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]Ilt;A*Cm(nI 34-A-Nofth ^6-SaitTHE NEWSEx-Convict Waiting Trial in Slaying Held for Arsonifnr7An #*-couvict awaiting trial' in connection with the slaying of underworld figure George Piscltelle today had been arrested as an arson suspect following a $20,000 south Los Angeles fire.Eugene GLnaM Maesaro 30, was taken into custody at General Hospital, where ' he. apparently went to inquire about the condition of Norman Kozan 39 who was critically bum d in the blaz e.. Investigators said Kozan, of 1335 N. Detroit St, Los Angeles, was injured when a pilot light touched off gasoline fu-•mea In the- Shatt barber shop, 2645 S. Western Ave,, about 2:45 a.m; Tuesday,Gasoline SpilledThe lira, spread,to. the adjacent Mex and Smiths Cafeteria, ‘also'owned*by a Ronald Smith, •Arson probers said gasoline from two -cans had apparently beeti sloshed in both the barber shop and the cafeteria. The motive was unknown.M assaro, of 1023-N. Hancock St., Hollywood, was arrested by Officers William C. 'ijoffman and Paul Sprencz, who had scon him In a late model Cadillac with Kozan and another man about. 10:30 Monday night outside the barber shop. That was about four hours before the explosion and fire.Hunt B*a*oTiThe officers had checked out the trio and their car — a •Cadillac equipped with a . bile telephone and elaborate radio equipment — and found no cause for holding them.Officer* were seeking to determine the reason for the fire and whether It wa* linked, to . underworld activities, poe-'t sltaly bOokmaking.• Maisaro was one of four men indicted by the County Grand Jury following the fatal shooting of Fiscitelle SB at ' 5636 Halbrent Ave., Van ‘Nuys,. May 8,196S.‘ It was alleged that M assaro,■ Piscltelle and a third man went to the apartment ,Jo rough up the occupants in connection with a purported doublecross Involving a. S1CO0 loan to buy marijuana.Other Charges The death occurred In the ■gunfight that followed, Mas-saro was also wounded.He was later charged with conspiracy to commit bur-; . glary, assault with a deadly , weapon; burglary, three : counts each of assault with a ' deadly weapon, assault to inflict great bodily injury and ; . kidnaping.\ -Massaro also was accused ; of being an ex-convict with a• gun, He has a record of a \t narcotics conviction in Florl-• da and‘grand theft in New• York.LcClgno Convicted Piscltelle was one of five men* Including former mobster Mickey Cohen, who were charged with murdering Jack “The Enforcer 'Whalenin a Sherman Oako restaurant in December 1959.Charges against four of the defendants were dropped. Sam loCigno was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to prison lor a term of one to 10 years.Massaro’a trial in the Pis-cjtelle shooting is scheduled for next Wednesday in Superior Court.No murder charge was filed in the Piscltelle case because authorities ruled he was shot In ielf-defense when the three “musclemen” Invaded theapartment of Peter Edon 25 and Ivars Aplnitis 27. Also present in the apartment was Brian Jones 26 of 5635.Murlet-ta Ave,, Van Nuys.Indicted with Massaro were Martin Hochman 23; Of 10707 Camarillo St, 'North Holly-wood and Ira S. Stark 27 of 4151 Arch Drive, North Hollywood.Hochman, accused of similar charges, is scheduled to stand trial with Massaro next Wednesday. It is alleged that Hochman hired. Piscltelle, Massaro and Stark for $2000 to rough up Jones,' Eden and Apinitis.Stark Is' a fugitive.sky and Hochman split theIt was testified before the Grand Jury 'that Jones and Apinltlo had borrowed $11,000 from Eden in February 1968 to buy marijuana. They assert-edly were put in contact with Bruce' Orlansky 24 of 17700 Corinthia Drive, Encino, who assertedly worked for Hochman.Split $11,000Jones assertedly turned the money over to Orlansky on April 8, 1968, at which time Oriansky purportedly pulled a gun-and failed to give him the marijuana.It was testified that Orlan$11,000..Jones, Eden and Aplnitis repeatedly sought to get the money back.Hochman then assertedly hired the. three “musclemen” to discourage further efforts of the trio. He purportedly gave Piscltelle a gun for the job.The three went to the Van Nuys apartment, posed as policemen to gain entrance, then started to pistol whip the vie tims, it is charged.Aplnitis pulled a gun and shot Piscltelle. 3S1 assaro and Aplnitis were also wounded in the exchange of gunfire. ■Property Owners Elect New OfficerJerry K. Fields -has be elected president of the E cino Property. Owners Asso atlon, succeeding Mrs. Jo Akers,Elected to the board of • rectors of the association a Messrs. David Brown, J Carrabino, Lee Goldin, Deni Grady, Ron Kahn, Har« KasLen, Dick Jioss, Posner, and Mmes. Da1 Drasln, Roger. Kilpatrt Martin Ladin, Emmet Lav? Jr., Ernest Letseh, Robert! eman, Eugene Nonem; Fred Rheinstein, James Sir nian.i-mMIRACLEWHIPHJtAIrt SMAB DR6S5W®QUART JARbitty crockirIATt COCKTAILHO. 303 OH%» D. OILETTISSUE2*0UMCKTOMATO JUICE -MAYFRBSH 46-0 Z. CANfauit.(g9BUTTERNUT COFFEE6^133 49smb. 512fw CAM I•is.$ f 93 AH IDoity fub.J5«CANIMITATION ICE MILKASOEHHAlfGAlLON^VETS* NUGGETSP*Y DOGFOQO -—VIENNA SAUSAGEW115W 4-0 Z. CAN----------PACIFIC COOKIES1 *46. W5......CORN BEEF HASH. VrtLSCH15*-OZ.CAH -ARDEN YOGURTASSTD. FLAVORS HA\f HtfT.BUTTERMILK«DEH OLD FASHIONED•A ~r: -i.-Zf.r- -O ■ -1ijQiZ'S'j -• ;v- L- -ROCK CORNISHPORK SH)U.S.D.A.GRADE A. 1S-OZ. MINIMUM'NET WT.FRESH U PORK-PICecu
Newspaper Details
Van Nuys Valley News and Green Sheet
Van Nuys, California, US
Thu, Jul 10, 1969
Page 66
Full Page
Clipped by
Eli F.
CA, USA 02 Jul 2020
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