Former child actor John Cassisi morphed from a baby-faced star to a Scarface-like shake-down artist — and the career change landed him in prison!
Cassisi played gangland boss Fat Sam in the 1976 kid-actors-only flick “Bugsy Malone,” starring Scott Baio and Jodie Foster. He also had a recurring role on “Fish” and “Barney Miller.”
But he traded life on the set for the often mob-friendly world of construction — where shady contracts are sometimes awarded in return for “kickback” bribes.
The Brooklyn-bred native rose to a high-powered position at Citibank. As director of global construction for Citi Realty Services, he oversaw the division’s construction projects and was responsible for awarding lucrative contracts. Using his influential position, Cassisi, 52, took in more than $500,000 in payoffs from companies trying to win contracts on a $1.6 billion project to build Citi’s New York office.
Like a real-life mobster, he received illegal dough in various ways designed to steer clear of the authorities. Sometimes he received envelopes stuffed with cash. But he also set up a phony company and had contractors send checks straight to his home! An avid hunter, Cassisi was sent on a free hunting trip to Alaska by a “generous” electrical company. He even had one contract-hungry company build a patio at his house!
But with his misdeeds documented by the D.A., Cassisi pleaded guilty to money laundering and receiving bribes. He was sentenced to two to six years in state prison.
His bad behavior isn’t a surprise to those who knew him as a kid.
“Bugsy Malone’’ director Alan Parker said he cast Cassisi after visiting a Catholic school in Brooklyn.
“I asked: ‘Who’s the most badly behaved kid in the class?’ Thirty kids pointed to one chubby little boy at the back. ‘Cassisi!’ they screamed.
“John Cassisi put his hands up and smiled. Although he had never acted before, he yelled out lines from the script with gusto. I knew right away we had our Fat Sam.”
