Chris Paciello (born Christian Ludwigsen,[1] September 7, 1971) is an American former Cosa Nostra associate, member of The Untouchables car-theft ring, and government informant who was convicted of racketeering.
Paciello had information that the target, Sami Shemtov, who owned several adult entertainment stores, kept large amounts of cash at his house.
An accomplice, Thomas Reynolds, who in 2004 was sentenced to 42 years in prison, shot Sami's wife, Judith, in the head, killing her, when she answered her door.
Unknown to his fellow gang members, Paciello had also started providing information about them and their Cosa Nostra contacts to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
[6] In late November 1995, Paciello opened a new nightclub, Club Liquid, in South Beach, bringing in local celebrity Ingrid Casares as a partner.
[12] In 1996, William Cutolo, a powerful leader of the Colombo crime family in New York, told Paciello that he needed to start paying tribute to him.
[13] In October 2000, Paciello pleaded guilty to a single racketeering charge and was sentenced to ten years in prison, after he admitted driving the getaway car after the attempted burglary of the Shemtov home.
Brafman estimated that "more than 70 people" had been "prosecuted directly and indirectly as a result of [Paciello's] cooperation", which was reportedly confirmed in a letter from the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Brooklyn.