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2024-03-28T10:10:36Z
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Fitness Behind Bars: Gangsters tell how they train their bodies and minds in prison
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/fitness-behind-bars-gangsters-tell-how-they-train-their-bodies-an
2021-05-19T17:30:00.000Z
2021-05-19T17:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fitness-behind-bars-gangsters-tell-how-they-train-their-bodies-an" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237151455,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237151455?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>Doing time is no picnic. In prison you’re away from your loved ones, your home, and surrounded by stone-cold killers, gangsters, and crazies, who could shank you if they feel like it. How does one remain sane and healthy in such an environment? Gangsters Inc. sat down with two guys who tell us how to come out of prison fitter than ever.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cecchetelli" target="_blank">David “Chicky” Cecchetelli</a> is no stranger to doing time or hanging around with serious individuals. As an alleged associate in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-springfield-mafia-crew-of-western-massachusetts-a-family-busi" target="_blank">Springfield crew</a> of late <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese crime family</a> capo <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese" target="_blank">Adolfo Bruno</a>, he dealt with the pressures of working under the always watchful eye of law enforcement and the subsequent heat that came with it. He spent several stints in prison for bookmaking conspiracy. Rather than let it get him down, he made the best of it.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237151479,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237151479?profile=original" width="192" height="331" /></a>“People don’t realize that if you put your head on straight in there it is real easy,” Cecchetelli (right) tells us. “You do your time and don’t let the time do you.” While serving his time in Canaan penitentiary in the mid-2000s, he got straight into his routine. “I walked 6 miles every day in the morning and afternoon. I didn’t have new weights but I made do. I ate healthy. I ordered off the commissary, cause you’re not gonna eat and lose weight off of the food they give you. You do a routine and you’re not drinking, not smoking cigarettes, and then you can come out looking like a movie star.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/top-5-of-true-stand-up-wiseguys" target="_blank"><strong>Top 5 of True Stand Up Wiseguys</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Cecchetelli says he has always struggled with his weight. He goes up and down like a yoyo. “Back then I was huge when I went in. In less than a year I lost almost 200 pounds. I had a tan and looked like I had done a spa thing on the Bahamas.”</p>
<p>Former drug kingpin and writer/producer of hit Netflix documentary “WHITE BOY” <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ferranti" target="_blank">Seth Ferranti</a> can relate. “I would do cardio, pushups, pull ups, burpees, planks, and set ups every day for an hour or two,” he writes to Gangsters Inc. “Distance running and sprints and the exercise bike. Plus I played a lot of sports too. Soccer, basketball, football, volleyball, softball, I did it all.”</p>
<p>He had plenty of time to do it. While still in his teens, Ferranti (right) set up a drug ring that spanned five states, selling <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Marijuana" target="_blank">marijuana</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LSD" target="_blank">LSD</a> to college kids. He was caught by the DEA in 1993 when he was 22 years old. Authorities slapped the kingpin label on him and sentenced him to over 25 years in prison. He was released in 2015 after serving 21 years.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237151901,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237151901?profile=original" width="183" height="328" /></a>Serving the long stretch that Ferranti (right) served, he also watched his diet. “I used to get a guy from the kitchen to smuggle me vegetables like onions and green peppers. I paid the butcher in the kitchen to bring me raw meat which I would cook in the prison microwaves. I would usually mix this with some rice and then boom I had a nice and healthy home cooked meal. I ate a lot of tuna and oatmeal too plus peanut butter and protein bars were the staples of my diet. I combined this with a vigorous exercise routine.”</p>
<p>Despite his vigorous workout routine, Ferranti says there were other inmates whose workouts made his look tame. Ferranti: “They would lift weights all day - bench press, squats, deadlifts. I used to hit the weights when I was younger but as I did time and got older I moved away from weights and did mostly body weight exercises. Some guys did Tabata routines or CrossFit type of stuff. They were vicious with it. There would always be a crew of dudes that seemed to be out on the yard working out all day. And they were shredded up and cock diesel.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Working out with Mafia boss Vinny Basciano</strong></span></p>
<p>Cecchetelli knows the type, but was especially impressed by the mental toughness of some fellow inmates facing life in prison, or worse, like alleged <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Basciano" target="_blank">Vincent Basciano</a>, who was housed in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan, New York. “It's a bad place,” Cecchetelli says of the MCC. “You’re in lock down all the time. It's a heavy hitter joint. I was there before I was transferred to Canaan penitentiary.”</p>
<p>He was only there for 2 months, but immediately hit it off with Basciano. “He took a liking to me for no other reason than I made him laugh,” Cecchetelli explains.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-personal-table-at-rao-s-bonanno-mobsters-chat-about-loot-from-l" target="_blank">A personal table at Rao’s</a>: Bonanno mobsters chat about loot from Lufthansa heist at famous East-Harlem restaurant</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>While they were housed together, Cecchtelli got an up-close look at Basciano’s discipline and focus. “I have never seen a guy do better time than Vinny Basciano. He would run up and down the stairs between the bottom and top tier and sweat would drip to the floor. It was a great workout and Vinny was religious in doing that every single day.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237152866,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237152866?profile=original" /></a>Basciano (right) had a strict routine that began with a shave and shower in the morning. At 8 o’ clock sharp, he would be in the prison library studying his books to fight his case. He would work on that all days until around 4 pm. Then he’d put on his sweatpants, shirt and sneakers and do his workout consisting of running the stairs and bodyweight exercises like burpees.</p>
<p>“I would watch him for a week and then he would bust my chops,” Cecchetelli says. “’Come on! Let's go! Join me!’ he would say, but I could never keep up with him. He would run up the stairs back and forth forever. But by doing the steps, walking the stairs with Vinny I was losing a lot of weight in those 2 months.”</p>
<p>What struck him most, was how relaxed Basciano looked. “He was always smiling, tan, like he was on vacation. I was in there for a lousy bookmaking case and he was in there facing the death penalty so that was a big difference. This guy is going in for the rest of his life and he’s laughing with me!”</p>
<p>Inside, all you have is a positive mindset to keep you going. And if you want to stay fit you have to think outside the box. Despite what you may have seen on television, prison is not outfitted like a gym. Inmates have to get creative.</p>
<p>Cecchetelli: “Guys would take a broom and unscrew the broom off the stick. Then they would take these big plastic milk cartons which would hold 4 gallons of milk and replace the milk with rocks or sand from the yard and put them on the stick so they had a barbel of dumbbell for weightlifting.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237153093,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237153093?profile=original" /></a><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Gang workouts</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237153486,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237153486?profile=original" /></a>Working out helps one to cope with the insanity that goes on in prison. It keeps the mind quiet and the body lean. In turn, this helps when things get dangerous, which, behind bars, can happen in the blink of an eye. If you are attacked, you need to be able to defend yourself. A strong body helps with that. No wonder then that members of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/street-gangs" target="_blank">prison gangs</a> have turned a simple workout into something else altogether.</p>
<p>Cecchetelli: “Everyone does these workouts, but these groups do it altogether and it sets them apart from the regular prisoners. You might have six Italian guys working out together, to keep each other company, but not in the numbers that these guys are doing it in. That's very noticeable when you are in a yard with these people.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>ALSO READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-guards-go-on-assaulting-inmates-without-consequences" target="_blank"><strong>How guards keep assaulting inmates without consequences</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>“The Surenos would be out en mass doing burpees on the yard,” Ferranti adds. “Their routine consisted of 113 Navy Seal style burpees (see video below by Moses Cuevas for an example). Then they would hit the track for a five mile run. These dudes didn’t fuck around. There would be 20-30 of them exercising together. Shirts tied around their heads, tattoos representing their hoods and gang affiliations. It was quite a sight. They were known as the most vicious dudes on the yard and their exercise routine confirmed. They didn’t fuck around in anything they did. They went hard as fuck.”</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ijm1mtRKv8I?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Back on the streets</strong></span></p>
<p>As inmates are finishing up their sentence, they should be looking like a million bucks of pure muscle, ready to impress the ladies. But back home, they are stripped of their strict regime and faced with lots of temptations.</p>
<p>“I got out and was buff and trained,” Cecchetelli tells us. “Got out and was in a parole house in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Boston" target="_blank">Boston</a>. Still kept good. I was enjoying the food again, but I watched what I ate and ate healthy. Then as time goes on, on a date or with the fellas, I would have a glass of swine. In the life, no matter where you go, there is food. No matter where you went there was food. Go to their houses: food. Go to dinner: food. Food is everything! When people die, there is food. When people celebrate, there is food. When people are sad, they have food. Whether people are happy or sad, they have food. Now, anything, whether it's gambling, sex or food, anything in abundance is no good No matter what it is.”</p>
<p>With age comes wisdom. After getting to know his pitfalls, Cecchetelli has adapted. He goes for walks and loves to swim. He has his cheat meals on a specific day and tries to eat healthy the rest of the week. “Everyone needs that break. You gotta pick and choose your battles. In prison you can be a lot more structured. You don't have to worry about the outside world as long as your kids are healthy, your wife is happy, and you got money coming in. The only worries you have are about working out, getting through your time and finishing your sentence. That's it so when you're in there it's a lot easier losing weight. A lot easier than when you’re on the street.” </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">Organized crime in the United States section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
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The Guys That Do More Than Killing: Gambino Mafia family mobsters busted for large variety of crimes
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-guys-that-do-more-than-killing-gambino-mafia-family-mobsters
2021-01-17T12:12:10.000Z
2021-01-17T12:12:10.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-guys-that-do-more-than-killing-gambino-mafia-family-mobsters" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237136270,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237136270?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p><em>Published December 2019 - Updated January 2021</em>: Two mobsters once praised by Mafia boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gotti" target="_blank">John Gotti</a> are among twelve <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino Mafia family</a> gangsters and associates who were indicted in federal court in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brooklyn" target="_blank">Brooklyn</a> on Thursday and charged with racketeering conspiracy, bribery, loansharking, fraud, obstruction of justice and related offenses. The biggest fish caught up in this bust is alleged Gambino family capo Andrew Campos.</p>
<p>Along with Campos, agents arrested <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino crime family</a> soldiers James Ciaccia, George Campos, Vincent Fiore and Richard Martino; and alleged Gambino associates Renato Barca, Jr., Benito DiZenzo, Mark Kocaj, Frank Tarul and Michael Tarul. They are charged with crimes that occurred “throughout the New York metropolitan area since February 2013”.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237136665,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237136665?profile=original" /></a><em>Photo: Richard Martino and Andrew Campos while in prison.</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“[Mob crew] ran the gamut of criminal activity”</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237137055,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237137055?profile=original" /></a>“The Gambino members arrested in this case ran the gamut of criminal activity,” stated <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney. “Everything from the usual thuggish behavior of beating people up, forcing people to take the fall for their crimes, all the way to defrauding the federal government. Several suspects even went to prison, were released, and allegedly went right back to breaking the law. At some point, these crime families should realize we see what they're doing, and their actions are going to lead them right back to the same prison cells.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/former-gambino-family-mobster-shows-his-soft-side" target="_blank"><strong>Former Gambino family mobster shows his soft side</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Prosecutors allege that 50-year-old Andrew Campos and members of his crew used <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bribe" target="_blank">bribery</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Fraud" target="_blank">fraud</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> schemes to infiltrate the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Construction" target="_blank">construction industry</a> and earn millions of dollars in criminal proceeds. Campos and 60-year-old Richard Martino were seen as the cream of the crop of the Gambino family. Mob boss John Gotti (right) himself said they would make the family proud after he had inducted them into <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Gotti: “I want guys that done more than killing”</strong></span></p>
<p>“I want guys that done more than killing,” Gotti was caught saying on tape. “I like the Richies. […] They’re young – twenty-something, thirty-something – […] They’re beautiful guys. […] Ten years from now, these young guys we straightened out, they’re going to be really proud of them.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237137071,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237137071?profile=original" /></a>Turned out Gotti was right. They did hit the jackpot, but their success was interrupted by law enforcement. In 2005, Campos and Martino (right) were convicted for their role in a massive multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud users of adult entertainment services. Martino was ultimately sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment and ordered by the court to pay $9.1 million in forfeiture.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/interview-john-gotti-jr-sits-down-with-gangsters-inc" target="_blank">Former Mafia boss John Gotti Jr. sits down with Gangsters Inc.</a> for an exclusive interview</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Upon their release, prosecutors claim, the two went straight back to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambino" target="_blank">Gambino family</a> and resumed their activities. Albeit, while taking a lot of precautions. According to the indictment, once Martino got out of prison, he worked with 45-year-old Gambino associate Frank Tarul and others to conceal his substantial wealth and income, falsely reporting that he had limited assets and worked for Tarul’s flooring company.</p>
<p>Court-authorized wiretaps, however, revealed that Martino operated multiple companies that earned millions of dollars, including construction work, investments in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Pizza" target="_blank">pizzerias</a> and other business ventures.</p>
<p>Andrew Campos, meanwhile, also was hard at work after getting out. Together with 57-year-old Gambino soldier Vincent Fiore, 49-year-old Mark Kocaj, and 53-year-old Benito DiZenzo, he operated a carpentry company named CWC Contracting Corp. Prosecutors allege the company got an edge on the competition by paying bribes and kickbacks to employees of numerous construction companies and real estate developers. In exchange, these employees took steps to benefit CWC, including awarding contracts and approving change orders to add or delete from the original scope of a contract.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Punched in the face and your teeth get knocked out”</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237137278,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237137278?profile=original" /></a>All the front companies aside, gangsters will always do gangster things, of course. Various Gambino wiseguys were charged with using extortionate means to collect money. In one case, Campos (right) and Fiore used threats of violence to collect at least $100,000 from one victim.</p>
<p>In a wiretapped phone conversation on March 13, 2019, Fiore warned the victim: “When you get punched in the face and your teeth get knocked out [...] you’re not going to laugh no more, okay? […] At the end of the day, when you’re upside down [DA: Unable to make certain payments], you deal with him,” referring to the victim having to take things up with the powerful Campos.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-mafia-family-boss-frank-cali-shot-dead-in-front-of-his-st" target="_blank">Gambino crime family boss Frank Cali shot dead</a> in front of his Staten Island mansion</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Chances are the victim would have caved long before then, thanks to muscle men like Kocaj and 56-year-old Adrial Lopez, a former professional <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Boxing" target="_blank">boxer</a>. Both men are charged with loansharking. When law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Lopez’s home, they seized $25,000 in cash, brass knuckles and several large knives.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“A couple of my Albanian guys”</strong></span></p>
<p>Kocaj’s charges include his recovery of tens of thousands of dollars of a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> debt on behalf of an <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Albania" target="_blank">Albanian organized crime figure</a>. Kocaj bragged about his ability to violently collect money, stating that he could send “a couple of my Albanian guys” and have somebody “grab [a potential victim] by the fucking neck.” Kocaj helped collect over $30,000, threatening that if the victim did not pay, “[h]e’s going to get his head split open […] These are not the guys to fuck around with […] These Albanians, you know what they’ll do.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sammy-the-bull-gravano-is-a-free-man-but-more-importantly-a-poste" target="_blank">Sammy the Bull Gravano is a free man</a>, but more importantly a poster boy for the dangers of dealing with gangsters</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Omerta above all</strong></span></p>
<p>Mafiosi adhere to one cardinal rule: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Omerta" target="_blank">Omerta</a>, the code of silence. As someone who was inducted by John Gotti, the ultimate standup gangster, Andrew Campos knew this intimately. When he believed that a worker at CWC had testified before the grand jury, he allegedly ordered that he be fired. Subsequently, during a recorded conversation by authorities on November 22, 2019, Fiore directed that the CWC worker be fired as “a personal favor to Andrew,” because the worker “could’ve pled the Fifth,” meaning refuse to testify.</p>
<p>In La Cosa Nostra, you can lie, you can cheat, you can steal, and you can kill. But you don’t talk.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UPDATE - January 17, 2021</strong></span>: Eleven of the Gambino mobsters pleaded guilty on Friday to a variety of charges ranging from racketeering conspiracy, fraud, obstruction of justice, tax evasion and offenses related to organized criminal activities. <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/01/15/11-gambino-family-associates-plead-guilty-to-crimes/" target="_blank">The New York Post</a> reported that, Campos, Cobos, DiZenzo, Fiore, Kocaj, Martino and Frank Tarul each face 20 years in prison. Barca, George Campos, Ciaccia and Michael Tarul each face up to 5 years in prison. Simonlacaj faces up to 3 years in prison. </p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UPDATE - February 11, 2022:</strong></span> <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/smart-gambino-mafia-family-capo-gets-3-years-in-prison-for-multim" target="_blank">Andrew Campos was sentenced to 3 years in prison</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
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Gambino Mafia family associate pleads guilty to arson in Queens over $400 measly bucks in extortion scheme
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gambino-mafia-family-associates-plead-guilty-to-arson-in-queens-o
2021-01-15T11:30:00.000Z
2021-01-15T11:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-mafia-family-associates-plead-guilty-to-arson-in-queens-o" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237156687,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237156687?profile=original" /></a>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Alleged <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino Mafia family</a> associate Peter Tuccio (photo above, right, sitting next to Philadelphia Mafia boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Merlino" target="_blank">Joseph Merlino</a>) pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday to using fire to commit the felony crime of extortion. The 27-year-old wiseguy faces a mandatory sentence of 10 years behind bars when he is sentenced.</p>
<p>The charged crimes occurred in 2015, when a businessman who was being extorted by a capo in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino crime family</a> began avoiding him in order to stop paying him his annual payment of $400 dollars. Not the largest <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> payment ever demanded by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>. If you get two premium Netflix subscriptions you will pay that company more than this Gambino mobster. But it’s about the principle.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Sending a message</strong></span></p>
<p>That is why the Gambino family captain ordered Tuccio and two other hoods - Jonathan Gurino and Gino Gabrielli – to make him understand the way things work. On December 3, 2015, the three men observed the businessman leave a smoke shop in Howard Beach, New York and drive away in his 2014 Mercedes Benz.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Kill to be on top of the hill - Profile of</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/kill-to-be-on-top-of-the-hill-profile-of-genovese-mafia-family-so" target="_blank"><strong>Genovese Mafia family soldier Louis Auricchio</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>They then followed the businessman at high speed through the streets of Queens and confronted him outside a pizzeria, where Tuccio mentioned the Gambino family capo and commented on the businessman’s car.</p>
<p>The three men then decided to set the businessman’s car on fire, sending a message that he had to continue making the extortion payments to the Gambino capo. Later that night, the businessman heard a loud noise and saw that his car was on fire outside of his residence.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Pants on fire</strong></span></p>
<p>His security video system recorded Gabrielli pouring a substance on the car, the car erupting in flames, and Gabrielli running away with his pant leg on fire. Shortly thereafter, Gabrielli and Tuccio were caught on surveillance video entering Jamaica Hospital. After the arson, the businessman paid more than $5,000 to the Gambino family capo. He had received the message.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ & WATCH: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philly-underboss-crazy-phil-leonetti-talks-about-hanging-out-with" target="_blank">Philly underboss “Crazy Phil” Leonetti talks</a> about hanging out with Meyer Lansky, calls Merlino a “lowlife”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The bungling wiseguys did too. In August 2016, Gabrielli pleaded guilty to the arson and in June 2020, Gurino pleaded guilty to extortionate collection of credit and extortion. Tuccio now joins his partners in crime as the three wiseguys await their sentencing.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Colombo Mafia family soldier “The Mask” Difalco sentenced to 3 years in prison for racketeering
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/colombo-mafia-family-soldier-the-mask-difalco-sentenced-to-3-year
2020-08-07T10:46:01.000Z
2020-08-07T10:46:01.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/colombo-mafia-family-soldier-the-mask-difalco-sentenced-to-3-year" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237149685,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237149685?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family" target="_blank">Colombo Mafia family</a> soldier Vito “The Mask” Difalco (photo above) was sentenced to just over 3 years in prison for racketeering on Wednesday. The 65-year-old mobster ran <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> operations from his <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brooklyn" target="_blank">Brooklyn</a> bar named The Tryst Lounge.</p>
<p>Working with Joseph Maratea, who ran a pawn shop out of the same Dyker Heights building where Difalco’s bar was located, Difalco operated a loansharking business, extending loans at exorbitant interest rates and the added threat that if a debtor did not make his payments in time, he would face violent consequences. Specifically, the Colombo gangsters charged $15 in weekly interest payments on every $500 extended, which amounted to 3% weekly interest payments or 156% annual interest.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-a-rat-brought-down-the-colombo-mafia-family-crew-of-fat-jerry" target="_blank">How a rat brought down the Colombo Mafia family crew</a> of “Fat Jerry,” “The Mask,” and “Mumbles”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>To ensure both that they could locate their debtors and that their debtors understood that Difalco and Maratea knew where they resided, they required debtors to provide copies of their driver’s licenses and their contact information.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>"Put the Benz on fire"</strong></span></p>
<p>On April 19, 2018, Difalco and Matera had the following conversation about a debtor’s missed payments:</p>
<p><em>DIFALCO: Alright stretch out, ‘cause we are going to take a ride in a little while.</em></p>
<p><em>MARATEA: Alright.</em></p>
<p><em>DIFALCO: I’ll be here, then we’ll take a ride up there.</em></p>
<p><em>MARATEA: Where by [John Doe #8]?</em></p>
<p><em>DIFALCO: Yeah, we’ll go by [John Doe #8].</em></p>
<p><em>MARATEA: Did you call him?</em></p>
<p><em>DIFALCO: I called him, he didn’t pick up. I figure I’ll ring the bell and flood the house.</em></p>
<p>In another recording, Difalco was taped saying: “Good things happen to me when I stay calm. See, like, I was by your house the other day. Four years ago I would have put the Benz on fire.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-two-sides-of-new-york-mob-boss-joe-colombo-and-how-his-murder" target="_blank">The two sides of New York mob boss Joe Colombo</a> and how his murder remains unsolved for over forty years</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Difalco also earned illegal proceeds through his gambling business, which included illegal sports-betting and video gambling machines. He used a legitimate business – a bar called Tryst which he operated – to facilitate his illicit activities and limit detection by law enforcement. At the bar he could attract new loansharking customers and use his employees to collect loansharking payments. He also used the bar to operate and promote his illegal gambling businesses.</p>
<p>Maratea pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced in April 2020 to time served and 2 years’ probation with the first 4 months to be served under house arrest.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family">Colombo crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Lucchese Mafia family boss and hitmen get life in prison for 2013 gangland murder
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mafia-family-boss-and-hitmen-get-life-in-prison-for-2013
2020-07-29T11:00:00.000Z
2020-07-29T11:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mafia-family-boss-and-hitmen-get-life-in-prison-for-2013" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237144280,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237144280?profile=original" /></a>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>The career of 84-year-old Lucchese Mafia family acting boss Matthew Madonna (photo above, middle) has officially come to an end. On Monday, he was sentenced to life in prison following his conviction for the 2013 murder of Purple Gang hitman Michael Meldish and various racketeering charges.</p>
<p>45-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese family</a> soldier Christopher Londonio (photo above, left) and 61-year-old Lucchese associate Terrence Caldwell (photo above, right) were sentenced to life behind bars for the same gangland slaying. Lucchese family underboss Steven Crea was also found guilty and will receive the same sentence at a later date.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Madonna ordered it, Londonio set it up, and Caldwell pulled the trigger”</strong></span></p>
<p>“Matty Madonna, Christopher Londonio, and Terrence Caldwell – respectively, the Acting Boss, a soldier, and an associate of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Luchese Family</a> – were responsible for the execution-style murder of Michael Meldish seven years ago,” Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said. “Madonna ordered it, Londonio set it up, and Caldwell pulled the trigger. Now all three have been sentenced to serve the rest of their lives in federal prison. Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and NYPD, we continue our commitment to render La Cosa Nostra a thing of the past.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Mafia murder</strong></span></p>
<p>In 2013, Madonna became displeased with Michael Meldish, a longtime organized crime associate who had refused to pay debts he owed to the Lucchese mob boss. Madonna subsequently ordered Meldish killed. Acting under the orders of Madonna and Crea, Londonio helped set up Meldish, who was a personal friend of his – to be killed, and acted as the getaway driver for the murder.</p>
<p>Caldwell acted as triggerman. He met Meldish and drove with him to a Bronx neighborhood to meet Londonio. As Meldish got out of his car, Caldwell shot him once in the head, killing him instantly. He and Londonio then drove off.</p>
<p>The Lucchese family used Caldwell as well in the ambush of a rival Bonanno family mobster in Manhattan on May 29, 2013.</p>
<p><em>For more on this recent episode in the Lucchese family’s violent history check out the articles below:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/one-mafia-murder-and-everyone-ends-up-in-prison-lucchese-crime-fa" target="_blank">One Mafia murder and everyone ends up in prison</a> – Lucchese crime family bosses and hitmen found guilty</li>
<li>“Fuck you! Pay me!” – <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fuck-you-pay-me-lucchese-mafia-family-boss-ordered-hit-on-gangste" target="_blank">Lucchese boss ordered hit on gangster who refused to pay his $100K debt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mafia-boss-vic-amuso-may-be-imprisoned-for-life-but-his" target="_blank">Vic Amuso may be imprisoned for life</a>, but his word is still law on the streets of New York</li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-family-mobster-planned-to-escape-from-metropolitan-deten" target="_blank">Lucchese family mobster planned to escape</a> from Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, prosecutors say</li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-s-lucchese-mafia-family-deadly-as-ever-in-2017-prosecuto" target="_blank">New York’s Lucchese Mafia family deadly as ever in 2017</a>, prosecutors say after indicting bosses and underlings</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
The boss his son – Profile of Gambino Mafia family associate Joseph Gambino
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-boss-his-son-profile-of-gambino-mafia-family-associate-joseph
2020-05-17T11:50:21.000Z
2020-05-17T11:50:21.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-boss-his-son-profile-of-gambino-mafia-family-associate-joseph" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237140660,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237140660?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>As far as Mafia bosses go, Carlo Gambino is one of the most legendary. His name remains notorious as it is still branded on one of New York’s five La Cosa Nostra families. Being the son of such a man, then, came with the inevitable perks. And some drawbacks as well. As his son Joseph found out.</p>
<p>Joseph Gambino grew up differently than his old man. He studied at New York University and had a bright future ahead of him if he kept his mind focused. But why study when he could be out making great money working in a business controlled by his <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-boss-carlo-gambino" target="_blank">dad</a>?</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“We don’t call the police”</strong></span></p>
<p>So, by the 1950s, he started working for Consolidated Carriers Corp., a trucking company that went on to become a powerhouse in the Garment District delivering goods. It would make Joseph and his older brother Thomas, who was a capo in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a>, rich men. But it also made them a target for law enforcement.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-guys-that-do-more-than-killing-gambino-mafia-family-mobsters" target="_blank">The Guys That Do More Than Killing</a>: Gambino Mafia family mobsters busted for large variety of crimes</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The State Police sent in undercover officers posing as clothing manufacturers and truckers in a sting operation to see how legitimate this business really was. During one job interview, an undercover officer was told by Joseph what would happen if he wronged the company: “We don’t call the police — we take care of it ourselves.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Mob tax</strong></span></p>
<p>Besides Consolidated Carriers, the Gambinos ran over a dozen other trucking companies, including Clothing Carriers, Greenberg's Express and GRG Delivery. New York City garment producers were pressured to take deliveries from a trucking company that was either controlled by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> or the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese family</a>. Otherwise they were forced to pay twice. This amounted to a mob tax which added as much as 7 percent to the price of finished garments.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-on-the-dancefloor-the-demise-of-gambino-mafia-family-soldi" target="_blank">Murder on the Dancefloor</a>: The demise of Gambino Mafia family soldier Anthony Mascuzzio</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>In October 1990, the investigation was wrapped up and resulted in the indictment of Joseph and his brother Thomas along with several others on a hefty list of racketeering charges. The two Gambino brothers faced up to 25 years behind bars.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Crime pays… millions</strong></span></p>
<p>After several weeks of trial, on February 26, 1992, Joseph and Thomas made a very lenient plea deal. They pleaded guilty to antitrust charges and were told by prosecutors that if they paid a multi-million-dollar fine and promised to leave the garment district they would not be sentenced to time in prison.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philly-underboss-crazy-phil-leonetti-talks-about-hanging-out-with" target="_blank">Philly underboss “Crazy Phil” Leonetti talks</a> about hanging out with Meyer Lansky, calls Merlino a “lowlife”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Joseph and Thomas forked over $12 million dollars and simply walked away from the business. They had to sell all their delivery companies and all of their 400 trucks to individuals with no connections to organized crime before March of 1993. Their $12 million dollar fine could be paid in stages and had to be paid in full by September 1995.</p>
<p>There was some criticism over the deal, of course. Joseph and Thomas Gambino had made a killing while they held the Garment District in a chokehold. “Prosecutors conceded that in addition to leaving the Gambinos free men, it would leave them with a considerable portion of their estimated $70 million to $100 million fortune,” the New York Times reported at the time.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/interview-john-gotti-jr-sits-down-with-gangsters-inc" target="_blank"><strong>INTERVIEW: John Gotti Jr. sits down with Gangsters Inc.</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Who said crime doesn’t pay?</p>
<p>Joseph Gambino lived out the remainder of his life in freedom and away from the mob. The Gambino family was now under firm control of the Gotti clan and had moved on from the days of the Gambinos. Joseph Gambino passed away in March of 2020 at age 83.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Alleged New Jersey mobster admits gun and coke were his
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/alleged-new-jersey-mobster-admits-gun-and-coke-were-his
2020-03-11T17:30:00.000Z
2020-03-11T17:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/alleged-new-jersey-mobster-admits-gun-and-coke-were-his" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237142066,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237142066?profile=original" /></a>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>That gun and the grams of coke? Yeah, those were his, an alleged associate of New Jersey’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-decavalcante-crime-family" target="_blank">DeCavalcante crime family</a> admitted in court on Monday. 28-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Galli" target="_blank">Mario Galli III</a> (photo above) of Toms River, NJ, pleaded guilty to possessing <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> with the intent to distribute and possession of a FEG 9mm Model PGK-9HP gun, loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition, by a convicted felon in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.</p>
<p>On September 19, 2019, investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office executed search warrants on Galli’s residence and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-jersey-decavalcante-mafia-family-mobsters-hit-with-drug-charg" target="_blank">recovered</a> around 400 grams of cocaine. The search also recovered an FEG 9mm Model PGK-9HP gun loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition. At the time, Galli was on supervised release from a 2016 federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine. He served 30 months in federal prison on that charge.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-author-shares-dark-stories-behind-garden-state-gangland-the" target="_blank">Mafia author shares dark stories behind Garden State Gangland</a>: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The count of being a felon being in possession of a firearm during a drug crime carries a penalty of five years in prison which must be served consecutively to the penalty for the drug crime, and a $250,000 fine.</p>
<p>Galli will be sentenced on July 7, 2020.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-decavalcante-crime-family">DeCavalcante Crime Family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
One Mafia murder and everyone ends up in prison – Lucchese crime family bosses and hitmen found guilty
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/one-mafia-murder-and-everyone-ends-up-in-prison-lucchese-crime-fa
2019-11-17T10:30:00.000Z
2019-11-17T10:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/one-mafia-murder-and-everyone-ends-up-in-prison-lucchese-crime-fa" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237139891,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237139891?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>For a few years, the New York Mafia seemed to have quieted down. Increased scrutiny from law enforcement coupled with RICO made mobsters rethink their violent deeds, opting for less conspicuous ways of getting things done. But in the underworld a dog without bite is seen as food. No wonder then that every once in a while, New York’s five La Cosa Nostra families have to flex their muscles and pull the trigger on someone.</p>
<p>That’s what happened when longtime gangster <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Meldish" target="_blank">Michael Meldish</a> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fuck-you-pay-me-lucchese-mafia-family-boss-ordered-hit-on-gangste" target="_blank">refused to pay a debt</a> he owed <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese crime family</a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237140270,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237140270?profile=original" /></a>leader <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Madonna" target="_blank">Matthew Madonna</a> (right). This was unacceptable for any self-respecting mob boss. So, Madonna sat down with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-acting-boss-steven" target="_blank">Steven Crea</a>, his acting underboss, to discuss the next steps.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Murder contract</strong></span></p>
<p>The murder contract was handed to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese family</a> soldier <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Londonio" target="_blank">Christopher Londonio</a>. He was close to Meldish and would be able to lure him out of his house for a meeting. Londonio recruited Lucchese family associate <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Caldwell" target="_blank">Terrence Caldwell</a> as the shooter.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-s-lucchese-mafia-family-deadly-as-ever-in-2017-prosecuto" target="_blank">New York’s Lucchese Mafia family deadly as ever in 2017</a>, prosecutors say after indicting bosses and underlings</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>On November 15, 2013, Meldish’s time was up. Caldwell met Meldish and drove with him to a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bronx" target="_blank">Bronx</a> neighborhood to meet Londonio. As Meldish got out of his car, Caldwell shot him once in the head, killing him instantly. He then got in the car with Londonio as they made a hasty getaway from the murder scene.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Guilty</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237140454,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237140454?profile=original" /></a>After a six-week trial, on Friday November 15, a jury found all four men guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and other felonies. The verdict means that they will most certainly die behind bars. For 84-year-old Madonna an acceptable outcome. 72-year-old Crea (right) might also have accepted spending his senior years in a cell. For 45-year-old Londonio and 61-year-old Caldwell the realization of spending their remaining years locked up might come as a bigger shock.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Baseball bat assault and shooting</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237140500,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237140500?profile=original" /></a>Londonio (left) was also found guilty of conspiracy to distribute <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">narcotics</a>, which carries a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. He also carried firearms and other weapons, beat an associate of a rival crime family with a baseball bat, and personally participated in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a>, operating illegal <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> businesses, among other crimes. He was acquitted of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-family-mobster-planned-to-escape-from-metropolitan-deten" target="_blank">attempting to escape</a> from the Metropolitan Detention Center using a stack of bedsheets he had been collecting.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fuck-you-pay-me-lucchese-mafia-family-boss-ordered-hit-on-gangste" target="_blank">Vic Amuso may be imprisoned for life</a>, but his word is still law on the streets of New York</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Being the all too willing triggerman, Caldwell was also found guilty of ambushing a member of the rival <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> in Manhattan on May 29, 2013. He fired several shots into the victim’s car at close range and struck him once in the chest, but the victim survived. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for his actions.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Good run</strong></span></p>
<p>For several years, the Lucchese family had a good run. After the years being led by the bloodthirsty bosses <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-boss-vittorio-vic-amuso" target="_blank">Vic Amuso</a> and Anthony Casso, they toned it down and flourished. Then, in the winter of 2013, they commit one murder and the entire house falls on top of them. It ain’t easy running a Mafia family nowadays.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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The Stalking Capo: How a mobster’s jealousy of his girlfriend caused the indictment of 20 Colombo family gangsters
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-stalking-capo-how-a-mobster-s-jealousy-of-his-girlfriend-caus
2019-10-05T16:00:00.000Z
2019-10-05T16:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-stalking-capo-how-a-mobster-s-jealousy-of-his-girlfriend-caus" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237127500,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237127500?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>All is fair in love and war, the saying goes. But break the law and reality will come knocking and slap some handcuffs on you. Alleged <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family" target="_blank">Colombo crime family</a> capo Joseph Amato Sr. (photo above) felt he was entitled to know where his girlfriend was at all times, so he placed a GPS tracker under her car. Little did he know that this move would kickoff an FBI investigation that would bring down his Mafia crew.</p>
<p>For a while the tracker did its job, sending back details of the woman’s routes to the suspicious mob captain. Until one day she found out about it. Instead of smashing the device, she placed it under an MTA bus on its way to the next bus stop. There it remained until the bus stopped at the depot in Staten Island for a routine maintenance inspection in November 2016.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Alarms go off, FBI comes running</strong></span></p>
<p>There was nothing routine about the GPS tracker mechanics found. Alarmed, the depot was evacuated and explosive experts were called in to ensure the device wasn’t some type of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bomb" target="_blank">bomb</a>. Once they knew what it was, everyone calmed down, but by then the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> was involved and eager to find out why a bus was equipped with such a tracker – and, more importantly, who the tracker belonged to.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-a-rat-brought-down-the-colombo-mafia-family-crew-of-fat-jerry" target="_blank">How a rat brought down the Colombo Mafia family crew</a> of “Fat Jerry,” “The Mask,” and “Mumbles”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>To make matters easy, 60-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Amato" target="_blank">Joseph Amato Sr.</a> had reported the tracker as lost. When your business is extortion and racketeering, following your girlfriend around with a hidden GPS tracker apparently doesn’t register as something criminal and better kept on the down low, without any written reports.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Threats and kisses</strong></span></p>
<p>Once the feds realized Amato was the man behind the GPS device, they zoomed in on their target to see what they could find. Amato Sr. was a rising <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family" target="_blank">Colombo family</a> mobster who had fought alongside acting boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Orena" target="_blank">Vic Orena</a>’s faction against imprisoned official boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/legendary-new-york-mafia-boss-carmine-persico-was-the-ultimate-su" target="_blank">Carmine Persico</a>’s faction during the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=War" target="_blank">Colombo war</a> in the 1990s. He spent a long time behind bars, but had since become a capo. Wiretaps were put in place and agents listened in on calls and read messages sent and received by dozens of alleged mobsters.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-fbi-s-secret-thirty-year-relationship-with-a-mafia-killer" target="_blank"><strong>The FBI's Secret Thirty-Year Relationship with a Mafia Killer</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>In one email to his then-girlfriend, Amato wrote: “This is my island (Staten Island). Not yours. I have eyes all over.” The feds say he was not exaggerating. He was the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family" target="_blank">Colombo family</a>’s most powerful figure operating in Staten Island. In another email, he stated: “I’m a MANS MAN!!!”</p>
<p>Amato has quite a way with words and the ladies, no?</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Do you know who my father is?”</strong></span></p>
<p>As the feds kept listening, they uncovered more and more shady dealings of various associates, including Amato Sr.’s 26-year-old son Joseph Jr., who took after his father when it came to communicating. On one occasion, someone 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?”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/legendary-new-york-mafia-boss-carmine-persico-was-the-ultimate-su" target="_blank">Legendary New York Mafia boss Carmine Persico</a> was the ultimate survivor, up until his death behind bars</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The following day, the man was lured to a location where Amato Sr., Amato Jr. and other members of Amato’s crew brutally beat the victim, leaving him bloodied and in need of staples in his scalp.</p>
<p>The men took pride in their act of violence. 52-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family" target="_blank">Colombo family</a> soldier Thomas Scorcia boasted: “I told the guy sit in the car, and the kid had the tears.” 28-year-old Colombo family associate Anthony Silvestro added: “You send him a smack. If he raises his hand back to you, we beat the bricks off him, that’s it.”</p>
<p>Amato Jr. was ecstatic: “We abused him so bad. Yo, I had, bro, me and Pap (Silvestro), bro, had him shaking, bro. He was in tears, he was crying.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Indictments</strong></span></p>
<p>Were the roles reversed this past Thursday? That day twenty alleged members and associates of New York’s Colombo Mafia family were indicted and charged with racketeering, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Stalking" target="_blank">stalking</a>, attempted sports bribery and related offenses. Two firearms, two stun <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Guns" target="_blank">guns</a>, 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.</p>
<p>Among those charged with racketeering were Joseph Amato Sr.; 54-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capaldo" target="_blank">Daniel Capaldo</a>, 58-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Scura" target="_blank">Vincent Scura</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Scorcia" target="_blank">Thomas Scorcia</a>, alleged made members in the Colombo family; and Joseph Amato Jr. and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Silvestro" target="_blank">Anthony Silvestro</a>, alleged <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family" target="_blank">Colombo family</a> associates.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Fixing NCAA college basketball games</strong></span></p>
<p>FBI agents also overheard an attempt by some members of the gang to fix an NCAA college basketball game. To further the scheme, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bifalco" target="_blank">Benjamin Bifalco</a> offered members of a college basketball team thousands of dollars to intentionally lose the game. Things didn’t really go according to plan, though, and the fix was not in.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Playground bullies”</strong></span></p>
<p>“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,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>UPDATE MARCH 23, 2021:</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/colombo-mafia-family-capo-who-stalked-his-girlfriend-pleads-guilt" target="_blank"><strong>Colombo Mafia family capo who stalked his girlfriend pleads guilty to racketeering</strong></a></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family">Colombo crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Cocaine and Gelato: Profile of Bonanno Mafia family mobster Salvatore Russo
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/cocaine-and-gelato-profile-of-bonanno-mafia-family-mobster-salvat
2019-09-19T08:30:00.000Z
2019-09-19T08:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cocaine-and-gelato-profile-of-bonanno-mafia-family-mobster-salvat" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237131655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237131655?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> associate Salvatore Russo is considered trustworthy by his peers in the organization. He went on to prove himself after being caught up in a wide-ranging law enforcement operation aimed at <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> groups in New York and Canada.</p>
<p>Born in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Sicily" target="_blank">Sicily</a>, Russo became a naturalized United States citizen. Instead of making a life for himself as a legitimate businessman and contribute to society, he decided to hook up with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">New York’s Bonanno family</a>. He is close to Bonanno capo <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Zummo" target="_blank">Damiano Zummo</a>, who introduces Russo as his cousin.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Selling coke from a Manhattan ice cream parlor</strong></span></p>
<p>He made one such introduction during a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> deal. Zummo wanted to emphasize that Russo had his full backing, before putting him in charge of future <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug sales</a>. “I'll just bring the kid Sal, that's it,” Zummo said during a recorded conversation. “He's the one that brings it.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-sicilian-mafia-flooded" target="_blank"><strong>How the Sicilian Mafia flooded the US with heroin</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>And bring it, they did. The two mobsters planned to sell over five kilograms of cocaine between July and October 2017. Their distribution center was a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Manhattan" target="_blank">Manhattan</a> store that sold gelato, Italian-style ice cream. On September 14, 2017, one kilo of cocaine was sold there for nearly $40,000.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Bust</strong></span></p>
<p>Unbeknownst to Russo and Zummo, the feds were listening and watching after having placed a confidential informant in their midst. On November 9, 2017, members and associates of the Bonanno and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> crime families were arrested by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> agents. Across the border in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Canada" target="_blank">Canada</a>, officers made arrests in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ontario" target="_blank">Ontario</a>, where mobsters of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Todaro" target="_blank">Todaro family</a> in Hamilton were charged with large-scale drug trafficking.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">Operation OTremens</a>: How Mafia families in New York and Canada continue cooperating in global drug trade</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Guilty</strong></span></p>
<p>Russo was charged with the coke deal in the ice cream store. He pleaded guilty to the crime on September 5, 2019. The 46-year-old Sicilian-American Mafioso agreed to serve the mandatory minimum sentence of five years and faces a fine of up to $5 million.</p>
<p>He is currently out on $500,000 bail as he awaits his sentencing, which, as of this writing, has not been scheduled yet.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family">Bonanno crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
New York Mafia associate Paul Ragusa sentenced to 6 years in prison on gun charges
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/new-york-mafia-associate-paul-ragusa-sentenced-to-6-years-in-pris
2019-07-11T08:00:00.000Z
2019-07-11T08:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-mafia-associate-paul-ragusa-sentenced-to-6-years-in-pris" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237124687,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237124687?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Alleged New York Mafia associate Paul Ragusa was sentenced to 6 years in prison on Tuesday for possessing nine firearms, including three automatic assault rifles and a silencer. 48-year-old Ragusa was busted in Operation OTremens, a joint investigation which unearthed a partnership between Mafia families in New York City and Hamilton, Canada.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">Operation OTremens</a> lasted more than two years and targeted a mob crew in Hamilton, Ontario, which was especially active in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug trafficking</a>, dealing in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Fentanyl" target="_blank">fentanyl</a>, carfentanil, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Heroin" target="_blank">heroin</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Meth" target="_blank">methamphetamine</a>, MDMA, MDA, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LSD" target="_blank">LSD</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Profile of</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-mafia-defines-who-he-is-profile-of-toronto-ndrangheta-boss-gi" target="_blank"><strong>Toronto ‘Ndrangheta boss Giuseppe “Pino” Ursino</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The crew was led by brothers Domenico Paolo Violi and Giuseppe Violi, grandsons of the late Giacomo Luppino, who was known to be a founding member of the crimine, a governing body for members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ndrangheta" target="_blank">’Ndrangheta</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>FBI joins the party</strong></span></p>
<p>At the same time as authorities in Canada began <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">their investigation</a> into Mafia activities, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> in New York conducted a parallel, but separate investigation into members of the city’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> crime families. Chief among them Damiano Zummo, an acting captain in the Bonanno family, and Paul Semplice, a member of the Gambino family. Paul Ragusa also popped up on the radar as a man working for both the Bonanno and the Gambino crime families.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">Operation OTremens</a>: How Mafia families in New York and Canada continue cooperating in global drug trade</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The two investigations were linked when one of the defendants sponsored a man secretly working confidential informant to become a full-fledged member of the Bonanno crime family and as part of the investigation, law enforcement secretly video- and audio-recorded the induction ceremony, which occurred in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Canada" target="_blank">Canada</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Stick an ice pick through his head</strong></span></p>
<p>Surrounded by snitches it is impossible to get away with anything without law enforcement knowing about it. So authorities not only knew about Ragusa’s meetings with a cooperating witness between July and October of 2017, but were listening in as well.</p>
<p>During one such conversation, Ragusa agreed to commit a murder-for-hire, stating that he did not need a gun, because he would stick an “ice pick” through the victim’s head. On October 25, 2017, the witness asked Ragusa if he knew anyone who could transport firearms. Ragusa responded, “Yeah, me! I’ll do it!” </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>$2,000 for a job well done</strong></span></p>
<p>When the eager Ragusa showed up for the job on November 2, 2017, he was met by an undercover FBI agent who drove him to a warehouse in Nassau County, where Ragusa packed nine firearms, including two AK-47 assault rifles and one M16 rifle, into a large bag. Ragusa and the agent drove to a parking lot in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Queens" target="_blank">Queens</a>, where Ragusa loaded the firearms into a waiting undercover <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> vehicle.</p>
<p>For his hard work Ragusa was paid $2,000 in cash. Unbeknownst to him, the firearms were the property of the FBI and had been rendered inoperable.</p>
<p>Faced with overwhelming evidence, Ragusa pleaded guilty to the firearms charge in October 2018, and will have plenty of time to reevaluate his career decisions.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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</ul>
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<p> </p></div>
Fuggedaboutit! Former mobster, pro MMA fighter and writer-director are becoming YouTube sensation
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/fuggedaboutit-former-mobster-pro-mma-fighter-and-writer-director
2019-03-24T10:00:00.000Z
2019-03-24T10:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fuggedaboutit-former-mobster-pro-mma-fighter-and-writer-director" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237123464,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237123464?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>A former mobster, a professional MMA fighter, and a writer-director have joined forces to bring the public much laughter with a brand-new YouTube Channel and podcast. The move away from the Mafia underworld was the best decision they ever made. “We just want to enjoy life and have a laugh.”</p>
<p>They make an unlikely trio. Chris Kasparoza, also a crime novelist, Damien “The Omen” Trites, a pro MMA fighter, and alleged former Genovese family associate David “Chicky” Cecchetelli not only look entirely different, they, at first glance, seem to come from different backgrounds as well. But one should never judge a book by its cover. This proves very true when Gangsters Inc. sits down with them to discuss their work.</p>
<p>Before the first question is asked, the three men are already busting each other’s balls. Would Damien and Chicky be good cellmates? “I’d rather be in the SHU (Separate Housing Unit) alone than sharing a cell with you, jerkoff,” Chicky responds.</p>
<p>Damien is quick to respond, telling Gangsters Inc.: “If you need a Chicky translator just ask.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Hanging with the Genovese family’s Springfield crew</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237123669,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237123669?profile=original" /></a>But don’t let the jokes fool you. They have been through plenty of shit in their days on the street. “People always told me I was the biggest ball buster around,” Chicky tells Gangsters Inc. “I was just being me. I think the stress got so bad sometimes I masked it with breaking balls about the subject.”</p>
<p>“Chicky” Cecchetelli felt a lot of stress during his days as a bookmaker and, allegedly, as an associate of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese crime family</a>’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese" target="_blank">Springfield crew</a>. According to prosecutors, he had been very close to capo <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese" target="_blank">Adolfo Bruno</a> (right), who was whacked by his own underlings in a volatile power grab in 2003, and remained active in the years following the gangland slaying.</p>
<p>The killing of Bruno brought down much heat from law enforcement and the intense scrutiny caused plenty of legal troubles for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese</a>’s Springfield faction, which, according to the government, included Chicky. In 2006 he was sentenced to 8 months in prison for running an illegal <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> ring.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Fighting to get away from the streets</strong></span></p>
<p>Damien Trites faced similar problems growing up as a kid. “I did 18 months of time as a juvenile with all of the worst kids of New York,” he says. “There were 70 kids on my unit. They called it gladiator school because kids don’t give a fuck. I was 16 years old and fought every day. I was one of two white kids on my unit, so that should tell you how my time went.”</p>
<p>Known as a tough guy, Trites took to the streets and quickly got in with the wrong crowd. “The streets were always there for me,” he says. “I loved the action, the money, the girls, the ups and downs. But when I woke up and said to myself: If I catch a pinch, I will be solid. But who around me will be solid like me? If I have to question that then I have to walk away.”</p>
<p>He always found a welcome home in gyms around the country where he trained in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Boxing" target="_blank">boxing</a> and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and made himself into a professional <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=MMA" target="_blank">mixed martial arts</a> fighter. He fought for well-known organizations like CES MMA and Bellator and compiled a record with 7 wins and 6 losses.</p>
<p>“Being a professional fighter was a wild ride and a lot of fun,” he tells us. “But it got to a point where I didn’t enjoy the training camps and injuries. People only see the cage fights with the bright lights and cute ring girls. They don’t see the gym wars we have to get ready for a fight.”</p>
<p>Trites and Cecchetelli go back many years and consider each other family. “We hung in the same circles,” Chicky explains. “We clicked right away. I always respected him because of his career in MMA.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Honor and loyalty</strong></span></p>
<p>Both men also realized around the same time that “the life” was a dead-end street. “There is no life in the streets anymore,” Trites says. “Instead you got rats calling other people rats. Loyalty is dead and gone. It’s disgusting.”</p>
<p>What they once viewed as a family, an honorable brotherhood, now seemed empty. A lifestyle going nowhere. And Trites and Cecchetelli have had enough experiences to determine the pros and cons and compare stories.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-mob-family-turncoat-returns-to-old-stomping-grounds-in-s" target="_blank">Genovese mob family turncoat returns to Springfield</a> despite possible threats on life</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Cecchetelli served in the United States Navy and was stationed at the USS Cimmaron in Pearl Harbor. There, he was surrounded by like-minded men and women, giving their best years to their country. Though his life took a different turn in the decades that followed, he never forgot that mindset. He also saw the different way of thinking and levels of honor within the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Springfield" target="_blank">Springfield</a> underworld.</p>
<p>He was around to witness the sudden downfall of his mob mentor Al Bruno and was himself betrayed by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-mob-family-turncoat-returns-to-old-stomping-grounds-in-s" target="_blank">Anthony Arillotta</a>, who became a government witness and gave up information on his former crew.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-springfield-mafia-crew-of-western-massachusetts-a-family-busi" target="_blank"><strong>The Springfield Mafia Crew of Massachusetts: A Family Business</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Doing time with mob bosses Vinny Basciano and Alex Rudaj</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237019098,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237019098?profile=original" /></a>But while doing time in prison, Chicky also witnessed the code he and other, alleged, mobsters continued to live by. At one point he was locked up at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Basciano" target="_blank">Vincent Basciano</a> (left) was there. Basciano had been ratted out by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/bonanno-boss-joseph-massino" target="_blank">Joseph Massino</a>, his own mentor and Mafia leader.</p>
<p>Rather than follow in Massino’s footsteps, Basciano took a life sentence. Kasparoza: “I went to Basciano’s sentencing where the judge gave him life. He was even smiling in the courtroom when they were sending him away for forever and a day. That’s a real tough guy right there. No fraud. That’s a guy they couldn’t break, and they tried. I mean, this guy spent over a decade in solitary confinement with his alleged superiors, protégé, and peers all ratting on and lying about him, and he still wouldn’t break like them. That’s a real tough guy. That’s a man. Knowing so many of your alleged former friends are walking free while they’re shipping you out to a supermax, and smiling anyway.”</p>
<p>Though behind bars, Chicky and Basciano continued life just as they did on the outside. “Vinny smiled every minute of every day. God bless him and his family, all those sons. When I was leaving Manhattan to go to Canaan prison in Pennsylvania, Vinny walked me out along with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/albanian-boss-alex-rudaj" target="_blank">Alex Rudaj</a>, who the Feds said was the boss of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Albania" target="_blank">Albanian mob</a>. Vinny said: ‘Chicky, I wish I knew you on the streets. We could’ve had a lot of laughs.’ I replied, ‘Vinny all due respect, but you’re fighting two death penalty cases, I’m glad I did not know you on the streets.’ And Vinny said: ‘You’re right!’ And all of us began laughing as they took me out of the block.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Exclusive interview:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/interview-john-gotti-jr-sits-down-with-gangsters-inc" target="_blank"><strong>Former mob boss John Gotti Jr. sits down with Gangsters Inc.</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Rats continued to pop up and loyalty within the underworld was nonexistent. “So me and Chicky took a page out of [DA: former <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino crime family</a> boss] John Gotti Junior’s book and walked away,” Trites says.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Team Gotti</strong></span></p>
<p>Like Basciano, the Gotti name stands for <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Omerta" target="_blank">omerta</a>, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>’s code of silence, and standing up to do your time, but unlike his father the son knew when to walk away from the life. Gotti Jr. wasn’t someone they just read about or saw on television, mind you. Trites’ uncle Brian Hoyle, who is very close to Chicky as well, did 5 years in Raybrook prison with Gotti Jr. And being a pro MMA fighter Trites also became close to Gotti’s son <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-boss-john-gotti-s-grandson-is-introducing-the-world-of-mixed" target="_blank">John Gotti III</a>, who is currently a rising star in CES MMA.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-boss-john-gotti-s-grandson-is-introducing-the-world-of-mixed" target="_blank">Mob boss John Gotti’s grandson is introducing the world</a> of Mixed Martial Arts to the family’s fighting spirit</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Writer-director Chris Kasparoza was already close to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gotti" target="_blank">Gotti family</a> and involved in several projects with John Gotti Jr. “I had met Damien briefly at one of John Gotti III’s MMA fights, last May,” Kasparoza says. Right around that time he was receiving threats due to his work on the docu-series he’s producing with Gotti Jr. titled Witsec Mafia.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237123464,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237123464?profile=original" /></a><em>Photo: John Gotti Junior (in white Adidas tracksuit), David "Chicky" Cecchetelli on the right, Damien Trites standing above Chicky with Chris Kasparoza standing next to him.</em></p>
<p>“Mob rat <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-rat-john-alite-got-beat-up-at-a-strip-club" target="_blank">John Alite</a> was trying to silence me, and us, from revealing Alite’s despicable activity in Witsec Mafia by having people threaten my family. One of these individuals he had try to scare me, it turned out, after I did an investigation, was apparently, allegedly, a pedophile,” Kasparoza explains.</p>
<p>“Yet <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Alite" target="_blank">Alite</a> was still posting that he had been good friends with this scumbag for decades and that he wanted him to go into schools and talk to kids with him. Even though he had recently been arrested on charges alleging that he uploaded child porn to the internet, had previously been arrested on charges alleging that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old, and that he even pleaded guilty to sending naked pictures of a teacher to the school where she worked,” Kasparoza says with disgust.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-rat-john-alite-got-beat-up-at-a-strip-club" target="_blank"><strong>Mob rat John Alite got beat up at a strip club</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>“It’s a long story, but at one point this guy tried to scare me by implying that he was going to get wiseguys from Philadelphia to come after me in addition to another group accused by the government of being a criminal organization, saying he could start ‘World War 3.’ Which was how I got to know Damien. Someone told me Damien had ties to this other group, so, even though I highly doubted that any respectable group of criminals would back a mob rat and an alleged crackhead pedophile, I still reached out to him about it, and we became friends as a result. I met Chicky through him shortly after.”</p>
<p>As for the guy who threatened him and his family: “Again, it’s a long story, but when I was ready, I called his bluff,” Kasparoza says. “Then he folded like the punk fraud he really is. I mean, it was so disturbing it was almost funny. When I reached out to people in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Philadelphia" target="_blank">Philadelphia</a> to ask about him, they already knew all about him. It wasn’t the first time he had dropped names or had his bluff called. But it is pretty disgusting that Alite’s handlers know he’s associating with pedophiles and they’re still allowing him to masquerade as a motivational speaker for at risk children.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Taking the world of YouTube & podcasts by storm</strong></span></p>
<p>And the three men never looked back. “Damien started me in the crazy world of social media,” Chicky tells us. “Chris was a great meet through Damien and the Gottis and we all clicked straight away, we were a great fit.”</p>
<p>Trites and Cecchetelli were already making funny videos and trying out some stuff online. “When Chris came on board, we were full circle,” Trites adds.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237124855,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237124855?profile=original" /></a><em>Photo: Damien Trites and David "Chicky" Cecchetelli</em></p>
<p>“Sometime last summer or fall we started talking about working on a documentary together,” Kasparoza says. “We also spoke about at some point I would come up to Springfield and shoot some YouTube stuff. I had been wanting to grab a piece of that YouTube dollar for some time now and figured I’d just go up there and shoot some stuff for my own channel. As we got closer to me going up there from New York we had been speaking and I said I’d help him and Chicky set up their own channel also. We’d fuck around and shoot video for a few days.”</p>
<p>Kasparoza: “Then on a whim as we’re at my hotel, Damien says he wants to do an acting scene. He goes outside and walks back in and does improv with Chicky, playing gangsters. In a matter of seconds, literally, I could see how there was a whole other side to this. How talented these guys are. As soon as they finished the scene, I put my coat on and said let’s go outside and shoot more. Towards the end of my stay, they asked me to be a partner with them in the channel and I happily agreed.”</p>
<p>That channel is <a href="http://www.damienandchicky.com" target="_blank">www.damienandchicky.com</a> and it’s a place where you’ll find all kinds of videos featuring the MMA fighter and former mobster doing improv acting scenes, busting balls, interviews, pranks, tours through strange neighborhoods, even book reviews and questionable cooking lessons.</p>
<p>“We’re just looking to create great content, which includes a Damien and Chicky Podcast, and some other endeavors,” Kasparoza says. “They’re set to appear in another project <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gotti" target="_blank">John Gotti</a> is producing, but we can’t talk about that right now. However, on the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Podcast" target="_blank">podcast</a>, which I am really excited about, they’ll cover MMA fights, doing so from both a fighter’s perspective as well as that of a bookmaker’s.”</p>
<p>Their new business suits them. “I go to work and don’t have to look over my shoulder and you know what? I don’t have the money anymore, but I’m happier” Trites admits. “With the right people around me I will get rich legitimately so fuck that, I’m on a new vibe for 2019. We want to make people smile and leave our mark and give back. We want to help motivate people and inspire them to change.”</p>
<p>“We just want to enjoy life and laugh,” Chicky adds. “I hope our YouTube channel will show that.”</p>
<p><strong><em>For more on Damien & Chicky visit their YouTube channel at <a href="http://www.damienandchicky.com">www.damienandchicky.com</a> or follow them on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/DamienandChicky" target="_blank">Instagram.com/DamienandChicky</a>. To learn more about Chris Kasparoza go to <a href="http://www.Kasparoza.com" target="_blank">Kasparoza.com</a>, and to stay up to date about the docu-series he is producing with John A. Gotti visit <a href="http://www.WitsecMafia.com" target="_blank">WitsecMafia.com</a>.</em></strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Trafficking drugs and dismembering bodies with the Graewe brothers, associates of the Cleveland Mafia
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/trafficking-drugs-and-dismembering-bodies-with-the-graewe-brother
2019-03-21T18:55:56.000Z
2019-03-21T18:55:56.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/trafficking-drugs-and-dismembering-bodies-with-the-graewe-brother" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237122300,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237122300?profile=original" /></a>By Robert Sberna</p>
<p>The recent death of Frederick “Fritz” Graewe (photo above), a feared mob associate in Cleveland, Ohio, shows that it’s possible to live by the sword but not die by the sword. Graewe, 66, seemingly enjoyed a peaceful suburban lifestyle until passing away of natural causes in February. He had been at home since 1992, when he was released from prison after serving 10 years of a 42-year sentence for mob-related activities. </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Making a killing</strong></span></p>
<p>Frederick, along with his brother, Hartmut, were key figures in a $15 million-a-year drug ring during the 1970s and early 1980s. As enforcers for the ring, the Graewes doggedly protected and expanded their high-stakes business. According to law enforcement documents, they were responsible for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murders</a> of a half-dozen mobster rivals and police informers.</p>
<p>In his post-prison years, Frederick had eschewed crime, turning his attention instead to more mundane pursuits. According to his Cleveland Plain Dealer obituary, he was an artist and he enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening and spending time with his family. </p>
<p>Despite the tranquility of Frederick’s golden years, it would be difficult to overlook his colorful past.</p>
<p>Frederick and Hartmut (known as “Hans the Surgeon” for his affinity for dismembering his victims) were known as merciless killers, whether in protection of their drug turf or as hired guns. As testament to their skills, efficiency and discretion, the German-born <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Graewes" target="_blank">Graewes</a> were closely associated with both the Italian and Irish mob factions in Cleveland--two groups that were locked in a bitter fight over <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cleveland" target="_blank">Cleveland</a>’s rackets.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>War profiteers</strong></span></p>
<p>From 1976 to 1982, Cleveland’s underworld was in turmoil, trigged by the unexpected death of long-time <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Scalish" target="_blank">John Scalish</a>. Because he hadn’t formally named a successor, Scalish left a leadership void that triggered a bloody war between the established Mafia, led by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Licavoli" target="_blank">James “Jack White” Licavoli</a>; and the Irish gang, headed by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Greene" target="_blank">Danny Greene</a>, a cocky former longshoreman.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-uneasy-accord-of-a-mobster-and-a-cop-in-cleveland-ohio-in-the" target="_blank"><strong>The Uneasy Accord of Mobster Danny Greene and a Cop</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Greene began his career on the docks as a worker and a tenacious labor organizer. Eventually, he muscled his way into the presidency of the local longshoremen’s union. Intensely proud of his Celtic heritage, he wore green jackets, drove a green Cadillac and often handed out green pens to strangers. Shortly after Green was elected longshoremen president, he had the union office painted green and he installed plush green carpeting.</p>
<p>Dozens of underworld figures were killed during the Italian-Irish mob war, oftentimes by car bombing. In fact, the deadly explosions were so prevalent that federal authorities nicknamed Cleveland <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-uneasy-accord-of-a-mobster-and-a-cop-in-cleveland-ohio-in-the" target="_blank">“Bomb City, U.S.A.”</a> in 1976.</p>
<p>The gangland conflict ended on Oct. 6, 1977 when Greene was killed by a car bomb after leaving his dentist’s office. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>-orchestrated explosion tore Greene’s clothing from his body, except for his brown zip-up boots. According to a police report, his left arm was ripped off and thrown 90 feet from the blast. A gold ring with five green stones remained on his finger.</p>
<p>The brothers Graewe not only survived the Italian-Irish conflict, they thrived—primarily by maintaining neutrality and also by earning millions in profits for their various gangland colleagues. The Graewes’ main criminal enterprises were drug trafficking and freelance killings. At some point, they combined those interests and focused their activities on bumping off drug dealers and stealing their stashes. </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Falling down</strong></span></p>
<p>The Graewes crime spree came to an end in 1982 when they were indicted for murder, narcotics distribution and gambling. Indicted with them were Kevin McTaggart, who was a nephew and lieutenant of Danny Greene; Cleveland Mafia capo Joseph Gallo; and Mafia acting boss Angelo “Big Ange” Lonardo, who financed the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug ring</a>.</p>
<p>At their 1983 federal trial, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Zagaria" target="_blank">Carmen Zagaria</a>, a close associate of the Graewes who had turned government witness, provided chilling testimony about the brothers to the spellbound jury. Zagaria, who coordinated the drug ring and served as an intermediary between the Mafia and the Graewes, noted that the drug operation at one time supplied 40 percent of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> distributed in Cleveland.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-italian-mafia-irish-gangs-chinese-tongs-bootleggers-gamblers" target="_blank">The Italian Mafia, Irish gangs, Chinese Tongs</a>: Welcome to Gangland Boston</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Murders became commonplace for Zagaria and his cohorts. At first, they killed to avenge wrongdoings and to silence suspected rats. Other murders were motivated by greed: If they believed a fellow drug dealer was vulnerable, it’s likely he would be bumped off.</p>
<p>In one situation, Zagaria heard that a competitor named David Hardwicke was trying to sell a kilogram of cocaine in the Cleveland area. At a meeting between Zagaria, the Graewes and McTaggart, the crew decided to steal the kilogram (worth about $40,000 in today’s dollars) and kill Hardwicke. He was lured into a car where Frederick Graewe used a coathanger to strangle him. Hardwicke’s cocaine was sold and the proceeds split among the murder participants. Later, one of Hardwicke’s former drug partners gave Zagaria a $5000 discount on a kilo of cocaine for his service in disposing of Hardwicke.</p>
<p>By 1980, the Graewes and Zagaria had become so emboldened that they were unafraid to rip off and murder their principal drug suppliers—even men who had strong Mafia connections. One of those victims, Florida-based Joseph Giaimo, supplied large amounts of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Marijuana" target="_blank">marijuana</a>, cocaine and Quaaludes to Zagaria’s crew and other distributors. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/don-king-from-street-thug-to-street-name" target="_blank"><strong>Don King: From street thug to street name?</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p> In early January 1981, they arranged to purchase a ton of marijuana from Giaimo. Runners were sent to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Florida" target="_blank">Florida</a> to pick up the drugs. Two weeks later, Giaimo traveled to Cleveland to get his money. He was instructed to meet Zagaria and the Graewes at Zagaria’s pet fish store on Cleveland’s west side.</p>
<p>At the store, he was shot twice in the back of the head by Frederick Graewe. His body was bricked into a basement wall of the pet store, then later dumped in a quarry pond.</p>
<p>After Giaimo was missing for a week, representatives of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Miami" target="_blank">Miami</a>, New York and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Mafia</a> came to Cleveland to talk to local mob leaders. Because Giaimo was one of the mob’s largest narcotics conduits in the Southern U.S., his disappearance was a serious concern. The out-of-towners also talked to Zagaria, who was able to convince them that Giaimo had not been seen in Cleveland.</p>
<p>The Giaimo rip-off netted $500,000 ($1.5 million in current dollars) for Zagaria, the Graewes, and their associates.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Bring me my surgical tools”</strong></span></p>
<p>At one point in the Graewes’ trial, Zagaria’s testimony brought horrified gasps from the courtroom when he revealed gruesome details of the murder of William Bostic, a mob affiliate.</p>
<p>Bostic, who was suspected of stealing from a gambling operation run by Zagaria and the Graewes, was lured to Zagaria’s pet store in June 1980. He was then shot twice in the head by McTaggart and taken to the store’s basement. Later, Zagaria said he saw Hartmut bending over Bostic’s body.</p>
<p>In testimony recounted by the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, Zagaria said that Hartmut told Frederick to bring him his “surgical tools,” a meat cleaver 18 to 20 inches long and a knife with a 20-inch blade. Hartmut used the cleaver to chop off Bostic’s left hand. He then went upstairs where the other men were gathered and asked, “You guys want to see a turkey? I took off his helmet and gloves” (meaning his head and hands). Hartmut then said, “I learned you can’t chop off a man’s head from the back, you have to flip him over and slit his throat.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mobster-and-brother-of-youngstown-mafia-boss-dies" target="_blank"><strong>Ohio mobster and brother of Youngstown Mafia boss dies</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>While Hartmut joked about being sued for malpractice, the men loaded Bostic’s headless body into the Graewes’ Volkswagen, dubbed the “Ambulance.” Zagaria then testified: “Hans grabbed my hand, stuck it in a bucket (which contained Bostic’s hands) and said, ‘Carmen, why don’t you shake hands with your friend before he leaves.’”</p>
<p>Zagaria recalled that his hand touched one of Bostic’s hands and he quickly drew his own hand out of the bucket. Bostic’s body was dumped in a rural area, and his head and hands were thrown in a swamp.</p>
<p>Several days after Bostic’s murder, his family notified police that he was missing. Police searched Hartmut Graewe’s residence and found a ring and watch worn by Bostic on the last day he was seen.</p>
<p>Two years later, the Graewes and their confederates would be arrested, bringing an end to an immensely profitable criminal enterprise. Frederick is now gone, as is Angelo Lonardo, who died in 2006. In 1985, Lonardo flipped, becoming the first sitting Mafia boss to cooperate with the government. Gallo died in prison in 2013. Harmut Graewe and Kevin McTaggart are serving life sentences, with Graewe in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, and McTaggart in a federal facility in Milan, Michigan. </p>
<p><em><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Sberna" target="_blank">Robert Sberna</a> is a Cleveland-based journalist who contributes to several national publications. His first book, House of Horrors: The Shocking True Story of Anthony Sowell, was named 2012 True Crime “Book of the Year” by Foreword Reviews. His most recent book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Badge-387-Simone-Americas-Decorated/dp/1726605639/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J8M6HWK4QZSYTMGVM50K" target="_blank">Badge 387</a>: The Jim Simone Story, was released in August 2016. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.robertsberna.com" target="_blank">www.robertsberna.com</a><br /> </em></p>
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Gambino family mobster charged with treacherous murder and robbery of his dear 78-year-old friend
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gambino-family-mobster-charged-with-treacherous-murder-and-robber
2019-03-16T02:30:00.000Z
2019-03-16T02:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-family-mobster-charged-with-treacherous-murder-and-robber" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237112491,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237112491?profile=original" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Greed kills more people than cancer, the street saying goes. It is especially true in the murder of Vincent Zito, prosecutors say. They arrested 59-year-old Anthony Pandrella, an alleged associate of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino crime family</a> in New York, on Wednesday and charged him with the robbery and murder of his 78-year-old friend.</p>
<p>Prosecutors claim that Pandrella met with Zito, a friend of many years, in Zito’s home on October 26, 2018. While there, he shot Zito in the back of the head at close range, and stole the assets of Zito’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a> business. Pandrella then cleaned up evidence that might link him to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murder</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Gambino Mafia family boss</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-mafia-family-boss-frank-cali-shot-dead-in-front-of-his-st" target="_blank"><strong>Frank Cali shot dead in front of his Staten Island mansion</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Astonishingly, later that same day, Pandrella returned to Zito’s home and met with his family, friends and relatives. In between the crying and sorrow, he tried to learn the status of law enforcement’s investigation.</p>
<p>Security camera footage caught Pandrella coming to and going from Zito’s residence at the time of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Robbery" target="_blank">robbery</a> and murder. Additionally, investigators recovered his <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=DNA" target="_blank">DNA</a> from the trigger of the murder weapon.</p>
<p>“An associate of the Gambino crime family allegedly shoots his friend in the back of the head, returns to the home to visit with the family and then thinks he can dispose of the evidence of the crime,” <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney told reporters. “It takes a certain type of evil to murder a friend in their own home, and then console the grieving relatives.”</p>
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High-ranking Bloods gangster arrested for organizing murder of Bonanno family mobster - At behest of Albanian Mob?
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/high-ranking-bloods-gangster-arrested-for-organizing-murder-of-bo
2018-10-12T19:16:37.000Z
2018-10-12T19:16:37.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/high-ranking-bloods-gangster-arrested-for-organizing-murder-of-bo" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237105292,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237105292?profile=original" width="550" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>New York’s melting pot of an underworld has erupted into a violent volcano with the city’s Bonanno crime family and the Bloods street gang involved in a deadly dance that resulted in the murder of Mafia associate Sylvester Zottola at a McDonald’s drive through in The Bronx last week.</p>
<p>Federal prosecutors charged 34-year-old Bushawn Shelton (photo above) yesterday with federal conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and brandishing a firearm. He allegedly organized the attempted murder of Salvatore Zottola this summer and the killing of Salvatore’s father <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-at-the-drive-thru-bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-the-head" target="_blank">Sylvester on October 4th</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-at-the-drive-thru-bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-the-head" target="_blank">Murder at the Drive-Thru</a>:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-at-the-drive-thru-bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-the-head" target="_blank"><strong>Bonanno mobster shot in head while getting coffee at McDonald's</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Shelton is described as a high-ranking member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bloods" target="_blank">Bloods gang</a>. According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/nyregion/bronx-assassination-mafia-arrest.html" target="_blank">the New York Times</a>, investigators found $45,000 in cash and loaded guns inside his <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brooklyn" target="_blank">Brooklyn</a> apartment.</p>
<p>Authorities believe he acted as middle-man in a murder-for-hire plot that went on for several months as hitmen hunted father and son Zottola. Investigators caught a break when one of the hitmen flipped and began cooperating with authorities against Shelton.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>WATCH & READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-front-of-his-bronx-mansion-salvato" target="_blank"><strong>Video shows how Bonanno family gangster is shot in front of his Bronx mansion</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>At this point, that is where the buck stops: Bloods gang boss Shelton was hunting two known associates of New York’s infamous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno Mafia family</a>, wounding one and killing another. Exactly why Shelton had such animosity towards the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Zottola" target="_blank">Zottolas</a> remains unclear. It also remains a mystery whether he had any kind of business relationship with them.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/nyregion/bronx-assassination-mafia-arrest.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> found that sworn testimony indicated that the case originated from the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a>’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Balkan" target="_blank">Balkan</a> and Middle Eastern organized crime squad. In combination with the murder-for-hire charge brought against Shelton, this could mean that the individual(s) behind this murder plot fall under that umbrella. In New York, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Albania" target="_blank">Albanian Mob</a> has a long and notorious presence, making its members prime suspects.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/an-introduction-to-the-new" target="_blank"><strong>An introduction to the New York Albanian Mob</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>With Shelton behind bars facing serious charges chances of uncovering a massive conspiracy involving the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in" target="_blank">Italian Mafia</a>, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bloods" target="_blank">Bloods street gang</a>, and a mysterious third party have increased exponentially.</p>
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Murder at the Drive-Thru: Bonanno family mobster shot in the head while getting coffee at McDonald’s
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/murder-at-the-drive-thru-bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-the-head
2018-10-05T09:30:00.000Z
2018-10-05T09:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-at-the-drive-thru-bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-the-head" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237105477,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237105477?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Sylvester Zottola had problems. The Bonanno family mobster was beefing with someone and that person was intent on murdering him over it. After surviving several attempts on his life, Zottola’s number was finally up on yesterday evening when an assassin shot him dead while he waited for his coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru in the Bronx.</p>
<p>One medium coffee at a McDonald’s on Webster Avenue in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bronx" target="_blank">the Bronx</a> was the last order 71-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Zottola" target="_blank">Sylvester Zottola</a> got to place in his life. He didn’t even get to enjoy it. While he waited in his SUV around 5 p.m., another car pulled up and blocked his escape. A man got out and fired five closely placed shots through the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bonanno" target="_blank">Bonanno</a> gangster’s car window.</p>
<p>Zottola was hit in the head, chest and shoulder and was pronounced dead on the scene. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Hitman" target="_blank">hitman</a> escaped and police have not made any arrest thus far.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237106088,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237106088?profile=original" width="600" /></a><em>Closely placed bullet holes show gunman's precision</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Like Father Like Son</strong></span></p>
<p>In July, Sylvester’s son was the target and victim of a gangland hit when a gunman fired several shots at him from close range in front of his family home. The whole murder attempt was <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-front-of-his-bronx-mansion-salvato" target="_blank">caught on video</a>. 41-year-old Salvatore Zottola was hit by multiple bullets but miraculously survived the assassination attempt.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>WATCH & READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-front-of-his-bronx-mansion-salvato" target="_blank"><strong>Video shows how Bonanno family gangster is shot in front of his Bronx mansion</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>As is custom for those involved with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in" target="_blank">American Mafia</a>, Salvatore refused to talk to police after the incident.</p>
<p>The attempt on Salvatore’s life was seen by investigators as a message to Sylvester, who himself survived three attacks in the past year. He was beaten over the head with a club outside his Bronx residence in September of 2017, threatened by a gunman who tried to get in his car a few months later, and stabbed in the neck by a burglar who had invaded his home.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237106289,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237106289?profile=original" width="600" /></a><em>Sylvester Zottola (left) with Bonanno crime family leader Vincent Basciano (right)</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Murder Motive</strong></span></p>
<p>Though it remains unclear why someone wanted Sylvester Zottola dead, it is believed there is a link between these gangland-style attacks and his position as an associate of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">New York’s Bonanno crime family</a>. He had close ties to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Basciano" target="_blank">Vincent Basciano</a>, who was the family’s boss in the 2000s and is currently imprisoned for life for murder and racketeering.</p>
<p>Court documents show father and son Zottola supplied and serviced <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">Joker Poker machines</a> to businesses controlled by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> during the 1990s and 2000s with their company D.A.Z. Amusements. Sylvester Zottola’s nickname was “Sally Daz”.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/high-ranking-bloods-gangster-arrested-for-organizing-murder-of-bo"><strong>Bloods gangster arrested for organizing murder of Bonanno mobster</strong></a></p>
<ul>
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New York Lucchese Mafia family hitman pleads guilty to attempted murder of Bonanno family mobster
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/new-york-lucchese-mafia-family-hitman-pleads-guilty-to-attempted
2018-09-16T16:32:51.000Z
2018-09-16T16:32:51.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-lucchese-mafia-family-hitman-pleads-guilty-to-attempted" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237109257,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237109257?profile=original" width="499" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>It’s the sort of vendetta violence the American Mafia is known for. After a Bonanno family mobster insulted a leader of the Lucchese family, the boss ordered his death. On Friday, the hitman who was handed the murder contract admitted his guilt in the plot.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese crime family</a> associate Vincent Bruno pleaded guilty to attempting to kill, and conspiring to kill, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bronx" target="_blank">Bronx</a> man in 2012. The counts carry a maximum sentence of 15 years for the 34-year-old mobster, who will do his time.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-s-lucchese-mafia-family-deadly-as-ever-in-2017-prosecuto" target="_blank"><strong>Lucchese Mafia family deadly as ever in 2017</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Disrespecting a Mafia boss</strong></span></p>
<p>The murder plot occurred in 2012, when armed mobsters of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> forced their way into a Bronx social club controlled by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Lucchese" target="_blank">Lucchese family</a>. During the ensuing confrontation, one of the Bonanno family associates acted in a manner that <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-acting-boss-steven" target="_blank">Steven Crea</a> (photo above), a leader of the Lucchese family, perceived as a personal affront.</p>
<p>To restore his honor and avenge this act of disrespect, Crea ordered his son, Steven D. Crea Junior, to have the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bonanno" target="_blank">Bonanno</a> gangster whacked. Crea Jr. passed the order to Paul “Paulie Roast Beef” Cassano Jr. and Bruno.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-family-mobster-planned-to-escape-from-metropolitan-deten" target="_blank"><strong>Lucchese mobster planned to escape from Detention Center in Manhattan</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>One night, both men travelled to the Bonanno associate’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bronx" target="_blank">Bronx</a> residence. There Bruno, armed with a gun, tried to find and kill him, but failed. The dispute between the rival families was then resolved before the murder was carried out.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Indicted</strong></span></p>
<p>Lucchese family boss Steven Crea Sr., his son, Bruno, Cassano, and fifteen other leaders, captains, members, and associates of the Lucchese family were <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-s-lucchese-mafia-family-deadly-as-ever-in-2017-prosecuto" target="_blank">arrested and charged</a> in a nine-count indictment in May of 2017, for their involvement in offenses including racketeering, murder, attempted murder, narcotics trafficking, and gun crimes. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Hanging with hitmen and Eddie Murphy:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-family-capo-fat-pete-chiodo" target="_blank"><strong>Profile of Lucchese capo "Fat Pete" Chiodo</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Since the unsealing of the Indictment, Bruno, Cassano and eight other defendants have pled guilty, and have been or will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel. Father and son Crea are also charged with attempting to have the Bonanno mobster killed along with various other crimes and are scheduled to begin trial in 2019.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Stand-up</strong></span></p>
<p>The Creas won’t find Bruno standing across from them in the courtroom, however. He pleaded guilty and will do his time. Something worth noting in this day and age. It’s sobering to know some Mafiosi will still accept punishment for their crimes.</p>
<p>He now serves as a warning to others who refuse to cooperate. “Bruno’s attempt to murder a man at the behest of his mob superiors has ended where it should: With Bruno behind bars,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said. “We will continue to work with the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> and our other partners in law enforcement to stamp out the remnants of La Cosa Nostra.”</p>
<ul>
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Loyal Genovese family mobster guilty of crime and will do his time, all 25 years
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/loyal-genovese-family-mobster-guilty-of-crime-and-will-do-his-tim
2018-08-17T03:30:00.000Z
2018-08-17T03:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/loyal-genovese-family-mobster-guilty-of-crime-and-will-do-his-tim" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237107098,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237107098?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>He was convicted of a crime and he’s doing the time. Genovese crime family mobster Salvatore Delligatti (photo above) had previously been found guilty of racketeering and murder conspiracy charges and today was sentenced to 25 years in prison.</p>
<p>When facing such a harsh sentence, guys usually decide to flip to talk their way out of prison. 42-year-old Delligatti, however, is different. As an associate of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">New York’s Genovese Mafia family</a>, Delligatti had spent several years immersed in the world of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>. At least five years at the moment of his arrest in 2015, prosecutors allege.</p>
<p>During this period, he conspired with fellow mobsters to “participate in and conduct the affairs of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Genovese" target="_blank">Genovese family</a> through a pattern of racketeering activity that included a murder conspiracy, an <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> conspiracy, and the operation of an illegal sports betting business.” The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling business</a> Delligatti was involved in was big and took bets from gamblers in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Manhattan" target="_blank">Manhattan</a> and Queens, while using an offshore wire room.</p>
<p>He was even down to commit <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murder</a>. In May and June of 2014, Delligatti hired several individuals from the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bronx" target="_blank">Bronx</a> to ambush an intended victim outside his home in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Queens" target="_blank">Queens</a>. Delligatti offered to pay the would-be assassins several thousand dollars for the murder, and provided them with, among other things, a loaded .38 caliber revolver and a getaway vehicle. </p>
<p>Unbeknownst to Delligatti, he was wiretapped by the Nassau County Police Department and the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, and the hired hitmen were apprehended just a few blocks from the intended victim’s residence on June 8, 2014.</p>
<p>Caught red handed, Delligatti will now stay loyal to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>. Doing the time he earned with his crime. It’s part of that life. He knows it and continues to live it.</p>
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Genovese family mobster charged in 1997 murder-for-hire in Yonkers
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/genovese-family-mobster-charged-in-1997-murder-for-hire-in-yonker
2018-08-04T07:20:34.000Z
2018-08-04T07:20:34.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-family-mobster-charged-in-1997-murder-for-hire-in-yonker" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237115699,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237115699?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>A member of the Genovese crime family has been charged with a 1997 murder-for-hire. 61-year-old John Tortora Jr. was arrested Thursday morning in Yonkers by FBI agents and Yonkers PD detectives for his alleged role in the death of Richard Ortiz. </p>
<p>29-year-old Ortiz was stabbed to death in Yonkers on November 11, 1997. At that time Tortora was an alleged associate of New York’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese family</a> and looking to work his way up. According to the indictment, he was involved “a wide range of crimes, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murder</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">narcotics trafficking</a>.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Profile of</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-genovese-family-underboss-venero-mangano" target="_blank"><strong>Genovese family underboss Venero "Benny Eggs" Mangano</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>In particular, prosecutors claim, the rising mobster nicknamed “Johnny T.” hired others to kill Ortiz in order to further the goals of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Genovese" target="_blank">Genovese family</a>, resulting in Ortiz being brutally stabbed multiple times, causing his death.</p>
<p>Ortiz was working as a police informant and “was drinking inside the Mill Tavern […] when he got into an argument with men inside the bar. The argument moved outside, escalated and Ortiz was stabbed multiple times in the stomach and left for dead under a Saw Mill River Parkway underpass less than 100 feet away,” the <a href="https://eu.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2018/08/02/fbi-makes-arrest-21-year-old-yonkers-mob-hit/891949002/" target="_blank">Rockland/Westchester Journal News</a> reported.</p>
<p>Tortora is charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering, and murder for hire. He faces life in prison and the death penalty if found guilty.</p>
<p>Tortora’s lawyer, Murray Richman, told the <a href="https://eu.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2018/08/02/fbi-makes-arrest-21-year-old-yonkers-mob-hit/891949002/" target="_blank">Rockland/Westchester Journal News</a> that his client “unequivocally denies the allegations.” Adding: “He did not know this young man. He did not order him killed or do it himself or have anything to do with it. Apparently the government has acquired a person who, maybe to benefit himself, has cast aspersions on my client.”</p>
<p>“The arrest of John Tortora should remind everyone that justice delayed is not justice denied,” <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said. “Whether a crime was allegedly committed decades ago or just days ago, the FBI will maintain the same tenacity and we will be relentless toward ensuring those who commit violent crimes be held accountable for their actions. The FBI New York Office never does these investigations alone, and we want to thank the Yonkers Police Department for their help in successfully solving a case from more than 20 years ago.”</p>
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VIDEO: Bonanno family mobster shot in front of his Bronx mansion – Salvatore Zottola in critical condition
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-front-of-his-bronx-mansion-salvato
2018-07-14T07:30:00.000Z
2018-07-14T07:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-front-of-his-bronx-mansion-salvato" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237109082,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237109082?profile=original" width="539" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>An alleged associate of New York’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> was shot by an unknown hitman in front of his mansion in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bronx" target="_blank">Bronx</a>. Bullets hit 41-year-old Salvatore Zottola in his torso and left hand. He also suffered graze wounds to his head.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Murder at the Drive-Thru:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-at-the-drive-thru-bonanno-family-mobster-shot-in-the-head" target="_blank"><strong>Sylvester Zottola shot in the head while getting coffee at McDonald's</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The hit attempt occurred on Wednesday morning and was caught on camera. The video below shows how Zottola is about to get into his minivan when a dark-colored Nissan Sedan drives by. Inside, a man in the passenger seat fires several shots at the mob associate.</p>
<p>Trying to evade the gunfire, Zottola can be seen rolling away from the gunshots until he is behind his van. The car with his assailants then stops and the gunman - described as a black man wearing a light-colored cap, black hooded sweatshirt and white sneakers - gets out, running to where Zottola is crouched, firing several more shots from close range as Zottola makes another attempt at dodging bullets by rolling away.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9ugSjF7geMs?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe></p>
<p>Though it may have seemed futile, Zottola’s desperate maneuvers helped him survive the professional, cold-blooded assassination. He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center where he currently is in critical but stable condition.</p>
<p>Zottola’s family is said to own three luxurious houses in the upper-class Bronx neighborhood, near a yacht club and a marina. The large mansion sports a large Z-logo atop of its façade. A sign with the quote: “Our walls are built thick our love for each is thicker” can be seen as well. Another home has a sign with the saying: “Our foundation is built from love our strength keeps us together.”</p>
<p>Zottola’s 71-year old father, Sylvester, is alleged to have ties to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno family</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Basciano" target="_blank">Vincent Basciano</a>, who is serving a life sentence for racketeering and murder. Sylvester is no stranger to violence either. He reportedly survived a stabbing by burglars last December and was arrested last month for shooting at a man who pulled a gun on him outside his own Bronx home.</p>
<p>Staying true to his <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> affiliation, Salvatore Zottola refuses to cooperate with authorities and will not give them any information about his attackers.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/high-ranking-bloods-gangster-arrested-for-organizing-murder-of-bo"><strong>Bloods gangster arrested for organizing murder of Bonanno mobster</strong></a></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w9LJ0XfnnM8?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
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Mafioso gets over 10 years in prison for cocaine & fentanyl trafficking
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/mafioso-gets-over-10-years-in-prison-for-cocaine-fentanyl-traffic
2018-03-17T01:30:00.000Z
2018-03-17T01:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafioso-gets-over-10-years-in-prison-for-cocaine-fentanyl-traffic" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237100658,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237100658?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Mobster Massimigliano Carfagna was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison on Thursday. He had pleaded guilty to trafficking in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> and the opioid drug <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Fentanyl" target="_blank">fentanyl</a>, a gun charge and a drug importation conspiracy charge, newspaper <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/03/15/burlington-man-sentenced-in-drug-trafficking-case.html" target="_blank">The Star reports</a>.</p>
<p>He was arrested as a result of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">Operation OTremens</a>, an international law enforcement investigation targeting the Todaro crime family based in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Hamilton" target="_blank">Hamilton</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ontario" target="_blank">Ontario</a>, and New York’s Bonanno and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> crime families. Authorities were able to crack the mob crews thanks to one of their own, a made member of the New York <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a>, becoming an informant.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">How Mafia families in NY and Canada</a> continue cooperting in global drug trade</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Carfagna was part of the Hamilton group which was led by 51-year-old Domenico Paolo Violi and his brother Giuseppe Violi. Both men are considered <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> royalty with both their father and grandfather having been leading mob figures. They are scheduled to take their case to trial.</p>
<p>With his guilty plea, Carfagna just made proving their innocence that bit more difficult. As part of his plea deal, Carfagna stated that “between March 1 and October 28, 2016, he and Giuseppe “Joey” Violi of Hamilton agreed to import 200 to 300 kilograms of cocaine into Canada,” <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/03/15/burlington-man-sentenced-in-drug-trafficking-case.html" target="_blank">The Star reports</a>.</p>
<p>“As part of their plan to organize the cocaine shipment, Carfagna and Violi advised the agent that they had sent […] a male associate of Carfagna’s [...] identified as ‘Porkchop,’ to make arrangements to get the cocaine on consignment in Colombia,” the statement reads. </p>
<p><em><strong>For the entire story check out <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/03/15/burlington-man-sentenced-in-drug-trafficking-case.html" target="_blank">Peter Edwards' article in The Star newspaper</a>.</strong></em></p>
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Feds bust mobsters of Gambino and Bonanno crime families – Major disruption of Mafia’s activities on Long Island
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/feds-bust-mobsters-of-gambino-and-bonanno-crime-families-major-di
2017-12-13T16:08:05.000Z
2017-12-13T16:08:05.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/feds-bust-mobsters-of-gambino-and-bonanno-crime-families-major-di" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237094701,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237094701?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Seven New York mobsters were charged yesterday with racketeering conspiracy, including loan sharking, illegal gambling, drug trafficking and obstruction of justice conspiracy. The bust represents “a major disruption of La Costra Nostra’s activities on Long Island,” stated Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Bridget Rohde. </p>
<p>In a long-term joint investigation involving the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a>, the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=ICE" target="_blank">ICE</a>) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, authorities uncovered alleged criminal activities on Long Island, in Brooklyn, and elsewhere committed by alleged Mafia figures. These included six wiseguys of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino crime family</a> and one made member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno family</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>CAPO AND HIS ASSOCIATES</strong></span></p>
<p>According to the indictment, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ambrosio" target="_blank">John “Johnny Boy” Ambrosio</a>, an acting captain in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambino" target="_blank">Gambino family</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Salerno" target="_blank">Frank “Frankie Boy” Salerno</a>, a soldier in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bonanno" target="_blank">Bonanno family</a>, Thomas Anzalone, Alessandro “Sandro” Damelio, Joseph Durso, Anthony Rodolico and Anthony Saladino, associates of the Gambino family were deeply involved in a criminal conspiracy which occurred between January 2014 and December 2017. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: INTERVIEW: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/interview-john-gotti-jr-sits-down-with-gangsters-inc" target="_blank">Former mob boss John Gotti Jr. sits down with Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Alleged Gambino capo Ambrosio ran a lucrative loan sharking operation in which he, Anzalone, Rodolico, Saladino and others extended loans to numerous individuals, often charging exorbitant interest rates, and employed violent collection methods.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“YOU’LL NEVER WALK AGAIN”</strong></span></p>
<p>In an intercepted conversation between Saladino and Anzalone, the two men discussed various “<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> debts,” Saladino stated that he would give a debtor “something to be scared about,” but that he didn’t want “beef” at his “club,” because he is “responsible to John [Ambrosio] for what happens there.” </p>
<p>In that same call, Saladino offered to “fix” another gambling debtor, saying “by the time we’re done… he’s not going to have an office to play anywhere.” In another conversation with Ambrosio, an individual asked for Ambrosio’s help collecting a debt and recounted telling the debtor: “I don’t know if you know who I am and where I come from, but I promise you, you will never walk again.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-american-mafia-bets-on-the-world-and-wins-big" target="_blank">The American Mafia bets on the world and wins big</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Ambrosio and Rodolico also allegedly attempted to obstruct the federal grand jury proceeding into their criminal activities by intimidating a loan shark victim into lying to law enforcement.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>GAMBLING ON ADDICTS</strong></span></p>
<p>Ambrosio also was involved with a variety of gambling operations, including unlicensed gambling parlors, electronic gaming machines and internet and sports betting, with Damelio, Durso, Salerno and Saladino being responsible for many of the day-to-day operations.</p>
<p>In one intercepted call, Ambrosio stated that there was no need to travel to a casino because, “You can play right here” and “save gas money.” A search warrant executed on a storage facility belonging to Saladino yielded several electronic gaming machines and other gambling paraphernalia.</p>
<p>As if loansharking and gambling didn’t bring in enough money, Anzalone, Damelio, Durso, Saladino and Salerno also are alleged to have distributed a variety of narcotics, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Marijuana" target="_blank">marijuana</a> and Xanax. Saladino and Salerno, especially, engaged in the distribution of wholesale quantities of cocaine, including twelve separate sales to an undercover member of law enforcement totaling over half a kilogram.</p>
<p>“From operating an illegitimate casino and an illegal loan shark operation to distributing cocaine and marijuana, the charges against these individuals are stacked,” said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI New York. “We remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners in investigating nefarious criminal organizations like La Cosa Nostra and dismantling their operations.”</p>
<p>As Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Bridget Rohde, stated: “[These] arrests represent a major disruption of La Costra Nostra’s activities on Long Island.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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Operation OTremens: How Mafia families in New York and Canada continue cooperating in global drug trade
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont
2017-11-10T11:37:40.000Z
2017-11-10T11:37:40.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237102100,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237102100?profile=original" width="650" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p><em>“Always the dollars. Always the fuckin' dollars.” – Nicky Santoro, movie Casino</em></p>
<p>Authorities in the United States and Canada arrested a total of thirteen alleged members of the Mafia yesterday for their involvement in a largescale drug trafficking pipeline spanning both countries. Among those arrested are mobsters of New York’s Bonanno and Gambino crime families and the Todaro crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario.</p>
<p>“[This investigation] unearthed and dug up the roots of a partnership extending from New York City to Buffalo and Toronto to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Montreal" target="_blank">Montreal</a>, proving once again that Italian organized crime groups have evolved far beyond the neighborhood cliques of days gone by,” Michael McGarrity of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> told the media.</p>
<p>The takedown is the latest example of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> groups in the United States and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Canada" target="_blank">Canada</a> working together in the lucrative narcotics trade. When dealing with huge sums of cash and tons of drugs it helps to be part of <em>our thing</em>, mobsters can trust one another – or at least, trust that since they are part of the same type of organization that everyone is playing by the same rulebook.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>THE ‘NDRANGHETA IN HAMILTON</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237101896,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237101896?profile=original" width="600" /></a></strong></span>The coordinated investigation called Operation OTremens lasted more than two years and revealed criminal activity spanning the United States and Canada. The mob crew in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Hamilton" target="_blank">Hamilton</a>, Ontario, was especially active in drug trafficking. Nine indivuduals are charged with 75 offences including trafficking in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Fentanyl" target="_blank">fentanyl</a>, carfentanil, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Heroin" target="_blank">heroin</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Meth" target="_blank">methamphetamine</a>, MDMA, MDA, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LSD" target="_blank">LSD</a>.</p>
<p>Undercover operations during this project saw police purchase 6 kilograms of fentanyl and carfentanil over six transactions. These drugs could have been diluted several times, meaning three times the seized drug volume would have been distributed to the streets of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ontario" target="_blank">Ontario</a> today, authorities said.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-canadian-connection-flooding-the-u-s-with-dope" target="_blank">The Canadian Connection: Flooding the U.S. with dope</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>If the dope wasn’t enough, they were also involved in bookmaking and the trafficking of weapons and contraband tobacco. The Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team in Ontario seized over 3,000,000 cigarettes, which represents a loss tax revenue in excess of $550,000.</p>
<p>Two integral members of the Hamilton group are 51-year-old Domenico Paolo Violi (above, left) and his brother Giuseppe Violi (above, right). They are grandsons of the late Giacomo Luppino, who was known to be a founding member of the <em>crimine</em>, a governing body for members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ndrangheta" target="_blank">’Ndrangheta</a> and a longstanding associate of the Buffalo crime family. According to Canadian police the Violis have “an international reach.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>A SNITCH IN THEIR MIDST</strong></span></p>
<p>The takedown was set off when one mobster flipped and began working with the cops. “We had an opportunity to infiltrate some higher level traditional organized crime members,” RCMP Supt. Chris Leather told the media, adding that they had a source “who was respected by traditional organized crime in both Canada and the United States.”</p>
<p>At the same time as authorities in Canada began their investigation into mob activities, the FBI in New York conducted a parallel, but separate investigation into members of the city’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> crime families.</p>
<p>The two were linked when, in 2015, one of the defendants sponsored a confidential informant to become a full-fledged member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> and as part of the investigation, law enforcement secretly video- and audio-recorded the induction ceremony, which occurred in Canada.</p>
<p>With such an insider, authorities had unprecedented access to ongoing criminal activities. Or, as stated by Acting United States Attorney Rohde: “The recording of a secret induction ceremony is an extraordinary achievement for law enforcement and deals a significant blow to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>BUSTING THE NEW YORK BONANNOS & GAMBINOS</strong></span></p>
<p>The results of that blow came yesterday, when 44-year-old Damiano Zummo, an acting captain in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno family</a>; 45-year-old Salvatore Russo, an associate of the Bonanno family; 54-year-old Paul Semplice, a member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a>; and 46-year-old Paul Ragusa, an associate of the Bonanno and Gambino families were arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking, loansharking, extortion, and money laundering.</p>
<p>According to the indictment and other court filings, Zummo was involved in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy with Bonanno associate Salvatore Russo and others introduced by the confidential informant. In one deal, on September 14, 2017, Zummo and Russo sold over a kilogram of cocaine inside a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Manhattan" target="_blank">Manhattan</a> gelato store.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-map-shows-mob-social-clubs-in-new-york" target="_blank">Map shows Mafia social clubs in New York City</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Zummo is also charged with laundering over $250,000 in cash by providing business checks issued to a fictitious consulting company that purported to bill the company for consulting services. The Bonanno capo took a fee of approximately 10 percent for each money laundering transaction.</p>
<p>Gambino soldier Semplice is charged with conducting a loansharking scheme in which he and others extended extortionate loans with interest rates of up to 54% per year. The alleged scheme generated thousands of dollars per week for Semplice and his associates. </p>
<p>Paul Ragusa is charged with being a felon in possession of nine firearms, including three automatic assault rifles and one silencer. He allegedly transported the firearms in exchange for $2,000 in cash.</p>
<p>If convicted, Zummo and Russo each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; Semplice faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment on each of three loansharking charges; and Ragusa faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act. </p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>“A GIANT STEP”</strong></span></p>
<p>“Criminal enterprises, both national and international, contribute to the breakdown of a lawful society,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney. “And yet, the allure of this gangland culture is often embraced and glamorized in movies and on television, where the threats posed to our economic and national security are seldom displayed. Dismantling and disrupting major international and national organized criminal enterprises is a longstanding area of FBI expertise, which is significantly enhanced through collaboration with our law enforcement partners and our Canadian partners. While we have more work to do, this operation is a giant step in the right direction.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/ndrangheta-and-gambino-crime-family-in-global-drug-bust" target="_blank">'Ndrangheta and New York Gambino family in global drug bust</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>“Those who traffic in illicit drugs and participate in other organized crime activities destroy lives and impact the safety and security of our communities, and we will continue to work to eradicate those dangers.” said Michael LeSage, Criminal Operations Officer for the “O” Division RCMP. “Project OTremens demonstrates how the combined efforts and cooperation of law enforcement agencies and other government departments, here and internationally, can work effectively to combat organized crime.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Members of Genovese crime family’s Springfield crew plead guilty to extortion charges
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/mobsters-of-genovese-crime-family-s-springfield-crew-plead-guilty
2017-11-08T01:30:00.000Z
2017-11-08T01:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mobsters-of-genovese-crime-family-s-springfield-crew-plead-guilty" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237093101,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237093101?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Two associates of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese crime family</a>’s crew in Springfield, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to extortion-related charges on Monday. 50-year-old Ralph Santaniello and 54-year-old Giovanni Calabrese admitted to using threats of violence as they sought to collect their <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a> debts.</p>
<p>Both men were arrested and charged in August 2016 along with Gerald Daniele, Francesco Depergola, and Richard Valentini. All men are alleged associates of the New York-based <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese La Cosa Nostra crime family</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-mob-family-turncoat-returns-to-old-stomping-grounds-in-s" target="_blank">Genovese family turncoat returns to Springfield</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The crew engaged in various criminal activities in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Springfield" target="_blank">Springfield</a>, Massachusetts, including loansharking and extorting legitimate and illegitimate businesses, such as illegal gambling businesses and the collection of unlawful debts. They allegedly used violence, exploited their relationship with the New York <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">mob</a>, and implied threats of murder and physical violence to instill fear in their victims.</p>
<p>In 2013, Santaniello, Calabrese, Depergola and Valentini allegedly attempted to extort money from a Springfield businessman. Santaniello assaulted the businessman and threatened to cut off his head and bury his body if he did not comply. Over a period of four months, the businessman paid $20,000 to Santaniello, Calabrese, Depergola and Valentini to protect himself and his business.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese" target="_blank">The Bruno Hit</a>: How the Genovese family's Springfield crew killed itself</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>In addition, during a six-month period in 2015, it is alleged that Daniele extended two extortionate and usurious loans to an individual, and then, along with Santaniello and Calabrese, threatened the individual if he did not make payments on the loans.</p>
<p>Each charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and forfeiture. Their sentencings are scheduled for January 29 and January 30, 2018.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Mob rat John Alite got beat up at a strip club
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/mob-rat-john-alite-got-beat-up-at-a-strip-club
2017-06-06T09:30:00.000Z
2017-06-06T09:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-rat-john-alite-got-beat-up-at-a-strip-club" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237089688,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237089688?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Chris Kasparoza</p>
<p>Ever since mob rat John Alite began his media/defamation tour before the release of his "<em>biography"</em> in January 2015 he’s bragged in interview after interview what a tough guy and accomplished killer he is. He even preaches how he walks the streets of New York by himself without security because he has no fear of retribution.</p>
<p>However, that’s not true:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237090074,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237090074?profile=original" width="620" /></a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237091072,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237091072?profile=original" width="620" /></a><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/judge-to-rule-if-gambino-rat-alite-violated-supervised-release" target="_blank">John Alite</a> has a personal bodyguard — name withheld — who was spotted protecting him at his interviews for <em><a href="https://youtu.be/swR4wY8CTn8" target="_blank">Crime Watch Daily</a></em> and <em><a href="http://nyheder.tv2.dk/krimi/2016-10-13-tjener-kassen-paa-sit-tidligere-liv-jeg-har-nok-draebt-15-16-personer" target="_blank">Crime Does Not Pay?</a></em> who also kept Alite safe during the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BEm4pezGiKH/" target="_blank">filming</a> of his fictional “documentary” about himself which he has the nerve to call <em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1073818976002165&set=pb.100001222195557.-2207520000.1496462168.&type=3&theater" target="_blank">The Perfect Gangster</a></em>, and who appears across Alite’s Instagram and Facebook at all sorts of events making sources ask JohnAliteFacts.com “Why?” as Alite is known to use the “n-word” and other derogatory terms for African Americans (read more about that <a href="http://johnalitefacts.com/rapinggirls/" target="_blank">here</a>). In addition, sources report that John Alite is known to hire off duty law enforcement to do security for him and it’s believed that while filming some of his <em>projects</em> he has had FBI agents stationed nearby.</p>
<p>But, perhaps there’s a legitimate reason for that as multiple sources contacted <a href="http://www.JohnAliteFacts.com" target="_blank">JohnAliteFacts.com</a> in early April reporting an incident at <a href="http://sugardaddysnyc.com/" target="_blank">Sugardaddy’s</a>, a strip club in Queens, New York on the night of Saturday, April 1st.</p>
<p>According to eyewitness reports — and if <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/judge-to-rule-if-gambino-rat-alite-violated-supervised-release" target="_blank">John Alite</a> disputes this, he can always pull the security footage, which for all we know he’s already had law enforcement do — there was a birthday party there that night for an Albanian and Alite apparently thought he would be honored to have him as Alite has been trying to turn himself into an Albanian folk hero and some <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Albania" target="_blank">Albanians</a> seem to be buying it… but, when Alite walked into the party? Feeling safe and secure among his people, as he arrived without his bodyguard? The Albanian approached Alite, who he did not want there and who was not invited, and said: “Why are you here? I don’t know you like that.” And was about to have him thrown out when Alite pleaded to be able to stay, leading the Albanian to allow him to, but under the condition he not join his party and sit on the opposite side of the club.</p>
<p>When, someone from a different party, whose identity is being withheld thought he recognized Alite. He approached him with a big smile, extended his hand and said: “Before I shake your hand, are you John Alite?”</p>
<p>Flattered, Alite replied that he was. He thought he was a fan.</p>
<p>But: he wasn’t. This individual “slapped” Alite with a left, and after Alite fell back a few feet pummeled him with a dizzying array of hard punches.</p>
<p>Stunned, Alite “got his ass handed to him” and ran behind some bouncers, seeking shelter and screaming at them to “Call 911!” as he took out his phone and made calls himself.</p>
<p>Afraid to go out the front door where he might not be safe, Alite ran out the back of the small club to what he thought would be his safety… But, unfortunately for Alite, behind Sugardaddy’s is a canal leading into Newtown Creek/the East River and he was blocked from accessing the street.</p>
<p>Desperate and seemingly fearing for his life, John Alite jumped into this sewage and parasite infested water — some of the dirtiest on the planet — and refused to come out, again shouting at the bouncers to “Call 911!” (he dropped his phone before jumping in).</p>
<p>The bouncers told Alite to come out, but Alite wouldn’t without law enforcement to protect him.</p>
<p>Luckily for John Alite, however, minutes later his uninvited sons also showed up for the birthday party and sources gave the following accounts:</p>
<p>One said that the sons approached the front entrance and introduced themselves like they were welcome, ready to attend the party, but the bouncers told them to get lost, and after they realized what was happening, they threatened to call 911.</p>
<p>Upon further investigation, however, it was revealed that one of the sons got out of the car with his phone in hand telling the bouncers that he had 911 on the line and demanded to know where his father was.</p>
<p>After which, they were brought to the back of the club, by the canal, and Alite finally felt safe enough to come out of the sewage… but, with only one shoe on as the other was lost to the river.</p>
<p>The bouncers put him in their car, they took off, and shortly after the police arrived. Because, according to one source, after Alite dropped his phone as he “leaped into the water scared for his life,” he left it behind after he got in the car, after which this source looked at his phone and saw the last two calls: the first to 911, and right after that another to a “Johnny Jr.,” believed to be Alite’s son.</p>
<p>Which begs the question: Is John Alite so selfish that after calling 911 possibly scared for his life, he called his son to help him, knowing that he’d be putting his son in what he believed was life-threatening danger also?</p>
<p>John Alite more or less confirmed this story after I started asking around about it a week later.</p>
<p>On April 8th I saw on Facebook that Stephen Newell, who testified against Alite as a defense witness at the 2009 Gotti trial and helped expose that Alite had been <a href="http://johnalitefacts.com/chased/" target="_blank">chased out of Queens</a> and his association with the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a> by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/interview-john-gotti-jr-sits-down-with-gangsters-inc" target="_blank">John A. Gotti</a> in 1991 was in the company of Andy Deliana, the director of Alite’s fiction-based, upcoming “documentary.” So, I messaged Newell to ask Deliana if he knew about his star liar getting beat up and running into the water. Which obviously got back to Alite because on April 17th he went on <a href="http://www.theboneonline.com/news/former-mobster-john-alite-the-mike-calta-show/0QJb0qd1jZm7DOLWjb1eMN/?anvt=1314" target="_blank">The Mike Calta Show</a>, mentioned that I was bringing it up, and made the following warped statement, his own fictionalized, fantasized version of the events:</p>
<p>NOTE: I was having trouble embedding the video but to watch his rant <a href="http://www.theboneonline.com/news/former-mobster-john-alite-the-mike-calta-show/0QJb0qd1jZm7DOLWjb1eMN/?anvt=1314" target="_blank">click here</a> and forward to 21:54.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Guys talk about loyalty, it’s a joke. I mean I just had an incident recently at a, at a club, and, this is gonna go on, you know, always. And, I was in, you know, I had a couple of drinks, I was by myself, I was in an industrial area. And you have guys that are Albanian that are you know supposed to be loyal to me, and you know the message I’m sending out, and they’re hanging out with Serbs, which is a, you know a, especially what goes on with Albanians, Serbs and there’s a hero Ramush, that I talk about in Albania all the time that fought the war, that he’s in jail in Paris, and it’s disrespect to guys like him, disrespect to kids we’re trying to help. But, they’re weak guys. I mean the guy took a shot at me, went to, he hit me and he punched me on the blind side. And, this stuff’s gonna happen. I says, and I laugh at it, because, first of all the kid can’t even hit. I mean he should, he should be able to knock me out, and uh, you know he didn’t move me. And you know the next thing is somebody said to me well why didn’t I go outside and finish fighting? They showed up with 8 or 10 guys or whatever. So I said I didn’t have my Superman cape on that day. So I, I took a dive into the water, and uh, you know I said I had my Aquaman suit on. So I made a joke of it because I understand these guys. If they’re real serious guys, if you really want to be a gangster you’ll do what I did. You won’t come in and punch me in the face, you’ll come in and shoot me in the head. Or you’ll come and stab me up… These guys are trying to be something that I already know. If you’re a real guy, I came in the club, I’m gonna walk out the club. You caught me off guard a little bit because I, I don’t really drink, I get sloppy, I was drinking, I was alone. I’m in an industrial park, I’m in Queens… Well you know what I’ll tell you the truth, here’s the thing and you know this… You know, guys know, I walk around I do whatever I feel like doing. I’m really not worried about getting hit, I’m a boxer, I mean it’s almost laughable to get punched, so what… in the ring you’re hit 40, 50 times a day… I grew up like this, and you know, if someone’s gonna kill me, I says let it be. But, guys like the real guys, they just wait for me to come walking out the door. And they do what they need to do, shoot me. They ain’t gonna come in like an amateur and punch me. What are we, 12 years old? So, you know, this is the laughable part of the behavior of guys that are insecure. You turned on your own people. You know, actually after it was done, some of the Italians were making fun of him, saying this is a flunkie that wannabe Italian. So it is laughable, because, you know you’re going against your own people, you’re not even good at what you do. So, you know on a show like this I can tell you I says I’d love to get in a ring with him. And he fights so bad he can bring that Spanish guy he was with. So, I’ll fight the two of them… That’s an open challenge to two guys that can’t fight too well… I just did celebrity boxing… well, I didn’t do it, Junior wouldn’t get in the ring, I asked him.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But, forget that his version of events is nowhere near accurate, as the club has security cameras, and security cameras don’t lie.</p>
<p>During his rant, Alite described the Albanians not being loyal to him, but, sources within the Albanian community alleged that one of the reasons he was not welcome at the party was not just because he testified against alleged members of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in" target="_blank">Italian organized crime</a>, but, because he is believed to be informing on members of Albanian organized crime in present day. In addition: Alite mentioned on The Mike Calta Show and in other appearances that he was a boxer, however, numerous sources who’ve known Alite for decades say they have no recollection of him ever <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Boxing" target="_blank">boxing</a> anyone. But, notice how at the end there he said he asked “Junior” — <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/interview-john-gotti-jr-sits-down-with-gangsters-inc" target="_blank">John A. Gotti</a> — to fight him in a celebrity boxing match? That’s true. On April 14, 2016, he <a href="http://johnalitefacts.com/boxing-challenge/" target="_blank">posted the challenge</a> on Facebook and Instagram and even said that if Gotti wouldn’t fight him he’d fight me instead.</p>
<p>But, after Gotti heard about it? He told me to send him the following message:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“John Gotti wouldn’t wipe his ass with you. You had your chance to be tough 25 years ago when he slapped you and chased your crying ass out of Queens. He would never lower himself and make you more than the dog that you are. You’d blow a horse if it got someone to pay attention to you.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Which I did via email, and Alite replied just one minute later with the following statement:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237090858,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237090858?profile=original" width="520" /></a>“Don’t text me personally ever again this message will be turned over.”</p>
<p>To who? The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a>? Which is made all the more hilarious because two weeks later on a 5/1/2016 podcast Alite admitted that he actually would blow a horse if it got <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gotti" target="_blank">John Gotti</a> to fight him:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x3QGLi-41RA?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I said, I said– Bring me the horse, because I’ll suck the horse’s cock to get him back in the ring with me. That’s what I said. I says, so, if you’ve got the horse, bring him over to me. That’s how bad I want to get him in the ring.”</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read more about that here: <a href="http://johnalitefacts.com/boxing-challenge/" target="_blank">John Alite’s All-Star Boxing Challenge</a>.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>That was not the first time that John Alite got beat up or threatened someone with the FBI or 911, though.</p>
<p>According to multiple eyewitness sources, in early 2015 John Alite walked into a bar in Howard Beach, Queens and approached a local “tough guy.” He said that he heard he was “talking shit” about him and asked the tough guy to step outside. To which he accepted, but after walking outside, he spotted FBI Agents in a car down the block, shook his head, and just walked back inside.</p>
<p>Around the same time, one of Alite’s comrades who had been promoting his book across the internet and was going with Alite to his media appearances, but has since disappeared, signaling a falling out with Alite, like pretty much everyone who comes into his orbit has with him — this individual, who was telling people he was Alite’s cousin, was reportedly getting his nails done in a salon in Howard Beach and bragging about his cousin John Alite, the greatest guy in the world, to one of the workers, when a “tough kid” from the neighborhood overheard him, approached him, and: “bitch-slapped him, and walked out.”</p>
<p>However, several months ago JohnAliteFacts.com <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JohnAliteFacts/photos/a.825660487549876.1073741827.817694198346505/1144245902357998/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">reported on Facebook</a> that a source claimed on the night of September 24th, 2016 John Alite was acting like an obnoxious big shot at <a href="http://www.bestclambar.com/" target="_blank">Cuzin’s Clam Bar</a> in Marlboro, New Jersey when someone recognized who he was and approached him along the lines of: “You’re acting like a big tough guy, but aren’t you that rat?”</p>
<p>Words ensued, one thing lead to another and John Alite threw a punch… but, he got punched right back and a fight broke out. Alite’s friend got up to help him, but then the other guy’s friend intervened and knocked Alite’s friend out cold, and in the end, Alite got his hole broke, and when he came to? He threatened to come back with a bunch of guys… but, he was told it was over. To never come back and never speak about what happened.</p>
<p>Upon further investigation, however, a new story emerged:</p>
<p>That on September 24, 2016 Alite was having dinner with Gambino informants <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-capo-michael" target="_blank">Michael DiLeonardo</a> and Frank Fappiano at the nearby <a href="http://www.firesidegrillandbar.com/" target="_blank">Fireside Grill and Bar</a>, after which, Alite went to Cuzin’s which is just down the road to meet two people, a man and a woman.</p>
<p>But unfortunately for Alite, someone at Cuzin’s knew who he was, did not want him in the place, they got into a fight, and in the end? This individual beat the crap out of John Alite and threw him out.</p>
<p>If he would like to though, as has been stated over and over, John Alite has an open forum at JohnAliteFacts.com to give his side of things, at any time, unfiltered, just as Alite’s quote from The Mike Calta Show is posted above unfiltered. He can also address the claim by a source for JohnAliteFacts.com that after the beating by just one person at Sugardaddy’s he was telling people he was instead assaulted by “seven guys with guns,” which is slightly different than what he said on the radio, that “they showed up with 8 or 10 guys.”</p>
<p>But, last but not least? He can also address the claim that he was telling people he couldn’t come out of the water because people were “shooting bullets” around him into it.</p>
<p>When, again: security cameras don’t lie.</p>
<p><em><strong>Chris Kasparoza is a writer, director, and the author of the novel</strong></em> <strong>For Blood And Loyalty</strong><em><strong>. He is working on the project</strong></em> <strong>Witsec Mafia</strong> <em><strong>with John A. Gotti and Richard Stratton. This article will also be published at <a href="http://JohnAliteFacts.com/StripClub">http://JohnAliteFacts.com/StripClub</a></strong></em> <strong>You can connect with him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Kasparoza" target="_blank">@Kasparoza</a></strong></p>
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Bonanno mobster of Donnie Brasco fame remains behind bars
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/bonanno-family-wiseguy-of-donnie-brasco-fame-remains-behind-bars
2016-10-05T14:18:06.000Z
2016-10-05T14:18:06.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/bonanno-family-wiseguy-of-donnie-brasco-fame-remains-behind-bars"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237065469,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237065469?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Bonanno crime family associate Ronald “Monkey Man” Filocomo’s bid for an early release from prison on compassionate grounds has been shot down by Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis, keeping him locked up for four more years for his involvement in the infamous 1981 murder of capo Sonny Black.</p>
<p>“Mr. Filocomo asserts the fact he is a well-liked prisoner amongst inmates and staff, always friendly and willing to help others,” the mobster wrote from a Miami federal prison, the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklyn-judge-rejects-ill-monkey-man-mobster-plea-article-1.2816333" target="_blank">New York Daily News reported</a>. The request sounded good, if not that such a request must come from the prison warden as well, Garaufis ruled.</p>
<p>66-year-old Filocomo provided the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family">Bonanno family</a> his parents’ home on Staten Island, New York, so they had a place to murder captain Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano. The family leadership decided Sonny Black had to be whacked because he had let jewel thief <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brasco">Donnie Brasco</a> get entrenched within his crew and subsequently the family. It turned out Brasco was an undercover FBI agent named <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Pistone">Joseph Pistone</a>.</p>
<p>Napolitano knew his fate was sealed and walked into the meeting knowing he’d get killed. As he was led into the basement of Filocomo’s parents’ home by Bonanno mobster Frank Lino, he was ready. Downstairs, Filocomo waited with Robert Lino Sr. When Napolitano arrived, he was shot by Robert Lino Sr. But the gun jammed and as he tried to resolve the issue, Napolitano asked his former colleagues to finish him off: “Hit me one more time. Make it good.”</p>
<p>They obliged.</p>
<p>In 2004, Filocomo pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder and murdering Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, a place Filocomo is familiar with. Before he became a wiseguy he had worked as a correctional officer. His resume brought him no love from the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia">Mafia</a> as his previous job made sure he could never become an official member of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN">La Cosa Nostra</a>.</p>
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Profile: Lucchese crime family capo Carmine Avellino
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-capo-carmine-avellino
2016-08-20T13:42:13.000Z
2016-08-20T13:42:13.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-capo-carmine-avellino"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237077880,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237077880?profile=original" width="400" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>The life ain’t what it used to. Just ask Lucchese crime family mobster Carmine Avellino. The aging capo will go to prison because a mob associate refused to pay back the $100,000 he had loaned from Avellino. What the hell has happened to La Cosa Nostra?!</p>
<p>Avellino doesn’t know. When he started out as a gangster, times were very different. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia">Mafia</a> was firmly entrenched in everyday life, it controlled entire industries, not a brick was moved and no garbage was collected without the say so of a mob boss.</p>
<p>A boss like Anthony “Tony Ducks” Corallo, who led the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese crime family</a>, one of five mob families operating in New York. Corallo was deadly, tough, and smart, running his family like any of the various businesses the Mafia controlled or manipulated. He often shared his knowledge and insights with his chauffeur, Salvatore Avellino, Carmine’s older brother.</p>
<p>Besides being Corallo’s driver and an alleged mob captain, Salvatore was also the president of Private Sanitation and ran a multi-million-dollar garbage business called Salem Sanitary Carting Company – He sold his companies in the 1990s for $22 million dollars. In general, you could say, he was responsible for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Lucchese">Lucchese family</a>’s interests in the waste removal industry.</p>
<p>While taking care of mob business, Salvatore took his younger brother Carmine under his wings and schooled him in the ways of the underworld, one in which his brother and the Mafia were prominent players in. With various industries under their firm control they were able to reap huge profits.</p>
<p>But they didn’t do so without breaking some eggs. The Mafia didn’t come to power bearing gifts and flowers, they became top dog by biting to death all the other dogs they deemed a threat, until they were regarded as the true power.</p>
<p>Carmine Avellino was well aware of the violent reputation of the Mafia. He knew he too could be called upon to “<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-mafia-speak">go to work</a>” and “<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-mafia-speak">make his bones</a>,” or in plain English: Participate in a contract murder. </p>
<p>When <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-evil-that-men-do-the">Robert Kubecka and Donald Barstow</a>, two men who ran a private carting firm, refused to bow down to the mob and its garbage hauling cartel, the family sent out a hit team to take care of things.</p>
<p>The Lucchese family was worried about heat from law enforcement interfering with its lucrative garbage business, though, since it was obvious to everyone that the Avellinos had serious problems with Kubecka and Barstow. Because of that it was decided to hand the contract to the crew headed by Anthony Baratta.</p>
<p>Salvatore and Carmine shared all their intelligence on Kubecka and Barstow with Baratta, even driving him around Long Island, showing him where the targets lived and worked. The two honest, hardworking men didn’t stand a chance. On August 10, 1989, both were killed two mob hitmen. The assassins were picked up by Carmine Avellino who was waiting in a getaway car to take them to a safe house.</p>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-evil-that-men-do-the">The Evil That Men Do: The killing of Robert Kubecka & Donald Barstow</a></strong></p>
<p>The murder was eventually solved by law enforcement, though, and all those involved were sent to prison for various crimes. Among them Carmine Avellino, who was locked up until 2004.</p>
<p>When he got out, the underworld was a different place. Where mobsters used to compare themselves to characters from The Godfather movies, now they were yapping about - and actually trying to get bit parts in - HBO’s The Sopranos. But more important than the changes in popular culture were the changes on the streets.</p>
<p>Gone were the days when the mob controlled entire industries. They were lucky if they were able to simply exert some influence within the unions and get a no show job somewhere. And with all the rats informing the FBI of every crime ever committed by any of their former partners-in-crime mobsters were lucky if they were able to stay out on the streets ten years’ tops.</p>
<p>No, the good years were gone.</p>
<p>Carmine Avellino found this out when he loaned a Lucchese family associate $100,000. In the old days, Avellino could expect his money back and then some. A steady income generated from one big loan is how many mobsters made a killer profit.</p>
<p>But that was back in the day. Nowadays guys will pay late or not at all. When Avellino found this out he sent <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mobster-admits-extortion-but-stays-loyal-to-capo">three underlings to threaten</a> the deadbeat associate. Instead of getting his money back, Avellino and his three cronies ended up in handcuffs, charged with extortion.</p>
<p>Many people found the charge a bit weird. If you ask for your own money back, how is that extortion? Avellino probably thought the same thing. What kind of world was he living in? He hadn’t loaned this huge sum to a citizen but to someone involved in <em>the life</em>, someone who knew about the rules they lived by.</p>
<p>Perhaps that is why it took him so long to plead guilty. He did not feel guilty of anything so why plead out? Even after two of the mobsters he ordered to threaten the debtor pleaded guilty, Avellino remained steadfast in his decision to take his case to trial. Until a couple of weeks before it was all scheduled to start.</p>
<p>Sensing the tide had changed and that in this day and age you had to be one very lucky gangster to get a not guilty verdict, the 72-year-old capo pleaded guilty on August 12. He admitted conspiring with his fellow Lucchese mobsters to use “an implied threat of violence based on reputation” to scare the victim into paying.</p>
<p>Avellino faces up to 33 months in prison.</p>
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Lucchese mob family capo gambles on trial
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mob-family-capo-gambles-on-trial
2016-08-04T06:07:04.000Z
2016-08-04T06:07:04.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mob-family-capo-gambles-on-trial"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237072697,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237072697?profile=original" width="400" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese crime family</a> capo Carmine Avellino has turned down a government plea deal and will take his chances in court, the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mobster-threatened-associate-100g-loan-face-jury-article-1.2737485" target="_blank">New York Daily News</a> reported yesterday. Avellino is alleged to have loaned one debtor $100,000 and then ordered his mob associates to threaten him when he didn’t make his payments.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Lucchese">Lucchese family</a> associates in question have already pleaded guilty. Brothers Daniel and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mobster-admits-extortion-but-stays-loyal-to-capo">Michael Capra</a> took their since deceased cousin along for the job. They are now looking at 24 to 30 months in prison.</p>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mobster-admits-extortion-but-stays-loyal-to-capo">Lucchese mobster admits extortion but stays loyal to capo</a></strong></p>
<p>Despite taking the plea deal, the Capra brothers refused to give up any information on Avellino. Michael Capra was asked by prosecutors to give up some information, but claimed he didn’t know anything about a loan being extended by the 72-year-old Mafia captain.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-evil-that-men-do-the">Avellino</a>’s trial is scheduled for August 22 in Brooklyn Federal Court.</p>
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Lucchese mobster admits extortion but stays loyal to capo
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mobster-admits-extortion-but-stays-loyal-to-capo
2016-07-30T09:30:00.000Z
2016-07-30T09:30:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mobster-admits-extortion-but-stays-loyal-to-capo"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237068655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237068655?profile=original" width="427" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese crime family</a> associate Michael Capra (photo above, left) pleaded guilty to extortion. In court, yesterday, the wiseguy admitted that he - along with his brother Daniel and a cousin who has since passed away - threatened to beat up two men who owed the mob money. Capra faces 24 to 30 months behind bars.</p>
<p>The admission must’ve been hard for the 52-year-old mobster as he has been anything but cooperative. Though the crimes occurred in 2010, police did not come looking for Capra until late September of 2013. When they did, it still took “a nearly one-hour standoff with G-men, cops and a police dog outside his Smithtown, Long Island, home” until he surrendered, the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mob-wife-face-time-husband-lied-fbi-article-1.1466607" target="_blank">New York Daily News</a> reported at the time.</p>
<p>But in the end, he pleaded guilty and thus avoided going to trial along with his codefendant and alleged <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese family</a> capo Carmine Avellino (photo above, right), who is the younger brother of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-evil-that-men-do-the">Salvatore Avellino</a>, known best for his role on an <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI">FBI</a> bug as <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Lucchese">Lucchese Mafia</a> boss “Tony Ducks” Corallo’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-evil-that-men-do-the">inquisitive</a> chauffeur.</p>
<p>Prosecutors claim it was 71-year-old Carmine Avellino who ordered Capra and crew to collect the loans. They even tried to get Capra to admit just that when he pleaded guilty on Friday, asking him if “Avellino extended the loans?”</p>
<p>The question caught the tightlipped mobster off guard, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/luchese-mobster-cops-extortion-charge-article-1.2731385" target="_blank">New York Daily News reporter John Marzulli wrote</a>. “To be perfectly honest, I don't have any idea,” Capra answered.</p>
<p>Michael Capra is playing his guilty plea by the book of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN">La Cosa Nostra</a>. He remains silent, adhering to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-mafia-speak">omerta</a>, and will do his time. As an associate he still has the option to go legit after his release from prison. But perhaps he is looking forward to enjoying the fruits of his “labor.” The mob loves its <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-mafia-speak">standup guys</a>, you know.</p>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mob-family-capo-gambles-on-trial">Lucchese mob family capo gambles on trial</a></strong></p>
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East Hartford Genovese mobster John Barile gets 71 months for arson, fraud, gambling and extortion
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/east-hartford-genovese-mobster-john-barile-gets-71-months-for-ars
2016-06-11T11:30:00.000Z
2016-06-11T11:30:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/east-hartford-genovese-mobster-john-barile-gets-71-months-for-ars"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237067468,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237067468?profile=original" width="500" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Reputed East Hartford wiseguy John A. Barile was sentenced to 71 months in prison on Thursday for arson, insurance fraud, gambling and extortion offenses. 52-year-old Barile has longstanding ties to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese family</a> crew in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese">Springfield</a>. His current crimes seem picked straight from the movie Goodfellas.</p>
<p>Together with an associate, Barile owned Enzo’s Restaurant and Lounge in Middletown. By 2009, Enzo’s was facing financial difficulty, and Barile began planning to cause a fire at the restaurant in order to collect the insurance proceeds. He informed his co-owner about the plan and began consulting with others on how to start the fire to make it look like an accident.</p>
<p>On the evening of January 9, 2010, Barile and several others got together to discuss the fire at Enzo’s. They planned it for the next morning. Barile placed greasy rags in the kitchen around the fryolators and applied grease to the kitchen walls. Later in the evening, after the restaurant had closed, a fire began in the kitchen. Rather than extinguishing the fire, Barile transferred the fire to one or more of the greasy rags. He then let the place burn as he himself left the restaurant.</p>
<p>Later, he sought payment from an insurance company for losses suffered as a result of the fire, and concealed his role in causing the fire from the insurance company and law enforcement. The insurance company ultimately paid $189,787.69 to the scamming wiseguy to settle the insurance claims related to the fire.</p>
<p>A sum he now has to pay back as part of his guilty plea.</p>
<p>The insurance fraud was just one of many illegal rackets, Barile had going on. From 2010 through till early 2014, he also conducted an illegal sports-related bookmaking operation. This illegal <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling">gambling business</a> involved at least five other people including sub-bookmakers. During this period, this was his main source of income. At times, the gambling business grossed more than $2,000 per day.</p>
<p>One bettor who repeatedly placed bets with Barile’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling">gambling business</a> eventually owed him approximately $50,000 from unpaid gambling losses. On November 8, 2011, Barile and two associates met the bettor at a parking lot in Hartford. At the meeting, the mobster tased the bettor with a Taser or similar device in order to punish him for not paying his debts and enforce <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion">collection</a> of the payment.</p>
<p>In February of this year, Barile pleaded guilty to one count of arson, one count of mail fraud, one count of conducting an illegal gambling business and one count of collecting an extension of credit by extortionate means.</p>
<p>He was released on a $350,000 bond and placed under electronic monitoring. He is ordered to report to prison on July 12, 2016.</p>
<p>This isn’t the first time Barile’s mob crimes got him in trouble. In 1997, he was convicted for conspiring to violate the federal RICO Act and contempt of court stemming from his involvement in an Mafia-controlled <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling">illegal gambling business</a>.</p>
<p>He ended up serving 2 and a half years.</p>
<p>That time, he was one of over a dozen Genovese family mobsters charged with gambling and loansharking, including leaders Anthony Volpe and Francesco Scibelli. Another interesting name on the list of indicted mobsters was <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese">Adolfo Bruno</a>, then just a soldier, he eventually would become capo of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese">Genovese family’s Springfield crew</a> only to fall victim to a power struggle.</p>
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