STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A judge denied a motion to suppress the statements Anthony Comello made to investigators shortly after he was arrested and accused of killing Francesco (Franky Boy) Cali outside the victim’s Staten Island home seven months ago.
The inconsistent statements were revealed during a pre-trial hearing when portions of the three-and-a-half-hour interrogation conducted on March 16 were played before Justice William E. Garnett on Oct. 30, the Advance previously reported.
During the interrogation, Comello, 25, told a detective he killed Cali, the head of the Gambino crime family, because Cali threatened to have him killed after Comello hit his SUV on the street.
Later on, Comello changed his story, saying he had been blackmailed into killing Cali by “people” who threatened to reveal how he contracted HIV from a stripper.
The 25-year-old man also provided a third account, saying he had actually gone to the victim’s house to “spill the beans” and warn him that organized crime had ordered a hit on him.
Robert Gottlieb, Comello’s lawyer, previously argued his client’s statements should be suppressed due to his physical and mental state at the time of the interview.
The videotape of the interrogation showed Comello telling a detective he took HIV medicine, vomiting into a wastebasket, requesting medical attention and complaining about the feds watching over everyone.
“They knew he had HIV and takes medication. They knew it was violent vomiting,” Gottlieb told the court. “The pain is so severe that the questioning is tantamount to keeping him in a coercive environment against his will. It all adds up, not only the physical illness, but the paranoia that renders the statement involuntary. It is the totality of the circumstances.”
But for Garnett, those statements are admissible.
Dressed in a blue suit and a blue shirt, a tired-looking Comello entered the court room Thursday morning and emotionlessly looking at the side where some family members where sitting.
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, a doctor from the district attorney’s office went to evaluate Comello on his mental state, but Comello refused to cooperate, Judge Garnett said.
“It appears to me he failed to cooperate,” Garnett told Comello, adding he has yet to review the videotape of the conversation.
Garnett then proceeded to explain the legal ramification Comello could face for failing to cooperate with the doctors who are mentally evaluating him, but Comello interrupted him, saying something that was not immediately understandable.
“You risk losing your defense for mental defect,” said Garnett before Comello interrupted him again. “Do you understand?”
Comello responded with a clear “Yes sir.”
Garnett then said he will expected to receive mental evaluation from both the defense and the prosecution by Jan. 3, 2020 and he will then review both evaluations and the videotape of the Dec. 4 interview.
Comello is due back in court on Jan. 10, 2020.
“At that time, I might make an appropriate order,” the judge said.