“Star witness in Sarno trial: thief, explosives expert” |
| Star witness in Sarno trial: thief, explosives expert Posted: 02 Dec 2010 04:46 PM PST SARNO CASE | On the stand, man laughs about stabbing 80-year-oldDecember 2, 2010 Kyle Knight has burglarized so many homes he's lost count. He's robbed drug dealers. He's robbed jewelry stores. He's shot a jewelry salesman outside a jewelry store. He's stabbed an old man with a 4-inch lockblade in the thigh. He's dressed up like an old man to steal his own Jaguar in a scam. He's dressed up like a swarthy man with a gray beard and fake scar. He knows how to make fireworks. He knows how to blow out a storefront's windows with a bomb, without blowing up the store. He says he got his G.E.D. in 8th grade but never graduated college. He took cocaine and crystal meth for years. He admits he's a good liar. And he's one of the government's star witnesses in the racketeering trial of reputed Cicero mob boss Michael Sarno. Testifying in an orange prison jumpsuit, his ankles chained, Knight, 46, laid out his extensive criminal career to jurors Thursday, a history he says that included men on trial with Sarno — father and son, Sam and Anthony Volpendesto, and Outlaw motorcycle gang member Mark Polchan, the owner of a Cicero pawnshop and alleged fence. Knight is cooperating with the government to get his prison sentence drastically reduced for providing the explosive material that went into the bomb that gutted a Berywn company in 2003 that was competing with the mob in the video poker business. Another of Knight's partners in crime, James Formato, was a Berwyn cop who would case out homes when called to assist homeowners. After Knight stabbed an old man who caught him robbing his home, Formato advised Knight on how to change his appearance, and gave Knight a copy of the police artist's sketch of the suspected burglar, namely, Knight. Knight recounted the matter with a smile from the stand, and Polchan's defense attorney, Damon Cheronis, pounced. "Is that funny?'' Cheronis asked. "It's interesting,'' Knight said. "It's interesting you just stabbed an 80-year-old man and got a sketch of yourself?'' Cheronis shot back. Later, Cheronis asked him: "Are you a good liar?'' "Yes,'' Knight said. "You've read books about lying, haven't you?'' "No,'' Knight said. "Are you lying now?'' Cheronis asked, and laughter erupted in the courtroom. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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