Judge Banishes Hit Man From New York City

NEW YORK —  Reputed Gambino hit man Salvatore Reale today was banished from New York City, fined $10,000 and given five years probation for his conviction on racketeering and extortion charges.

“The defendant deserves imprisonment, but the court is convinced that incarceration would be likely to result in his death either by his own hand or the hands of somebody else,” U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein of Brooklyn said before sentencing.

“He just knows too much to be allowed to live.”

Weinstein suspended Reale’s 15-year sentence but ordered him to pay $10,000 in fines and gave him five years on probation.

The former New York City policeman was ordered to stay out of the Southern and Eastern districts of New York, which include New York City and suburban areas.

Reale’s wife, Roberta, and his daughter, Gina, sobbed and nearly fainted when Weinstein announced the sentenced.

“Relax, madam,” Weinstein said to the wife.

Living in Vermont

Roberta Reale has been living in an isolated farmhouse in Brattleboro, Vt., with her husband while he received psychiatric counseling for drug and alcohol addiction as an outpatient.

In a letter sent to the judge before sentencing, Mrs. Reale wrote, “I can only try to explain the difficulty of living in a farmhouse in a small town in Vermont.”

Reale has been deemed a suicide risk and has suffered brain damage as a result of his drug and alcohol abuse, according to a report issued by Dr. Daniel Schwartz at Gracie Square Hospital.