Grosso Gets 26 Years to Life in Shooting That Blinded Mustang Topless Bar Figure

Joseph Angelo Grosso was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison Tuesday for his role in the 1987 racketeer-related shooting of William Carroll, who financed the Mustang topless bar.

Carroll, 56, who was blinded after being shot three times in the head, clutched his cane as he told the court at the sentencing hearing: “Mr. Grosso was the setup man. I believe the setup man is just as evil as the man who pulls the trigger.”

Carroll testified that Los Angeles racketeer Michael Anthony Rizzitello, 62, shot him when the three were in a car in a deserted Costa Mesa parking lot after midnight on May 1, 1987. Carroll also told jurors that Grosso, who was driving the car, had set up all his meetings with Rizzitello. Before the first shot was fired, Carroll said, Grosso grabbed his leg to prevent his escape.

Rizzitello’s trial in the Carroll shooting is scheduled to begin next week.

The Grosso-Rizzitello case has drawn widespread interest among Southland law enforcement officials because of Rizzitello’s standing as an alleged under-boss in the Milano crime family in Los Angeles. Rizzitello has a long history of racketeering and fraud convictions. But he was acquitted on murder conspiracy charges in a Los Angeles case a few years ago and police have said that this is their best chance of putting Rizzitello in prison for good.

Prosecutors allege that Rizzitello wanted to muscle in on the profits at the Mustang Club, which has since closed because of two arson fires. When Carroll did not appear cooperative, they claim, Rizzitello decided to eliminate Carroll and deal with the next person at the club to control the money, manager Gene Lesher.

Lesher testified that he gave in to Rizzitello’s demands after the racketeer threatened to do to him what he had done to Carroll. Grosso was working for Rizzitello and set up the meeting between them, Lesher testified.

Grosso, 46, of Santa Ana told jurors that he was Carroll’s driver, had no business dealings with Rizzitello and had no idea that there was to be a shooting.

Grosso attorney William Yacobozzi Jr. argued to Superior Court Judge John L. Flynn Jr. that his client “was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. . . . He had no motive for helping Mr. Rizzitello. He got nothing out of it.”

But when it was Carroll’s turn to address the court, he lashed back by saying that Grosso’s motive was obvious.

“He wanted to be one of the right-hand men of the Mafioso,” Carroll said. “He wanted to be a big shot.”

Flynn sentenced Grosso to 25 years to life and added a year because Rizzitello had used a gun. If Grosso is ever released from prison, the judge ruled, he would be on parole for the rest of his life.

‘Too Much Talking’

Grosso told the court: “I’m sorry for Mr. Carroll’s injuries. I’m here because I did too much talking.”

Grosso was referring to statements that he made to The Times and to others before the trial, contending that Rizzitello was not the gunman. The jurors said Grosso told so many different versions of what happened that he lost all credibility as a witness.

Grosso claimed that he was forced to attempt to clear Rizzitello because the racketeer, housed in a separate section of the Orange County Jail, had told him before one court appearance that he would kill him if he didn’t.

Even if Grosso refuses to testify at Rizzitello’s trial, a transcript of his testimony at his own trial could be highly damaging to Rizzitello’s defense, prosecutors said.

Rizzitello attorney Anthony Brooklier has declined to discuss the case, except to say “my client is an innocent man.”

Carroll said Grosso arranged a meeting between him and Rizzitello at Emilia’s restaurant in Santa Ana on April 30, 1987. Someone had taken a shot at Carroll 10 days earlier, and he thought that Rizzitello could tell him who it was.

After dinner, Carroll said, Grosso and Rizzitello asked him to drive them to the Costa Mesa parking garage, where Grosso’s wife had left his car. Carroll was in a rented car, which Grosso said he drove.

Carroll told jurors that when they wound up in a deserted parking garage, he knew something was wrong. But by then, he said, Rizzitello had grabbed him around the neck and pointed a gun at his head.

Carroll said Rizzitello told him just before firing, “This is for not letting us eat,” an apparent reference to Carroll refusing to let Rizzitello in on the bar profits.

At Grosso’s trial, Yacobozzi accused Carroll of being responsible for the murder of Jimmy Casino, the Mustang manager who had borrowed more than $200,000 from Carroll to get the club started in the early 1980s. Yacobozzi also accused Carroll of at least a dozen other murders in the area.

Carroll vigorously denied committing any crimes. He told the court: “I have heard myself slandered by Mr. Yacobozzi throughout this trial. But I had to for Mr. Grosso to get a fair trial, because that’s our system. . . . But I ask you, why would I want to see an innocent man convicted?”

Carroll also attacked Grosso’s testimony that the shooting occurred after a heated argument between Rizzitello and Carroll.

“There was no argument,” Carroll said. “This was a sneak attack. This man (Grosso) set me up to die. He is the consummate con artist.”