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James Vlasto, a former press secretary and political advisor to New York politicians, was actively involved in solving his uncle Andrew Vlasto's 1993 murder case, which came to a close more than six years after it occurred.
In 2000, due to James' consistent efforts and thorough investigation alongside authorities to obtain evidence and a long hunt for the perpetrator, a Gypsy woman named Sylvia Mitchell, his uncle's then-wife, was brought to justice by Justice Bonnie Wittner of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan. He urged authorities to pursue Mitchell until she entered a guilty plea and confessed to drugging Vlasto.
On Thursday, September 29, 2022, ID's Black Widows: Kiss, Marry, Kill will revisit the shocking murder case of 85-year-old Greek-American Andrew Vlasto. Season 1 episode 3, titled Gypsy Hustle, will air on the channel at 9 pm ET.
Let's explore James Vlasto's role in solving his elderly uncle's murder that disclosed a clan of Gypsys responsible for the murders of multiple other men across other states.
James Vlasto pursued Sylvia Mitchell for years after uncle Andrew Vlasto's suspicious death
James Vlasto researched and pursued the criminal activities of the infamous Gypsy clan, the Tene Bimbos from San Francisco, that Sylvia Mitchell was a part of. He claimed that his family wasn't "going to let up." The Gypsy clan became a household name after Peter Maas's 1975 best-seller, King of the Gypsies.
In July 2000, after Mitchell entered a guilty plea to charges of manslaughter, grand larceny, and perjury, a state Supreme Court Manhattan Judge, Bonnie Wittner, sentenced her to 5 to 15 years in prison - a minimum sentence- officially drawing James' prolonged investigation into late uncle Andrew Vlasto's murder to a close.
James, then 66, served as the press secretary for both former Schools Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez and former governor Hugh L. Carey. Before the sentence was handed down, he got the chance to directly address the court. Vlasto claimed that Sylvia was responsible for orchestrating his uncle's death as she slowly poisoned him to acquire his inheritance.
Andrew Vlasto's nephew James reportedly stated:
"He had no chance to call for help. He did not have to die.''
He added:
"We were not going to let her get away with it. She'll be locked up for a while, and that’s a good thing."
Vlasto never received any compensation for protecting his uncle's $500,000 fortune from the Gypsy clan's grasp. Instead, the funds were passed on to more immediate family members from Greece. His primary motive was to alert other elderly people about a swindle he believed was so horrific that it outclassed and made other common defrauding schemes look insignificant.
Andrew Vlasto's nephew, James, raised doubts after the sudden hospital visit
James Vlasto went to visit his uncle after learning he was in the hospital, but the staff, following his uncle's then-wife, Sylvia Mitchell's orders, refused to let him see Andrew. It was the that he discovered the secret "illegal sham" of a marriage that took place about three months ago.
After learning about the marriage during his hospital visit, James reportedly said,
"I said, 'What wife? He’s 85 years old, and he’s never married.' What’s going on here?'"
James ignored Mitchell's reservations and had Andrew Vlasto's autopsy performed in November 1993 after his death. Test reports revealed that he died from a drug overdose. He further claimed that $80,000 from his uncle's $250,000 account balance had been taken out, with $70,000 going to an Atlantic City casino.
The determined nephew pursued Ms. Mitchell for over six years because he believed she was behind Andrew Vlasto's death from poisoning after. He alleged that she tricked him into a fake marriage.
James assisted in accumulating proof that his uncle was given barbiturates and opiates, kept track of Mitchell's moves, and barred her from acquiring his inheritance except for the $80,000. He also urged state prosecutors to continue investigating the case until the culprit was named. A tip concerning elderly men who were "slowly poisoned to death" helped the case.
The district attorney's office launched an inquiry after receiving clippings from James, who was also credited for performing a lot of the background research that kept the inquiry underway, which included disclosing ban details, phone records, hospital files, and prescription papers.
After the sentencing, James Vlasto asserted that justice "means closure for our family." He added:
"My uncle died in a horrible way but justice finally has been done."
As previously stated, Black Widows: Kiss, Marry, Kill will air on Investigation Discovery on September 29, 2022 at 9 pm ET.
