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Man Who Witnessed Gus Boulis Murder Takes The Stand

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A man who witnessed the mob style slaying of Miami Subs founder Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis took the stand Tuesday in the trial of the two men who are accused of orchestrating the  murder.

Robert Puskarich, now a banker in Tampa, testified that he had gone out for some milk on Feb. 6, 2001, and was driving home behind a BMW driven by Boulis. A car abruptly stopped in front of Boulis, blocking them both.

"There was no stop sign there. No animal or person crossing the road. There wasn't really enough space for any of us to back up and go around," Puskarich testified.

Moments later, a black Mustang pulled up to the driver side of Boulis' car and its driver fired several shots at the businessman at point-blank range.

"He pulled out a gun and shot the guy in the car, the VBMW," said Puskarich. "I saw a gun over the door handle, the door frame."

Puskarich said he ducked down into the passenger side of his car as the Mustang slowly drove past.

"I was afraid this guy was going to shoot me," said Puskarich.

Puskarch said it's a moment that changed his life.

"It just affected me really badly," he told the jury.  "I've never really been involved in a shooting before.  I was fearful of my life and honestly, for about six months, I was too afraid to leave the house."

Puskarich testified in the trial of Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello, 75, and 56-year-old Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, who face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say they orchestrated Boulis' killing by a mob hit man amid a power struggle over the lucrative SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet that Boulis had owned. Boulis also founded the Miami Subs restaurant chain.

Puskarich just happened to be a part of the drama. After he thought the gunman had driven past, he said he looked out of his car window and came face-to-face with him. But the gunman drove away without firing any more shots, Puskarich testified.

"Just casually drove away. It wasn't like, slam on the pedal or anything. He was very calm," he said.

While testifying about that night, Puskarich broke down on the stand.   He was allowed to leave the courtroom for a few minutes to regain his composure.  He then returned and wrapped up his testimony.

Defense attorneys David Bogenschutz and Christopher Grillo poked several holes in Puskarich's account, including the faulty shooter description and his incorrect belief that the Mustang was a convertible.  The hit man was identified years later as John Gurino, who was killed in a dispute with a delicatessen owner in Boca Raton.

"I'm not 100 percent certain of anything that happened that night," Puskarich said.

Also on Tuesday Spiro Naos, the nephew of Boulis, took the stand. Naos, a former executive at SunCruz, said he found out about Boulis' murder after his parents happened to drive up on the scene of the crime and called him. Spiro rushed to the hospital.

"It wasn't until a police officer came and got me and put me in a room downstairs and started telling me there was a shooting, that gus, at that time he was talking to me, was pronounced dead," said Naos.

Boulis was slain a few months after selling SunCruz for $147.5 million to New York businessman Adam Kidan and partner Jack Abramoff, at the time, a high-profile Washington lobbyist. Investigators say it was Kidan who brought Moscatiello and Ferrari on board, part of a lingering dispute with Boulis who retained a 10 percent ownership share.

Prosecutors say Boulis was killed because he planned to try to regain control of SunCruz. They also say Moscatiello is affiliated with New York's Gambino crime family, formerly headed by top boss John Gotti.

Kidan and Abramoff would eventually plead guilty to federal fraud charges stemming from the SunCruz transaction and do time in prison. Kidan is expected to be a key witness against Moscatiello and Ferrari.

Abramoff was also the central figure in a Washington corruption scandal that resulted in federal charges brought against 21 people, including congressional officials.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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