BY CHRIS JOSEPH
Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello, who, along with Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, had been accused of having Miami Subs founder Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis rubbed out in a Mob-style hit, was convicted of first-degree murder and murder conspiracy Wednesday in the 2001 killing of Boulis.
Ferrari was found guilty for his part in the murder in 2013.
But prosecutors said that it was Moscatiello, 77, who put together the plot to have Boulis killed on the night of February 6, 2001.
On the night of his death, Boulis, who was also the owner of SunCruz Casinos, pulled out of his Fort Lauderdale office in his car when two cars approached him. His killer appeared in next car facing the opposite direction and shot Boulis before screeching off.
According to investigators, Boulis drove a mile toward Federal Highway and SE 18th Street, where he crashed into a tree on the side of the road and died from his gunshot wounds.
The killing was motivated by a deal between Boulis and a businessman named Adam Kidan that went sour.
Kidan brokered a deal to purchase SunCruz Casinos from Boulis for $147.5 million in 2000. However, the deal eventually proved to be fraudulent. Boulis accused Kidan of falsifying the wire transfer, and things came to a head when the two got into a fistfight in December 2000.
Fearful of Boulis, prosecutors said that Kidan hired "Big Tony" Moscatiello for protection; Moscatiello brought Ferrari along.
During the Ferrari trial, witnesses testified that Little Tony was a captain in the infamous Gambino organized crime family.
Moscatiello saw the earning potential of working for Kidan. And he thus considered Boulis a threat to his money, prosecutors said.
This was the two Tonys' motivation to have Boulis rubbed out.
Ferrari took the stand on his own behalf during his own trial, against his attorney's wishes, and testified that he had nothing to do with the hit on Boulis. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison
As for Big Tony, his original trial ended up in mistrial last year after his attorney came down with an illness. For the retrial, Moscatiello's attorney tried to paint Kidan as the main culprit behind the killing, saying he had more motivation than anyone to see Boulis dead.
Moscatiello, who was also a member of the Gambino crime family, now faces a possible death sentence
