Bonanno mobster pleads guilty to filing false tax return

Bonanno mobster pleads guilty to filing false tax return

  July 18, 2013    Dapper_Don

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Reputed New York mob figure Vincent Faraci, left, walks into the federal courthouse in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning with his lawyer, David Chesnoff. Faraci pleaded guilty to filing a false 2006 tax return.

Vincent Faraci, a mob-connected player in the racketeering days of the old Crazy Horse Too strip club, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to filing a false 2006 tax return.

Faraci, 58, a reputed Bonanno crime family member now running a nightclub in Brooklyn, admitted in his plea agreement that he failed to report $134,904 in income on the tax return when he filed it in 2008. He also admitted he did not pay $46,869 in additional taxes.

When Senior U.S. District Judge Lloyd George asked him how he wanted to plead to the tax charge, he replied, “Guilty, your honor.”

George set an Oct. 28 sentencing. Faraci faces 15 to 21 months in prison on the charge under the terms of his plea agreement.

Faraci was allowed to remain free on his own recognizance, but ordered to surrender his passport. He has agreed to pay the $46,869 as restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Afterward, Faraci declined comment. But his Las Vegas lawyer, David Chesnoff, said, “We’re very pleased with a fair resolution to an old tax dispute.”

The tax case is not related to a massive FBI-IRS investigation of the Crazy Horse Too several years ago.

Faraci, a former shift manager at the Crazy Horse Too, was one of 16 of the club’s employees who pleaded guilty in 2006 to a conspiracy charge of failing to pay taxes on tips and other income. He was sentenced in 2007 to 10 months behind bars, but was allowed to serve five months under home detention.

The group deal, which also included a guilty plea from Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo, brought an end to a decade-long federal racketeering investigation that uncovered a pattern of lawlessness at the strip club, once regularly visited by mobsters, politicians and celebrities.

Agents investigating a series of beatings at the club, including one involving Kansas City-area man Kirk Henry, who was paralyzed in a fight over a bar tab at the club in 2001.

Following his plea, Rizzolo spent a year in prison and lost his club, which was closed for several years until it re-opened this year under a new name and ownership.

Rizzolo, who was last reported to be selling cars, is still mired in civil litigation with Henry. As part of his deal in the racketeering case, Rizzolo was ordered to pay Henry $10 million, but has been slow to make good on the promise.

For years, Rizzolo was linked to a series of organized crime figures, including Joseph Cusumano, once a lieutenant for Anthony Spilotro, the Chicago mob’s slain overseer of street rackets in Las Vegas.

Rocco Lombardo, the brother of onetime reputed Chicago mob boss Joseph Lombardo, worked with Faraci as a doorman at the Crazy Horse Too. Lombardo also pleaded guilty in the racketeering investigation, receiving 60 months of probation.

In recent months, suspected Bonanno mob associate John Venizelos, the manager of Faraci’s Brooklyn nightclub, Jaguars 3, has attracted headlines in the New York media for his alleged involvement in a major marijuana trafficking organization tied to a Canadian drug lord.

The New York Post reported in April that Venizelos had a deal to plead guilty in the federal investigation into the drug organization, which is suspected of operating through alliances with the Hells Angels and a Mexican cartel.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/crime-courts/accused-mob-figure-pleads-guilty-filing-false-tax-return

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Bonanno associate cops plea to running major marijuana trafficking ring

Bonanno associate cops plea to running major marijuana trafficking ring

  April 29, 2013    Dapper_Don

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A Bonanno crime family associate charged with joining a Canadian drug lord to become one of New York City's largest marijuana suppliers is scheduled to plea guilty today to narcotics trafficking charges.

John "Big Man" Venizelos, 33, is believed to have secured a plea deal from Brooklyn federal prosecutors that will significantly reduce his time in prison - averting the life sentence he faced if convicted at trial, sources said.

But because Venizelos honored the mob's omerta code of silence and refused to hand over information to the feds, sources said, he's expected to face approximately 10-14 years in prison when sentenced eventually by Brooklyn federal Judge Raymond Dearie.

Bonanno crime family member John Venizelos is seen outside Brooklyn Federal Court as he prepares for a hearing on his role in a multi-million dollar pot ring.

Venizelos - who sports horn-rimmed glasses and wears Ralph Lauren Polo ensembles - held a "straight job" before his arrest managing "Jaguars 3", a Brooklyn nightspot run by Vincent "Vinny Green" Faraci, a Bonanno crime family soldier.

The nightclub, located in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, attracts patrons that have included several cast members of "The Sopranos” — including Tony Sirico, who portrayed the fictional mob family's “Paulie Walnuts”.

It was his sideline as an alleged drug trafficker, however, that attracted attention to Venizelos.

He was arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents earlier this year and charged with being one of the biggest New York customers of French Canadian drug kingpin Jimmy “Cosmo” Cournoyer.

Cournoyer - who is awaiting trial in Brooklyn federal court - allegedly lies at the center of $1 billion narcotics ring and operated through alliances he created between the Hells Angels, the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel, the Bonanno crime family, and the Montreal Mafia, The Post first reported.

Only weeks after Venizelos' arrest, federal prosecutors accused him of trying to intimidate witnesses who might testify against him.

Prosecutors say Venizelos sent encrypted BlackBerry messages to a colleague explaining that Cournoyer had bankrolled a special "murder fund" to underwrite hits against informants in the high-profile international narcotics case.

Prosecutors also say they seized letters written by an unnamed colleague of Venizelos that discussed the Bonanno associate’s ties to organized crime - including references to sit-downs with captains in various New York La Cosa Nostra families The DEA also utilized informants to secretly record tapes of Venizelos discussing drug deals, officials said, and then seized a number of unlicensed handguns when they searched Venizelos' residence.

John Meringolo, a New York Law School professor who represents Venizelos, initially insisted that the $100,000-plus seized by feds at Venizelos' residence wasn't drug money - it was simply cash for tipping exotic dancers at the "Jaguars 3" club.

Cournoyer's attorney, Gerald McMahon, says he plans to vigorously fight the case against the French Canadian at an upcoming trial this summer.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/bonanno_crime_family_associate_canadian_tA3lpwgHSC5gMhCY93aq4I

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Bonanno mobster set up $2 million bank account to kill snitches

Bonanno mobster set up $2 million bank account to kill snitches

  February 04, 2013    Dapper_Don

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When mobsters draw on this account – people get whacked.
A Bonanno associate and a Canadian drug kingpin used a $2 million “hit” fund – so they could quickly hire henchmen to murder snitches, Brooklyn feds said today.
John "Big Man" Venizelos sent encrypted BlackBerry messages to a colleague explaining that French Canadian drug kingpin Jimmy “Cosmo” Cournoyer had bankrolled the special murder fund to underwrite hits against informants in the high-profile international narcotics case against the pair, Brooklyn federal prosecutors revealed.
Venizelos, a Bonanno connected guy charged with teaming up with the Canadian drug lord was arrested again today after ominously warning a witness about the hit fund, officials said.

Bonanno crime family member John Venizelos at Brooklyn Federal Court.

 

"Venizelos sent an encrypted message" to a co-conspirator, warning that person "that he/she had better hope that Cournoyer or members of his organization never found out that [the co-conspirator] had spoken with law enforcement agents because Cournoyer has $2 million set aside to pay for the murder of cooperating witnesses," Brooklyn Assistant US Attorney Steven Tiscione wrote to a judge.
The feds included encrypted messages that Venizelos sent out the murder fund that government experts just recently deciphered.
"Seriously bro. I know he has like 2 mil...just to pay guys to handle that once he sentenced," Venizelos wrote in the message, referring to Cournoyer, according to a court transcript.
Cournoyer, 33, who is awaiting trial in Brooklyn federal court, allegedly lies at the center of $1 billion narcotics ring and operated through alliances he created between the Canadian Mafia, the Hells Angels, a Mexican drug cartel, and the Bonanno crime family, The Post first reported last month.
Prosecutors says that Cournoyer was one of the biggest suppliers of marijuana to New York City until his arrest last year.
The feds also seized letters that they believe were written by an unnamed organized crime colleague of Venizelos, which they say clearly establish the nightclub manager's Mafia activities and involvement in bloody crimes.
"In addition to discussing Venizelos’ ties to organized crime - including references to 'sit-downs' with 'captains' in various New York organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra - the letters also specifically mention a myriad of violent crimes committed by the author with, or on behalf of Venizelos...including the 'torture' of an individual Venizelos suspected of stealing his drugs," prosecutors wrote.
In one of the seized letters, the unnamed colleague recounts that chilling assault.
"Who cared enough to pull a broad daylight kidnapping, then torture the name out of that guy?" the colleague wrote to Venizelos, the feds say.
Venizelos - who sports horn-rimmed glasses and wears Ralph Lauren Polo ensembles - holds a "straight job" managing "Jaguars 3", a Brooklyn nightspot run by Vincent "Vinny Green" Faraci, a Bonanno crime family soldier who formerly managed the "Crazy Horse Too" strip club in Las Vegas.
After the DEA arrested Venizelos two months ago and charged him with being one of Cournoyer's biggest customers, his attorney insisted that the $100,000-plus seized by feds at Venizelos' residence wan't drug money - it was just cash for tipping strippers at the "Jaguars 3" club.
Defense attorney John Meringolo argued that the money belongs to the nightclub and insists that Venizelos - the club's manager - was going to bring the cash to the bank to exchange it for tens of thousands of single dollar bills.
"Every other week he procures up to $50,000 in singles for the business of exotic dancers," Meringolo told The Post.
Greenback singles are an essential element of strip club operations and are coveted by customers who want to give get a rush from up-close and very personal cash tips to gyrating strippers.
"By no means does this money have anything to do with drug proceeds," Meringolo said.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/bonanno_associate_and_canadian_drug_v5tAcuq33nvYUPEt5YwV4H

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Mobsters, Hells Angels, and the Sinaloa drug cartel flooded NYC with Marijuana

Mobsters, Hells Angels, and the Sinaloa drug cartel flooded NYC with Marijuana

  January 16, 2013    Dapper_Don

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A rogues’-gallery alliance among the Canadian Mafia, outlaw bikers and a Mexican drug cartel supplied New York City with nearly a billion dollars in marijuana until the feds crashed the party, according to authorities and new court documents.
And what a party it was.
French Canadian drug kingpin Jimmy “Cosmo” Cournoyer made enough dough for a jet-set lifestyle, complete with a stunning model girlfriend and parties that drew unwitting stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio, sources told The Post.
A five-year probe by the DEA and police from Laval, Quebec, where Cournoyer once lived, revealed that his network allegedly specialized in growing and distributing potent hydroponic marijuana cultivated in British Columbia.

Amelia Racine

 

Cournoyer, now awaiting trial in Brooklyn federal court, organized the “vast international drug-trafficking enterprise that has been in existence for more than a decade,’’ prosecutor Steven Tiscione wrote in recent court papers.
“The illegal narcotics distributed worldwide by members of the criminal enterprise have a retail value of more than $1 billion, conservatively,” Tiscione wrote to a federal judge.
Until his recent bust, Cournoyer, 33, tried to stay one step ahead of the law in Quebec by garaging his astronomically expensive Bugatti Veyron and instead tooling around town in a Porsche Cayenne to throw off Canadian police surveillance teams, sources said.
The Porsche belonged to the slick drug lord’s catwalk gal pal, Amelia Racine, a willowy Canadian-Brazilian brunette who has modeled in Europe, sources said.
Her jailed brother, Mario Racine, was allegedly the gang’s trusted lieutenant. He is now awaiting extradition to stand trial along with Cournoyer in Brooklyn, officials said.
One of Cournoyer’s biggest customers in New York City was reputed Bonanno crime-family associate John “Big Man” Venizelos, who is currently out on bail in the case, according to sources and the documents.
Looking less like an alleged mobster and more like a day trader with his Ralph Lauren pastels, nautical-flag belts, Polo loafers and horn-rimmed glasses, Venizelos keeps a downtown Manhattan pad and holds a “straight job” managing “Jaguars 3,”a Brooklyn nightspot, sources said.The club is overseen by Vincent “Vinny Green” Faraci, a reputed Bonanno soldier who formerly managed the “Crazy Horse Too” strip club in Las Vegas, the sources added.
Cournoyer was nabbed last spring after stepping off a jet in Mexico as a wanted man.
At the time, he refused to board a US-bound commercial plane to the States, throwing a series of tantrums right out of the Robert De Niro comedy “Midnight Run,” in which the main character fakes a panic attack.
Cornoyer’s antics forced a total of four plane changes over two days before he was eventually flown to New York City to await trial.
The pot supply under his domain was transported in motor homes and trucks across Canada with the help of the Hells Angels, officials said. The motorcycle gang and the Montreal mob then smuggled the pot from Quebec into upstate New York, authorities said. Trucks delivered it to a warehouse in Brooklyn, sources said.
Millions of dollars generated by the marijuana sales were eventually used to buy cocaine from Joaquin Guzmán Loera, the leader of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel — with the sale of the coke further financing the marijuana operation in Canada, feds say.
That coke was smuggled north into Canada where it was resold — with part of the profits underwriting the massive marijuana pipeline supplying New York City, according to sources and court documents.The enterprise relied on blood relations: Luc Cournoyer, Jimmy’s cousin, is now serving time after he was caught driving a motor home filled with pot, officials and sources said. Jimmy’s brother, Joey Cournoyer — seen in a Facebook photo partying with the unwitting DiCaprio in a bar in Europe — was a crew member who has not been charged yet, although the probe is ongoing, sources said. Also in the photo was Jimmy’s close pal, Ultimate Fighting world champ Georges St-Pierre.
Jimmy Cournoyer’s lawyer, Gerald McMahon, promises a vigorous court battle. Venizelos’ lawyer, John Meringolo insisted that $100,000-plus found in his house by DEA agents isn’t drug cash.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/nyc_in_pot_triangle_rHndDjStDb1O9ImOVEVWXL

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