By Tom Robbin, Jul. 22 2009<\/p>\n
The News and the Post are both reporting the death of Burt Kaplan, the turncoat mob associate whose testimony convicted the two worst New York City detectives in history – the so-called Mafia cops.
\nIt sounds plausible. Kaplan, 75, had prostate cancer and was serving a no-exit prison term of 27 years when he agreed to flip and tell about his role as the middle man between rogue detectives Louis Eppolito and Steve Caracappa and a murderous mob chieftain named Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso.<\/p>\n
Greg Smith, author of “Mafia Cops,” who wrote today’s News story with the always accurate John Marzulli, says he’s convinced. Natural causes, says the News.<\/p>\n
But Jimmy Breslin (pictured), who wrote about Kaplan’s epic turn on the witness stand before Judge Jack Weinstein in “The Good Rat: A True Story,” isn’t convinced. “Who says he’s dead?” says Breslin. “I made a study of the man and I wouldn’t believe him if he told me today was Wednesday. He might have a reason to want me not to know it was Thursday.”<\/p>\n
As a witness, Breslin says, Kaplan told the truth. “He was something. The minute he sat down in the witness chair. He started talking and that was it. If he’s dead it is a great loss to the romance of our times. Who else is there? Gotti Junior?” Photo (cc) wikipedia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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