Updated news on the Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno, Lucchese and Colombo Organized Crime Families of New York City.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Gambino Associate Gets 27 Months In Firearms Case


Official seal of Las VegasImage via Wikipedia
In Las Vegas, NV, Christiano DeCarlo, an ex-felon with alleged ties to the Gambino crime family, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison following his conviction on a firearms offense as reported by Doug McMurdo for the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Last April DeCarlo was arrested in connection with stalking a longtime girlfriend who obtained a restraining order against him. Police responded to the home to find DeCarlo in the front yard holding a pistol to his throat. A seven-hour standoff ended only after DeCarlo shot himself in the chest.
A decade ago DeCarlo got ten years as the alleged "mastermind of an extortion plot designed to take over the city's outcall entertainment industry, with a little help from the Gambino crime family":  "Among his six co-defendants were reputed Gambino mob family member Mario Stefano, and Vincent Congiusti, who prosecutors said was an expert in torture."  At the time DeCarlo allegedly owned Men of Las Vegas as reported by Carri Geer Thevenot for the Las Vegas Review-Journal:  "Outcall services send male and female dancers to customers, usually in hotel rooms. Law enforcement officials have long considered the businesses a front for prostitution and other crimes."
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Monday, March 29, 2010

Michael Persico Denied Bail


Michael Persico -- son of reputed Colombo boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico and brother of reputed ex-acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico -- was denied bail today following his indictment earlier this month for allegedly participating in a kickback and extortion scheme involving debris removal at the World Trade Center ground zero site.  In denying bail for Persico, U.S. District Judge Sandra Townes said as reported by Janon Fisher for the New York Post:  "He has ties to organized crime that he has been surveilled meeting with the hierarchy of the Colombo crime family, including Ralph Deleo -- the acting boss. He directs the acts of violent men and no amount of surety could protect the community."
Meanwhile, Jerry Capeci reports for The Huffington Post that Steven Marcus -- "a sleazy fixture in trucking and the demolition contracting business for decades" -- wore a wire for the feds that helped bring about the recent indictment involving the alleged scheme at World Trade Center site:
Prosecutors say that Marcus tape-recorded about 800 conversations for the FBI during the investigation. Sources say this treasure trove of mob business discussions will lead to additional charges in the coming months against members and associates of the Gambino and Genovese families who were also snared by the smooth-talking Marcus. "He's a truck broker in the construction industry," said one source. "He had dealings with everyone in the industry. There's lots of people looking over their shoulders."

Friday, March 26, 2010

Gambino Captain Agreed to Fork Over $1.2 Million, Sentenced To 4½ Years


A Staten Island Gambino crime family captain will fork over $1.2 million in penalties and serve up to 4½ years in prison after admitting running a massive sports-betting and loan-sharking ring, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said yesterday.
Carmine Sciandra, 57, the owner of the Top Tomato chain of specialty supermarkets, pleaded guilty to charges of enterprise corruption Wednesday in a Staten Island courtroom, along with two of his top lieutenants.
Prosecutors said Sciandra presided over a sprawling criminal operation that lent money out at rates of up to 156 percent interest and funneled millions in illegal bets through a Costa Rican wire room.
Sciandra's lawyer, Joseph Benfante, said his client had no direct involvement in the gambling and loan-sharking en- terprise and made nowhere close to $1.2 million.
"In reality he only received a few Christmas gifts, which did not total more than $5,000," said Benfante. "That's all he made out of this indictment."

Former Bonanno Boss Begs Judge: Let Me Stay In Solitary


It's last exit to Brooklyn for Vinny Gorgeous.
Former Bonanno crime boss Vincent Basciano told a judge Thursday he would rather rot in solitary confinement in Brooklyn than be sent to the Supermax prison in Colorado.
Basciano is awaiting a death penalty trial that will be not be held until spring of 2011 at the earliest because of motions and appeals. The judge was thinking of sending him west to start serving a life sentence for a 2007 racketeering and murder conviction until the new trial starts.
No thanks, the wiseguy said. "[Supermax] is three times worse than where I am now," Basciano told Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis.
Basciano has been designated by the Bureau of Prisons to serve his sentence at Supermax, where the most dangerous inmates are caged.
For the past 44 months, he's been at the federal lockup in Brooklyn - under lockdown conditions usually reserved for terrorists because of an alleged plot to kill government witnesses, a prosecutor and Garaufis.
Still, Basciano has managed to play the system like a maestro.
He gets visits from his ex-wife and mistress at the Brooklyn jail and has five lawyers working on his upcoming murder trial and appeals - at taxpayer expense.

Yesterday, he refused to come to court because it was his visiting day at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Garaufis said he was ready to order U.S. Marshals to use force to bring him in, but after conferring with the warden simply granted Basciano a makeup visiting day.

"I'll always come to court when you want me to," Basciano assured the judge.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Sicilian Mobster Pleads Not Guilty


BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 19: Mark Mershon, Assistan...Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Roberto Settineri, arrested earlier this month in Miami, FL pursuant to an alleged international Mafia sweep that ranged from New York, NY to Palermo, Sicily, "pleaded not guilty Thursday in Fort Lauderdale federal court to charges of obstruction of justice and money laundering" as reported by Jay Weaver for The Miami Herald:
Roberto Settineri, 41, the target of an FBI undercover operation starring now-convicted lawyer Scott Rothstein, will remain in custody, but plans to challenge the prosecution's move to keep him behind bars until trial. * * * FBI agents arrested Italian-born Settineri, a naturalized U.S. citizen who works as a Miami Beach wine wholesaler, in connection with Rothstein's $1.2 billion investment scam. Federal authorities also accuse him of being connected to the Mafia's Gambino and Colombo crime families in New York and South Florida. At the same time, Italian National Police officers flew to Miami and revealed charges accusing Settineri of belonging to the Sicilian Mafia and participating in a slew of violent crimes. Rothstein, who came to know Settineri through a Broward security company the Fort Lauderdale lawyer hired for protection, allegedly talked Settineri into shredding documents and laundering $79,000 in November from Rothstein's Ponzi scheme, according to an indictment. Rothstein wore a wire to record their conversations for federal agents.
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Trial Set In Slaying Of Genovese Capo


Mafia crime family structure treeImage via Wikipedia
The defendants charged in the 2003 hit on Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, the Genovese capo in charge of the crime family's New England operations, are scheduled to go on trial Nov. 1 as reported by Stephanie Barry for The Republican.  The feds have charged: Anthony Arillotta, the reputed capo who allegedly succeeded Bruno; Arthur Nigro, a reputed former acting Genovese boss; and Fotios "Freddy" Geas, a supposed sometime enforcer for Arillotta.  Frankie Roche, the admitted triggerman in the Bruno slaying, alleges that he was paid $10,000 by Geas for the job.  Stephanie Barry writes:
Investigators describe Bruno's slaying as a classic mob hit in every sense: the much-younger Arillotta allegedly sought permission from New York bosses to take Bruno out because the mobster was perceived as a weak leader and had raised suspicions he was working as an informant for the FBI, according to the indictment.
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Gambinos Sentenced In Murder Conspiracy


Michael DiLeonardoTurncoat Gambino Captain Michael DiLeonardo via Wikipedia
Two Gambino crime family associates -- Letterio DeCarlo and Thomas Dono -- were each sentenced to 180 months in prison "for their participation in a conspiracy that resulted in the 1998 murder of Frank Hydell" in order to prevent him from cooperating with the feds.  The feds state:
In late 1997 or early 1998, various members and associates of the Gambino Organized Crime Family suspected Frank Hydell of cooperating with the Government. Gambino Family soldier Thomas "Huck" Carbonaro and Gambino Family associates Letterio DeCarlo, Thomas Dono, John Matera, and others plotted to murder Hydell to prevent him from providing information to the Government concerning, among other things, the murder of Frank Parasole in 1997. On the night of April 27 and into the morning of April 28, 1998, John Matera, a close friend of Hydell's, lured Hydell to a strip club on Staten Island, New York. Later that night, as Hydell was leaving the club, he was shot dead at close range in front of his car. The evidence at trial showed that Carbonaro later indicated that he was the getaway driver for the murder, that his associate Edmund Boyle was the shooter, that Matera lured Hydell to the strip club, and that his nephews, DeCarlo and Dono, also planned and were present at the scene of the murder. In addition, as part of the plot to murder Hydell, other membersof the Gambino Family, including Gambino Organized Crime Family Captain Michael DiLeonardo and Gambino Family Soldier Frank Fappiano, conspired with Carbonaro and others to carry out the murder.
Download DOJ Press Release On Letterio DeCarlo and Thomas Dono Sentencing
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New York City School Bus Inspector Sentenced for Role in Scheme


Milton Smith is headed for prison. And his sentencing marks the conclusion of a Mafia-backed scheme dating back to the mid-Nineties that used members of a bus drivers union to steal from the New York City school system and affiliated contractors. On February 11, Smith, a former city bus inspector, received a sentence of 15 months in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for extortion and bribe-taking. The actions were in relation to a federally-subsidized special education program. He also will have to serve three years of supervised release and pay $21,000 in restitution. The maypole of the scam, Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, since has undergone a leadership change following a trusteeship imposed by union headquarters.
Smith, along with three other bus inspectors – Neil Cremin, George Ortiz and Ira Sokol – received payments from brothers Nicholas and Paul Maddalone, each an ex-Local 1181 board member, to overlook vehicle safety violations, falsify records that enabled bus companies to overbill the City of New York, and grant union bus drivers more lucrative routes. All since have pleaded guilty and have received sentences. The Maddalones were known associates of the Genovese crime family; aging Genovese boss Matty “the Horse” Ianniello, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to racketeering and tax evasion in a separate case, ran the operation from above. The prosecutions were made possible by an extensive probe by the FBI and the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General and Office of Labor-Management Standards.

National League and Policy center

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Guilty Pleas In Alleged Gambino Racket


Carmello Sciandra, the owner of the Top Tomato markets, and Benedetto Casale, owner of Casale Tile, are among the four Staten Island, NY residents who have pleaded guilty "for their roles in a lucrative Gambino crime family gambling and loansharking ring" as reported by The Staten Island Advance:  "Authorities said Sciandra ran the operation that loaned victims money at exorbitant rates. Victims were threatened with violence if they didn't pay, prosecutors alleged."  Michael Murdocco and Thomas Marchese also pleaded guilty.  The four were among several charged last November in sweeping indictments, and they are scheduled to be sentenced on June 22.
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Danny Leo Gets 18 More Months



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 23, 2010
CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER,REBEKAH CARMICHAEL,JANICE OH
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (212) 637-2600      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
FORMER ACTING BOSS OF GENOVESE CRIME FAMILY SENTENCED
IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT TO 18 ADDITIONAL
MONTHS IN PRISON


PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that former Acting Boss
of the Genovese Organized Crime Family, DANIEL LEO, a/k/a "The Lion," was sentenced today for conspiracy and participation in the affairs of the Genovese Organized Crime Family through a pattern of racketeering activity, including loansharking and illegal gambling offenses. DANIEL LEO was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $1.3 million as the proceeds of the Genovese Family's illegal gambling business. LEO's sentence was ordered to run consecutively to his 60-month sentence based on his conviction in Manhattan federal court on extortion charges
in October 2007.

DANIEL LEO and his primary lieutenant and nephew, JOSEPH LEO, pleaded guilty to the offenses for which DANIEL LEO was sentenced today on January 27, 2010, before United States Magistrate Judge RONALD L. ELLIS. United States District Judge JOSEPH LEO is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. before United States District Judge RICHARD J. HOLWELL, who also imposed the sentence today in Manhattan federal court.

According to the Superseding Indictment to which the defendants pleaded, other documents filed in this and related
cases, and statements made in court:

Beginning in about 2005, DANIEL LEO became the Acting Boss of the Genovese Organized Crime Family, from his previous post as a member of the Family's ruling panel. During the time DANIEL LEO served as Acting Boss, he continued to supervise a "crew" of Genovese Organized Crime Family members and associates, including JOSEPH LEO, CHARLES SALZANO, and others, who committed loansharking, extortion, and illegal gambling offenses under DANIEL LEO's direction.

Six other defendants charged in the Indictment have pleaded guilty: FELICE MASULLO, ANTHONY MASULLO, ANGELO MASULLO, VINCENT COTONA, CHARLES SALZANO, and ARTHUR BOLAND. FELICE MASULLO, ANTHONY MASULLO, and ANGELO MASULLO pleaded guilty on November 6, 2009, before Magistrate Judge THEODORE H. KATZ, to a superseding Information. FELICE MASULLO was an associate of the Genovese Organized Crime Family who had been proposed to be made a Soldier. FELICE MASULLO was charged with participating in, and conspiring to participate in, the affairs of the Genovese Organized Crime Family through a pattern of racketeering activity. In connection with his plea, FELICE
MASULLO admitted that he participated in the affairs of the Genovese Organized Crime Family through his participation in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, an extortion conspiracy, and a conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business. In addition, two of FELICE MASULLO's brothers -- ANTHONY MASULLO and ANGELO MASULLO -- also pleaded guilty to participating in an extortion conspiracy.

FELICE MASULLO, ANTHONY MASULLO, and ANGELO MASULLO are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge HOLWELL on April 9, 2010. FELICE MASULLO faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. ANTHONY MASULLO and ANGELO MASULLO face maximum sentences of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

VINCENT COTONA and CHARLES SALZANO pleaded guilty on March 3 and 5, 2010, respectively, before the Honorable JAMES C. FRANCIS IV, to superseding Informations charging that COTONA and SALZANO knowingly received the proceeds of extortion. SALZANO also pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business, and agreed to forfeit $200,000 as the proceeds of that offense.

COTONA and SALZANO are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge HOLWELL on March 25 and June 9, 2010, respectively.
COTONA faces a maximum possible sentence of three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. SALZANO faces a maximum possible sentence of eight years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

COTONA is currently serving a prison sentence of 24 months based on his prior conviction in United States District
Court for the District of New Jersey on money laundering conspiracy charges in January 2008. SALZANO recently completed a 37 month prison sentence based on his prior conviction in Manhattan federal court on extortion charges in September 2007.

ARTHUR BOLAND pleaded guilty on February 19, 2010, before the Honorable KEVIN NATHANIEL FOX to loansharking, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge HOLWELL on May 21, 2010. BOLAND faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. At the time of his plea, BOLAND agreed to forfeit $20,000 as the illegal proceeds of his loansharking offense.

Mr. BHARARA praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department in this
investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office's Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys DAVID B. MASSEY,
AVI WEITZMAN, BRIAN JACOBS, and JASON HERNANDEZ are in charge of the prosecutions.

10-091 ###

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/March10/leodanielsentencingpr.pdf
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Vincent Basciano Closer To Death Row After Losing Court Appeal


Former mob boss Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano is one step closer to death row.
A federal appeals court gunned down the glamorous gangster's request to toss some of the charges from the current indictment against him on a double-jeopardy argument, clearing the way for his death penalty case to proceed.
Basciano's lawyers argued that he had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for running the Bonanno family's illegal gambling operation, extortion shake-downs and murders.
The feds socked him again in 2005 with another racketeering indictment while he was in prison awaiting trial on those charges, for running the crime family from behind bars, including ordering the hit on wiseguy Ralph "Randy" Pizzolo.
Basciano wanted to increase his power over the family by making an example of Pizzolo, who had botched a construction job, according to the feds.
"You want to know why? Because he is a f-----g dangerous kid that don't f-----g listen. I thought this kid would have been a good wake-up call for everybody," Gorgeous was recorded saying on an FBI phone tap.
Pizzolo was found shot multiple times on Nov. 30, 2004, in an industrial section of Williamsburg, with his car running and $1,000 in his wallet.
The mobster's lawyers claimed that these charges amounted to double jeopardy and should be dismissed.
The appellate judges agreed, in part, about the racketeering charge against Basciano, and tossed one count of the indictment that had already been decided in the previous trial.
However, the judges decided that Pizzolo's murder was a fresh act and could proceed to trial.

$420M for bribery school bus firms


A Blue Bird Vision school bus with a propane-f...Image via Wikipedia
Nearly a dozen yellow-school-bus companies that were implicated in a federal pay-to-play bribery scheme were cleared to rake in more than $420 million in city transportation contracts by a schools policy committee yesterday.
Five bus contractors that were recently named in a federal corruption trial -- Gotham, Jofaz, Hoyt and Dak transportation companies and Rainbow Transit -- will net about $270 million in three-year contract extensions if the entire education board gives its approval this evening.
Another six companies and affiliates that city Department of Education documents say were also caught up in the massive probe by the US Attorney's Office are set to receive an additional $150 million in route extensions.


The probe, which grew out of a bid to dismantle the Genovese crime family's reputed stranglehold on the local bus-drivers union, bagged seven city school-bus officials for extorting or collecting bribes from the companies and their affiliates.
"Why would they even want to do business with companies that have proven records of corruption and bribery?" one school-bus insider asked. "What's the message here?"
But DOE officials said the companies -- which were not prosecuted for their alleged roles in the bribery schemes -- have all agreed to strict monitoring and to contracts that would save the city a significant chunk of change.
They also said the contracts were extended only after input from the US Attorney's Office.
"We've gotten agreements that across the board are better for us than the contracts that they would replace," DOE contracts chief David Ross told the education-policy committee members prior to their vote.
Officials also stressed that none of the concerns about the companies were related to the safety of their services.

 http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/for_bribery_school_bus_firms_RtCqdrR3ySDuFXTLjWwhHO#ixzz0j08yxyVC
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Monday, March 22, 2010

Trial Update: Vincent Basciano


There is still no trial date for Vincent Basciano. The U.S. Court of Appeals has to rule on various issues in his case and until it does so there is no way for Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis to set up a time for trial in the death penalty case. Basciano has a couple of intriguing issues on appeal, one being whether the current indictment doesn't violate the Double Jeopardy rule. Some legal sources think that part of the appeal could go Basciano's way, forcing the government to either drop the case or come up with a new indictment.  


http://tonydestefano.com/id3.html

Friday, March 19, 2010

Gangland War in Montreal


Two have been killed and two wounded in a gangland-style shooting at Flawnego which is a fashion  boutique owned by Joseph Ducarme in the historic waterfront business district of Montreal, QC Canada as reported by Vincenzo D'Alto for The Montreal Gazette:
Thursday afternoon, Joseph Ducarme, 41, survived a brazen midday shooting inside his Old Montreal shop that left two people dead. Ducarme managed to flee the building and, as of Thursday night, was still missing - as were the two gunmen. It is not known whether he was injured in the attack. Ducarme's bodyguard, Peter Christopoulos, and an unidentified man were killed. Two other men were injured. One of them managed to flee the scene and drive himself to the hospital. Ducarme is out on $50,000 bail for a charge of assault and was under orders not to communicate with street gang members. He is reputed to have ties to the Reds, a street gang reportedly trying to mark its territory in the city's lucrative drug trade in bars and restaurants on St. Laurent Blvd.
Authorities suspect the Mafia may be behind the attack, and had stated in an earlier search warrant in connection with an investigation that Ducarme "feared retaliation from Italians, Arabs, and motorcycle and street gangs because of his involvement in the drug trade, armed robbery and extortion."
Last December Nick Rizzuto Jr., the son of reputed Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto, was gunned down in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district, and some believe yesterday's attack is in response to the assasination of the mob scion as reported by CBC News:
Organized crime experts said the retaliation is likely part of a drawn-out struggle between Montreal's reputed Rizzuto Mafia family and street gangs, and likely linked to the shooting death of Nick Rizzuto Jr. Former crime reporter Michel Auger said Ducarme is a well-known player in Montreal's street gang scene and was once a powerful ally of Vito Rizzuto, but may have had a falling out with the clan. The attack can be seen as an escalation of the underworld conflict between the Mafia and warring factions, Auger said.
Since Vito Rizzuto was convicted on a racketeering charge involving the 1981 murder of three Bonanno crime family capos in New York City -- he currently is serving a ten year sentence in a federal prison in Colorado -- and the takedown of several dozen others allegedly tied to the Montreal Mafia pursuant to Operation Coliseum in November 2006, there has been a power vacuum in the city's underworld, and "police have said they are exploring a variety of possible theories about a Mafia turf war" as reported by CBC News: "A power struggle pitting Montreal's mobsters against their counterparts in Toronto is one possible scenario; a battle between Calabrian families and the Rizzutos' Sicilian clan is another."

Sicilian Mobster Accused of Making Threat


Roberto Settineri, arrested last week in Miami, FL pursuant to an alleged international Mafia sweep that ranged from New York, NY to Palermo, Sicily, had a brush with the law in January as reported by Jay Weaver for The Miami Herald:
As he was eating al fresco at Soprano Cafe on Lincoln Road, Settineri opened his leather jacket to flash a handgun at a private security officer, a police report states. "I will put this gun in your f-----g mouth,'' Settineri told the security officer, the report says. "I know where you live. I'll go to your house and kill you and your family.'' Miami Beach police eventually caught up with Settineri, who denied threatening the guard with his firearm. The cops arrested Settineri, 41, of Miami, on an aggravated assault charge, a third-degree felony. But that's the least of his problems. Last week, FBI agents arrested Italian-born Settineri, a naturalized U.S. citizen who works as a wine wholesaler, on obstruction of justice and money laundering charges in connection with Rothstein's $1.2 billion investment scam. Federal authorities also accuse him of being connected to the mafia's Colombo and Gambino crime families. At the same time, Italian National Police officers flew to Miami and revealed charges accusing Settineri of belonging to the Sicilian mafia and participating in a slew of violent crimes. Settineri was a regular on Lincoln Road, where he sold wine to restaurants lining the popular pedestrian way.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Legendary Mob Buster Arthur H. Christy Dies


New York attorney Arthur H. Christy has died at the age of 86 as reported by Douglas Martin for The New York Times: "in 1953, he was hired as an assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he helped to prosecute the mafia boss Frank Costello for tax evasion," and "as a young United States attorney, he had sent the organized crime boss Vito Genovese to jail on narcotics charges in 1959."

Charges dropped after reputed Gambino mobster ‘Buddy Musk’ Muccigrosso dies from lung cancer



Time and time again over the last 50 years, prosecutors have sent Charles “Buddy Musk” Muccigrosso to prison.
The reputed mobster once spit in a State trooper’s drink at a Belleville pub, then attacked him with a beer mug. Another time, he fired two shotgun blasts through the front window of a house owned by a police detective’s father.
Today, federal prosecutors in Newark withdrew their final charges against Muccigrosso, citing his Feb. 28 death while out on bail.
Muccigrosso died at a hospital in Baltimore. He was 70 and the cause of death was lung cancer, according to a death certificate.
A beefy man, Muccigrosso was born in Newark and, authorities say, was a member of the Gambino crime family. He was among six alleged mobsters convicted in 1993 of running John Gotti’s crew in New Jersey. The marathon trial was as memorable for its 10-month duration as it was for its chaos.
A juror’s car wound up riddled with bullet holes. Union members held regular demonstrations outside the courthouse supporting one of the defendants. And midway through the trial, Muccigrosso was arrested for the Belleville bar brawl after the off-duty trooper accused him of being drunk.
“He was a career criminal. He was a gangster. And he was a violent one as well,” said V. Grady O’Malley, a federal prosecutor who heads the organized crime strike force for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
But an online memorial page paints a different portrait of Muccigrosso, who according to his obituary was a heavy equipment operator for Local 825 in Springfield. He is recalled as a husband, a father and a “dear and loyal friend.”
“They don’t make men like Buddy anymore,” one mourner wrote.
Muccigrosso’s lawyer did not return phone calls yesterday. Attempts to reach his relatives were unsuccessful.
Muccigrosso moved to Toms River three years ago. He was arrested for the final time in 2008 as part of a sweep that netted 23 people charged in a 30-count indictment with illegal gambling, identity theft, loansharking, extortion, fraud and labor racketeering.
Muccigrosso faced up to 20 years.
He is buried at Glendale Cemetery in Bloomfield.

NJ.com

Soda Biz May Land Mob Prince Michael Persico In Jail


Carmine PersicoCarmine Persico via Wikipedia
Michael Persico -- son of reputed Colombo boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico and brother of reputed ex-acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico -- is under investigation for possible "involvement in soda and candy vending machines placed in mob-linked car dealerships" as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News:
An unidentified partner in the business slapped with a grand jury subpoena told agents that Persico had invested $80,000 in the venture. Under the terms of the deal, the partner was required to deposit $4,000 to $7,000 per month into Persico's bank account. Persico . . . "facilitated" the placement of the machines in businesses across the metropolitan area, the affidavit alleges. "Most, if not all, of those businesses are owned and controlled by members and associates of the Colombo family," FBI agent Scott Curtis stated.
Persico was indicted earlier this month for his alleged role in a kickback and extortion scheme involving debris removal at the World Trade Center ground zero site.  Jerry Capeci provides the back story on the indictment at The Huffington Post:
Say this for Michael Persico, the handsome, smooth as silk 53-year-old heir to a legendary mob family: He managed to stay out of trouble for a very long time. That streak came to a dramatic end last week when Persico was arrested and jailed without bail along with his prison-hardened, rough-and-tumble cousin Theodore (Skinny) Persico Jr. on racketeering charges that could keep both men behind bars for the rest of their lives. The cousins are charged with using a trucking company they controlled to shake down the Testa Corporation, a Boson-based excavating company involved in the Ground Zero cleanup for untold hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickback payments in recent years.
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Security Firm Owner Arrested by FBI, Accused of Conspiracy


The Seal of the United States Federal Bureau o...Image via Wikipedia
The FBI has arrested Enrique Ros "on charges he conspired with a suspected Italian Mafia figure to launder money and obstruct justice" as reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel:
Enrique Ros, who runs Five Star Executive Protection and Investigation, voluntarily surrendered to FBI agents Tuesday after getting off a plane at Miami International Airport. The arrest came five days after federal prosecutors unsealed a nine-count indictment against him, his business partner Daniel Dromerhauser and Roberto Settineri, who is thought to have acted as a key intermediary between a crime family in Sicily and the Gambino crime family in New York City. The three were ensnared in a November 2009 sting set in motion when Fort Lauderdale fraudster Scott Rothstein began cooperating with federal authorities investigating his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, according to news reports. Rothstein, who knew the men, pretended he needed help destroying documents and laundering $79,000, the news reports state.
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Florida Sicilian Mobster Linked to Gambinos and Colombos




Following the arrest in Miami, FL last week of Roberto Settineri, an alleged link between the Gambino and Colombo crime families in the United States and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan in Palermo, Sicily, Jay Weaver from The Miami Herald takes a closer look at the reputed mobster:
Roberto Settineri, 41, a reputed Sicilian mafia associate and naturalized U.S. citizen who has lived in Miami since the mid-'90s. * * * Settineri had seeming success pursuing the American Dream. He married, had three daughters, invested in real estate across Miami-Dade, drove a 2010 Audi A7 and sold wine to Italian restaurants in South Beach. He lived well but not garishly -- impressing some clients as a regular nice guy who they never would have suspected of being a major Sicilian mobster, as the Italian National Police said when charging him and 19 others with attempted murder, extortion and drug trafficking in Palmero last week. * * * In recent years, Settineri had several businesses that opened and shut in Miami Beach and Miami. They included Seven Business Consulting, Italian Wines Collection, Centro Sociologico Italiano, Next Entertainment Group, Blue Oceans International and V.I.A.S. Imports, state records show.
Scott Rothstein, the politically connected Fort Lauderdale lawyer who pleaded guilty last January to running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme which involved using his firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors, reportedly was instrumental through his cooperation with the FBI in bringing down Settineri.  Following the arrest of Settineri, Rothstein has "dropped off the rader" in the federal prison system as reported by the Sun-Sentinel.  While many speculate whether Rothstein and his family should fear retaliation, Bob Norman at the Broward Palm Beach News aptly points out:  "If anything, the Mafia should be upset at Settineri for being such an ignorant dupe when all of South Florida knew, or at least suspected, that Rothstein was working for the feds."

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Segal Being Sued By Mobbed Up Producer



It's the courtroom drama that never ends.
Mobbed-up movie producer Julius Nasso has launched yet another lawsuit against his old business partner, washed-up action hero Steven Seagal.
Back in 2002, Nasso sued his ex-buddy for $60 million claiming Seagal bailed on four block-buster action flicks.
Seagal claimed he walked because the violent movies were at odds with his Buddhist religious belief.
Seagal later testified that after he broke ties with Nasso he was shaken down by Gambino hoods in the back room of a Brooklyn steakhouse.
He said during that tense standoff, a reputed mob captain told him he better go back to working with Nasso or he'd be sorry - and he'd have to pay for the pleasure at $150,000 a flick.
The mobsters were caught laughing about the whole shakedown on an FBI wiretap.
Nasso was indicted in a massive racketeering case that pulled in big gangland names and in 2003 pled guilty to extortion. He served a year in prison.
Seagal and Nasso reached a secret settlement of their dispute in 2007.
Now Nasso claims the actor reneged on that deal, paying him only $35,000 out of the $200,000 owed, according to a suit filed Tuesday in Manhattan Federal Court.
Neither side could immediately be reached for comment.

Gambino Soldier Gets Break In Racketeering Sentence


A half-century after uncle Albert Anastasia was famously gunned down in a barber chair, Gambino soldier Anthony (Todo) Anastasio dodged a bullet - getting only 30 months in prison for racketeering.
It was a close shave for the 81-year-old mobster because he was facing up to 10 years in prison for several extortion schemes and conspiring to burn down a Dunkin' Donuts on Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn. A family of four living above the store nearly perished.
Anastasio did not apologize to the arson victims, who attended the sentencing in Brooklyn Federal Court.
But the wily wiseguy managed to convince Judge Brian Cogan that he was not deserving of a long term that could be a death sentence for an octogenarian.
The judge did reject Anastasio's request to do his time at a halfway house in Brooklyn where he could be treated by his own physicians.
"But for the grace of God the family living [above the Dunkin' Donuts] could have died," Cogan said. "The firefighters risked their lives and they shouldn't have to jeopardize their lives because someone wanted to [collect insurance money]."
Anastasio was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the couple and their two young children, who escaped by jumping out a window but lost all their possessions in the blaze.
Anastasio's legendary uncle, known as the "Mad Hatter" and the "Lord High Executioner," was murdered while getting a shave at the Park Sheraton Hotel in 1957.

 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/16/2010-03-16_81yrold_gambino_thug_gets_30_months.html#ixzz0iLB00jNh

Florida Attorney Behind International Mafia Bust


Peter "One Eyed Pete" GottiJailed Gambino Boss Peter Gotti via Wikipedia
Scott Rothstein, the politically connected Fort Lauderdale, FL attorney who pleaded guilty last January to running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme which involved using his firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors, was instrumental through his cooperation with the FBI in the alleged international Mafia bust last week as reported by Jim DeFede for CBS4 in Miami:
The CBS4 I-Team has learned from multiple sources that Rothstein was the key figure in bringing down a suspected Mafia figure who the FBI had been trying to catch for years. Last week, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sloman announced the arrests of three individuals, including Roberto Settineri, who the prosecutor described as the go between for the Gambino crime organization in Brooklyn and La Cosa Nostra in Palermo, Sicily. * * * At the same time Settineri was arrested by an FBI SWAT Team at his home on Miami Beach, three alleged members [and associates] of the Gambino crime family were arrested in Brooklyn and twenty members of the Sicilian mafia organization, Santa Maria de Gesu, were taken into custody in Palermo. Taken into custody in South Florida along with Settineri was Daniel Dromerhauser. A third individual, Enrique Ros of Pembroke Pines was charged but was out of the country when the raids took place.
Others in South Florida are not sleeping well as Rothstein reportedly is continuing to spill all the dirt that he has on others to the feds:  "In addition to the Settineri case, Rothstein is also helping federal authorities identify the other players in the Ponzi scheme. And he is providing information on how campaign finance laws were routinely violated."
Video
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Me, the Mob, and the Music


Tommy James, the sixties front man for The Shondells, is out with an autobiography which goes into detail on his mobbed-up boss Morris Levy who was behind Roulette Records as reported by Brett Milano for the Boston Herald:
Previous accounts have hinted at Levy's underworld connections. But James spells it out: Levy, who ran Roulette Records and later New England's Strawberries record-store chain, was a key player in the Genovese crime family. James, now 62, came to Roulette as a teenage bar-band leader from Niles, Mich. * * * Levy promised he’d make James a star. In addition to "Hanky Panky," "Mony Mony," "I Think We’re Alone Now" and "Crimson and Clover" were all multimillion sellers. But Levy never promised James would get paid, and he didn't - at least not for his songwriting. "I had an accountant who figured out that I was owed 30 to 40 million dollars," James said. So Morris threatened his life. He grabbed him and said, "Look, you (expletive), you ever use that against me and I'll see you at the bottom of the river." * * * Levy was arrested in Boston in 1984 after getting caught in an FBI sting involving counterfeit records. He died in 1990. "The Sopranos" character Hesh Rabkin was based on him; Levy associate Tony Salerno is said to be the model for Tony Soprano.
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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Mob associate James Malpeso moves to the bottom bunk


TH.2058 Bunk Beds - Tate Modern, London.Image by Jim Linwood via Flickr
A judge has ordered a top-to-bottom overhaul of a Bonanno crime family tough guy's sleeping arrangements.
Reputed mob associate James Malpeso complained his aching back and knee make it too painful to hoist himself up to the top bunk in his cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
"It would make his sleeping conditions easier and less painful if he was in the bottom bunk," defense lawyer Vincent Romano argued yesterday.
Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis asked the prosecutor to intervene, observing that "what may seem like an inconsequential request is consequential to the defendant."
A Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman said top and bottom bunks are randomly assigned. Inmates can be cited for a rule infraction if they make a switch on their own, she said.
Malpeso's ailments did not stop him from climbing in and out of his super-sized Cadillac Escalade - in which, cops say, he threatened at gunpoint a deadbeat who owed him $110,000.
"I'm gonna take the cannon [gun] I have ... and I'm gonna put a f------ hole in you somewhere," Malpeso said in a threat caught on tape.
Prosecutors say Malpeso was charging the victim 250% interest a year. The burly loan shark pleaded not guilty yesterday to extortion charges in Brooklyn Federal Court.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/13/2010-03-13_wiseguy_to_hit_mattress_on_bottom.html#ixzz0iD8xxVAI
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Friday, March 12, 2010

Tracking Mob Scion In Jail


It's been a rough week for Michael Persico.
Tuesday at 6 a.m., the FBI knocked on the Colombo crime family scion's Dyker Heights home with a warrant for his arrest on racketeering charges.
But the son of Carmine "The Snake" Persico and brother of Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico was already in custody -- having been busted the previous night for alleged drunken driving in upstate Monroe.
Persico, 53, had a squeaky-clean image as head of Romantique Limo, never so much as being charged with a crime. But while being processed after failing a sobriety test, he got a call from the FBI, who said he and seven others were wanted for allegedly shaking down a World Trade Center construction firm and more.
So he drove to Manhattan and turned himself in, sources said.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Freddy Geas Heading For The Big Apples


In 2008 Fotios "Freddy" Geas was charged in a federal court in Springfield, MA for his alleged role in the 2003 hit on Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno who was a Genovese capo in charge of the crime family's New England operations. However, following the federal indictment out of New York last month of reputed Genovese leaders Anthony Arillotta and Arthur Nigro for their alleged roles in the rubout, prosecutors have decided to move the Geas trial to NYC as reported by Stephanie Barry for The Republican.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Colombo associates charged with Ground Zero shakedown


                                                                      Michael Persico

Ground Zero can't shake the mob.
Eight members of the Colombo crime family were indicted yesterday for allegedly offering kickbacks to land a subcontract at the site -- and then threatening to use muscle to collect on late payments from the company.
Prosecutors in Brooklyn federal court alleged the mob clan offered kickbacks to a foreman at Ground Zero to ensure that Testa Corp, a Boston-area excavator, would subcontract with All Around Trucking, a Colombo carting company.
The mobsters then threatened to shut the Freedom Tower operation down -- using force if necessary -- when Testa fell several hundred thousand dollars behind in payments, according to the charges.
"You want me to yoke the guy up and hit him over the f - - - ing head with a coffee pot?" alleged mobster James Bombino asks Michael Persico, the son of jailed former crime-family boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico, according to wiretaps arranged by the feds.
Persico -- whose only run-in with the law until now had been a drunk-driving bust -- told Bombino to "threaten the job," according to the tapes.
At one point, Bombino told a confidential informant that Persico told him: "We have to light a fire under their ass. Where's the check? They're shakin' in their boots."
But Persico's cousin, Theodore "Skinny" Persico Jr., who was on supervised release for a previous racketeering conviction, appears much more willing to use violence, according to the FBI recordings.
When a former Gambino-family member comes to "Skinny" Persico looking for protection after jumping to the Colombo clan, he tells the man: "If it was up to me, I'd go get a gun and shoot them or stab them or beat them up when I see 'em," according to the tapes.
"Skinny" then allegedly began extorting money from him in exchange for protection.
Two married associates, Edward and Alicia Garofalo, also were accused of embezzling money from the Teamsters Local 282 pension fund by submitting phony claims, the prosecutors claimed.
It's the first federal rap for Michael Persico, son of Colombo boss Carmine (The Snake) Persico and brother of ex-acting boss Alphonse (Allie Boy) Persico, both jailed for life.
Dressed in a blue, crushed-velvet sport coat and jeans, the mob scion pleaded not guilty to racketeering in Brooklyn Federal Court yesterday.
"Mr. Persico is not your typical organized crime associate," prosecutor Amy Busa said.
Sources said surveillance caught Persico, 53, meeting with high-level Colombos. He's a big earner for the clan as owner of Romantique Limousines, with interests in a cafe and bagel shop, sources added.
He's charged with ordering mob associate James Bombino to extort Testa Construction to subcontract Ground Zero debris removal to All Around Trucking, reputedly controlled by the crime family.
"They're shakin' in their boots over us," Bombino allegedly reported back to Persico.

 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/10/2010-03-10_mob_family_man_faces_wtc_racketeering_rap.html#ixzz0hnADH9KO

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/mob_bribe_plot_at_wtc_uaeNvSpybQdwwp4DApTGwM#ixzz0hn9RGYPr

Mafia raids: FBI crack down on Cosa Nostra in New York, Miami, Sicily


U.S. and Italian prosecutors have variously indicted and/or arrested twenty-six defendants in Miami, FL, New York, NY and Palermo, Sicily on drug trafficking, attempted murder, money laundering, obstruction of justice, extortion and other charges following a two-year investigation as reported by Stephen Brown for Independent Online.  Three arrests have been made in Miami, three in New York and North Carolina, and the rest in Italy.  The New York indictment involves "a father and his two sons who operated a trucking company," and they are charged with bankruptcy fraud charges as reported by The Associated Press:  "They are accused of hiding assets after the company went bankrupt, said authorities, alleging that the father is a soldier in the U.S.-based Gambino crime family."  The arrests in Palermo allegedly targeted the Santa Maria di Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, and its reputed "leaders Gioacchino and Giampaolo Corso, who are brothers, were arrested" as reported by the Telegraph.  The U.S. Attorney's Office will be holding a press conference with Italian authorities at 1:00 pm to discuss the indictment in greater detail as reported by NBC Miami.
UPDATE:
Tom Hays from The Associated Press reports more details on the New York indictment:
The FBI arrested a reputed Gambino solider Wednesday on charges he provided protection for a Sicilian mobster operating in Florida — part of an international sweep aimed at further crippling the storied crime family and disrupting its ties to the Italian mob. Wiretaps show that Gaetano Napoli Sr. had a "close relationship" with Roberto Settineri, a suspected member of the Sicilian Mafia facing charges in Florida and Italy, federal prosecutors said. They said Napoli helped settle a dispute last year between Settineri and members of the Colombo crime family. Napoli and a son, Gaetano Napoli Jr., were arrested Wednesday in North Carolina on extortion, bankruptcy fraud and other charges contained in an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn. A second son named in the indictment, Thomas Napoli, was arrested in New York and was to be arraigned later in the day.
John Marzulli from the Daily News further reports on the indictment against Napoli:
Napoli Sr. filed for bankruptcy protection for Napoli & Sons Meat in West Babylon last fall and falsely claimed the equipment in the store was leased, according to court papers. "Far from 'leasing' the equipment, Napoli sold some of it for approximately $100,000...and rented additional equipment to a third party," Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Posa stated in court papers. FBI agents videotaped his sons moving a 500-pound meat grinder, fork lifts and industrial-sized meat packing equipment to the buyer, Posa said. Making matters worse, Napoli Sr. allegedly coached a witness on how to testify before the grand jury investigating the bankruptcy fraud. "Do not tell volunteer to nobody nothing...One f------ word out of the way and we're all s--- f-----," Napoli Sr. told the unidentified witness. While Napoli Sr. was falsely claiming he had no assets, he owed $300,000 to creditors like Bank of America, Jack's Eggs and various meat wholesalers, according to court papers.
United States Attorney's Office (E.D.N.Y.) Press Release
Jay Weaver from The Miami Herald reports more details on the Miami indictment:
Roberto Settineri, 41, and Daniel Dromerhauser, 39, of Miami, were arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiracy, money laundering and obstruction as a result of the federal sting operation. A third suspect named in the indictment, Enrique Ros, 33, of Pembroke Pines, is at large. In another indictment, Settineri's associate, Antonio Tricamo, was charged with laundering more than $1 million in drug profits, trafficking in 250,000 contraband cigarettes and marriage fraud. Tricamo, 37, of Miami, was also arrested Wednesday.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Feds Bust Colombo Family Scheme At WTC Site




Two Staten Island men were among eight who extorted money from a Boston demolition company at the World Trade Center construction site and ripped off union pension funds for the Colombo crime family, federal prosecutors charge.
Reputed Colombo associate Robert C. Bombino, 47, of Meade Loop in Richmond Valley, and Louis Romeo, 44, of Atlantic Avenue in Dongan Hills, were arrested and indicted with six others on RICO charges stemming from a kickback and extortion scheme that was taken down by a cooperating witness who infiltrated the Colombos and made hundreds of recordings for the FBI.
Feds also say they picked up Colombo member Theodore (Skinny) Persico, Jr., 46, of Brooklyn; Colombo soldier Thomas Petrizzo, 76, of Brooklyn; Colombo associate Michael J. Persico, 53, of Brooklyn; Colombo associate Edward (Tall Guy) Garofalo, Jr., 43, of Brooklyn; Alicia DiMichele, 36, of Brooklyn; and Mike Lnu, whose age and address were not available.
Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York alleged that the gang used a Colombo-controlled trucking company, All Around Trucking, to execute a kickback and extortion scheme for debris-removal subcontracting from Boston-based demolition contractors Testa Corporation at two sites: The World Trade Center construction site in Lower Manhattan, and the Newtown Creek wastewater treatment plant on the border between Brooklyn and Queens.
The Persicos spearheaded the scheme in which the trucking company would kick back a portion of its profits as a commercial bribe to a Testa foreman, according to the indictment.
But after All Around Trucking contracted with Testa, Colombo family associates threatened Testa employees when Testa failed to pay the trucking company according to the timetable set by the Colombos, federal prosecutors charged.
The cooperating witness who infiltrated the crime family recorded Michael Persico directing Bombino to threaten Testa employees, according to the indictment.
The tapes also captured Bombino telling Michael Persico that Testa employees were "shakin' in their boots over us."
Feds say Michael Persico also forced a furniture storeowner to give Bombino control over the store until the owner repaid a loan to Colombo associates.
Garofalo and his wife, Alicia DiMichele, were also charged with stealing funds from a welfare benefit plan and a pension benefit plan operated on behalf of union laborers of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 282.
The couple allegedly conducted a "double-breasting" scheme in which they used Colombo-controlled non-union shell companies to circumvent Local 282's collective bargaining agreement union benefit contribution requirements.
"La Cosa Nostra continues to profit illegally in numerous sectors of our economy, allegedly including the World Trade Center construction site," said U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell of the Eastern District of New York.
"This case illustrates yet again that the mob's aim is to make money, and the means is almost always violence or the threat of violence," added FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Joseph M. Demarest Jr.
Each of the defendants, except Ms. DiMichele, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges. Ms. DiMichele faces up to five years behind bars upon a conviction.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/2_islanders_among_those_charge.html

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Reputed Genovese Captain Charged


Anthony "Big Nose" Antico, a reputed capo in the Genovese crime family who already is serving time on a previous racketeering conviction, has been charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, NY "with racketeering and robbery conspiracy in connection with the slaying of a Grasmere jeweler outside a West Brighton restaurant two years ago" as reported by Frank Donnelly for the Staten Island Advance:
Anthony Antico, 74, planned the robbery of jewelry and cash from Louis Antonelli, according to an indictment filed by Brooklyn federal prosecutors. Antonelli, 43, was gunned down as he left El Sabor Tropical restaurant on April 29, 2008. Authorities believe the stickup was ordered because the jeweler owed the mob money. The plot was hatched as early as four weeks before the killing, court papers said.
Five others already have been charged in the case:
The others are John (Wizzie) DeLutro of New Dorp, Salvatore (Sally Fish) Maniscalco of Brooklyn, Anthony Pica of Bay Terrace, Christopher Prince of Ocean Breeze and Charles Santiago of Grant City. Maniscalco, Pica, Prince and Santiago are charged with murder and other crimes. DeLutro is accused of acting as an accomplice. * * * DeLutro, Maniscalco and Santiago all have cut plea deals.

Call Him the Mob Whisperer: Man Hopes To Launch TV Show


Think of it as the supernatural "Sopranos."
Actors, cameramen and the curious went deep into Staten Island's William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge Friday in search of spirits of the dead.
Not just any dead - but those snuffed by the mob whose relatives hope to reach them in the great beyond.
Searches for "Ghostfellas" is the concept of a possible new reality show whose pilot was shot in the sanctuary known to be a favorite gangland graveyard.
No ghosts dropped in Friday, but James McBratney, the brains behind the project, insisted "the shoot was great" because a woman whose father and brother were slain when she was 11 "found closure."
"She said the deaths left her unable to have long-term relationships for fear of more painful loss," said McBratney. "I told her that her loved ones want her to write a love story. It was like a burden lifted because she's in fact writing a music album."
And how did McBratney, a 48-year-old Staten Island private eye and substance abuse counselor, receive that message from the dead?
He shies away from the word psychic, even though he proudly says he nearly was a winner on "American Psychic Challenge." And he admits he has yet to talk to any of the departed, although he hopes to.
"I call what I have intuition," said McBratney. "I've always had the ability to read people, know what they're thinking and tell them to watch out for this or that. It's like this fortune cookie opens up in my mind and tells me things."
He also believes he's especially suited to do what he does because his dad, also named James, was gunned down in a Staten Island bar, allegedly by John Gotti and two cohorts when McBratney was just 10.
McBratney said he never really knew his dad. "He was in jail for four years, out for two and then they killed him."
But with research and his "intuition," McBratney said he learned "all about my father, what he did, who he was, what his choices were."
McBratney said an eyewitness told him his father was gunned down fighting for his life in a Staten Island joint called Snoope's on May 22, 1973.
The witness said the killers burst into the bar, fired a shot into the ceiling, then went after McBratney.
Investigators said it was Gotti's first hit.
"To a lot of people, he was a tough guy, a hoodlum. But he took me swimming, crabbing, on picnics. I can still see him at the dinner table as big as life, happy, smiling and covered with tattoos. He was like a God to me, and no matter what, I loved him. And now I believe he's resting peacefully."
So who'll be first to break death-imposed Omerta?
"I'd welcome the chance to chat with Jimmy Hoffa's son," said McBratney, and Crazy Joe Gallo's stepdaughter has already talked to me. So who knows?"

 http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/06/2010-03-06_tales_from_mob_side_intuitive_private_eye_looks_for_the_spirits_of_whacked_wiseg.html#ixzz0hPdWXuRK

The Genovese Mob In Springfield, MA


Following the indictment last month of reputed Genovese leaders Anthony Arillotta and Arthur Nigro for their alleged roles in the 2003 rubout of the family's New England capo Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno in Springfield, MA, WGGB reports on the state of organized crime in the town:

[L]ocal police have said the face of organized crime has changed since the time when Bruno allegedly ran the show. Those who knew Bruno have said he was a strong supporter of local charities. However, local police have said that money was allegedly coming from an illegal gaming ring that was bringing in as much as $150,000 each week. * * * Court records connected to the killing detail extortion against city business owners, illegal gaming machines being forced into bars and drugs being shipped in large quantities to the area from Florida.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Benicio Del Toro Signs On For Making Jack Falcone Movie


In a move that pave the way for a daring FBI undercover agent to get his movie moment, Benicio Del Toro has signed on to play Jack Garcia in Making Jack Falcone. Before he retired, Garcia took down 39 members of New York’s Gambino Crime family. The Cuban-born G-man was so convincing while pretending to be Italian that he was invited to become a made man before the feds broke out the handcuffs.benicio_del_toro
While undercover cop movies like Donnie Brasco bared the dilemma of conflicted loyalties of undercover work, Garcia’s biggest dilemma was keeping his cover straight. He would go from the New York case to Miami, where he posed as a New York capo in a sting against crooked cops, to Atlantic City, where he pretended to be a drug dealer in another case.  An appearance on 60 Minutes (see video below) shows Garcia was not a logical candidate to be such a chameleon at 6'4" and 390 pounds. Del Toro has been a bit of a chameleon himself, most recently starring in the under-performing The Wolfman and preparing to play Moe Howard in The Three Stooges.
Del Toro reunites with Steven Soderbergh and Peter Buchman, who directed and wrote Che. Buchman wrote the script, and Soderbergh is producing with Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher and John Henson. They originally set it up at Paramount, which will probably let it go. They will get a director and then send it out to financiers.



http://www.deadline.com/2010/03/bennie-and-the-feds/#more-26896

Favor for 'Goodfellas' actor Anthony Borgese gets Gambino soldier Joey Boy Orlando 51-month sentence


A reputed Gambino soldier was sentenced Wednesday to 51 months in prison for siccing two goons on a deadbeat as a favor to "Goodfellas" actor Anthony Borgese.
Joseph (Joey Boy) Orlando was secretly recorded by an informant, gleefully discussing the vicious beating, prosecutors said.
The victim, who was not identified, owed a large sum to an upstate car dealership. The owner reached out to Borgese, who sought the gangster's help in collecting.
"Tony (Borgese) says he's got this Jew in New York State that owes him a few dollars," Orlando said, according to a transcript.
"They go to the house.... The guy opens the door. He didn't even have the door open, punches are going through the door. The wife comes out. They gave her a beating."
Borgese, 71, uses the stage name Tony Darrow and is best known for his role in "Goodfellas" as Sonny Bunz, the sad sack owner of the Bamboo Lounge, which gets torched for insurance money. He and mob associate Giovanni Monteleone have been charged with extortion. In court, Orlando, 60, renounced the mob - sort of.
"I no longer have anything to do with anybody and, as the government knows, they no longer want anything to do with me," he said.
"I just would like to get out and do what I want to do, open a little pizzeria, a restaurant, and do what I enjoy doing, which is cook."
The victim apparently paid off the debt from the hospital where he recovered from a broken jaw and broken ribs.

 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/04/2010-03-04_favor_for_goodfella_gets_him_4_yrs_in_jail.html#ixzz0hDJ4sxv9

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Poll Results: Which Family Should Be Disbanded?


This is an FBI mugshot of Colombo family boss,...Vic Orena via Wikipedia
The following are the results of the poll: 67 total votes

Colombo Crime Family: 28 votes - 41%
Bonanno Crime Family: 20 votes - 29%
Gambino Crime Family: 9 votes - 13%
Lucchese Crime Family: 7 votes - 10%
Genovese Crime Family: 3 votes - 4%

A vast majority of our readers feel that the Colombo Crime Family should be disbanded. The Colombo's which have been in many states of unrest since the 1960s when Crazy Joe Gallo went to war against the rest of the family, winding up dead in Little Italy in 1972. After some years of relative calm, a shooting war erupted again in 1991. This time supporters of jailed-for-life boss Carmine Persico attacked soldiers and capos who supported Victor Orena, the man Persico appointed as temporary boss until his son could take over. Twelve bodies later the war stopped, and since then, the family has been hit again and again by prosecutions and convictions. Recently the family turned to a resident of Massachusetts, Ralph DeLeo, to run the family for Persico.In second place is the Bonanno's, this family has suffered two major indignities. The first came in 1981 when they learned that an FBI agent calling himself Donnie Brasco had infiltrated their ranks. The second time was in 2004 when boss Joseph Massino, who previously brought the family back to respectable stature and back on the commission, became the first-ever Mafia boss in history to become an FBI informant.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Reputed Gambino-tied Heist Man Arrested


Madonna in MadridMadonna via Wikipedia
Afrim Kupa, allegedly "a professional heist man . . . with ties to the Gambino crime family," has been charged by the feds in connection with robbing a Brooklyn bank a year ago as reported by John M. Annese for the Staten Island Advance:
Afrim Kupa, 37, and a crew of burglars used a blowtorch to cut through the roof of the Astoria Federal Savings Bank at 4302 18th Ave. back in February 2009, and made off with 64 safe deposit boxes, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation. Though federal court papers value the haul at more than $250,000 in cash, jewelry and gold coins, the source said Kupa and his crew may have found significantly more to steal, since safe deposit box owners rarely tell authorities how much cash they're storing, for tax reasons. * * * Kupa at one point worked with Miami "club king" and mafia turncoat Chris Paciello, who has been romantically linked to the pop singer Madonna in recent years, the source said.
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