NYC CRIME BRIEFS

Turncoat's testimony ends in mob trial

Mob turncoat Dino Calabro told jurors Thursday that he was trying to straighten out after a 28-year criminal career as he completed his testimony at the Brooklyn federal court trial of alleged Farmingdale gangster Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli.

Calabro, nicknamed "Big Dino," a former resident of both Farmingdale and Wantagh, admitted involvement in eight murders and tied former Colombo family street boss Gioeli to six murders and co-defendant Dino Saracino to three murders during four days on the witness stand.

Under cross-examination, Calabro made no apologies for turning on Gioeli, a former neighbor and pal who he accompanied on trips to Disney World, and Saracino, his cousin, to try to lighten his prison sentence.

"Why wouldn't I want to be home with my wife and family, just like Tommy Gioeli and Dino Saracino would want to be home with their wife and family," Calabro said. "I'm working on changing my life."

During his testimony, Calabro said that his murderous past included being the triggerman on three killings ordered by Gioeli -- the 1991 killing of mob associate Frank Marasa, the 1997 ambush of NYPD Officer Ralph Dols, and the 1999 execution of Colombo family underboss William Cutolo.

He is now in the witness protection program, and has yet to be sentenced. He is expected to be a witness in future trials including the death penalty prosecution of Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace, a one-time Colombo underboss who allegedly ordered the murder of Dols because the officer married Cacace's ex-wife.

-- JOHN RILEY

Defense: High-rise handyman didn't do it

A defense lawyer says authorities rushed to judgment when they charged a handyman with smothering a cleaning woman and stuffing her body in an air-conditioning vent in a Manhattan office high-rise.

But a prosecutor said in closing arguments Thursday that evidence "crushingly proves" Joseph Pabon's guilt.

Eridania Rodriguez vanished while cleaning a skyscraper in security-conscious lower Manhattan one night in July 2009. Her body was found after an exhaustive four-day search.

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Christine Keenan says Pabon tracked Rodriguez down, bound her and killed her on a deserted floor. Defense lawyer Mario Gallucci says Pabon "didn't do a thing to" her.

Rodriguez is a sister of professional bodybuilder Victor Martinez.

Port Authority to cut nonunion bonuses

The Port Authority will cut bonuses and other benefits for its nonunion employees. The move is expected to save $41 million over 18 months.

The agency's Board of Commissioners approved the cuts in a unanimous vote Thursday.

The plan will require nonunion workers for the first time to contribute to the cost of their health care premiums. More than 2,000 nonunion employees would be affected.

Executive director Patrick Foye said the changes are painful and will represent pay cuts for many Port Authority employees.

But he said the authority's staffers still earn more than many other government employees.

Under the plan, nonunion workers will be unable to cash in unused vacation time as a means of increasing their pension payouts.

Woman shot by police gets ride to airport

A woman hospitalized after being grazed by a stray police bullet while visiting the city got a police escort to the airport for a flight she feared she'd miss.

The drama began unfolding Thursday morning, when NYPD narcotics officers raided a third-floor Brooklyn apartment. Police say a drug suspect kicked a shield used by an officer who had his pistol drawn, causing the pistol to shoot.

A bullet went through the floor and into an apartment below, where the woman was sleeping. It caused a minor wound on her left arm.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly visited the woman in a hospital and learned her main concern was she'd miss a flight for Barbados. He arranged for a police escort to Kennedy Airport.

The drug suspect was arrested.

Compiled with news service reports