Grosso Says He’ll Be Killed for Testifying : Trial: A defendant in an attempted-murder case has blamed the shooting of a topless bar financier on his co-defendant, a crime family figure.

Joseph Angelo Grosso told jurors Wednesday “I will be killed” for testifying that Los Angeles racketeer Michael Anthony Rizzitello, his co-defendant, shot the chief financier of the Mustang Club topless bar, leaving him permanently blind.

Grosso, 46, left the witness stand after completing his second day of testimony at his trial on charges of attempted murder in the May 1, 1987, shooting of William Carroll, who was found bleeding and in a deserted parking garage in Costa Mesa. Rizzitello’s trial date on the same charges will be scheduled later this month.

Grosso first testified Oct. 25, but his lawyer claimed the next day that he could not resume the stand because of an emotional breakdown at Orange County Jail brought on by his fear of Rizzitello. Both are being held without bail at the jail but in different sections.

Superior Court Judge John L. Flynn Jr. ordered Grosso examined by a psychiatrist. By Wednesday, Grosso was able to resume the witness stand.

Prosecutors claim that Rizzitello, 62, wanted to eliminate Carroll so he could muscle in on the profits at the Mustang, a topless bar on Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana which has since been closed because of two arson fires.

Carroll has testified that it was Rizzitello who shot him in the back of the head three times and that Grosso, who was driving the car, held him down so he could not get away.

Grosso admitted that he was driving the car, but he told the jury that it was a total surprise to him that Rizzitello was about to try to kill Carroll.

Grosso also insists that the dispute between Rizzitello and Carroll was not over the Mustang Club. Instead, Grosso claims, it was because Carroll was killing off enemies without first clearing it with Rizzitello, who is known by law enforcement agents to be an underboss in the Milano organized crime family in Los Angeles. Law enforcement officials discount Grosso’s version that Carroll has been involved in a dozen or more homicides in the last few years.

During Grosso’s testimony Wednesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans hammered away at a variety of inconsistencies in his statements, including those he made to law enforcement officials at the jail just a few days before testimony in his trial began.

Grosso said any inconsistencies were because he was upset that he was being pressured by officials.

“I was in a panic; hard to say what goes through your mind under that kind of stress,” Grosso said.

Grosso’s attorney, William Yacobozzi, has tried to get across to jurors that Grosso would not be pointing the finger at Rizzitello if he were not telling the truth. For example, Yacobozzi said, before the trial Grosso had blamed the shooting on George Yudzevich, a Mustang bouncer who has since been murdered.

Grosso said Rizzitello ordered him to blame the Carroll shooting on Yudzevich and threatened to hurt him and his family if Grosso testified against him.

Does he still fear that Rizzitello will have him killed? Yacobozzi asked him.

Grosso replied: “I will be killed. No one has ever testified against Mike Rizzitello and lived to tell about it.”

Law enforcement officials privately say that is not true. Rizzitello has a long history of fraud and racketeering convictions. But there is no evidence that anyone who testified against him was killed.

Prosecutors have said, however, that they worry about Grosso’s safety, claiming in court records that Grosso had reason to fear Rizzitello.

Grosso said he has testified against Rizzitello because he does not want to go to prison and “it’s time someone told the truth about what happened.”

The defense is expected to rest today. Because of a gag order, prosecutor Evans could not disclose whether he would produce any rebuttal witnesses before the case goes to closing arguments.