TOM PAPANIA / GODS SAVING GRACE MINISTRIES NEWSPAPER REPORTS

Coppola associate pleads guilty to racketeering, murder plot
Author: HOPKINS, SAM Sam Hopkins Staff Writer STAFF Date: May 26, 1988 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/6 Word Count: 366

Charles Brown, 45, a co-defendant of former Jilly's restaurant owner Carl Coppola, pleaded guilty Tuesday, the day before his trial to charges of racketeering and conspiring to murder Coppola's former bodyguard, Thomas Papanier, according to U.S. Attorney Robert L. Barr Jr. Coppola was convicted April 27, 1987, after 12 weeks of testimony, of racketeering and conducting a continuing criminal enterprise for the purpose of obtaining income from the smuggling and distribution of

Coppola associate denied bond; he allegedly used alias
Ex-fugitive altered appearance, used false papers, U.S. prosecutors say
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: January 20, 1988 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/5 Word Count: 522

Charles Oliver Brown, who according to court testimony was employed as a hit man by convicted racketeer Carl Coppola, was denied bond Tuesday after prosecutors introduced evidence that Brown had changed his appearance and was living under an assumed name.

Brown, 44, was arrested Jan. 3 in Holly Hill, Fla., by U.S. marshals. He had been a fugitive since the unsealing of an 11-count indictment on May 9, 1986, which charged Brown, Coppola and 10 others with federal racketeering and drug

Fugitive named as hit man for Coppola is jailed
Author: Date: January 5, 1988 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/6 Word Count: 432

From Staff and Wire Reports

HOLLY HILL, Fla. - A fugitive allegedly employed as a hit man by convicted racketeer Carl Coppola was arrested by federal marshals, a deputy marshal said Monday.

Charles Oliver Brown, 44, was traced to Holly Hill, near Daytona Beach, and arrested at 8 a.m. on Sunday after overnight surveillance confirmed his identity, said Deputy Marshal Barry Surles.

James Deichert, special attorney in charge of the Organized Crime Strike Force in Atlanta who

After 3 months together, goodbye comes hard for Coppola jurors
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: June 4, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/1 Word Count: 1022

The U.S. government may have concluded its case against racketeer Carl Coppola, but the jurors who convicted him aren't ready to say goodbye. Come August, they will gather for a reunion to rehash their grueling three months together.

The likely gathering spot? One of the Jilly's rib restaurants founded by Coppola.

"After 14 weeks, honey, we know each other!" jury foreman Jerry Garber said Wednesday afternoon as he bid a boisterous but temporary farewell to

Coppola found guilty on drug, rackets charges
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 25, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/1 Word Count: 1442

Carl Coppola, the founder of Jilly's rib restaurants whose 14-week racketeering trial was filled with testimony about murder, drug smuggling and organized crime, was convicted Friday on six of seven charges against him.

The federal jury of eight men and four women found Coppola, 44, guilty of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and operating a "continuing criminal enterprise." Jurors deliberated for 9 1/2 days.

Coppola faces a maximum sentence of life

Jury deliberations are scheduled to begin Monday in racketeering trial of
Coppola
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 11, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/1 Word Count: 767

Jury deliberations are scheduled to begin Monday in the federal racketeering trial of Jilly's restaurant founder Carl Coppola and three co-defendants, marking the start of the 13th week of the trial.

Closing arguments concluded Friday and were followed by U.S. District Judge Robert Vining's 1 1/2-hour charge to the jury. Members were sent home until Monday. Deliberations are expected to last for several days.

In his summation Friday morning, prosecutor James Deichert

Prosecutor denies defense charges Coppola witnesses fabricated case
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 10, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/2 Word Count: 1152

James Deichert, prosecutor of accused racketeer Carl Coppola, responding today to defense contentions that he allowed government witnesses to fabricate their testimony, told the jury those assertions are "a bag of manure."

The prosecutor of accused racketeer Carl Coppola, responding today to defense contentions that he allowed government witnesses to fabricate their testimony, told the jury those assertions are "a bag of manure."

"You're either seeing

Coppola lawyers claim feds made deals with witnesses
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 10, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/1 Word Count: 891

Attorneys for accused racketeer Carl Coppola charged in closing arguments Thursday that "zealous" federal prosecutors, motivated by their "obsession" to snare Coppola after a three-year investigation, cut "deals" with government witnesses to obtain damaging testimony.

The U.S. Justice Department has granted immunity, promised to recommend light sentences or offered other considerations to 10 of Coppola's co-conspirators who testified against him, Fred

Coppola called `Lee Iacocca' of drug trade
Government's closing arguments presented in racketeering trial
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 9, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/1 Word Count: 1122

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola ran his alleged criminal enterprise with such "initiative, drive and determination" that jurors should "consider Mr. Coppola as the Lee Iacocca of the drug business, and the murder business, too," a prosecutor said Wednesday during closing arguments in Coppola's federal trial. Comparing Coppola to the chief executive officer of a burgeoning corporation, prosecutor James Deichert said Coppola filled his ``job openings" with contract

Coppola lawyer accuses federal witness of scam
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 9, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/1 Word Count: 1144

Defending accused racketeer Carl Coppola "has got to be similar to a one-armed man wrestling with an octopus," one of Coppola's attorneys told the jury today during closing arguments in Coppola's federal trial.

"I'm going to go right to the octopus," Ted Worozbyt said. "And who might that be? The likely prospect might be Alexander Biscuiti."

Biscuiti, a key government witness and unindicted co-conspirator, falsely led Coppola to

Coppola trial summations begin today
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 8, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: D/2 Word Count: 423

Testimony ended Tuesday in the 12-week federal racketeering trial of Carl Coppola and three co-defendants, and closing arguments were scheduled to begin this afternoon.

Prosecution and defense attorneys will take through Friday morning to summarize their cases for the jury, after which members will be charged and begin deliberations on the seven-count indictment.

The complex racketeering case has included allegations of drug smuggling, money laundering, murder, organized crime

Closing arguments scheduled to begin in Coppola trial
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 8, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/18 Word Count: 615

Testimony ended Tuesday in the 12-week federal racketeering trial of Carl Coppola and three co-defendants, and closing arguments are scheduled to begin Wednesday afternoon.

Prosecution and defense attorneys will take through Friday morning to summarize their cases for the jury, after which members will be charged and begin deliberations on the seven-count indictment.

The complex racketeering case has included allegations of drug smuggling, money laundering, murder, organized

Testimony is set to close today in racketeering trial of Coppola, four
others
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 7, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/3 Word Count: 415

The last of four co-defendants in the federal trial of accused racketeer Carl Coppola rested his defense today, and the government completed its rebuttal case.

Defense witnesses to counter the rebuttal testimony are scheduled for this afternoon, bringing testimony to a close in the case. U.S. District Judge Robert Vining has not yet scheduled closing arguments in the 12-week trial.

Co-defendant Frank Church called one witness in his defense - Harold Rodovich, who already has

Coppola bodyguard testifies he severed Mafia ties in 1983
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 4, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/2 Word Count: 822

Thomas Papanier, a co-defendant in the racketeering trial of Carl Coppola who has been linked to the Mafia, testified Friday that he once was proud of his association with New York's Gambino organized crime family and that his friendships gave him access to exclusive restaurants and nightclubs.

But Papanier denied being a member of the Gambino syndicate and said he moved to Atlanta to work for Coppola's Jilly's rib restaurants in 1983 to sever his informal ties with

Coppola co-defendant denies crime family ties
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: April 3, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/2 Word Count: 629

Tommy Papanier, a co-defendant in the trial of accused racketeer Carl Coppola, took the witness stand Thursday and disputed previous testimony that he was connected to New York's Gambino organized crime family.

Papanier also denied previous testimony that he conspired to distribute cocaine with Coppola and hosted a series of meetings at his Dunwoody home during which the murder of an associate was planned.

The testimony of Papanier, a tall, strapping man with a thick New

Coppola denies he bragged how easy it was to pull a `hit'
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: March 28, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/1 Word Count: 822

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola denied Friday telling an undercover FBI agent that he could get anybody killed by making "one phone call" to New York, but Coppola said he could not recall whether he told the agent that he reported to New York's Gambino organized crime family, as the agent had testified.

Coppola continued to dispute the testimony of key prosecution witnesses who said he masterminded murder plots against associates Daniel Forgione and Thomas Papanier, a

Coppola disputes testimony he plotted deaths, drug scheme
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: March 27, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/1 Word Count: 1018

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola on Thursday attempted to refute the bulk of the government's case against him, denying that he conspired to murder two men or distribute large quantities of cocaine in Atlanta in the mid-1980s.

Coppola, appearing relaxed and jovial during his third day on direct examination, repeatedly disputed the testimony of key prosecution witnesses who said he was responsible for the murders of associates Joseph Cam and Daniel Forgione and for a

Coppola denies plot to kill two
Disputes testimony he was part of drug scheme
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: March 27, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/1 Word Count: 1210

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola today denied telling an undercover FBI agent that he could get anybody killed by making "one phone call" to New York, but Coppola said he could not recall whether he told the agent that he reported to New York's Gambino organized crime family, as the agent had testified. Coppola continued to dispute the testimony of key prosecution witnesses who said he masterminded murder plots against associates Daniel Forgione and Thomas Papanier, a co-defendant.

Coppola on tape offers to arrange `hit'
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: March 19, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/1 Word Count: 1096

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola, in a secretly taped conversation played for the jury Wednesday, offered to arrange the murder of a prosecutor and admitted that he had financed a cocaine deal and owned an Atlanta striptease club held in the names of other people. The conversation was recorded in August 1979 by Atlanta lawyer Hirsch Friedman, who wore a body "bug" as part of an FBI investigation into public corruption and drug trafficking in Atlanta.

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola,

Coppola admitted being mob member, FBI agent tells jury
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: March 18, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/10 Word Count: 876

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola told an undercover FBI agent in 1984 that he and co-defendant Tommy Papanier belonged to New York's Gambino organized crime family and that Coppola was kidnapped because he had fallen behind in his payments to the syndicate, the agent testified Tuesday.

"I asked him why they'd want to kidnap him, of all people," said Special Agent Eugene Bennett. "He said he was behind in his payments and they were trying to extort him. . . . He

Coppola discussed bribing DeKalb judge in 1979, court told
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: March 18, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/1 Word Count: 1324

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola discussed the possibility of offering a bribe to then-DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Clyde Henley in 1979, and Henley's name was on a 1983 list of people eligible to receive "complimentary" meals at Jilly's restaurants, according to testimony this morning in Coppola's federal racketeering trial. The testimony occurred outside the jury's presence.

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola discussed the possibility of offering a bribe to

Coppola case fugitive captured
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: March 13, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/16 Word Count: 764

Convicted drug smuggler William Cross Jr. of Marietta, who was declared a fugitive after he failed to respond to a subpoena in the federal racketeering trial of Carl Coppola, has been arrested and will testify next week in the closing days of the prosecution's case.

Cross will testify that Coppola admitted arranging the May 1983 killing of Coppola's former business associate, Joseph Cam, prosecutor James Deichert said earlier in the trial outside the jury's presence.

Coppola co-defendant leaves court while `friend' testifies
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: March 6, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/3 Word Count: 475

Tommy Papanier, a co-defendant in the federal trial of accused racketeer Carl Coppola, was allowed to leave the courtroom Thursday afternoon after he told the judge he could not bear to hear any more testimony from prosecution witness John Tribiano.

"Your honor, I've been the man's friend for the better part of my life and I can't sit here and listen to him perjure himself for Mr. Deichert," Papanier said out of the jury's presence, referring to Justice

Coppola plotted to slay former guard, jury told
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 27, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/4 Word Count: 700

During March and April 1984, accused racketeer Carl Coppola solicited a murder attempt against his former bodyguard, participated in a foiled armed robbery attempt and distributed 2 kilograms of cocaine, a witness testified Thursday in Coppola's federal trial.

Coppola also made off-the-cuff remarks about wanting to kill two other associates, testified Joseph Lee, 45, a former Coppola cohort who is cooperating with prosecutors.

Lee said he, Coppola and Rodney Smith, then an

Coppola plotted associates' slayings, witness testifies
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 26, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/1 Word Count: 772

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola started planning murder plots against two business associates in January 1984 and admitted having arranged the slaying of a third, a witness testified Wednesday during Coppola's federal trial.

Joseph Lee, 45, testified that he and Coppola built a remote-control bomb they intended to use to kill former Coppola associate Danny Forgione. Lee was the second participant in the alleged murder conspiracy to testify that Coppola masterminded the slaying.

Coppola tied to 2 murders by witness
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 25, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/1 Word Count: 842

Testimony this morning in the federal trial of accused racketeer Carl Coppola linked him to two murders, one of which was allegedly planned in the Dunwoody house of co-defendant Tommy Papanier.

Joseph Lee testified he, Coppola, Papanier and associate Alexander Biscuiti met in January 1984 to plot the murder of Danny Forgione. Forgione was fatally shot six times at close range in Florida in March 1984.

The murder was necessary, Lee said, because Forgione knew Coppola had had

Witness says he called FBI for Coppola, who feared for his life
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 24, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/25 Word Count: 793

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola, fearful of being killed by two business associates in 1984, told another associate, William Wotocek, to call in the FBI, Wotocek testified Monday during Coppola's federal trial. Wotocek said Coppola called him "in a state of panic" and summoned him to his north Atlanta condominium. Several witnesses have testified that Coppola told them that Papanier, also on trial in the racketeering case, had connections to a New York organized crime

Called FBI for Coppola, witness says
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 23, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: D/1 Word Count: 490

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola, fearful of being killed by two business associates in 1984, told another associate, William Wotocek, to call in the FBI, Wotocek testified this morning during Coppola's federal trial.

Wotocek said Coppola called him "in a state of panic" and summoned him to his north Atlanta condominium.

"Bill, they're trying to kill me," Wotocek testified Coppola told him in reference to Tommy Papanier and Alex Biscuiti. "I

Lawmen keep security tight on high-profile drug trials
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 9, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: E/1 Word Count: 1046

On the 21st floor of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building, where two high-profile drug trials continue in adjacent courtrooms, spectators must pass through a portable metal detector, 20 lawmen keep constant vigil and one prosecutor wears a bullet-proof vest. Tensions in one of the cases mounted even before trial, when federal authorities suspected an alleged escape plot by some of the defendants, sources said. Four defendants, including former Jilly's restaurant owner Carl Coppola, are

Mistrial denied as Coppola's attorney claims co-defendant's lawyer hurt
case
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 6, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: D/3 Word Count: 587

The attorney for accused racketeer Carl Coppola moved for a mistrial Thursday, charging that a co-defendant's lawyer has effectively turned into "a prosecutor" by violating an agreement to "not dump" on Coppola.

Coppola's attorney, Ted Worozbyt, also told the court outside the jury's presence that he believes the other lawyer, Alan Begner, cannot adequately perform his job.

Begner represents co-defendant Tommy Papanier in the trial before U.S.

Motion for mistrial denied by judge in Coppola case
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 6, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/2 Word Count: 604

Ted Worozbyt, the attorney for accused racketeer Carl Coppola, moved for a mistrial Thursday, charging that co-defendant Tommy Papanier's lawyer, Alan Begner, has effectively turned into ``a prosecutor" by violating an agreement to "not dump" on Coppola. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Vining denied the motion for mistrial.

The attorney for accused racketeer Carl Coppola moved for a mistrial Thursday, charging that a co-defendant's lawyer has effectively turned into

Memory is fine, Coppola witness says
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 5, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: A/38 Word Count: 501

The attorney for a co-defendant in the Carl Coppola trial tried to suggest Wednesday that a key prosecution witness whose testimony linked his client to murder conspiracy and cocaine smuggling was too high on cocaine in 1984 to remember the events about which he testified.

But Alexander Biscuiti, 44, an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, denied that assertion. While admitting that he abused cocaine and alcohol, he said he remembered the events well despite his drug use because,

Memory fine despite drug use, key witness in Coppola trial says
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 5, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/4 Word Count: 590

The attorney for a co-defendant in the Carl Coppola trial suggested Wednesday that a key prosecution witness who linked his client to murder conspiracy and cocaine smuggling was too high on cocaine in 1984 to remember the events about which he testified.

But Alexander Biscuiti, 44, an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, denied that assertion. While admitting that he abused cocaine and alcohol, Biscuiti said he remembered the events well despite his drug use because, "I lived

Witness links Coppola to death plots involving remote-control bombs
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 3, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: D/3 Word Count: 723

Testimony Monday in the federal racketeering trial of Carl Coppola linked him to two murder conspiracies, in both of which Coppola intended to use homemade, remote-controlled bombs, according to a key prosecution witness.

In his sixth and final day on direct examination, Alexander Biscuiti, an unindicted co-conspirator, said Coppola and his business associate Thomas Papanier repeatedly had asked Biscuiti to kill Danny Forgione in a dispute over money.

Forgione, president of a

Coppola lawyer challenges federal witness
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 3, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: B/1 Word Count: 908

Ted Worozbyt, attorney for accused racketeer Carl Coppola, takes the offensive, asking government witness Alexander Biscuiti if he killed two men Coppola is implicated in slaying, presses Biscuiti to prove his assertions that Coppola had become involved with organized crime families.

The attorney for accused racketeer Carl Coppola took the offensive this morning, asking a key government witness if he had killed two men Coppola is implicated in slaying.

The attorney also pressed the

Coppola built remote-control bomb to kill businessman, witness testifies
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: February 2, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: E/4 Word Count: 438

Accused racketeer and former Atlanta restaurateur Carl Coppola built a remote-control bomb to kill a business associate, a key prosecution witness testified this morning during Coppola's federal court trial.

Alexander Biscuiti, a cooperating witness, said Coppola told him to kill Danny Forgione by placing the bomb under Forgione's car seat or in a garbage pail at Forgione's home in Florida.

Coppola and Joseph Lee, also an associate, used a remote-control device

Coppola sought to import cocaine, open adult bookstores, court told
Author: EPSTEIN, GAIL Gail Epstein Staff Writer STAFF Date: January 31, 1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: C/6 Word Count: 614

Accused racketeer Carl Coppola and his business partners, seeking to expand their alleged criminal enterprise in Atlanta, planned to open adult bookstores and import large quantities of cocaine into the city, a key prosecution witness testified Friday in Coppola's trial.

Alexander Biscuiti, an unindicted co-conspirator, said that he, Coppola, co-defendant Thomas Papanier and Atlanta adult bookstore operator Rodney Glenn Smith traveled to New York in January 1984. The men were