "Wait a minute, it's different this time." He said, "We want you to come to church with us in the morning." And I gave my usual answer, "I'll call you back". And I hung the phone up. In those days, I was much smarter than God. And I started thinking and I said, "God, You don't know who You're dealing with here. You can't fool me. If You kill me right now in the house, nobody will know that it was You that killed me. You're trying to con me to go to a church in the morning. And You're going to kill me in the church in front of all those people, so that they'll see what happens when they displease You. " I said, "But, God, I'm going to that church. And I'm going in, I'm coming back. And You can't touch a hair on my head." I called this man back. I think he had a mild heart attack when I called him back.

Told me where the church was, what time and everything. I made sure that the Mercedes was as shiny as it ever was. I put on my best custom tailored clothing. I had about forty to fifty thousand dollars worth of jewelry I used to walk around with. And I didn't look like Mr. T. It was only like three or four custom-made pieces. And I drove to the church with the directions. And I found the church and drove into the parking lot.

And the only church I've ever known was the one I went to in Brooklyn, New York. And it was about two, two-hundred fifty feet high, built out of stones. And everywhere you looked on the walls, there were stained glass windows. Every aisle had marble statues, up and down the aisles. Some of the statues had gold crowns. Some of the crowns had precious stones in it.

It was the only church I ever knew. And I pulled into the parking lot. And again I saw something I never saw before. It was a double-wide trailer.

[NOTE

1-Since I began to speak up, Tom has altered his testimony. Among other alterations and changes, It is now a "Wood Frame" church, not a DOUBLE WIDE TRAILER. In addition, Pastor Kelly has now stepped into the picture (1999) in an attempt to alter events and truths further. Though Tom, at the time Pastor Kelly is now speaking of, and BEFORE House Of Cards, had not yet configured, set-up, made-up any testimony as he now uses, I believe that he is trying to "prove" tom's testimony concerning his meeting Tom in an attempt to place Tom's testimony to before the first writings of House Of Cards.

2-I do not doubt that Tom had problems enough for him to seek new grounds at the moment Tom is now at in his testimony. He knew his friends in NY were in trouble with Gotti. He KNEW that the FBI was coming down on HIM. He knew that he had just lost his home and any source of income. In other words, he was BROKE and in a fix. But, as to Tom's testimony concerning guns, killing pastors and such?? Taken from House of cards.

3-In addition, I spoke to Pastor Kelly during my attempts to have Tom simply remove the portions that he used from my history. Pastor Kelly blatantly stated that Tom was and is a member of his flock. AND NO MATTER WHAT, he WOULD STAY WITH HIS OWN...

4-This was after I asked for a meet with  Tom and allowed his PASTOR to be there in HIS OWN church. And me by myself. The call I was asked to make to the pastor resulted in the above statement. Which ended   any thought of a fair meeting on my part.

5-Also, it WAS Pastor Kelly whom took the stand at Tom's trial. It was Pastor Kelly who, after hearing Tom's testimony denying Gambino Membership, after being SAVED, while on the stand under oath, denied ANYTHING to do with drugs, murder, conspiracy, and KNOWLEDGE of any of the purported[ crimes he now bears wiriness to, and that he moved to Atlanta to CHANGE his life and BREAK loose mob ties.

6-And yet, Pastor Kelly has then and now, ENDORSED and PROFITED by and to Tom's now totally OPPOSITE "Christian" testimony.

7-In addition, rumors and innuendoes have swept the Christian Community by Pastor Kelly, and other prominent Christian leaders whom are benefiting either by cash or by association with and to Tom. These same individuals have refused to meet, talk or even make any move to unscramble this debacle.

8-In fact, it was and is Pastor Kelly who approved, promoted and enabled Tom to rip folks off, steal folks lives, and, continues to step in and alter testimony to suit Tom's whim, and Pastor Kelly's Pockets.. as in wallets.

9-The buz is, Tom helped pay for LandMark Church renovations, bribes, and more, The street talk is that  Frank Catania, who KNEW and KNOWS Tom is a Fraud, attacked Tom and soon, was paid off.  FBI Agent John Simmons told Rock that Tom is a "guy going around, speaking at Corporate functions and such and was never a mobster. Tony Pep (Anthony Trentacosta) LONG time soldier of the Gambino Family, based in Atlanta, said "Tom is a [ fraud]". And then we have numerous letters from people in the know, Journalists and more, including, as you have read, his ex-wife and daughter. ].

Went back. It was the same thing. Silly old cars, old clothes, old building, same silly smile. That day, I didn't hear the pastor again, 'cause as I sat there, I'd check out every inch of the ceiling. When I couldn't find anything, then I'd check out every inch of every wall and finally on the floor. They must have thought I had my head bowed praying. But, I was looking for a secret compartment. Couldn't find anything. Before I know it, everybody was getting up leaving. I started to leave. And the pastor at the door, shaking people's hands. That time, he was close to 300 pounds. He's lost a lot of weight since then. But, when he stood in front of that door, he was the door. You weren't getting out without shaking his hand. And I finally got up there, and he shook my hand. He said, "Thank you for coming for the last two weeks. I said, "Yeah, OK, just get out of my way. Let me leave." And I started to leave. He grabbed me by the arm. And I just grabbed his hand and pushed it off me. And I got up in his face, and I said, "Don't ever put your hands on me. If you want to talk to me, use your mouth." I said, "You don't know who I am. Don't ever put your hands on me." This was the first man who didn't fear me. He stood there, looked into my eyes, and he said, "There's something I want to say to you, but I don't want to offend you." And I got even closer to him, and I said, "If you offend me, it'll be the last thing you do." I said, "I'm warning you. You don't know who I am." And he continued to look at my eyes. And he said, "The eyes are the windows of the soul." And he said, "Since the first time you came in here, I looked into your eyes. And all I could see was a little boy, crying, wanting to be loved." And he opened up his arms, and he said, "I love you." And I took about four steps back.

Being single,

[NOTE Pastor Kelly knew Tom's wife and daughter! And, notice Tom's daughter's  date 1982!

It is with great interest that i read the info on tom papania because he was my mother's boyfriend and husband from approx. 1982 to 1989.     it does not surprise me that he has lifted the life story of another man, because if he were to tell his own it would have to include the years of mental and physical cruelty he inflicted on my mother and me while he was a deacon at Landmark Church in Peachtree Corners. One bit of information, though, is that the Pastor of our church when Tommy was in prison, and the one that testified at the trial (i think)  was Fred Kelly, Not Jack Kelly. Jack is Fred's son, and i guess that he has taken over at Landmark. I can't believe that after all we went through with tommy that the church (landmark) will support him, especially when it is quite obvious that he is lying, and that his motives are questionable$$$$ When I read Tommy's testimony I couldn't believe what he was saying about having money and cars and an expensive house.  My mother (she was on the cover of the AJC with Tommy when he was acquitted and even I got to testify at the trial) and I have discussed this, and while we know it is wrong to pray for the downfall of another human being, we both wish you luck in reclaiming what is yours- your personal history.   If there is any way i can help, please let me know. (name available)

NOTE : Mrs. Tom Papania
(she changed her name after the divorce) up to a year AFTER the trial called. Said Tom abused her and her Daughter! Said she brought it before Fred Kelley at Landmark Church but was rebuffed. She then separated from Tom do to his lies and abuse. Said Tom is lying! She said, and I quote: "Call Tom, tell him you spoke to me, HE WILL TALK TO YOU! " -- "I cannot just sit here idly as Tom ruins your life and continues to con people..." ---" Tom is a PATHOLOGICAL liar..."  ]

in the Mafia, and a nightclub owner, I had a lot of women tell me they loved me. I never had a man tell me he loves me. The church was strange enough as it was to me. But, I also knew I had to kill this man. My reputation was that I didn't have any weakness. That I was one of the most cold-hearted men that was ever in the Mafia. And all these years, I knew that little boy was still in me. But, I hid it. Nobody ever knew, not even my own boss. And now this man knew my secret. And I couldn't afford him telling anybody else and my secret being exposed. So, I knew I had to kill him.

[NOTE

throughout Tom's testimony, he makes sure he states SHORT OF KILLING. But now?]

I started to leave. And he handed his business card. His home phone number was on there. And he said, "Tom, I want to get together with you. I want to talk to you." And I said, "All right." And I left. That night, I started thinking, "I can't wait. The longer I wait, the more my secret may be exposed." I called him late at night. And I said, "Do you remember me?" And I guess with my Brooklyn - New York accent, he couldn't help but remember me in that Southern church. He said, "Yes." And I said, "I want to meet with you." And he said, "Well, I don't have my appointment book here." I said, "I want to meet with you now." And he said, "Well, ok, let's go to the church. It's late. There's nobody there, just you and I." And I thought, "This is great. This guy is planning his own funeral." I could just go there, shoot him, kill him, get back in my car and go home, and nobody will ever know. And I went there.

The light was on. I got out of the car, walked into the office. He was sitting at his desk. And I was filled with rage when I walked in. But, when I looked at him, I couldn't get angry anymore. And the next thing he said, you know, "What's your name?" And I figured, well, this guy's going to die - I could tell him my name. It doesn't make a difference. I told him my name. And he said, "Tom, sit down." I sat down and still wanted to go for the gun. And I couldn't go for the gun, and I couldn't get mad. And first thing he said. He said, "Tom, do you know Jesus?" And he sat there, and he opened the Bible. And he opened to the Book of John, the third chapter. And he said, "Tom, this is what the Word of God says, 'In order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, one must be born-again.' " He said, "Are you born-again?" And I said, "born-again?" And I started thinking, "Maybe I did commit suicide, and now I came back as a fool, talking to this man. Born-again? I don't understand 'born-again'. I never even heard that before. " And he turned to the Book of Matthew, the tenth chapter. He said, "Tom". He said, "In order to be born-again, you must confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that He was raised from the dead."

And then he said, "Tom, how would you like to join our church?" And I laughed at him, the same way I laughed at my mother, the same way I laughed at the priest. And he said, "Why are you laughing?" And I said, "Pastor, if these people in the church found out who I was, they'd throw both of us out of here." I said, "I'm probably the biggest sinner that you'll ever see, if you live to be a million years old. And these people here don't want me. I'm a sinner."

[NOTE

[the listing of Books and chapters must have been assisted by Pastor Kelly... AFTER the meeting]

And he went to the Book of Romans, in 3:23." And he said, "Here's what God says, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'." For the first time in my life in the Mafia, I broke the vow of silence. And I tried to remember everything I had ever done that was bad or evil, so this pastor would get off my back about this born-again and Jesus stuff.

That he would realize that I was so bad that God was trying to kill me, and I was just one step ahead of God. And I began telling him all the things that I could remember that I had done. And I don't know how much time went by. But, I remember opening my eyes and I wasn't sitting in the chair any more. I was on my knees, in the middle of his office.

And for the first time in almost thirty years, there were tears coming down my face. My shirt was soaked. My jacket was soaked. And I looked about the desk, and he wasn't at his desk any more. And I turned, and he was sitting, he was kneeling next to me with tears coming down his eyes. And I looked at him, and I said, "What are you crying for?"

He said, "Don't you know what just happened?" And I said, "Yes, I made a complete fool of myself." I said, "Let me get up and get out of here while I still have some dignity." This time he grabbed me, and I didn't push away. He said, "No, Tom, you just opened up a door on your heart to let Jesus in." He said, "Can I lead you in the Sinner's Prayer?" I didn't even know what that was. But, not only did I know I needed it, but, I wanted it. And he said, "I'll say a few words, and you just repeat after me." And every time he would say a few words, and I would repeat the words after him, I just felt something almost from the bottom of my feet to begin to rise. And by the time I had finished what he had said, the Sinner's Prayer, all the - everything the burden, the pressure, the rejection, the hurt, the anger, the rage - it was gone. It just left me. And I felt like a thousand pounds was taken off my shoulders.

And I realized at that moment, that void that I had, the thing that I had been searching for all my life - was Jesus. He said, "Tom, go home. Tomorrow I'll meet with you. We'll get you a Bible. We'll get you some Bible studies. But, just go home tonight." He said, "Just get a good night's sleep." And all the way home, I still couldn't stop crying. That night I didn't go to sleep, because as soon as I got home, I got right to that spot where the Lord spoke to me. I tried to find the exact spot. And I got on my face on that spot. I said, "God, I'm nothing without You." And I said, "God, please don't kill me. I don't want to die. I've just begun to live. Please don't kill me." And it was God's turn to laugh at me. And He laughed and said, "Kill you? I'm going to raise you up."

I knew there were things I had to do. The first thing I did was call my boss. I said, "Paul, I never coming back to New York." And he said, "That's ok, you can run our operations down there in Atlanta.

[NOTE: Paul had no "operations" in Atlanta.

its tom papania and he's a small time hood from statan island ny who's making a career for himself by telling tall tales and selling tapes as a man of god. He was never a member of the gambino family.

jerry capeci

<. . . if he is claiming to have been third in line to Paul Castellano he is misquoting himself . . .     JC>]

The next day, the pastor came by, brought me to a Christian bookstore. Got me a Bible. Got me some Bible studies. And immediately, I began reading the Bible. And one of the first things I read is that you cannot serve two masters. You're either serving one or the other. There's no neutral ground. And all my life I thought I was on neutral ground. I thought I was my own man. Just serving myself. Nothing to do with God. Nothing to do with the Devil. And I found that I was deceived by the Devil into serving him. And I was probably one of his best little servants. And that angered me. And I put the Bible down, and I cried out to God. I said, "God, I want to serve You better than I served the Devil. Whatever it is I have to do to serve You, tell me what it is, so I can do it." And the Lord began speaking to my heart again. And He said, "If you want to serve Me, get rid of everything that you have that you didn't work for, that you got illegally.

[recall the actual testimony in court and toms wife and daughter]

Because those have been your idols. That's what you've been worshiping all these years." And I said, "God, that's everything. I never worked a day in my life. " And He spoke to me out of Joshua and said, "Choose this day, whom you'll serve." And that was an easy choice. I said, "God, I want to serve You." It took me two and a half months to give everything away that I had. Not because there's so much. But, because I was a new Christian. And I didn't want to give everything away at once, in case this thing wasn't real. I'd have something left over. The Mafia was looking to kill me. I had to have something if I wanted to run away from them. But, after two and half months, I gave everything away, except the clothes on my back. And I said, "All right, God, now what?" And what He said, I really didn't want to hear. He said, "Now, go get a job." I was always the employer, never the employee. But, God had blessed me with all the business dealings that I had in the Mafia. I answered an application for an operations manager. When I went there, the man interviewing me was a Christian. And he started saying, "Praise the Lord, praise the Lord." He said, "By the way, do you have a resumé? " And I said, "Nope. But, I got a testimony". He said, "Let's hear it." Halfway through the testimony, he said, "I want you to finish. But, I want you to know - you've got the job." And the Lord blessed me then, I had a job. And I remember my first paycheck. I opened up the envelope. Looked at the check. And I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I spent more money on socks and underwear than that was in this check for forty hours of work. But, I realized that this check, I didn't have to look over my back. I didn't have to worry about the IRS. They already took the tax out before they gave me my check, for the first time. But, I had a peace about this that I never had before. I worked for this. This was mine. I've earned it. And I had a peace about it. I started really getting into the Word. I wanted to go to Bible college. I didn't have the money. I didn't have the time. And, my pastor was helping me a lot. And I was really growing in the Lord. He was helping me first hand.

[NOTE
YUP! Pastor Kelly.. helping his flock.......]

And almost a year went by. And in the mail, I got a subpeona from New York, saying it was the first time in the history of the Mafia they were able to arrest all five bosses of the five families in New York. It was called the "Pizza Connection".

[NOTE:

Tom's first testimony was CALLED the Pizza Connection. At this time, tom had not half of the emotional abilities of his current, altered, stolen chapters and fabrication he has now!]

It had to do with heroin being shipped from Sicily into the United States. And they subpeonaed me to testify against my boss, Paul Castellano. And I already knew they had a contract out to kill me. And I went to my pastor. And I said, "Pastor, I got this subpeona to testify against Paul." And I said, "If I don't go, if I just hide out," I said "they may come here and they may kill you. Then they'll kill innocent people in the church. And I don't want any blood, innocent blood spilled on account of me." And I said, "But, if I do go, they'll definitely kill me before I get there. " And I said, "I just don't know what to do." And he said, "I don't either, other than to pray." He said "Let's just pray." He said, "Maybe there's somebody that they can get, instead of you, that knows more about Paul." And I said, "No, I'm his right hand. I know everything about it. I'm the only one they want to testify." So, he just prayed that, somehow, some way I wouldn't have to go there. This was in August of 1985. In December of 1985, I came home from work. Turned on the television, and there on the six o'clock news was Paul Castellano, laying in the middle of the street in midtown Manhattan. Him and his bodyguard - shot to death, killed. And they said they thought John Gotti was behind it, because John Gotti wanted to be the boss of that family. Within forty-eight hours, I received a telegram, saying that the subpeona was cancelled. There was no need for me to come to New York, because the man they wanted me to testify against was now dead. Now, I'm not saying in any way, shape or form that God killed Paul Castellano for me. I know He didn't. But, the Bible says, "You reap what you sow."

[ I haveto say that just maybe, maybe, Tom will learn of this first hand]

Paul lived a very, very violent life. He took many other people's lives, ordered them killed, beaten, destroyed families, destroyed businesses. He lived by the sword. He died by the sword. This totally freed me from the Mafia, because Paul was the only man I'd answer to directly, the only man that I'd ever gave money. This also canceled the contract on my life, because Paul was the one who'd put the few hundred-thousand to have me killed. With him dead, nobody was going to kill me for free. This was my total break from the Mafia. I was set free. When the Son sets you free, you're free indeed.

A few months went by. And I received a phone call from a doctor friend in New York. And he said, "It's taken me some time to track you down. I finally got you." And he said, "I know that your family has disowned you. But, for the past twelve or thirteen years, your mother has had cancer. I already removed both her breasts and some of the lymph glands. And now she has bone cancer. She's in the hospital." And he said, "Tom, she's dying. And I don't think she has two weeks left to live." And he said, "Even though your father don't want you around, I know you'd want to see her. So, I am telling you." I went to my employer, and I asked him for a couple of days off. All he could spare was three days off. And I had to borrow, I had take an advance in pay for the plane fare. The year before that, I could have went out and bought my own plane, my own crew and got there. And this was a change in lifestyles. Now, I was taking advances in pay. Flew to New York. And when I got to the hospital, I paused at the entrance to her room. And I closed my eyes to remember the last time I saw her. And she was a typical Italian mother, four-foot, eleven, with a wooden spoon in one hand and the rosary beads in the other. She weighed about 160 pounds. And when I turned to walk into the room, what I saw broke my heart in a million of pieces. I saw a skeleton of body, 65 pounds, laying in that bed.

[NOTE house Of Cards

Silent and furtive, as if attempting to locate his seat after arriving late to a theater of life, Joe approached her bed. Oh! How he desperately desired to rescue her... to reach out and hug her... ]

On the nightstand, was a picture of me when I was three years old. And I just started crying uncontrollably. I couldn't take the pain of not seeing her all these years and seeing her like this. And she looked up. And I grabbed her in my arms and started crying. And the tears from my face fell on her face. And I said, "Mom, I've changed." She said, "I know." And I knew my father hadn't spoken to her.

Her eyes glistened with droplets of twinkling lights as her smile intensified in joyful acknowledgment and recognition that her son, Joe, had returned; her little boy had become a father himself!. ]

I said, "Mom, how do you know this?" She said, "Son, when you walked in the door, I saw Jesus walking with you." And she took the rosary and dropped them on the floor. She said, "I don't have to pray for you any more. God has finally answered my prayers." I never asked God for anything. I was so happy and content with just being saved.

[NOTE

Tom's mother had to be Devote Catholic, Catholic's NEVER say "SAVED"?]

I had never prayed for anything for myself. But, I got on my knees in that little hospital room, and I just cried out to God. I said, "God, I don't know how many years she's prayed for me. I remember from fifteen years old on up, she probably prayed for me since I was born. That's forty years of prayer. And now she's dying." I said, "All she's ever seen of me was as a gangster, my picture in the newspaper, on television. " I said, "God, please let her stay alive, so she can see me as a man of God that she's been praying for me to be." I said, "Don't take her now." Got up. Laid hands on her. Nothing changed. Went back the next day, still nothing changed. The third day, I had to go home. Went home. Two days later, at night the doctor called me again. And he said, "Tom, I got something to tell you. I really don't know how to explain it. So, I'll just come to the point." And I really thought that it had come to the worst. He said, "Every few days," he said, "we take tests on your mother to see how fast the cancer is spreading, so we can have an idea of how much longer she going to live." He said, "The day after you left, we took tests. We couldn't find any trace of cancer. We waited another day and took the tests again. And we still can't find any trace of cancer.

[Tom's mother died of cancer.]

Your mother's requesting solid food. She's been eating solid food for the past two days. I've never seen any woman gain weight like her." I took her home.

[NOTE

Tom has this disbelief. Yet, read his testimony. He states he was responsible for ordering retribution on the kidnappers. He knew, or HAD to know that Coppola dealt drugs! And, as the body guard, he had to be a part of the whole.. there just was not the millions in barbQ!!]l  

[NOTE

Exaggeration not limited here!]

The first one was Al Capone. They locked me up in a building, all by myself, on the fifth floor in a eight-foot by six-foot cell. Had me locked up twenty-three hours a day. They would only open the door one hour a day for me to go take a shower and exercise my legs. And I was very angry with God. I said, "God, you know, what am I doing here?" The judge told me he was going to give me a minimum of 400 years. I had a Jewish attorney, who was not only Jewish, he was an atheist. He came in and said, "Don't worry about the 400 years." He can probably get it reduced to a 140. I'd only be a 180 by the time I got out. And I really thought that God had failed me. And I just cried out to God. I said, "God, I could have stayed in the Mafia and wound up in jail and with a death penalty." You know, a 140 years in jail is a death penalty. And I got very angry with God. When I got very angry with God, I couldn't hear from Him. When I finally calmed down, I said, "God, what's going on here?" And the Lord just shared with me again that, not to worry about the circumstances. Take my eyes off the circumstances. Take my eyes off the judge and the prosecutor. And keep my eyes on Him, because I was not going to be convicted. He was allowing me to be there, because He had something for me do. But, then, after a week or so, I realized I'm in the cell house all by myself, on the fifth floor, locked up twenty-three hours a day. Who am I going to witness to? Myself? I'm already saved.

[NOTE

The fact is, I must prove that Tom is lying and conning all through this testimony. In fact, itr is imperative that I do this. For, all that bread this and still support tom, well... RECALL that Tom wanted to TAKE the RESTAURANTS by his own testimony from Carl Copolla. He STATED that he came to Atlanta to TAKE these restaurants and that he owned more then Carl did. And now he is saying he wanted to kill three more people, yet he is innocent of the charges, and then goes and sells tapes telling or having us believe that he did do what he was charged with?? Hello?? And if this is false, and his testimony as a Christian correct, then God did nothing at all.. and if God did, then why change back to the story he is using? Yet, test9imony shows tom was never made, a soldier ofmafia, or that he was grandson to Joe The Boss.. in fact, he just simply could not have been by his testimony! so, where then did he get the gun story?? and where did he come up with the key factors that make the story so compelling??]

[NOTE

Tom was being tried for crime committed along with NON Mafia soldiers or charges that had little to do with anything as his testimony states. In factor, did he not just inform us that his Godfather was dead? (if this were true, that he was a soldier under, directly number three under Paul. And, had he not just stated that since Paul was dead, no one would bother with him? If he means the Co Defendants, read the actual news articles or court room transcripts. COPPOLA was DEAD BROKE by now. And, he could not even get the kidnappers off his back, let alone call for a contract. AND, there was the other defendants, and most were turn coats. So, who're we to believe sent hitters, and THREEof them into Tom's cell block??]

Had killed many people. There was a few times when I wanted him to work for me in New York. He would come to me, and he said, "I'm not working for you. I'm afraid of you. I look into your eyes, and all I see is death. And if I do one thing wrong, you'll kill me.

[NOTE
Again, here Tom is proposing that hewas a master of death"?? Yet, none of his testimony has indicated this, just the opposite.]

Then, one Friday, er Saturday, my pastor came to visit me. And he looked very sad. I said, "Pastor, what's wrong?" He said, "Tom, your mother went home to be with the Lord last night." He said, "We tried everything we possibly could to get the judge to let you go to New York for her funeral." But, the prosecutor said "No, if that man goes to New York, the Mafia will kill the marshalls, And they'll set him free. And they'll send him to Italy, in Sicily someplace. We'll never be able to prosecute him. No, he can't go."

[NOTE
I am truly amazed. Did Pastor Kelly talk like this?? I mean, the Sicily thing and such?? I would like to talk to the prosecutor .. but the fact is, in the RD article ON landmark church's web page, they say that Tom's mother saw him become a MINISTER BEFORE SHE DIED?? and then tom went on the stand and said he was not a member, just friendship that were loose ties broken when he moved to atlanta to Change His Life?m.]

And he said, "Tom, I'm real sorry." And I said, "Pastor, if I went, all I would see is an empty shell. I'll see my mother again. And not in a funeral home." And I went back to the cell. And Sunday night, the lieutenant came up to me. Usually when there's a death in the family, they'll come up, and they'll put you on suicide watch. They'll put in a hospital cell that's padded and take your belt and everything away from you. And when the lieutenant came up, he said, "Tom, we have to bring you downstairs." And I said, "I'm a born-again, spirit-filled Christian." I said, "My mother's home is with God right now. She's in a better place than we are. You don't have to worry about any suicide watch." And he said, "I don't know what you're talking about, the U.S. marshalls are downstairs." Went downstairs. The head U.S. marshall was there and he said, "Tom, the judge called me at my home tonight. And the judge said he's doesn't care what the prosecutor said. He is not denying a man to go to his mother's funeral. And he said he couldn't bear it on his conscience if you were found innocent that he did this. So, he's ordered us to take you to New York to go your mother's funeral." They flew me there that night. The next morning, I went to the funeral. Only stayed a few minutes. Stayed overnight in New York. Came back Tuesday morning. My attorney said, "What happened? I came to court yesterday, and it was canceled. Do you know what's going on?

" I said, "Yeah, I was in New York." And he said, "Don't joke about it." I said, "No, I was in New York." What had happened was my pastor Sunday night asked the church. They said, "We've tried everything legally to get the judge to send Tom to New York for his mother's funeral. But, it's become impossible." And he said, "When things become impossible with man, they become possible with God." And he said, "Let's pray for a miracle." Seven-thirty at night they prayed that prayer. Eight o'clock at night is when the judge called the marshall. And I shared this with my attorney, the Jewish atheist. And every day that we were going to trial, at least twenty or thirty members of my church would sit in the back of the church (courtroom), and they would just pray. Silently, they would pray. And this attorney said to me, "Tom, I don't know what's happening. I don't believe in God." He said, "But, I believe in the power of prayer. Make these people come every day." And I looked at him. And I said, "Who do you think they're praying to?" And so many different miracles were happening in that courtroom. I had fifty-seven witnesses they that had against me. Fifty-seven people I never heard of or seen in my life. And my pastor said, "How do you want the church to pray?" And I said, "Pray that no lie will come forth in that courtroom. I want the truth to be revealed.

[NOTE

I have heard this has nothing to do with plagiarism. Tom's lies and such. His creative genius and such. Yet, the very grounds of plagiarism is the THEFT of intellectual properties. And how best to prove this by proving Tom's entire story is a fabrication and overstatement and embellishment of fraud. And, therefore, proving that  the portions of my own TRUE history that I am accusing Tom of lifting has been, in fact, stolen and that Tom had reason and a history of doing just this... and getting away with it to the tune of MILLIOMNDS while destroying the ability of my own worked to be marketed..]

And whatever medicine I have to take with the truth coming out, I'll take." But, fifty-six witnesses got up there in a four and a half month period and lied. Two of them said, in 1979 they saw me walk up to two men in Florida, pull out a gun, shoot both of them in the head, kill them, get in my car and drive away. And it was my turn to get on the stand. My attorney asked me, "How can you prove that you did not kill these two men?" I said, "By using the government as witnesses." And the prosecutor jumped up and said, "What do you mean?" I said, "From 1978 to 1980, I was in a federal prison, serving time. They don't let you out to kill people and let you back in." This is the kind of thing, the lies that were being told in courtroom. I had people I'd never seen before that said I gave them millions of dollars to buy hundreds of kilos of cocaine. I never even knew what cocaine looked like. So, fifty-six witnesses had testified against me. And I started losing faith in God. Again, I thought God was letting me down. And my pastor came in and he said, "Tom, for the first time that I'm visiting you, I see worry on your face." And I said, "Pastor, if I get found guilty of these charges, I don't know if I could ever trust God again. 'Cause God knows this is the first time in my life that I'm innocent of all these charges."

[NOTE

The charges were also for the MURDER and CONSPIRACY of and to murder of Joseph Cam. This is the very person Tom just said he  ORDERED an example be made of. Tom also takes credit for freeing Coppola but go here and see the truth. And, Tom takes credit for overseeing and having more of the drug dealing restaurants than Coppolla. And, Tom takes credit for being a Gambino Soldier AT THE TIME this all took place, being SENT down as a body guard, or rather, choosing on his own, and that he was THIRD IN LINE to Big Paul with a piece of the action from EVERY THING THAT MOVED POOPED OR LIVED OR DIED!! And, it is this fact that remains the most confusing, the CASE was not for the year 1996-7, BUT FOR THE ENTIRE TIME, including the time Tom was with Coplloa. In fact, the murder was during Tom's alleged, by his current testimony, tenor as a PARTNER???

2-AND, read Tom's Christian Testimony and Tom's Court Room Testimony... is he guilty, was he? And this same pastor, Pastor Kelly of Landmark Church Peachtree Corners, in Atlanta Ga, is STILL backing Tom today, refuses to do anything about what occurred and said he will stand by Tom?? stand by a liar whom is using Grace and God for profit while taking from one whose entire family was destroyed by men like tom?]

"This is a very powerful man in the Mafia. This is a very wealthy man.

[NOTE

imagine, here he goes again. TOM has told us, demanded of us, cried to us, that HE WAS THIRD IN LINE???
AT THE TIME THAT THE CHARGES REPRESENTED! ]

The first charge, the jury foreman got up and said, "Not guilty." The second, the third, the fifth, ninth, tenth, fifteenth, sixteenth. When they got to the seventeenth charge and said, "Not guilty", I just couldn't hold it in any more. I jumped off the chair onto the table. I danced like David danced. Turned around and looked. I heard some feet moving next to me. It was that Jewish atheist on top of that table, dancing too. The prosecutor and U.S. attorney jumped up and told the judge, "Judge, stop that. They're making a mockery of the court." The judge was a Christian. The judge in the courtroom said, "That's the Holy Spirit. He started it, let Him finish it." When the Holy Spirit was finished, I stood there in the courtroom. The judge said, "What are you waiting for. You're free. Go home."

[NOTE
WOW! He lies on the stand, then his very buddies are sent to prison and he walks and they all say "It Was GOD? this is supposed to be an essay, writing of proof and fact, but I cannot resist! What would all those folks say whom purchased tapes from all those high morality leaders in the church who KNEW of this TESTIMONY and still reaped millions. Focus on the family, Dr. James Dobson STATED on the air, when Tom received his big push, December 1996 that though controversy surrounded Tom, he was the genuine article. And, when faced with fact, ignored our pleas, yet removed Tom's page 6 months later and ALL reference, yet will not come out and denounce him?Y ]

I went home that day. Went back home, and I was looking to work back at my old job. I remember going to my church that Sunday. When I was locked up, they wouldn't even let me go to church. They said I was too dangerous to be out of Atlanta penitentiary. I could escape. One person escaped in a 100 years. They wouldn't let me out. So, I hadn't even been to church. But, I went to church that Sunday. And that double-wide trailer looked like the Taj Mahal to me. Every tree there had a yellow ribbon on it.

Tom sells tapes at 10.00 and video at 20. He gets 500 to 5000.00 t0 appeared often sells out of tapes and such., The Focus On The Family show sold over 500.000 tapes at 10.00 each. Tom has given a few thousand away in "his God given ministry" but shared the balance with His cronies. And, though I have written like this for 9 months, they, the cronies, do little or say little but continue to sell/////]

We started out. I was going into the prisons. Started out speaking at different churches, never with any young people. And from 1989 to 1991, I was just going in and out of the prisons, speaking at different places. In 1991, Morris Cerullo invited me to Anaheim, California. He had a convention there with 6,000 pastors from all over the world. I was told 40 nations were represented there. And I went there, and I shared my testimony. And a man came up to me, from Jamaica. And he said, "We need you in Jamaica to come into our penitentiary. The men need to hear your testimony. Will you please come? I'll pay for everything. All the expenses." And I told him I would come. And few months later, he sent me the plane ticket. I flew there. When I got there, he had a very sad face. And I said, "Pastor, what's wrong?" He said, "Tom, yesterday, there was a riot in prison. And eleven people were killed. And they've shut down the prison to all outside visitors." He said, "I didn't want to bring you here for nothing." He said, "So, I've spoken to the mayor of Kingston. And he's agreed to open the entire school system for the next two weeks, one hour earlier, so you can go and speak in every school." And in that two weeks, I had access to speak to over 17,000 young people.

[NOTE

imagine... our savior to youth!]

the above copyright was on the page that Tom sent me in his effort to fool me. He sent this for me to write what I "believed" was taken from my book. I did as he asked and nothing!

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GO AND READ ONLINE HOW CLOSE THESE STORIES ARE