Affidavit shows wise guy's double life

NEWARK, N.J., March 6 (UPI) -- A New Jersey wise guy, a lifelong associate of the Genovese crime family, led a double life for a decade as an informant for the FBI, a report said.

Peter Caporino, or "Petey Cap," was recording reputed mob crew boss Joe Scarborough while paying him monetary tribute every month, the Star-Ledger of Newark reported Monday. Scarborough's lawyer filed an FBI affidavit describing Caporino's cooperation with his own motion asking a judge to dismiss the charges against his client or provide more information about the informant.

The informant is referred to in the affidavit as "cooperating witness No. 1." But the Star-Ledger says lawyers identify the witness as Caporino, who was known to be an informant after a state judge spared him a prison term last fall because of his cooperation.

Caporino, whose own criminal record is extensive and goes back to 1958, reportedly recorded 800 hours of conversations, with the subjects often activities like loansharking and operating illegal sports betting rings.