NEW ORLEANS -- Joseph R. 'Junior' Provenzano, an associate of imprisoned Louisiana crime boss Carlos Marcello, was charged Wednesday with assaulting a federal grand jury witness who testified against him.
An FBI spokesman said Provenzano, 49, of Marrero, was charged in an indictment unsealed today with the July 15 beating of John Rietzke, 37, one of several witnesses who testified before a federal grand jury empaneled in 1980 to investigate organized crime in Louisiana.
'Rietzke appeared before the grand jury on June 1, 1983. After his appearance, Rietzke was physically beaten on July 15 in Marrero and (the beating) was allegedly in retaliation for his testimony before the grand jury,' said FBI agent Edmund J. Pistey.
The indictment charged Provenzano with violating the federal statute prohibiting retaliation against a witness. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Provenzano has been associated with Marcello, who is serving a seven-year term in prison on federal racketeering charges in the FBI's Brilab investigation of payoffs for state insurance contracts.
