[[Sal Pisello]] was an alleged [[Gambino Crime Family|Gambino]] mobster. He was investigated by [[Marvin Rudnick]] for tax evasion and his relationship with [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]. Pisello was convicted of tax evasion in March 1985. Rudnick's investigation into Pisello's income from [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] launched another investigation at the urging of the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]].[^1] [[William Knoedelseder, Jr.]], a business reporter for the *Los Angeles Times*, broke a story on May 10, 1985, revealing that Pisello's involvement with [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] was more extensive than Rudnick had realized. Knoedelseder obtained a report prepared by internal corporate auditors of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] detailing payments to Pisello. These press revelations rekindled government interest in Pisello's involvement with [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]].[^1] When a grand jury indicted Pisello on a second round of tax charges on July 9, 1987, Rudnick "opened fire on [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]." His press release announcing the indictment documented [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]'s payments to Pisello's company, Consultants for World Records, which Rudnick stated was "shared" with [[New York]] organized crime figures. By the Fall of 1987, [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] hired [[William Hundley]] to plead its case to top [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] officials.[^1] [[Irving Azoff]] and Pisello were discussed in phone conversations captured by [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] wiretaps. [[Eugene Giaquinto]] said he was considering sending the [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] board of directors an incriminating letter prepared in 1985 on behalf of Pisello, sent to Azoff, which would conflict with Azoff's testimony at the trial.[^1] --- ### Footnotes [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.