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'Vinny Gorgeous' guilty of murder

NEW YORK, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- New York mobster Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano has been convicted of federal charges that include murder and drug trafficking.

Basciano faces a life sentence.

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A jury in Brooklyn deliberated for only 10 hours before finding Basciano guilty Tuesday on all charges, including killing Frank Santoro, a drug addict in the Bronx, The New York Post reported. During the trial, former mob associates testified that Basciano wanted Santoro dead because he had threatened to kidnap his son.

Dominick Cicale, once a close friend, told jurors that Basciano was "upset and laughing at the same time" after pulling the trigger.

"He was upset that the last shot, the recoil, hit him in the jaw, in the chin," Cicale said.

Basciano, whose nickname came from his beauty salon "Hello Gorgeous," rose to be head of the Bonanno crime family.

In a previous trial, the jury was unable to reach a verdict.

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