Elderly Genovese Captain sentenced to two years in prison for punching steakhouse owner

Elderly Genovese Captain sentenced to two years in prison for punching steakhouse owner

  April 29, 2024    Dapper_Don

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An elderly mafia capo got two years in prison for socking a Manhattan steakhouse owner to collect a gambling debt, and his lawyer said he had no regrets about the fateful punch.

Federal prosecutors were asking Anthony “Rom” Romanello get a much more serious sentence, nearly seven years, to account for the 86-year-old  Genovese member’s long, mostly unpunished life of crime.

But Romanello’s lawyer, Gerald McMahon, called the charges a “meatball case” that prosecutors sat on for years in the hopes Romanello would do something more serious so they could try and flip him against now-deceased Genovese big Anthony “Tough Tony” Federici.

“When the government asks for 71 months, and the judge gave 24, thank God justice was done in Brooklyn,” an ebullient McMahon said after the sentencing in Brooklyn Federal Court Monday. “His lawyer thinks, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Rom has no regrets.”

Romanello was convicted in December of extortion-related charges after he punched steakhouse owner Shuqeri “Bruno” Selimaj on May 11, 2017 to collect an $86,000 gambling debt owed by the restaurateur’s kin. The punch, inside Selimaj’s now-closed swanky Lincoln Square Steak, was caught on video.

McMahon argued that his elderly client punched Selimaj because the restaurateur called him a “washed-up Italian.”

“What would Gerry McMahon do? I would have knocked him flat out,” the defense lawyer told reporters Monday.

The confrontation happened after Selimaj’s nephew, Toni, and the nephew’s brother-in-law, Eddie, lost big gambling with a Queens ring run by bookie Michael Regan, according to prosecutors.

Romanello, a regular at Selimaj’s restaurants, knew all the parties involved, and was brought in to resolve the debt — which he did in three menacing visits over two months, prosecutors allege.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Rehnquist characterized Romanello as a lifelong career criminal who hasn’t held legitimate work since the 1960s. In a letter to Judge Eric Komitte, she argued that Romanello was convicted of 23 crimes over his life, but only sentenced to 36 months.

He got no jail time for bribing cops in the 1970s, three years for a $900,000 armed robbery in the 1980s, and probation in 2007 and 2012 for obstruction of justice and racketeering conspiracy.

In a one-sentence response letter, McMahon referred to Rehnquist’s arguments as “unhinged screeching” — a description Rehnquist took issue with Monday.

“This is about a defendant who lived his whole life as someone who commits crimes,” Rehnquist told the judge on Monday. “What this defendant did was illegal … and the defendant has never understood that, because he’s never been held accountable for his crimes.”

She also suggested that a longer sentence would put other aging La Cosa Nostra members on notice. “He can’t use old age as a shield to not be punished,” she said.

Two members of Romanello’s family booed the prosecutors as they left the courtroom after the sentencing.

McMahon also blasted the victim’s family as degenerate gamblers who collected $300,000 from Regan when their bets paid off, but refused to pay $86,000 when they lost.

“On the street, street justice would say that those guys deserve a far bigger beating than what was administered to Bruno,” he said. “They know it’s a meatball case. It’s a nothing case.”

He said prosecutors waited on the charges for more than four years, but Romanello never committed any new crimes. Romanello even skipped last year’s big Genovese crime family Christmas party while he was out on bail, McMahon said.

“He’s pretty much been out of the life. He certainly intends to stay out of the life,” McMahon said.

Romanello’s been in jail since December, which means he’ll likely be released in 15 months with good time.

Komitte said he hoped Romanello manages to uphold the law for the rest of his golden years. “We all know people are living well into their 90s these days, sometimes their hundreds,” he said. “I have every confidence as I sit here today that the meaning of this sentence, as reduced as it is, has come through clearly.

Romanello’s co-defendant, Joseph Celso, had his sentencing adjourned until next month.

https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/04/29/elderly-genovese-capo-86-gets-two-years-after-punching-nyc-steakhouse-owner/

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Elderly Genovese Captain convicted in NYC extortion case

Elderly Genovese Captain convicted in NYC extortion case

  December 12, 2023    Dapper_Don

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An 86-year-old reputed capo in the Genovese crime family was convicted of extortion charges by a Brooklyn federal jury Monday after hours of testimony surrounding a punch he landed to the jaw of a steakhouse owner.

The weeklong trial of Anthony “Rom” Romanello included shocking surveillance footage capturing the elderly alleged Mafioso socking restaurateur Shuqeri “Bruno” Selimaj with a right-handed jab at Selimaj’s since-shuttered eatery Lincoln Square Steak on May 11, 2017.

Prosecutors said the punch stemmed from $86,000 in unpaid failed bets accrued by Selimaj’s nephew, Tony, and another relative — a gambling debt Romanello had been sent to collect from the restauranteur.

“What am I gonna say? Nothing — I really did nothing,” a stunned Romanello insisted outside the courtroom Monday.

Jurors returned with a guilty verdict against Romanello on two counts of extortion after beginning deliberations at around 2:45 p.m. Thursday.

He faces up to 40 years behind bars at his sentencing at a later date prosecutors have said.

Prosecutors argued that both Romanello and co-defendant Joseph Celso, who was convicted of the top count, should be held behind bars until their sentencing hearings — leaving family members and supporters of the reputed mobsters shocked.

“He’s 86 years old!” whispered one court onlooker.

Romanello’s lawyer, Jerry McMahon, had tried to convince jurors that his client only punched Selimaj because he had insulted him.

“He didn’t punch Bruno to collect a gambling debt,” McMahon insisted during his opening statements. “Bruno told him that he was a washed-up Italian, that he had no balls, that he was nothing.

“He punched him, that 86-year-old guy sitting there, he punched him because Bruno insulted him to his face.”

Jurors were shown the 55-second recording during the trial when the accused aging alleged mobster delivered the jab to the restaurateur’s jaw.

In the clip, Romanello can be seen standing next to who Selimaj identified as Mike Regan, an Irish bookie, who allegedly grabbed Selimaj’s jacket threateningly after the punch is thrown.

McMahon has repeatedly downplayed Romanello’s haymaker throughout the trial, often saying that the old reputed wiseguy “punches like a girl” and that he had simply been the victim of Selimaj’s bullying antics.

“If he wasn’t Italian, there would be no issue,” McMahon said during closing arguments Thursday. “But because an Italian steps in, it’s Mafia.”

McMahon also proclaimed that Romanello’s right hook is “the most investigated one-punch in the history of one-punches.”

Following the verdict Monday, McMahon said Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Eric Komitee — whom he sparred with over evidence throughout the trial — had made it “virtually impossible” to defend Romanello by allowing the jury to hear that his client was Italian and in the Mafia.

“That should have never been allowed. That’s an invitation,” he said. “The jury is going to hear, ‘He’s Italian. He’s in the Mafia. He’s trying to collect a gambling debt. Oh, of course, it’s extortion!’ Allowing that evidence is a crucial thing.”

Prosecutors had argued that Romanello paid Selimaj three visits, including the day of the attack, threatening him so he would pay off his relatives’ debt.

Selimaj testified that on the night of the punch, he told the alleged mobster that he would only be willing to pay the part of the debt owed by his nephew — a $6,000 tab — and added he wouldn’t pay his nephew’s brother-in-law’s $80,000.

The restaurateur said an enraged Romanello kept telling him that he would “like to punch [me]” — before he was socked at his restaurant in front of staff and patrons.

Selimaj filed a police report that night – but he ended up retracting it within 24 hours after his brother relayed an allegedly veiled threatening message from Celso, a reputed Genovese soldier, saying that it would be a bad idea to go through with the complaint, the former eatery owner testified.

In a later written statement with the NYPD, Selimaj claimed Romanello had a “few drinks” and that the fight between the pair — who had been acquaintances for 30 years — had been a “misunderstanding between me and him.”

But Selimaj ended up testifying that what he wrote in the statement was “not true” — and that he only told cops that because he was afraid of the consequences from the alleged Queens mobster.

“I was afraid this Mafia guy was going to hurt me, [hurt] my nephew,” he told prosecutors.

His brother, Shemsi “Nino” Selimaj, also a restaurateur who appeared as himself in the 2019 movie “Uncut Gems” with Adam Sandler, testified later in the trial that he interpreted Celso’s threats to be real warnings.

Shemsi said Celso told him that if Romanello was arrested, “somebody is going to pay the price,” he testified.

Brooklyn federal prosecutor Rebecca Schuman described to the jury how Celso — who also faced an obstruction of justice count — allegedly sent the threat to Selimaj to get the police report dropped.

He eventually got Selimaj to fork over the $6,000 debt of his nephew and the remaining $80,000, which was sent to alleged Genovese associate and wannabe Albanian film star Luan Bexheti, prosecutors said.

Celso was convicted Monday of one of the extortion counts, but found not guilty of the second and of the obstruction charge.

Bexheti, who once appeared in a movie called “Albanian Gangster,” pleaded guilty in the case Oct. 4. 

Joseph Marrone, Celso’s lawyer, has maintained that Celso didn’t have a part in the extortion scheme — and even questioned whether the two alleged Genovese associates were even in the Mafia because had they been, the restaurant would have been “torn up” if it was the real Mafia.

“If the real Mafia was there, there wouldn’t have given a sh-t about a camera being there,” Marrone said in his closing arguments.

McMahon said that he plans to appeal Romanello’s conviction because he “didn’t get a fair trial.”

The judge will decide whether to remand the alleged wiseguy pair into custody at a hearing Tuesday morning.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/11/metro/reputed-mafioso-anthony-romanello-convicted-in-nyc-extort-case/

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Aging Genovese mobster punched NYC steakhouse owner after being called a washed up Italian

Aging Genovese mobster punched NYC steakhouse owner after being called a washed up Italian

  December 04, 2023    Dapper_Don

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An aging reputed Genovese mobster accused of socking a Manhattan steakhouse owner as part of an extortion plot didn’t do it to collect a gambling debt — but because the victim called him a “washed-up Italian” with “no balls,” his lawyer claimed at the start of his trial Wednesday.

Anthony “Rom” Romanello, 86, an alleged capo in the Genovese crime family, was merely defending his honor after restaurateur Shuqeri “Bruno” Selimaj insulted him — and he “punches like a girl” anyway, defense attorney Jerry McMahon told jurors in Brooklyn federal court.

“He didn’t punch Bruno to collect a gambling debt,” McMahon said during his opening statements. “Bruno told him that he was a washed-up Italian, that he had no balls, that he was nothing.”

“He punched him, that 86-year-old guy sitting there, he punched him because Bruno insulted him to his face.”

The elderly wiseguy and an alleged accomplice, reputed Genovese soldier Joseph Celso, are on trial on two counts of extortion after allegedly being enlisted by a Queens bookie and wannabe actor to collect an $86,000 gambling debt owed by two of Selimaj’s relatives.

Taking the stand later Wednesday, Selimaj described how Romanello paid him a visit at his since-shuttered Lincoln Square Steak on May 11, 2017 — and flew into a rage after Selimaj told him he was only willing to pay the part of the debt owed by his nephew, and not his nephew’s brother-in-law.

“Rom kept saying, ‘I’d like to punch you’ … I said, ‘You have no guts to punch me,'” Selimaj recounted for the jury.

“A few seconds later, he punched me.”

Prosecutors played video of the right-handed jab that connected with Selimaj’s jaw for the jurors during the testimony.

After getting slugged, Selimaj told Romanello there were security cameras in the establishment, prompting the alleged longtime mafioso to hightail it out of there with his crew.

Selimaj filed a police report that night — but he ended up retracting it within 24 hours because his brother had relayed a threatening message from Celso that it would be a bad idea to go through with the complaint, he testified.

In a written statement with the NYPD, Selimaj recanted, claiming Romanello had a “few drinks” during the confrontation and that the two of them had been acquaintances for 30 years.

“So it was a misunderstanding between me and him. I think he didn’t want to do that,” Selimaj wrote.

But on the stand, Selimaj said that the retraction was “not true.”

“I was afraid this Mafia guy was going to hurt me, [hurt] my nephew,” he testified.

During cross-examination by McMahon, jurors were read a transcript of a voicemail that Selimaj left Romanello after getting hit — in which he taunted and swore at the mobster.

“Why don’t you come suck my d–k, you motherf–ker. This is Bruno,” Selimaj allegedly said.

Selimaj told jurors he didn’t remember leaving the message.

McMahon, in his opening statement, warned jurors that prosecutors would attempt to paint Romanello as delivering the hit to Selimaj’s face like 1950s American boxing legend Rocky Marciano — adding, “people who have viewed the video will say my client punches like a girl.”

The encounter took place while Romanello was a weekly guest at Selimaj’s food joint, where the accused wiseguy would spend upward of $1,000 on each dinner, McMahon said.

But Brooklyn federal prosecutor Rebecca Schuman told the jury that Selimaj was aware that getting on his patron’s bad side wouldn’t end well.

“Bruno knew that crossing Romanello could have real consequences — violent consequences,” she said.

The prosecutor described for jurors how Celso, who also faces an obstruction of justice count, allegedly sent a threat to Selimaj to get him to drop the police report, saying “things may get even uglier” if he didn’t comply.

Selimaj caved, retracting the police report and paying off the $6,000 debt of his nephew, and the $80,000 owed by his nephew’s brother-in-law, to apparent Genovese associate and wannabe Albanian film star Luan Bexheti, Schuman said.

Celso’s lawyer, Gerrard Marrone, told the jury his client wasn’t involved in any extortion scheme.

“He didn’t menace anyone, certainly didn’t punch anyone,” Marrone said. “My client is not involved in the drama.”

Selimaj, who was the first witness called by prosecutors, told jurors that he’d gotten a visit in March 2017 from an Irish bookie, Mike Regan, informing him of his relatives’ debts and name-dropping Romanello and Anthony “Tough Tony” Federici.

He took it to mean that Regan “was going to use his muscles against me” if the debt wasn’t settled, Selimaj, the owner of Club A Steakhouse, testified.

Then a few weeks later, Celso, Romanello and others came to the restaurant again and Romanello yelled at Selimaj, demanding the money.

“I was afraid because nobody jokes with the Mafia,” Selimaj testified. “It was no joke.”

“I was hoping they’d pay the debt because if they didn’t pay the debt, they would be killed,” Selimaj said of his nephew and nephew’s relative.

“Rom told me Tony [Federici] said hello and he was going to come visit you,” Selimaj recounted of the thinly veiled threat. 

Romanello has beaten an extortion case before — he was acquitted over a decade ago in the same courthouse where he currently faces trial.

Celso, meanwhile, was acquitted in a murder trial in 1993 after the main witness left the country. 

He was accused in the 1991 killing of Manuel Mayi, 19, a Queens College student from the Dominican Republic.

Mayi was chased for 16 blocks and fatally beaten by a mob of almost a dozen people after they saw him spraying graffiti in Corona.

Bexheti, who once acted in a movie called “Albanian Gangster,” pleaded guilty in the ongoing case on Oct. 4.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/29/metro/genovese-mobster-goes-on-trial-for-punching-nyc-restaurateur/

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Elderly Genovese Captain busted for punching restaurant owner in the face over unpaid debt

Elderly Genovese Captain busted for punching restaurant owner in the face over unpaid debt

  May 03, 2022    Dapper_Don

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A Queens bookie who once acted in a movie called “Albanian Gangster” was arrested along with two reputed Genovese crime family mobsters he allegedly enlisted to collect a debt, federal prosecutors and sources said Tuesday.

The trio, including an alleged 84-year-old Genovese capo, was charged in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday for the extortion scheme against an Italian restaurant owner, according to an indictment against them and a law enforcement source. 

The suspects — wannabe film star Luan Bexheti, 49, reputed soldier Joseph Celso, also 49, and octogenarian and longtime wiseguy Anthony “Rom” Romanello — all face two federal counts for extortion. Celso faces a third count for obstruction of justice, according to the indictment. 

The case stems from a gambling debt a restaurant owner racked up with Bexheti in 2017, when the actor, who has appeared in more than 40 indie flicks, was moonlighting as a bookie, a law enforcement source said. 

Bexheti, an apparent Genovese associate of Albanian descent, allegedly enlisted Celso and Romanello to collect, the source said. 

Romanello — who was acquitted in Brooklyn federal court a decade ago on extortion charges — allegedly punched the restaurateur in the face to convince him to pay up, the law enforcement source said. 

The other accused mafioso, Celso, was implicated in the 1991 slaying of Manuel Mayi, a 19-year-old Dominican Queens College student.

The teen was chased for 16 blocks and beaten to death by a mob of nearly a dozen people who allegedly spotted him spraying graffiti in Corona. 

Celso was the only person charged in the slaying, but was acquitted at trial in 1993 after the main witness in the case left the country, The Post reported at the time. 

All three of the suspects pleaded not guilty and were released on bond at their arraignments in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday. None of the defendants, nor any of the eight or so relatives and friends with them, commented as they left.

A judge set Celso’s bond at $1 million because he is charged with obstruction of justice as well as extortion. His attorney, Anjelica Cappellino, declined to comment after the hearing.

https://nypost.com/2022/05/03/albanian-gangster-actor-enlisted-genovese-mobsters-to-collect-debt/

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