Judge sentences longtime Colombo mobster nicknamed Shrek and the Wig to over two years in prison

Judge sentences longtime Colombo mobster nicknamed Shrek and the Wig to over two years in prison

  May 14, 2022    Dapper_Don

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Despite a criminal history dating back nearly three decades, reputed Colombo crime family mobster Daniel Capaldo insisted he has turned over a new leaf.

“I’m done with the past,” the Staten Island resident told a social worker during a pre-sentencing evaluation earlier this year, according to court documents. “I can’t wait for it to be over. I just want to go back to work, come home to my family, do the right thing, and make my family proud of me.”

With the love and support of his kin, Capaldo, 57, is determined to walk the straight-and-narrow path and deserved to remain out of prison, wrote defense lawyer Peter J. Guadagnino in a pre-sentencing memo to the court.

A sentence of time served with three years’ supervised release was appropriate for the defendant, said the attorney.

Capaldo had previously pleaded guilty to two racketeering acts, which occurred in 2019 and involved or implied threats of violence.

“Mr. Capaldo has an extended loving family who is supportive and would guide him in living a law-abiding life,” Guadagnino wrote. “… This strong support makes it more likely than not that Mr. Capaldo will not commit further crimes.”

Brooklyn federal court Judge Brian M. Cogan disagreed.

On Wednesday, the judge sentenced Capaldo, known as “The Wig” and “Shrek,” to 27 months behind bars and two years’ supervised release.

The defendant is also subject to a $1,500 forfeiture judgment.

Federal guidelines had called for a sentencing range of 27 to 33 months.

Brooklyn federal prosecutors sought a sentence within that range, pointing to Capaldo’s criminal history, his mob ties and the nature of his crimes.

Sentencing guidelines are advisory, and judges are not bound by them. They can impose a harsher or less-severe sentence if they choose.

“Over a period of decades, the defendant has sustained several convictions in connection with his association with and/or membership in the Colombo crime family,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Geddes and Megan E. Farrell in a pre-sentencing memo. “After serving a lengthy term of incarcerations in the 1990s and 2000s, the defendant was released and rather than reject its criminal means, the defendant was formally inducted as a member of the crime family.”

“A sentence within the guidelines range will at least incapacitate the defendant, thereby protecting the public from further crimes he would otherwise commit during that period of time,” prosecutors said.

Capaldo has at least four prior felony convictions for offenses such as narcotics sale and possession and collecting an unlawful debt, said prosecutors.

In October 2019, Capaldo was among 20 suspects indicted in Brooklyn federal court on wide-ranging charges including racketeering, extortion, loansharking and stalking.

Seventeen defendants were Staten Islanders, and 11 of the suspects are members or associates of the Colombos, officials said.

One defendant was sentenced last year to probation for trying to fix an NCAA men’s college basketball game between Wagner College and St. John’s University in December 2018.

However, as it turned out, no money ever exchanged hands, said prosecutors.

Capaldo was not charged in that scheme.

Prosecutors said Capaldo reported to Joseph Amato Sr., a Colombo capo, and the highest-profile defendant among those arrested.

In November 2020, Capaldo resolved his case by pleading guilty in Brooklyn federal court to two racketeering acts: Extortion conspiracy and financing an extortionate extension of credit.

In the first instance, Capaldo and others relied “on their reputation as inducted members of the Colombo crime family” and threatened two men over an outstanding gambling debt, said prosecutors.

In the other case, Capaldo advanced money to Thomas Scorcia, a loanshark and fellow Colombo family member, said authorities.

Capaldo knew Scorcia was going to loan the money to a third party and violence would be used, if necessary, to collect the debt, authorities said.

Scorcia also was among the suspects arrested in October 2019 and was sentenced last year to 42 months in prison for racketeering.

Capaldo is now the last defendant to be sentenced in the case.

“It’s a guidelines sentence,” said Guadagnino, the defense lawyer. “The judge gave him the lower end based on his health issues. He’s just concentrating now on the future so that he can help out his family, his wife and daughter. That’s all he’s really worried about now.”

https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/2022/05/im-done-with-the-past-si-man-called-shrek-says-of-alleged-mob-ties-feds-disagree-judge-decides-on-sentence.html

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Feds say recently sentenced Staten Island plumber is a violence prone Colombo family soldier

Feds say recently sentenced Staten Island plumber is a violence prone Colombo family soldier

  April 27, 2021    Dapper_Don

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A plumber by trade, borough resident Thomas Scorcia also was an inducted member of the Colombo organized crime family who ran a “lucrative loansharking business,” federal prosecutors said.

In fact, to ensure he could locate his debtors and make it clear he knew where they lived, Scorcia required copies of their driver’s licenses and contact information, said prosecutors.

Scorcia, 54, also let it be known he would resort to violence, if need be, to advance his business, as well as to enhance his reputation within the mob, prosecutors allege.

In one instance in January 2019, Scorcia and another man planned to confront a fellow loanshark operator at the Woodrow Diner in Rossville over a business dispute, feds say.

However, the eatery was too crowded, and they backed off.

“I’m sick to my f------ stomach, I was just gonna walk right in there, but there’s f------ people coming out with f------ families,” Scorcia said afterward, according to an intercepted phone conversation.

As it turns out, Scorcia will be out of business for a while.

He was recently sentenced to 42 months behind bars and two years’ post-release supervision for racketeering.

In addition, the defendant was hit with a $20,000 fine and forfeited $75,000, which includes over $34,000 seized during a search.

Authorities said they also found an adjustable steel baton, a ski mask, binoculars and a book on the mob in a covered compartment of his vehicle’s trunk, said prosecutors.

Public records indicated Scorcia is from Annadale.

2019 BUST

In October 2019, Scorcia was among 20 suspects busted, including a purported Colombo crime family capo and other alleged mobsters, and indicted on wide-ranging charges of racketeering, extortion, loansharking and stalking.

Seventeen of the defendants were Staten Islanders, including one who was accused of attempting to fix a NCAA college basketball game in December 2018, authorities said.

Officials said 11 of the suspects were members or associates of the Colombos.

Besides Scorcia, they included Joseph Amato of Colts Neck, N.J., the alleged captain; and family members Daniel Capaldo and Vincent Scura, both of Staten Island, said authorities.

Many of the defendants have accepted plea agreements.

Scorcia pleaded guilty last November in Brooklyn federal court to one count of racketeering.

He admitted to extorting two individuals with “an implied threat of economic harm to (their) reputation,” if they failed to repay loans to him, said a sentencing memorandum submitted by defense lawyers Vincent J. Romano and Anthony DiPietro.

Prosecutors said Scorcia was heard on a wiretap speaking about an instance in which he and two other men, one a former mixed martial arts fighter, had confronted one of the victims over a delinquent payment.

“… I told the guy, ‘Sit in the car,’ and the kid had the tears, like between me and you, like … ‘No, please, T. [i.e., Scorcia]. No.’ Boom! But we’ll talk about that in person. I got this kid good right now,” Scorcia said, according to prosecutors’ sentencing memorandum.

The victim denied to law enforcement that Scorcia had hit him, although the defendant allegedly told another Colombo associate that he had, said prosecutors.

Prosecutors recommended Scorcia be sentenced to within the guideline range of 37 to 46 months in prison.

“In this case, specific deterrence and incapacitation are critical,” Brooklyn federal prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. “When the defendant became a member of the Colombo crime family, he took an oath, swearing to remain loyal to this violent criminal organization for the remainder of his life. … Few, if any, members of the mafia give up their connections to the mafia even after serving significant terms of imprisonment.”

Romano and DiPietro, the defense lawyers, contended a sentence of 27 months behind bars, together with three years of supervised release and a forfeiture of $75,000, would be “sufficient” to accomplish sentencing goals.

Scorcia, who has been incarcerated since his arrest, has been a model inmate, they said.

“He has utilized this time while imprisoned to strive towards self-betterment,” wrote the lawyers.

Scorcia has completed “numerous” programs while incarcerated and “performed numerous acts of goodwill to the benefit of both staff and inmates,” the attorneys said.

The defendant has no prior criminal record and “is prepared to return to his community as a positive contributor,” wrote the attorneys.

“It cannot be overstated that the public will be best served by allowing Mr. Scorcia the opportunity to rebuild his life with his family at this time, not by requiring his further imprisonment and the corresponding diminution in his ability to find lawful work and to productively reenter his community at a significantly later date,” the defense lawyers maintained.

https://www.silive.com/crime-safety/2021/04/si-plumber-is-member-of-mob-feds-say-hes-going-to-prison-in-scary-loanshark-case.html

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Two Staten Island mobsters released from prison due to coronavirus

Two Staten Island mobsters released from prison due to coronavirus

  April 23, 2020    Dapper_Don

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Two Staten Island reputed mobsters were recently released from prison amid concerns of catching the coronavirus while behind bars, federal court papers show.

Both Eugene "Boobsie" Castelle, a Staten Island man and reputed soldier in the Lucchese organized crime family, and Daniel "Shrek" Capaldo, a Staten Islander and alleged Colombo crime family associate, asked to be released from prison on March 31.

Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered the release of Castelle “in light of defendant’s ailing health and concomitant risk to defendant from the COVID-19 pandemic” shortly after, court papers show.

Hellerstein granted Castelle release on bail while he is waiting for the outcome of his appeal on his 2019 conviction for his connection with an illegal gambling operation.

The 60-year-old reputed Lucchese soldier had detailed to his lawyer Richard Levitt an episode in which he fell ill while at the federal correctional institution in Danbury, Conn. -- where he recently returned after falling ill with pneumonia.

“I [started] to feel sick all over again with shortness of breath, back-ache, coughing again, but as [per] usual our concerns fall on deaf ears,” Castelle wrote. “The last time it took an act of God for the lieutenant to call 911 at 4 a.m. because three guys saw that I couldn’t breathe and I was coughing and choking my brain out.”

Castelle was released on April 3 to an undisclosed location on the condition that he “shall remain self-quarantined for 14 days after his release, subject to location monitoring,” court papers show.

On April 16, Hellerstein granted 14 additional quarantine days to Castelle as “he had been seriously ill during the first many days of his quarantine with symptoms suggesting COVID-19, but is presently improving,” his lawyer stated in a letter asking for the extension.

Capaldo, 55, was also released from prison, court papers show.

Capaldo, who was indicted among 20 suspects on wide-ranging charges of racketeering, extortion, loansharking and stalking, as well as attempting to fix an NCAA college basketball game, is also seeking release, court papers indicate.

Peter Guadagnino, Capaldo’s attorney, filed an emergency bail application on Sunday which indicates that Dr. Mazan Rabadi — who observed Capaldo’s medical records — believes Capaldo’s chance for survival if “infected with COVID-19 is poor.”

“I find that Mr. Capaldo suffers from underlying lung disease and he has used a bronchodilator for most of his life,” Dr. Rabadi wrote in a health assessment supporting Capaldo’s request. “If he contracts COVID-19, this will lead to him having severe bronchospasm which will lead to his respiratory failure, leading to intubation and being put on a respirator.”

Capaldo is was released to home incarceration and “restricted to home at all times, except for attorney visits, court appearances and medical treatment,” court records show.

JUDGE DENIES RELEASE OF THIRD MOBSTER

Federal Judge Jesse Furman denied John Matera’s application to be released from prison after his lawyer said he was battling coronavirus.

Matera, 49, a reputed Gambino associate, pleaded guilty in September 2004 to racketeering conspiracy in connection with the murder of Frank Hydell, then 31, who was killed in front of the former Scarlett’s strip club in South Beach in 1998, Advance records show.

“Hey buddy and not to be crazy but I’m sick as a dog I have every symptom,” Matera wrote in an email to his lawyer, Seth Ginsberg, on April 1, before he tested positive for the coronavirus, court filings indicate. “No one is doing anything here can’t even see no one. Doctors are gone, they have social workers acting like doctors and there [sic] treating us like we did some thing wrong.”

Ginsberg stated in a letter filed on April 6 requesting his client’s release that Matera had tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) at the correctional institution, which is “typically utilized for punitive reasons.”

“Indeed, the psychological effects of isolation are well documented under normal circumstances. In the present circumstances, where Matera is battling a life-threatening infection, being deprived of virtually all human contact, both physical and otherwise, is a terrifying prospect,” Ginsberg wrote.

Judge Furman did not agree with Ginsberg and deemed the motion to be released from prison “premature," he wrote in the letter denying Matera release.

“That is not to say that the Court is unconcerned about Matera’s condition,'' Furman wrote. "Even if, as the government represents, he has ‘a mild case of COVID-19’ and his current condition is ‘stable,’ the Court trusts that the government, including the Bureau of Prisons, will closely monitor Matera’s health and diligently take all necessary steps — medical, legal, or otherwise — to ensure that he receives appropriate care and does not expose other inmates or prison staff to danger.”

https://www.silive.com/coronavirus/2020/04/two-alleged-si-mobsters-released-from-prison-due-to-the-coronavirus.html

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Two mobsters from Staten Island seek release from federal prison due to coronavirus

Two mobsters from Staten Island seek release from federal prison due to coronavirus

  March 31, 2020    Dapper_Don

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Two Staten Islanders with mob ties are seeking release from federal prison as concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to rise throughout the country.

Eugene “Boobsie” Castelle, a Staten Island man and reputed soldier in the Lucchese organized crime family, and Daniel “Shrek” Capaldo, a Staten Islander and alleged Colombo crime family soldier, were both arrested in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Castelle, 60, who is currently seeking appeal on his 2019 conviction for his connection with an illegal gambling operation, recently returned to prison after falling ill with pneumonia, wrote Richard Levitt, his appeal lawyer, in court documents filed Sunday in Manhattan Federal Court.

Levitt requested that Castelle, who is currently serving a sentence at Danbury Federal Correctional Institution in Connecticut, be admitted to “bail pending appeal or, in the alternative, at least until the COVID-19 crisis has subsided.”

Levitt said, “at least one Danbury staff member has already tested positive for COVID-19 and inevitably others will,” mentioning the spread of the virus in Rikers Island, where some prisoners have been released.

“Although he is recovering and is being monitored at Danbury, his previous medical history, combined with this most recent illness, strongly suggests he is an at-risk inmate, far more likely than others to succumb to COVID-19 should he become infected,” Levitt wrote.

“We understand the force of inertia and the instinct to keep a defendant incarcerated once he surrenders post-conviction,” Levitt continued. “However, we are in the midst of a crisis that calls for flexibility, particularly for persons, such as Mr. Castelle, who are uniquely vulnerable.”

Capaldo, 55, who was indicted among 20 total suspects on wide-ranging charges of racketeering, extortion, loansharking and stalking, as well as attempting to fix an NCAA college basketball game, is also seeking release, court papers indicate.

Peter Guadagnino, Capaldo’s attorney, filed an emergency bail application on Sunday which indicates that Dr. Mazan Rabadi — who observed Capaldo’s medical records — believes Capaldo’s chance for survival if “infected with COVID-19 is poor.”

Rabadi said Capaldo’s records indicate he suffers from underlying lung disease (COPD), and has used a bronchodilator for most of his life — making him particularly susceptible to the virus.

Additionally, Rabadi said Capaldo’s body-mass index of 36.94, “which makes him severely obese, in and of itself is a factor that independently puts him at a high risk of being intubated." It is an additional concern that led to the recommendation that he be removed from Brooklyn’s MDC “and be completely quarantined at a separate location,'' where he can be isolated himself and does not come into contact with anyone.

Last year, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo decided to hold Capaldo in custody after his Brooklyn federal court bail hearing, saying: “It’s almost as if Mr. Capaldo can’t help but get himself in trouble — even if he’s being watched by the government.”

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Federal judge releases one and holds another Colombo mobster citing safety risk to Staten Island residents

Federal judge releases one and holds another Colombo mobster citing safety risk to Staten Island residents

  October 08, 2019    Dapper_Don

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A federal judge released one tough-talking Colombo crime family associate from custody Tuesday, but decided his seasoned wiseguy co-defendant was too dangerous to let loose.

Daniel Capaldo, 54, an alleged Colombo gangster, was held in custody at his Brooklyn federal court bail hearing, with U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo citing his criminal record in deciding his release would pose a danger to Staten Island residents.

“It’s almost as if Mr. Capaldo can’t help but get himself in trouble — even if he’s being watched by the government,” she said. “So I find that I cannot release him under those circumstances.”

Prosecutors said career criminal Capaldo, who was sentenced to 14 years in federal lockup on drug trafficking and tax fraud charges in the late 90s and another three years for financing and extortion a few years after his release, used his larger-than-life presence to “intimidate and extort” victims in loansharking schemes.

“He’s committed crime after crime after crime,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes.

The alleged mobster’s younger co-defendant, Anthony Silvestro, 28, was released on a $500,000 surety bond. Citing the Bail Reform Act and Silvestro’s clean record, Judge Kuo placed him on home detention with an ankle monitor, which she ordered him to pay for.

Geddes said an eager-to-please Silvestro was heard bragging about beatings and making “a grown man cry” in wiretapped calls, adding that he signed himself up for violent shakedowns without ever questioning their purpose.

“If you say you need me, I’m there,” she quoted Silvestro as saying on one call.

Silvestro’s mother, brother, aunt and uncle, who were all present in court Tuesday, co-signed the mammoth bond amount.

“That’s half a million dollars — that’s a lot of money,” the judge warned them.

Capaldo and Silvestro are two of 20 suspects charged with extortion by violent means, loansharking, racketeering and other offenses in three sweeping federal indictments unsealed Oct. 3.

The investigation started in November 2016 after workers at an MTA bus depot in New Springville, Staten Island, discovered a GPS tracking device planted on the oil pan of a city bus.

Prosecutors connected the device to alleged Colombo captain Joseph Amato — who they allege was stalking his then-girlfriend — and began wiretapping his calls.

During the back-to-back hearings, lawyers for the two men said the government failed to prove either man engaged in violent or criminal acts.

“Can you detain someone for talking tough?” Silvestro’s attorney Mathew Mari said. “Maybe he’s got the wrong friends . . . but I don’t think that’s enough to convict someone of these crimes.”

Capaldo’s lawyer, Vincent Romano, said Geddes’ arguments were “cut and pasted” from a 2011 detention memo filed against Capaldo in the same courthouse. The lawyer said his client has given the court no reason to believe he won’t abide by certain conditions under release.

“He’s got a 4-year-old at home. He’s got a wife,” Romano told reporters. “We’ll deal with the charges in court and hopefully he’ll be granted bail in the near future.”

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/ny-colombo-crime-family-bail-hearing-20191008-vjgbjrg6r5hjnijst3pq6lnoxq-story.html

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Tracking device led to arrests of 20 Colombo mobsters

Tracking device led to arrests of 20 Colombo mobsters

  October 07, 2019    Dapper_Don

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A domineering mobster’s efforts to track his girlfriend with a GPS device led authorities to uncover an array of criminal schemes that included an attempt to fix a college basketball game, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
The stunning turn of events was revealed as 20 people — including 11 reputed members and associates of the Colombo crime family — were busted on charges including racketeering, loansharking and extortion.
Reputed Colombo capo Joseph Amato, 60, allegedly bought the electronic tracker to keep tabs on his then-girlfriend, identified only as “Jane Doe,” by secretly attaching it to her car.
Amato stalked the woman between Jan. 1, 2015, and Oct. 21, 2016, during which time he had to “regularly and covertly retrieve the device, charge it and then re-position it on Jane Doe’s car,” according to papers filed in Brooklyn federal court.
The controlling capo also allegedly sent the woman intimidating emails about his influence and power on Staten Island, including one that said, “This is my island. Not yours. I have the eyes all over.”
In another, Amato — who in 1995 was convicted in the shooting of a 15-year-old witness to an attempted rubout during the third Colombo family civil war — allegedly boasted that “I’m called a MAN’S MAN!!!”
“Anyone could end up in jail. I don’t wish it on anyone[.] Especially weak men. Who could never deal with it. I thrived there and anywhere I go,” court papers say he wrote.
The woman eventually discovered the GPS tracker, which then somehow wound up attached to the oil pan of an MTA bus, “likely to thwart Amato’s stalking efforts,” court papers say.
A mechanic found the device in November 2016 during a routine maintenance inspection at the MTA bus depot on Staten Island, leading the feds to launch an investigation, according to the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office.

Wiretaps on the phones of Amato, his son Joseph Amato Jr. and reputed Colombo soldier Thomas Scorcia resulted in “thousands of intercepted phone calls and text messages,” court papers say.
The eavesdropping allegedly caught Amato Jr., 26, talking on a cellphone with Benjamin Bifalco, 25, about Bifalco’s plan to “pay thousands of dollars to multiple members” of an unidentified team to lose an NCCA Division 1 basketball game by more than the point spread.
But Bifalco apparently couldn’t pull off the December 2018 scam, with court papers saying that Amato Jr. sent two text messages to Scorcia, 52, shortly before the opening tip.
“Ok I wouldn’t trust the game I was telling u about” and “I’m not touching it personally,” Amato Jr. allegedly wrote.

In court papers, prosecutors said that “was good advice given that the favored team did not cover the spread and the bets would not have been winning ones.”
The defendants — who include reputed Colombo soldiers Daniel “The Wig” Capaldo and Vincent “Vinny Linen” Scura, and reputed associate Anthony “Bugz” Silvestro — were being arraigned Thursday afternoon.

https://nypost.com/2019/10/03/reputed-mobsters-gps-tracker-on-girlfriend-leads-to-20-arrests-feds/

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Feds bust major Colombo family operations on Staten Island

Feds bust major Colombo family operations on Staten Island

  October 03, 2019    Dapper_Don

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Three indictments were unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn variously charging 20 defendants with racketeering, extortion, loansharking, stalking, attempted sports bribery and related offenses.  Among those charged with racketeering were Joseph Amato, an alleged captain in the Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (“the Colombo family”); Daniel Capaldo and Thomas Scorcia, alleged Colombo family members; and Joseph Amato, Jr. and Anthony Silvestro, alleged Colombo family associates.  An additional alleged Colombo family member, Vincent Scura, was also indicted.  The indictments relate to the defendants’ charged criminal activities in Staten Island and elsewhere since January 2014.
The defendants were arrested this morning, and are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the charges.
As alleged in the indictments and the government’s detention letters, the investigation began in November 2016 when a GPS tracking device was found concealed on an MTA bus.  Amato had earlier obtained the device to surveil his then-girlfriend and boasted about the resources at his disposal to keep her under close surveillance.  In one email, Amato stated, “This is my island. Not yours.  I have eyes all over[.]”  In another email, Amato stated, ‘I’m a MANS MAN!!!”  His then-girlfriend discovered the device on her vehicle and removed it, and it was subsequently attached to and recovered from the MTA bus at a depot n Staten Island.  Thereafter, the government obtained court-authorization to intercept communications over various cellular telephones used by the defendants.
As detailed in the government’s court filings, Amato and members of his crew used violence and threats of violence to earn illegal proceeds and solidify the crew’s reputation and standing.  On one occasion, an individual confronted Amato Jr. for insulting a woman in a bar.  Amato Jr. told the individual to back off, and threatened, “Do you know who my father is?”  The following day, the individual was lured to a location where Amato, Amato Jr. and other members of Amato’s crew brutally beat the victim, leaving him bloodied and in need of staples in his scalp.  On other occasions, court-authorized intercepts captured: (1) Scorcia boasting, “I told the guy sit in the car, and the kid had the tears,” (2) Silvestro advising Scorcia, “[Y]ou send him a smack.  If he raises his hand back to you, we beat the bricks off him, that’s it” and (3) following the commission of one of the charged crimes of violence, Amato Jr. described the crime and the victim’s reaction, “[W]e abused him so bad.  Yo I had, bro, me and Pap (Silvestro), bro, had him shaking bro.  He was in tears, he was crying.”
The court-authorized wiretaps also captured the defendants’ scheme to fix an NCAA college basketball game.  To further the scheme, defendant Benjamin Bifalco offered members of a college basketball team thousands of dollars to intentionally lose the game.  
Two firearms, two stun guns, a canister of purported tear gas and thousands of dollars in U.S. currency were recovered during court-authorized searches of residences of Amato and Scorcia.
“The mafia is not the criminal threat it once was, but we remain vigilant and will vigorously investigate and prosecute members and associates who engage in violence and extortion to intimidate victims and enrich themselves and their crime family,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  Mr. Donoghue extended his grateful appreciation to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force for its assistance during the investigation.
“One of the stunning things revealed in this investigation, it seems members of the mafia families that were once almost romanticized by Hollywood and pop culture, have resorted to acting like playground bullies.  As alleged, they are still up to their old extortion and bribery schemes, and terrorizing their victims, but they are also still getting caught.  The FBI New York Joint Organized Crime Task Force wants to send a clear message to members of the families in our communities who continue to operate, we will do all we can to stop a true resurgence from ever happening,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.
“The successful outcome of this investigation shows our continued efforts to target and hold responsible organized criminal syndicates,” stated NYPD Commissioner O’Neill.  “I thank our investigators and law enforcement counterparts whose cooperation was vital to bringing these individuals to justice.”
The charges in the indictments are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth A. Geddes and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendants:
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-442 (S-1)(ILG)
JOSEPH AMATO
Age: 60
Colts Neck, New Jersey
JOSEPH AMATO, JR.
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
JOHN CAHILL
Age: 27
Staten Island, New York
DANIEL CAPALDO (also known as “The Wig” and “Shrek”)
Age: 54
Staten Island, New York
PRIMO CASSARINO
Age: 31
Staten Island, New York
CHRISTOPHER COFFARO
Age: 21
Staten Island, New York
JOHN DUNN
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
PHILIP LOMBARDO
Age: 61
Staten Island, New York
JOSEPH MARRA (also known as “Joe Fish”)
Age: 58
Brooklyn, New York
ALBERT MASTERJOSEPH
Age: 57
Brooklyn, New York
DOMINICK RICIGLIANO (also known as “The Lion”)
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
THOMAS SCORCIA
Age: 52
Staten Island, New York
VINCENT SCURA (also known as “Vinny Linen”)
Age: 58
Staten Island, New York
ANTHONY SILVESTRO (also known as “Bugz”)
Age: 28
Staten Island, New York
KRENAR SUKA
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
JOHN TUCCIARONE
Age: 39
Staten Island, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-443 (CBA)
ANTHONY BOSCO
Age: 26
Staten Island, New York
NICHOLAS BOSCO
Age: 30
Staten Island, New York
JOSEPH BOSCO
Age: 55
Staten Island, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-444 (ARR)
BENJAMIN BIFALCO
Age:  25
Staten Island, New York

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/20-defendants-charged-crimes-including-racketeering-extortion-loansharking

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