Prosecutors dropped murder charges in a New York case against a retired FBI supervisor after a journalist’s interview indicated a lead witness perjured herself.

Prosecutors had charged Roy Lindley DeVecchio, 67, with aiding in the slayings of four organized crime informers.

The charges alleged that DeVecchio gave an informer, Gregory Scarpa of the Colombo crime family, orders to kill other informers and providing Scarpa with information about pending arrests, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Tom Robbins of the Village Voice produced a taped interview with the prosecutions lead witness, Linda Schiro, indicating she may have perjured herself during court proceedings.

Schiro was the mistress of Scarpa, an alleged mafia assassin known as the Grim Reaper, the Times said.

She testified in the original case that DeVecchio told Scarpa about other informants and allegedly provided information damaging to Scarpa -- information that was later used to target other informants for death.

Schiro’s later testimonies and interviews contradicted her original testimony.

DeVecchio’s attorney said Schiro’s testimony was false. In an interview with Robbins for the Village Voice, she told Robbins that DeVecchio wasn't involved in the killings.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 01 November 2007   

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