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Officer William Masso, Accused In Smuggling Ring, Described As Wiseguy

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The arrests of eight current and former NYPD officers on gun smuggling charges has rocked the department. The alleged ringleader of the operation, William Masso, is a veteran of the force.

Unlike most of his co-defendants who dashed past the cameras, Masso walked with a slight swagger as members of the media snapped pictures and asked questions. He didn't run at all and practically posed.

While Masso's alleged actions may have been for the sake of his family, it also could have been because Masso knows the code of the streets better than most -- he's a cop with family in the mob.

Robert Morgenthau, the legendary former Manhattan District Attorney put a relative of Masso's, Alphonse "Allie Shades" Malangone, away.

"He was the captain of the Genovese family, represented the Genovese interest in the fish market as well as in the carting industry," Morgenthau told CBS 2's Pablo Guzman.

When "Allie Shades" was about to be sentenced, Masso wrote the judge a letter asking him to go easy on his relative. "Allie Shades" got out of prison a couple of years ago after serving a 15-year sentence.

The FBI said they picked up Masso and secretly made recordings in which they said he sounded like a wiseguy.

For example, Masso is allegedly heard on a tape putting a crew together saying:

"(I can get a) retired cop, active cop, ex-cop, bad guy...one guy seven-foot tall, with muscles out to here...You want a guy to beat the [expletive] out of somebody, we got that. We got cops with vests and guns."

Now, all the investigators are comparing notes. To see if there's more about Masso. That they should know.

What do you think about the allegations against Masso?  Share your thoughts in the comments section...

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