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Convicted mobster given OK to go to Disney World before jail term

http://www.jewishworldreview.com | (KRT) Hey, Andrew Gigante! You're the son of Genovese crime boss Vincent ("Chin") Gigante and you're about to serve a two-year sentence for extortion. What are you going to do next?

He's going to Disney World!

Gigante, 46, asked for and received permission this month to take care of some family business - a trip with his wife and four children to Disney World in Orlando - before he heads off to prison Sept. 23.

His lawyer, Richard Greenberg, made the unusual request in a letter dated Aug. 13.

"Our client, Andrew Gigante, wants to take his family to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., for one week, Aug. 20-27, 2003, before he begins serving his prison term, and needs the court's permission to do so," the letter said.

Prosecutors did not oppose the unusual vacation request, and Gigante already was "in the process of making reservations," Greenberg wrote.

Brooklyn Federal Judge John Gleeson made Gigante's dream come true. He was authorized to spend the week at Disney and was to return home Wednesday.

Gigante, who lives in Norwood, N.J., pleaded guilty in April to extorting $90,000 from a businessman and agreed to a lifetime ban from doing business on the waterfront in New York, New Jersey and South Florida.

That ban apparently did not prohibit Gigante from enjoying water rides at the Magic Kingdom such as Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise, the Riverboat and Splash Mountain.

Federal prosecutors have described Gigante as a "powerful associate" of the Genovese crime family, which he denies.

His father, nicknamed "The Oddfather" for walking around Greenwich Village in his bathrobe, pleaded guilty on the same day as Andrew and confessed that it was all a crazy act.

Asked about the Disney trip Wednesday, defense lawyer Greenberg played Grumpy. "What's the big deal?" he groused. "This is such an obviously normal - even touching - thing, it's hard to know why this is even a story."

A spokeswoman for Disney World said the theme park works closely with local, state and federal authorities on security issues but had received no heads-up on the Gigante family.

"Typically, when there is a security risk of someone visiting our park, we are notified," she said. "I don't know enough about this Gigante."

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