“I’m not John Gotti," he told Superior Court Judge
Bernard DeLury.
DeLury was undeterred. After listening to Augello for more
than 20 minutes — a speech the prosecutor later called “the ramblings of a man
who’s going to spend the next 55 years in jail” — he sentenced Augello, 62, to
life in prison for being the leader of a drug ring, and 30 years for murder.
Augello would not be eligible for parole unless he lived to
age 117. He plans an appeal of the verdict.
The sentencing ended the long drama of the April Kauffman
murder, a crime set in motion by her husband, endocrinologist James Kauffman,
who had also been charged with murder but hanged himself inside a Hudson County
jail cell.
Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner said after the
verdict that the only things remaining unknown in the murder-for-hire scheme
were the location of the gun used to kill Kauffman inside her bedroom -- and
why authorities and others did nothing to solve the case for nearly six years.
“Shame on anyone who sat on their hands and did nothing while
being content to allow murderers to go free, to walk the streets of our
county,” Tyner said.
April Kauffman was an outspoken radio host and veterans
advocate who counted politicians, police officers, and numerous veterans among
her friends and admirers. Prosecutors believe that she was trying to divorce
James Kauffman, and that he wanted her killed to protect his assets and to
prevent her from revealing a drug ring he was running with members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club.
Augello downplayed the extent of the drug operation, which
prosecutors said revolved around Kauffman’s medical office.
“It was not a drug ring,” he said. “It was a drug-addict
ring.”
He accused Tyner of exploiting the case to advance a
political career. Before the sentencing, the judge dismissed a motion to set
aside the verdict, saying he found no evidence the Prosecutor’s Office had
withheld exculpatory evidence, as one current and two former employees of the
office have contended.
Here’s a clip of convicted murderer Freddy Augello addressing judge — here he turns to face Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner and accuses him of exploiting the April Kauffman murder for his own political career. Augello was sentenced to life + 30. pic.twitter.com/lvYe9d3jvU— Amy S. Rosenberg (@amysrosenberg) December 5, 2018
Despite his impassioned speech to the judge, in which he
said he felt “horrible” for what Kauffman’s daughter, Kimberly Pack, has gone
through, but denied any connection to the murder, Augello showed little
reaction to the sentence as he was led out of the courtroom.
At the trial, Joseph Mullholland testified that he drove the
man recruited to do the killing for “the doc” — identified as Francis
Mulholland — to Linwood on the day of the murder. Joseph Mulholland pleaded
guilty to drug offenses but has not been sentenced. Francis Mullholland died
after taking a lethal dose of heroin, which Augello said he believed had been
given to him by Joseph Mulholland.
“I didn’t murder Mrs. Kauffman,” he said. “I didn’t send
anyone to murder Mrs. Kauffman. This whole thing is a farce. There’s no justice
for April until you can dig Francis Mulholland out of his grave.”
Pack detailed the dark years that have followed her mother’s
murder, her life dogged by rumors and the burden of the unsolved crime in the
death of a woman she said was her best friend.
“I do not wish anyone ill will in this case,” she said.
"I am just so sad. "
Friends of Augello filled the courtroom and said they did
not believe Augello had a role in the murder or was a drug kingpin as described
by prosecutors.
“I’ve watched him build guitars," said Anna Caulk, who
said she’d been friends with Augello for 40 years, first meeting as fellow
motorcycle riders in South Jersey. “If it’s the world’s biggest drug ring,
where’s the money? They didn’t follow the money trail. Freddy didn’t have a
dime.”
SOURCE: The Inquirer