Description:

Tommy Pitera ALS to Attorney "there is only one Tommy Pitera..."

3pp lined paper, measuring 8.5" x 10.75", no place, dated April 7, 2017. Signed twice by the former Mafia hitman "Tommy Pitera", once in the text and once at the conclusion, and addressed to "Jay" (likely Jay Carney Jr., criminal attorney). Pitera complains about getting in trouble at the prison for supposedly licensing his name, and he also floats an idea of gifting his portraits for legal donations. Reads in part:

"…I have a portrait of Gambino done in graphite, a portrait of Luciano done in brown pencil, a portrait of Dillenger done in brown pencil I have two portraits of Frank Costello done in Brown pencil and one done in black pencil. Can you see the difference of the Portraits done in graphite and the Portraits done in color pencil? The staff here at McCreary pull me up after intercepting our phone conversation and misinterpreting it. They were under the mistaken impression that the tee shirt company gave me $350 dollars in order to use my name. You can not run a business from prison that’s BOP policy. That tee shirt company never gave me a dime. Two I'm very low key I don’t like my name out there…I don’t need them barring me out of hobby craft because they mistakenly believe that I'm running a business…my goal is to put up a Website hoping for donations to start coming in. In order to pay for my attorney. Its not against BOP policy to receive a donation…I trust you with my life in fact my life is in your hands. So that these people don't misinterpret our conversations we will limit it…If these people want to make a donation fine. I'll show them my appreciation by drawing them a portrait. I don't care what they do with it and I don’t want to know…I'm a great artist I put a lot of work, time and love into my portrait and there is only one Tommy Pitera." With flattened mail folds. Very fine with bold signatures.

Thomas "Tommy Karate" Pitera (b. 1954) was a hitman in the New York Bonanno crime family and is suspected of as many as 60 murders. He studied martial arts as a child, which earned him his unique nickname. On June 4, 1990, Pitera was indicted for heading a drug dealing crew and for his involvement in seven murders. He is currently serving a life sentence at McCreary Penitentiary, near Pine Knot, Kentucky.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.


After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.


Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

May 26, 2021 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000