By Scott Sieber
Giuseppe Baldinucci, who was deported from the United States after serving four years for drug dealing in the 1985 Pizza Connection narcotics conspiracy, was arrested at his daughter's home at 1318 Crosby Ave. in Bronx Friday on charges of illegal entry into the United States, according to court records.The 61-year-old man was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Friday. He faces up to 20 years in prison and is currently being held without bail. “He was remanded, so he is still in jail,” said Robert Nardoza, spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District, which covers Queens and Brooklyn.According to special agent at the New York FBI office, Jim Margolin, the Pizza Connection was one of the largest heroin importation busts ever made in New York. “It involved the importation of heroine through New York,” he said. “They would distribute it through pizza boxes.”Baldinucci was sentenced to 7 1/2 years before his deportation in 1989. His extensive criminal history includes arrests for conspiracy to sell counterfeit U.S. currency, forgery and possession of stolen mail as well as stolen U.S. Treasury checks. On Feb. 25, 1996, Baldinucci was arrested by Italian law enforcement and charged with aiding and abetting then Italian Mafiosa fugitive Giovanni Brusca, who later admitted to flipping the switch of a bomb that killed an Italian anti-Mafia judge, Giovanni Falcone, on May 23, 1992. The bomb was placed under the pavement and detonated as Falcone's car passed over. The blast killed Falcone and his wife, who was also a judge, and three bodyguards.According to federal investigators, the death of Falcone roused the anger of the Italian government, resulting in an even larger crackdown and the arrests of several major Sicilian mobsters. Baldinucci was released on bail and skipped town. He then allegedly returned to the United States illegally.According to the affidavit, “a confidential source who has provided reliable information in the past has informed the FBI that Baldinucci re-entered the United States illegally and currently resides in New York state.”The witness observed Baldinucci at a relative's gas station in Whitestone as well as several cafes throughout Queens, said court records. Other confidential sources in the affidavit claim to have seen the fugitive in several New York City locations.Margolin said Baldinucci was arrested Friday by the same federal agent squad that heads up investigations into the Bonanno crime family. According to the affidavit, Baldinucci did not receive permission from the U.S. attorney general to reapply for admission after his deportation.Reach reporter Scott Sieber by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
