extortion - Blog 2.0 - Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org
2024-03-29T14:01:25Z
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/extortion
Three members of Coney Island gang admit killing man in retaliation for him setting up their boss
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/three-members-of-coney-island-gang-admit-killing-man-in-retaliati
2019-09-27T05:30:00.000Z
2019-09-27T05:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/three-members-of-coney-island-gang-admit-killing-man-in-retaliati" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237133475,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="9237133475?profile=original" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Three members of a Coney Island-based <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gangs" target="_blank">street gang</a> named the West End Enterprise pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday and Wednesday to a racketeering conspiracy involving their participation in the murder of Antwon Flowers.</p>
<p>The West End Enterprise is comprised of individuals residing in and around the Sea Rise Apartments, the Gravesend Houses and Surfside Gardens, also known as the “Mermaid Houses,” located in Coney Island. Between approximately 2011 and October 2017, the gang committed various criminal acts, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">narcotics distribution</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Robbery" target="_blank">robbery</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murder</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Avenging a boss</strong></span></p>
<p>On January 17, 2016, 28-year-old Tysheen “Billz” Cooper, 33-year-old Michael “Mitty” Liburd, and 30-year-old Maurice “Flaco” Washington agreed to murder Antwon Flowers in retaliation for what they believed was his role in setting up the killing of a West End Enterprise leader the previous day.</p>
<p>As captured on surveillance video, Liburd and Cooper followed Flowers as he walked out of the Mermaid Houses, at which point they pulled out firearms and shot at Flowers, with Liburd’s shot striking Flowers in the head and killing him. Liburd and Cooper then fled in a getaway car that Washington had parked nearby.</p>
<p><strong>Get the latest on organized crime and the Mafia at Gangsters Inc.'s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=News">news section</a>.</strong></p>
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40 Mafiosi of Cosa Nostra family in Catania arrested - Stashed drugs in cemetery
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/40-mafiosi-of-cosa-nostra-family-in-catania-arrested
2021-05-05T06:30:00.000Z
2021-05-05T06:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/40-mafiosi-of-cosa-nostra-family-in-catania-arrested" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237163085,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237163085?profile=original" /></a>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>40 alleged members of the Santapaola-Ercolano family in Catania, Sicily, were arrested on Tuesday and charged with Mafia association, drug trafficking, extortion, social security and pension fraud. The Santapaola-Ercolano clan is led by infamous boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cosa-nostra-boss-benedetto" target="_blank">Benedetto “Nitto” Santapaola</a> (photo below), who is currently imprisoned for life.</p>
<p>The investigation focused on Mafiosi operating in Siracusa, Cosenza and Bologna and based in Paternò and Belpasso, <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236979466,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9236979466?profile=original" /></a>two villages near the city of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Catania" target="_blank">Catania</a>. Authorities uncovered corrupt partnerships with legitimate businessmen, several used the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sicilian-cosa-nostra-overview" target="_blank">Mafia</a> to get rid of toxic waste from their factories or to get an edge on the competition.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cosa-nostra-bosses-pledge" target="_blank"><strong>Cosa Nostra Bosses Pledge Loyalty to the End</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Still, despite these “legit” partnerships, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sicilian-cosa-nostra-overview" target="_blank">Cosa Nostra</a> clan was also heavily involved in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">narcotics</a>. It plotted organizing large shipments of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> from Ecuador. The drugs were to be hidden in a load of bananas.</p>
<p>They also trafficked <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Marijuana" target="_blank">marijuana</a> and used a local cemetery as a stash place. So much for all that talk about honor. </p>
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<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/sicilian-cosa-nostra-overview">Sicilian Mafia section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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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.
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<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>
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Camorra Mafia takes advantage of opportunities created by COVID-19
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/camorra-mafia-takes-advantage-of-opportunities-created-by-covid-1
2020-10-24T08:45:02.000Z
2020-10-24T08:45:02.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-mafia-takes-advantage-of-opportunities-created-by-covid-1" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237147497,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237147497?profile=original" /></a>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>The thing about operating outside the rules of the law is that you can always find ways to make money. Case in point: The Italian <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview" target="_blank">Camorra</a>. When the corona pandemic hit it sent much of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/italian-organized-crime" target="_blank">Italy</a> into a lockdown. Many businesses went bust as a result. The Camorra, however, was eyeing multiple fresh opportunities, as VICE News reports in the video below.</p>
<p>VICE News traveled to Naples, Italy, to report about the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview" target="_blank">Camorra</a>’s actions and how the Italian government continues to drop the ball when it comes to keeping organized crime down.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IsNN6d_5oJ8?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview">Camorra section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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Caponeville: How Chicago mob boss Al Capone ruled over the suburbs and two small towns in particular
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/caponeville-how-chicago-mob-boss-al-capone-ruled-over-the-suburbs
2020-09-03T19:24:50.000Z
2020-09-03T19:24:50.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/caponeville-how-chicago-mob-boss-al-capone-ruled-over-the-suburbs" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237133671,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237133671?profile=original" /></a>Al Capone’s life story and violent exploits have filled entire libraries and spawned many movies. Yet the focus is usually on his activities in Chicago. Though his power definitely originated there, his influence reached far beyond the city limits into small towns like Stickney and Forest View. In her new book When Capone Ruled the Village, author Linda M. Malek delves into this unique episode in the notorious mob boss’ life.</p>
<p><em>Linda was kind enough to contribute the following introduction and the book excerpt below to Gangsters Inc.</em></p>
<p>By <a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank">Linda M. Malek</a> for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>The history of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">Al Capone</a>’s operations is incomplete if his activities in the villages of Stickney and Forest View are not explored. The well-worn story of his illicit activities in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cicero" target="_blank">Cicero</a> have been visited by many authors and historians, yet the Capone hot spots in Stickney and Forest View that made headlines for years have been ignored. The vice dens, raids, arrests, murders of gangsters, arson and courtroom battles connected to the villages kept law enforcement very busy.</p>
<p>Taking a closer look at this era reveals the socio-political environment that allowed criminal activities to take root. During the late 1800s social reformers led a movement to create laws that forbade <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> and horseracing, which stopped horseracing for awhile but fueled a myriad of back-alley wagering alternatives. Anthony Comstock was the secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. The Comstock laws that were named after him prohibited the distribution of anything considered obscene including birth control devices. These laws contributed to the proliferation of pandering and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prostitution" target="_blank">brothels</a>. The greatest failure of the reformers was the 18th Amendment, which established the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">prohibition</a> of manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States. Bootleggers became millionaires.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-the-american-government-asked-the-mafia-for-a-favor-the-assa" target="_blank">When the American government asked the Mafia for a favor</a>: The assassination of Fidel Castro</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237160261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237160261?profile=original" /></a>Residents of Stickney and Forest View were angered when Al and Ralph Capone (right) brought their trade to town. Many were determined to get rid of them, while others developed tolerance for them. The Capones ran a dirty business but took care of their neighborhoods and the people who lived in them. Cooperation with the Capones was rewarded. A complicated codependent relationship began when residents were hired to assist with manufacturing and storage of liquor and local politicians were paid to look the other way as a revolving door of men visited the village brothels.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/legendary-mob-boss-al-capone-s-miami-beach-mansion-up-for-sale-fo" target="_blank"><strong>Al Capone’s Miami Beach mansion up for sale for $15 million</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Al Capone had many notorious associates who managed operations in the villages. Ralph Capone was in charge of Stickney and Forest View. His primary function was obtaining adequate supplies of liquor to keep all the speakeasies stocked. He also ran a large brewery in Forest View. Procurer Mike De Pike Heitler ran Stickney’s Shadow Inn, while Jake Guzik managed all the other brothels in the villages. Reporters nicknamed Stickney, “the oasis for the thirsty,” due to the number of speakeasies there. After the founder of Forest View was run out of town the Capones took over. The press then nicknamed Forest View “Caponeville.”</p>
<p>Another topic rarely visited and seldom mentioned are the wealthy industrialists who covertly funded the investigation that ended the reign of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">Al Capone</a>. Buying information, infiltrating operations, wiretapping and countless man-hours spent on surveillance were beyond the budget of law enforcement agencies. The tangled web of the Capone syndicate met defeat with the financial support of the Secret Six.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/take-a-tour-through-mob-boss-al-capone-s-playground" target="_blank"><strong>Take a tour through mob boss Al Capone’s 'playground'</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The multifaceted world of Al Capone now contains another episode, and this book details events that lay dormant for almost a century. <a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank">When Capone Ruled the Village</a> is a new book that sheds light on the forgotten headlines made by Capone’s operations in the villages of Stickney and Forest View Illinois. It includes 78 unique photographs that support the text.</p>
<p>The book explains the evolution of how illicit activities found their way into these suburbs and gained momentum. The excerpt, although interesting, is taken out of context and only reveals a fraction of the complex relationship that unfolds between Al and Ralph Capone and the community. Additional information can be found on the website: <a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank">whencaponeruledthevillage.com</a></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Book excerpt from When Capone Ruled the Village</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><em><a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237160663,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237160663?profile=original" /></a>Excerpt from page 108 - 110 of the book.</em></span></p>
<p><strong>You can order a copy of When Capone Ruled the Village on Linda M. Malek's website <a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</strong></p>
<p>On July 24, 1925, Sheriff Peter M. Hoffman and a group of civic organizers were delighted when Circuit Court Judge Francis S. Wilson issued an injunction ordering the notorious Harlem Tavern, aka “Sticks”, located at 4225 Harlem Avenue, Stickney, padlocked for one year. The proprietor was known to be Al Capone.</p>
<p>Business was thriving at the Harlem Tavern known to regulars as “Sticks.” Patrons looking for hookers accessed the brothel through the first floor barroom. The girls conducted business on the second floor. Bouncers sent customers upstairs where a woman collected the $2 fee from each man for five minutes time with one of the girls. The men were then assigned a room number, and when the girl became available, the next man was called in. The fee for services was divided three ways: the prostitutes got 80 cents, 20 cents covered protection, and $1 dollar went to the house. The girls were well practiced in making each encounter brief. On average, it took three minutes from hello to goodbye.</p>
<p>On August 24, 1925, the element of surprise helped Sheriff Peter M. Hoffman and fifty deputies conduct a successful raid on the Harlem Tavern. Without a word of warning, the posse descended on Sticks.</p>
<p>The deputies reported the joint was jumping when they burst through the door. An estimated two hundred revelers were drinking and dancing in the barroom while seven women and five men, found in the brothel on the second-floor, were arrested and taken into custody. Frantic patrons scrambling to leave the building hurled tables and chairs at windows and doors attempting to flee. One man jumped from a second floor window taking down an electrical power line that contributed to the mayhem when the lights went out. The turmoil spilled over into the parking lot, which looked like the aftermath of a demolition derby. Chief George H. Weilding of the Illinois highway police stated that chaos erupted outside the building where at least a dozen cars were abandoned after collisions were caused by patrons in a panic to leave the mêlée.</p>
<p>The Harlem Tavern did not remain closed for very long. Assistant State’s Attorney Frank Peska explained how the Capone gang avoided injunctions, an official order given by a court, to cease and desist operations, by relocating or altering the name of the business. After an injunction was filed against the notorious Harlem Inn at 4225 Harlem Avenue in Stickney, they moved the business to a new address a few doors away at 4207 Harlem Avenue.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237160871,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237160871?profile=original" /></a>Al Capone disappeared; he became a fugitive after the April 27, 1926, murders of James Doherty, Thomas Duffy, and Assistant States Attorney William McSwiggin. Investigators believed competition between Capone and Doherty for beer distribution was the motive for the murders.</p>
<p>On May 1, 1926, Chief Schoemaker, Lieutenant Charles Eagan, Sergeants William Burke, Thomas Crot, and Frank Johnson conducted another raid at 4225 Harlem Avenue in Stickney. This facility had been known as the Harlem Tavern and was closed by injunction issued by State’s Attorney Crowe. The name was changed from the Harlem Tavern to the Harlem Inn to circumvent the injunction.</p>
<p>Raiders inspecting the inventory found four sticks of dynamite, a shotgun, a rifle, and a gun in a holster with a police officer’s badge #5 from the Forest View police department. Liquor included: eighty cases of beer, 15 five-gallon jugs of wine, 11 fifty-gallon drums of alcohol, and 1-1/2 cases of Champagne. They also found and destroyed six slot machines.</p>
<p>Continuing their search of the premises, they found a button hidden beneath the bar that operated a sliding panel on the opposite side of the room. Behind the panel was a space the size of a closet, large enough to hide three men. There were three holes in the panel that would allow for long barrel guns to protrude and for gunmen to shoot into the barroom. Pictures were hung on the outside of the panel to cover the holes concealing them from view of anyone in the barroom.</p>
<p>As their investigation continued, they found 26 rooms that had been inhabited by prostitutes. Many of these rooms had secret panels or trap doors that would provide means for occupants to hide or to escape. Locals told stories of women surfacing from underground in the forest preserves across the street from building.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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“I’m in waste management!” - Genovese Mafia family soldier Frank Giovinco guilty of racketeering
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/i-m-in-waste-management-genovese-mafia-family-soldier-frank-giovi
2019-12-06T10:30:00.000Z
2019-12-06T10:30:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/i-m-in-waste-management-genovese-mafia-family-soldier-frank-giovi" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237134681,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237134681?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>A <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese Mafia family</a> mobster was convicted of racketeering on Tuesday. The jury found 52-year-old Frank Giovinco responsible for acts involving <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a>, honest services fraud, and unlawful kickback payments related to the Genovese family’s control of two local chapters of a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Union" target="_blank">labor union</a>.</p>
<p>“For years, Frank Giovinco, as a member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese crime family</a>, instilled fear in victims and propagated kickback schemes to tighten the Family’s stranglehold over two labor unions,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said. “Now, a jury has held Giovinco accountable for his crimes.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Getting “made”</strong></span></p>
<p>As the nephew of Joe “Joey Carpets” Giovinco, an associate in the crew of Genovese family capo <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-mean-street-in-queens-to-kill-a-cop" target="_blank">Frederico “Fritzie” Giovanelli</a>, Frank had all the right connections. He grew up on Long Island and played football in High School, before putting his physique to work for the mob. As a twenty-some-year-old He was busted for possession of stolen property, but mostly flew under the radar of law enforcement.</p>
<p>In the early 1990s, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese family</a> placed Giovinco in a position to control the waste carting industry in New York City. Within a few years, by the late 1990s, the family made him an official member.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: The Irishman:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-irishman-meet-the-real-mafia-muscle-behind-martin-scorsese-s" target="_blank"><strong>Meet the real Mafia muscle behind Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>His work, according to prosecutors, consisted of a wide range of crimes to enrich not only himself, but other members and leaders of the Genovese crime family. These included multiple acts of extortion, honest services fraud, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bribe" target="_blank">bribery</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Labor racketeering: Threats & extortion</strong></span></p>
<p>Giovinco’s focus was on two local chapters of a labor union. He participated in a host of schemes designed to manipulate and siphon money from the unions for the benefit of the Genovese family. Among other things, he extorted a financial adviser and a labor union official for a cut of commissions made from union investments.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/keeping-the-new-york-docks-in-the-mafia-family-from-the-gigantes" target="_blank">Keeping the New York docks in the (Mafia) family</a>: The Gigantes to the daughter of Donnie Brasco's “Lefty”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Audio recordings captured Giovinco planning to “rattle the cage” of a victim, and to have another victim’s “feet held to the fire.” When the union official failed to pay the commissions demanded by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>, his life was threatened by Giovinco and other gangsters.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Kickbacks</strong></span></p>
<p>Giovinco further plotted to profit from union investments by paying kickbacks to the union official and others, in exchange for a cut of future commissions. He also participated in the long-running extortion of a union president for annual tribute payments of more than $10,000, and sought a job at the union for the purpose of exerting control over the union official on the Genovese family’s behalf, and threatening to replace him if he didn’t comply.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-mafia-family-made-man-and-underlings-plead-guilty-to-rol" target="_blank">Genovese Mafia family made man and underlings plead guilty</a> to role in sophisticated multi-million-dollar scheme</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The charges of which Giovinco was found guilty carry a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison, but things didn't turn out to be severe. On June 22, 2020, Giovinco was <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-mafia-family-s-union-muscle-sentenced-to-4-years-in-pris" target="_blank">sentenced</a> to 4 years behind bars.</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>
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</ul>
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<p> </p></div>
Three Gangster Disciples bosses guilty of racketeering, triple murder in nightclub, murder of witness, and shooting
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/three-gangster-disciples-bosses-guilty-of-racketeering-triple-mur
2019-10-11T08:04:27.000Z
2019-10-11T08:04:27.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/three-gangster-disciples-bosses-guilty-of-racketeering-triple-mur" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237136275,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237136275?profile=original" /></a>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Three bosses of the Gangster Disciples national criminal organization were convicted in federal court Tuesday of racketeering conspiracy involving murder, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking conspiracy, and other crimes. This case is the latest of a series of trials and pleas for members and leaders of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=GD" target="_blank">Gangster Disciples</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Extremely organized”</strong></span></p>
<p>“The Gangster Disciples are extremely organized and their reach is wide-spread across the United States,” U.S. Attorney Byung Pak told the press. “Their strict chain of command that carried their message of violence and crime throughout the organization posed a serious threat nationwide. They lured young people into the gang with the promise of a better life, and then inducted them into an appalling world of violence and crime.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: The Governor of Tennessee:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-governor-of-tennessee-gangster-disciples-boss-byron-montrail" target="_blank"><strong>Gangster Disciples boss Byron Montrail Purdy ruled state’s underworld</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>“Drug trafficking, thefts, violent assaults and murders are all crimes that the Gangster Disciples commit every day to protect their turf, increase their territory, control and recruit members and terrorize rival <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gangs" target="_blank">gangs</a>. They are merciless and have wreaked havoc in our neighborhoods for far too long,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a>’s Atlanta Field Office.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/president-obama-gives-gangster-disciples-leader-a-sentence-reduct" target="_blank"><strong>President Obama gives Gangster Disciples leader a sentence reduction</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The Gangster Disciples are a national gang with roots in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> dating back to the 1970’s. The gang is highly structured, with a hierarchy of leadership posts known as “Positions of Authority” or “POAs.” The gang strictly enforces rules for its members, the most important of which is “silence and secrecy” – a prohibition on cooperating with law enforcement. Violations of the rule are punishable by death.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Boss level</strong></span></p>
<p>42-year-old Lewis Mobley, 43-year-old Vertuies Wall, and 30-year-old Lawrence Grice were in a position of power in the Gangster Disciples, prosecutors claimed. The evidence showed that the three men and their fellow gang members used the gang’s structure to carry out violent and serious crimes, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murder</a>, attempted murder, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Robbery" target="_blank">robbery</a>, bank and wire fraud, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug trafficking</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: The Big Hen:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-big-hen-regional-enforcer-of-gangster-disciples-gets-30-years" target="_blank"><strong>Regional enforcer of Gangster Disciples gets 30 years in prison</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The evidence also showed that each of the trial defendants held a position of authority within the gang’s structure. Mobley held a position in the gang’s security/enforcement arm, and exercised leadership over the enforcement team known as “HATE Committee,” that was responsible for committing murders, shootings, and other violence. Wall was the “First C,” or local leader, for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Macon" target="_blank">Macon</a> area Gangster Disciples. Gang member Lawrence Grice also held a leadership position over Gangster Disciples in parts of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Texas" target="_blank">Texas</a> including the city of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Houston" target="_blank">Houston</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Murder, murder, murder</strong></span></p>
<p>One such murder was a deadly shooting at a nightclub in Macon, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Georgia" target="_blank">Georgia</a>. Three people were killed and another three were wounded after gang member Wall and his subordinates started a gunfight with rivals.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/senator-declares-war-on-gangster-disciples" target="_blank"><strong>Senator Declares War On Gangster Disciples</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>On another occasion, gang member Lewis Mobley shot a teenage victim twice at point-blank range. Mobley believed that the victim had disrespected the gang by walking through a crowd while shouting a slogan and wearing the color associated with a rival gang.</p>
<p>In a third incident, a top Gangster Disciples leader summoned the gang’s National Chief Enforcer to travel across the country to kill a witness. The witness, who was scheduled to testify against a Gangster Disciple on drug charges, was shot dead in her home on the gang’s orders.</p>
<p>To date, 27 defendants have pleaded guilty, five were convicted at a separate trial, and three defendants are presently awaiting trial.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/street-gangs" target="_blank">Street Gangs section</a> or <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/black-organized-crime" target="_blank">Black organized crime</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>
“Fuck you! Pay me!” – Lucchese Mafia family boss ordered hit on gangster who refused to pay his $100K debt
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/fuck-you-pay-me-lucchese-mafia-family-boss-ordered-hit-on-gangste
2019-10-08T05:30:00.000Z
2019-10-08T05:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fuck-you-pay-me-lucchese-mafia-family-boss-ordered-hit-on-gangste" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237128079,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237128079?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>Who said the New York Mafia lost its teeth? The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese crime family</a>, one of the city’s five La Cosa Nostra families, begs to differ. At the opening of a trial in which two of its bosses and two underlings face racketeering and murder charges, prosecutors allege that they have no problem executing a murder contract.</p>
<p>Alleged mob leaders <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Madonna" target="_blank">Matthew Madonna</a> (photo above, middle) and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-acting-boss-steven" target="_blank">Steven Crea</a> (photo, right) were <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-s-lucchese-mafia-family-deadly-as-ever-in-2017-prosecuto" target="_blank">arrested in June of 2017</a> along with seventeen other Lucchese family wiseguys, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Londonio" target="_blank">Christopher Londonio</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Caldwell" target="_blank">Terrence Caldwell</a>, and charged with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murder</a>, attempted murder, assault, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug distribution</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a>, illegal <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a>, mail and wire fraud, and selling untaxed cigarettes.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Gunshot to the head</strong></span></p>
<p>One of the murder charges the men face, relates to the gangland killing of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Meldish" target="_blank">Michael Meldish</a> (photo above, left), at one time a feared hitman and part of New York’s Purple Gang, a group comprised of drug traffickers and murderers, many of whom later went on to join one of New York’s Mafia families. He was found shot to death in his car in November of 2013 in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bronx" target="_blank">Bronx</a>. He was bleeding from both his ears, the deadly result of a gunshot to the head.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <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</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>“Michael Meldish is dead because of these four men,” prosecutor Celia Cohen <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/10/07/lucchese-mob-boss-ordered-2013-hit-over-unpaid-100k-loan-prosecutors/" target="_blank">told the court</a> during her opening statement on Monday. She alleges that Madonna and Crea ordered the murder and Londonio and Caldwell were sent to ‘take care’ of the contract.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Hanging with hitmen and Eddie Murphy: Profile of</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-family-capo-fat-pete-chiodo" target="_blank"><strong>Lucchese capo "Fat Pete" Chiodo</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Why? Because Meldish told Madonna to “fuck off” when he asked about $100,000 of his money that he had loaned his former associate, Cohen claims. “Not repaying a boss is a dangerous game,” she added.</p>
<p>Indeed, it is.</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>
<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>
Son of New York Mafia boss Vincent “Chin” Gigante pleads guilty to racketeering charges
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/son-of-new-york-mafia-boss-vincent-chin-gigante-pleads-guilty-to
2019-04-12T09:00:10.000Z
2019-04-12T09:00:10.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/son-of-new-york-mafia-boss-vincent-chin-gigante-pleads-guilty-to" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237126467,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237126467?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>The son of late New York Mafia boss Vincent “Chin” Gigante pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. 51-year-old Vincent Esposito (photo above, left) admitted conspiring with other Genovese crime family mobsters in extorting union officials.</p>
<p>Esposito is the only son of longtime <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-boss-vincent-chin" target="_blank">Genovese crime family leader Vincent Gigante</a> and his mistress Olympia Esposito. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> boss raised two separate families: One with his wife, the other with his mistress. Thanks to the groundwork laid by his deceased father, Esposito was able to use the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">mob family</a> and its muscle to lean on various union officials.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>$3.8 million in cash hidden at home</strong></span></p>
<p>In one case, he directed the long-running extortion of a union official for annual tribute payments of over $10,000, and had a number of lower-ranking associates collect money and convey threats to the man on his behalf. In another extortion scheme, Esposito’s guys extorted a different union official and a financial adviser for a cut of commissions made from union investments.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/keeping-the-new-york-docks-in-the-mafia-family-from-the-gigantes" target="_blank"><strong>How the Gigante family ruled the New York docks</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Authorities busted the scheme in 2017. At the time of Esposito’s arrest, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> executed a search warrant on his home and seized more than $3.8 million in U.S. currency hidden throughout the residence, along with an unregistered handgun, ammunition, brass knuckles, and lists of made members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese crime family</a>. As part of today’s guilty plea, Esposito agreed to forfeit the more than $3.8 million seized by the FBI as criminal proceeds resulting from the offense.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>The other Gigante son</strong></span></p>
<p>Gigante’s other son, Andrew, also ran afoul with the law. In 2002, he was <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-associate-andrew" target="_blank">arrested along with his father</a> and several other Genovese mobsters and charged with running extortion rackets on the New York, New Jersey and Miami waterfronts. Andrew pleaded guilty in 2003, agreed to forfeit $2 million, and was sentenced to 2 years in prison.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Throwback behavior”</strong></span></p>
<p>“The shakedown of union officials, racketeering and extortion may sound like throwback behavior of mobsters who operated decades ago,” FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said. “However, the bread and butter of the mafia is to make money, so the illegal enterprises they’ve always engaged in are being used even in the modern era. The FBI New York Organized Crime Task Force will investigate whatever illicit activity the mob chooses to pursue, in order to stop their criminal behavior.”</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>U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman added, “As he admitted today, for more than a decade Vincent Esposito made millions with members of the Genovese Crime Family by extorting payments, demanding kickbacks, committing fraud, and instilling fear. Thanks to an extensive investigation by our law enforcement partners, Esposito has been unmasked as a criminal and put out of business.”</p>
<p>Esposito’s guilty plea carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled for sentencing on July 10.</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>
Gambino Mafia family boss Frank Cali shot dead in front of his Staten Island mansion - Man arrested
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gambino-mafia-family-boss-frank-cali-shot-dead-in-front-of-his-st
2019-03-14T06:30:00.000Z
2019-03-14T06:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-mafia-family-boss-frank-cali-shot-dead-in-front-of-his-st" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237121287,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237121287?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>There are no happy endings in the Mafia. Either you find yourself in prison or you end up six feet under in a casket. The latter will apply to Gambino crime family boss Francesco Cali, who was shot and murdered in front of his Staten Island, New York, home on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>The 53-year-old mob boss was hit with six or more bullets fired by one gunman who then fled the scene in a blue pickup truck, authorities report. The assassination took place in front of Cali’s lavish mansion in the Todt Hill neighborhood of Staten Island.</p>
<p>It’s the same neighborhood that once was home to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a> leader <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castellano" target="_blank">Paul Castellano</a>. It’s not the only thing Cali and Castellano now have in common. Cali is the first mob boss to be murdered since the infamous hit on Castellano in December of 1985, which was orchestrated by his successor <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gotti" target="_blank">John Gotti</a> and took place in front of Sparks Steak House in a bustling <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Manhattan" target="_blank">Manhattan</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>The Sicilian who became an American boss</strong></span></p>
<p>Born in Sicily in 1965, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-capo-francesco-cali" target="_blank">Francesco Cali</a> became a made man in 1997 and was elevated to boss of the Gambinos in 2015. His rise was another example of the influence of Sicilian-born Mafiosi on the New York crime clan.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> viewed Cali as an important link between <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sicilian-cosa-nostra-overview" target="_blank">Sicilian Cosa Nostra</a> and the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a>. Sicilian bosses are caught on wiretaps talking about Cali with much respect, saying: “He's our friend and he is everything over there.” The FBI monitors numerous trips made by the Sicilians from 2003 through 2006 and they always visit their friend from ‘the other side’.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Death is part of doing business</strong></span></p>
<p>With law enforcement on his tail, in February of 2008, Cali was charged with various racketeering charges alongside over sixty other Gambino wiseguys. A few months later, he admitted taking part in an extortion conspiracy to get money from a trucker who was doing work at a Staten Island NASCAR construction site. He served just 16 months before going back to work.</p>
<p>Now, his job is what killed him. An unsurprising end for a Mafia boss, but still a surprising murder in an era in which the American Mafia seemed less prone to commit high profile hits on prominent figures. Perhaps the murder of Frank Cali is the first sign of the ushering in of a new violent era in which the mob will return to its bloody origins.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>It's not business, it's personal</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UPDATE</strong></span>: Police arrested 24-year-old Anthony Comello on Saturday, March 16, and expect to charge him with the murder of Cali. The investigation is currently focusing on finding the murder weapon and what Comello’s motive could’ve been – media reports indicate a personal issue at the core of this killing. Investigators say they have found no information that Comello has ties to organized crime.</p>
<p>More on Cali's murder in: <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/franky-boy-is-gone-the-killing-of-a-mafia-boss">Franky Boy is Gone: The Killing of a Mafia Boss</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>
<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>
<p> </p></div>
Philadelphia mobster Phil Narducci hit with extortion charges – “He’s a killer, you idiot. He killed 8 people.”
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-mobster-phil-narducci-hit-with-extortion-charges-he
2019-02-02T11:10:58.000Z
2019-02-02T11:10:58.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-mobster-phil-narducci-hit-with-extortion-charges-he" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237121856,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237121856?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Philadelphia crime family soldier Philip Narducci (photo above) was hit with extortion charges on Thursday. Prosecutors claim Narducci and fellow mobster James Gallo were extorting and threatening a man who had borrowed money from Narducci.</p>
<p>Though 56-year-old Narducci is said to have fronted the borrower the funds, it is 44-year-old Gallo who is quoted in much of the indictment hurling threats at the debtor who failed to make good on his interest payments.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Showing up with a ski mask</strong></span></p>
<p>“You know when you’re gonna care?” Gallo said. “When [Narducci] shows up with a [...] ski mask and you’re gonna say, ‘Oh No,’ and it’s too late. You’re gonna say, ‘Oh No’ and that’s gonna be the last thing you’re gonna [...] say."</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/video-what-s-the-reason-behind-the-attack-on-philly-mob-capo-domi" target="_blank"><strong>Why did vandals attack Philly mob capo Dominick Grande's home?</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“They wanted to be gangsters too much”</strong></span></p>
<p>Philip Narducci is a well-known name in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family" target="_blank">Philadelphia underworld</a>. His father Frank was a capo in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bruno crime family</a> and was whacked in 1982 on orders of then-boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nicodemo-little-nicky-scarfo-boss-of-the-philadelphia-crime-famil" target="_blank">Nicky Scarfo</a>. Despite the murder of his dad, Narducci began working for Scarfo.</p>
<p>Mafia turncoat Nick Caramandi said that Narducci and his adopted older brother never brought up the killing of their father. “They want to be gangsters too much,” he said. In 1986, Narducci became a made guy, an official member of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>, after having shown he was capable of violence and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murder</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nicodemo-little-nicky-scarfo-boss-of-the-philadelphia-crime-famil" target="_blank"><strong>Mafia boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo dead at 87</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Narducci, his brother, and future mob boss Joseph Ligambi were found guilty of the murder of Philly mobster “Frankie Flowers” D’Alfonso in July 1985, but their conviction was later overturned. In 1988, however, Narducci had also been convicted on racketeering charges and sentenced to 40 years behind bars, most of which he served without making a peep.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Restaurant business</strong></span></p>
<p>He was released from prison in 2012 and got into the restaurant business. In 2017, he opened “Chick’s,” a bar and restaurant on Washington Avenue named after his father who was nicknamed “Chickie”. According to prosecutors, Narducci also had an alleged side racket going.</p>
<p>In January of 2018, he gave a $20,000-loan to a man identified in the indictment as Victim A. That amount was increased to $115,000 in June. But when the man was having trouble paying the interest on his loan, Narducci and Gallo allegedly began threatening him.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“He’s a killer”</strong></span></p>
<p>At one point, prosecutors claim, Narducci threw the victim against a car. A few days later, Gallo came by to see the troubled debtor and allegedly told him that Narducci “is a killer, you […] idiot. He’s killed [...] eight people.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-irishman-teamsters-boss-jimmy-hoffa-s-friend-and-the-man-who" target="_blank">The Irishman</a>: Jimmy Hoffa’s friend and the man who put two bullets in the back of his skull</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>After letting those words sink in, Gallo paid the man another visit a couple days later. He then is alleged to have told him: “I’m not saying that [Narducci] won’t come in and strangle you, but he’s not gonna kill you.”</p>
<p>If found guilty, both men face maximum sentences of 20 years on these charges.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philadelphia crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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Yakuza on Death Row: Playing tricks until time’s up
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/yakuza-on-death-row-playing-tricks-until-time-s-up
2018-12-29T12:30:00.000Z
2018-12-29T12:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/yakuza-on-death-row-playing-tricks-until-time-s-up" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237113855,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237113855?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Two different cases. Both, violent killings committed by members of the Yakuza, Japan’s Mafia, and both resulted in its murderers being on death row. One gangster was executed on Thursday. The other, a former Yakuza boss, is playing games with the justice system to evade a similar fate.</p>
<p>Keizo Kawamura (right, who also used the surname Okamoto), a 60-year-old gangster of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Yamaguchi" target="_blank">Yamaguchi-gumi</a>, Japan’s largest <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/yakuza-overview" target="_blank">Yakuza group</a>, was hanged on Thursday for his role in the kidnapping and murder of the president and a worker <a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237114058,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237114058?profile=original" /></a>of Cosmo Research Corp. – an investment firm - in an apartment building in Osaka on January 29, 1988, after robbing him of some ¥100 million in cash.</p>
<p>His partner in crime, 67-year-old investment adviser Hiroya Suemori, was hanged the same day. Both men tried to hide their crimes by burying the two bodies in concrete and dumping them in a mountainous area of Kyoto Prefecture. They had been sentenced to death in September of 2004.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/yakuza-boss-charged-with-ordering-hit-on-manager-of-car-dealershi" target="_blank">Yakuza boss charged with ordering hit</a> - Victim slashed with katana sword</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Japan and capital punishment</strong></span></p>
<p>Japan resumed the death penalty in 1993. At the time of this writing 110 inmates are on death row and over 80 are seeking retrials. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Japan" target="_blank">Japan</a>’s authorities are under pressure from human rights groups and various law organizations to abolish capital punishment. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has called to abolish the death penalty by 2020 and replace it with lifetime imprisonment instead.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Yakuza boss tries to outsmart justice</strong></span></p>
<p>Such discussions give hope to many convicts currently on death row. Like 70-year-old Osamu Yano, the former head of the Yano Mutsumi-kai, at one-time an affiliate gang of the Sumiyoshi-kai. He is currently on death row for ordering two of his underlings to shoot up a “snack” hostess club in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture on January 25, 2003. The attack left four people dead.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/yakuza-mob-boss-bludgeoned-to-death-outside-his-home" target="_blank"><strong>Yakuza mob boss bludgeoned to death outside his home</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>But, in light of the recent talk, he had some tricks up his sleeve to delay his own execution, a judge handling his case stated this month. How? By confessing to two murders he had previously been found innocent of.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Murder confessions</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237114465,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237114465?profile=original" /></a>Yano (right) began his confessions in April of 2016, when he told police about his role in the murder of 60-year-old real estate executive Shizuo Tsugawa over a dispute Yano’s group had with him over a redevelopment project near Isehara Station in Isehara City, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1996. With Yano’s information, police were able to locate man’s body in a mountainous area of Isehara.</p>
<p>A few months later, in November, Yano also confessed to the killing of 49-year-old Mamoru Saito, another real estate executive, who had been dumped in Saitama Prefecture. Police found human bones in a mountainous area of the town of Tokigawa that were later confirmed to belong to Saito, who went missing after a meeting in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Tokyo" target="_blank">Tokyo</a>’s Toshima Ward on April 5, 1998.</p>
<p>Yano told investigators that the man was kidnapped and subsequently strangled to death over money problems that included a loan of ¥86 million yen.</p>
<p>With all his cards on the table, one presumes, all Yano can do now is wait and see if his trick pays off. For that to happen he will be depending on Japan’s government to abolish capital punishment. If that will happen before they schedule his execution remains to be seen.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/yakuza-overview">Yakuza 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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<p> </p></div>
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>
<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>
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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
“Feed you to the fuckin’ lions” – Profile of Lucchese family soldier Anthony Grado
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/feed-you-to-the-fuckin-lions-profile-of-lucchese-family-soldier-a
2018-04-11T05:29:16.000Z
2018-04-11T05:29:16.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><strong><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/feed-you-to-the-fuckin-lions-profile-of-lucchese-family-soldier-a" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237057281,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237057281?profile=original" width="256" /></a></strong>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Lucchese crime family soldier Anthony Grado knows how to earn. Whether it’s extortion, loansharking or selling prescription pills he’ll know how to make a buck. One thing he hasn’t learned, however, is staying out of prison for his crimes.</p>
<p>It’s not always Grado’s own fault, mind you. Like when Robert Molini, his cousin was busted by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=DEA" target="_blank">DEA</a> on September 9, 1992, for his role in a drug ring and decided to become an informant. A year earlier, Molini had come to Grado to borrow money so he could pay for a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Marijuana" target="_blank">marijuana</a> shipment.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Deadbeat</strong></span></p>
<p>Grado introduced his cousin to fellow mobster Thomas Anzeulotto, who loaned him a total of $40,000. Molini was to pay back the principal and 20% interest, which amounted to $4,000 for each loan within ten days. When he was unable to even pay back $3,500 things began getting stressful. Even more so when he missed subsequent payments.</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 as deadly as ever in 2017</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>To get his cousin to honor his debts, Grado called Molini up and gave him an earful. He threatened him with what would happen if he didn’t pay back what he owed. His calls worked and pretty soon Molini came up with about $5,000.</p>
<p>Anzeulotto wasn’t satisfied of course. On June 8, 1992, Molini was ordered to come to Stella's pharmacy in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brooklyn" target="_blank">Brooklyn</a>. He gave Grado $1,000 after which Anzeulotto approached, who demanded the rest of the sum in one installment.</p>
<p>He also wanted to know Molini’s home address, but Molini refused to give it. Wrong move. Confronted with the refusal, Anzeulotto punched him in the face and neck and smashed two of the windows of the car he borrowed to get to Brooklyn. He then took Molini to an abandoned park, pointed his gun at him and asked him again for his address.</p>
<p>Still refusing to budge, but recognizing his predicament, Molini gave a false address.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Prison</strong></span></p>
<p>By the time Molini began cooperating, the DEA was already hot on the crew’s tail. They had wiretapped the telephones of all those involved, intercepting multiple calls between the men. Prosecutors brought them to trial after which a jury convicted them on January 25, 1995.</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 Brooklyn</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Anzeulotto and Grado were found guilty of conspiring to make extortionate extensions of credit and to use extortionate means to collect extensions of credit. Anzeulotto was also convicted of the substantive loansharking offenses of making extortionate extensions of credit and using extortionate means to collect extensions of credit. Grado was acquitted of these <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a> charges.</p>
<p>Grado was sentenced to over 5 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, while Anzeulotto got 8 years behind bars.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Opioid opportunities</strong></span></p>
<p>After his release from prison, Grado went right back to work. These were new times offering new rackets. Prescription <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drugs</a> were all the rage and Grado immediately seized on the opportunity.</p>
<p>He provided a Brooklyn doctor with the names of people for whom he should write prescriptions. The doctor would then write said prescriptions in those names for medications containing <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Oxy" target="_blank">oxycodone</a>, usually without conducting any examination. Grado and his associates then filled the prescriptions and sold the pills. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-boss-vittorio-vic-amuso" target="_blank"><strong>Profile of Lucchese crime family boss Vittorio Amuso</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Sometimes, Grado would hold the doctor’s prescription pads himself and either had the doctor write the fraudulent prescriptions at his direction or completed the prescriptions and later advised the doctor of the details. In total, the man wrote prescriptions for over 230,000 oxycodone pills.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;">“I’ll put a bullet right in your head” </span></strong></p>
<p>Before you curse at the doctor for his unprofessional behavior, keep in mind that he was facing Grado and his goons. In one conversation Grado told the doctor that he would make him write “a thousand scripts a day and fuckin’ feed you to the fuckin’ lions” if he wrote prescriptions without his approval. </p>
<p>In that same conversation, Grado also told the doctor that if his newly ordered prescription pads “go in anybody’s hands” besides the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Lucchese" target="_blank">Lucchese</a> mobster’s, that “I’ll put a bullet right in your head.” </p>
<p>These weren’t idle threats, either. Unsatisfied with the doctor, Grado ordered one of his associates to stab him. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-family-sold-oxy-from" target="_blank"><strong>Lucchese family sold "oxy" from ice cream truck</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>As happened with the loansharking scheme in the early 1990s, this opioid racket was crushed by authorities as well. On April 5, 2018, 54-year-old Grado pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. Upon sentencing, he faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as forfeiture and a fine of up to $1 million.</p>
<p>“<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese family</a> member Grado imperiled our community, threatening a doctor to force him to write prescriptions for oxycodone and then trafficking in the addictive drugs,” United States Attorney Richard Donoghue stated.</p>
<p>“Violent threats to a doctor by Mafia defendants, combined with their trafficking of oxycodone pills, posed an especially serious danger to our community,” he went on. “As demonstrated by today’s guilty pleas, this Office together with our law enforcement partners will be relentless in the prosecution of organized crime and those who contribute to the opioid epidemic.”</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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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
The Big Hen: Regional enforcer of Gangster Disciples gets 30 years in prison for decades-long crime career
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-big-hen-regional-enforcer-of-gangster-disciples-gets-30-years
2018-03-24T10:00:00.000Z
2018-03-24T10:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-big-hen-regional-enforcer-of-gangster-disciples-gets-30-years" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237102663,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237102663?profile=original" width="364" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>A high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Thursday for racketeering conspiracy. 37-year-old Henry Cooper went by the nickname “Big Hen” and functioned as the organization’s enforcer, making sure all other gang members toed the line and followed the rules.</p>
<p>Cooper became a Gangster Disciple in 1992 and remained one up until the time of his arrest in 2016. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=GD" target="_blank">Gangster Disciples</a> is a highly organized national gang active in more than 24 states. The group protects its power through deadly violence and its own members and associates are subject to a strict code of discipline and are routinely fined, beaten, and even murdered for failing to follow the gang’s rules. Enforcers within the enterprise ensure that members who violate the rules are punished.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-governor-of-tennessee-gangster-disciples-boss-byron-montrail" target="_blank">The Governor of Tennessee</a>: Gangster Disciples boss Byron Purdy ruled state's underworld</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Among those enforcers was Cooper, who served as the Regional Enforcer for the State of Tennessee. As such, he was responsible for enforcement in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Tennessee" target="_blank">Tennessee</a> and six other states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Wisconsin. </p>
<p>One of his responsibilities was to pass along information from the Chief Enforcer for the Gangster Disciples to enforcers in these states. Cooper also oversaw the enforcement of punishments, supervised the criminal activities of other members, issued orders to commit violent offenses against rivals and subordinates, and presided over Gangster Disciple meetings where criminal activity was discussed.</p>
<p>Of course, when the time came to get his own hands dirty, Cooper was willing and able. He participated directly in <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=Kidnapping" target="_blank">kidnapping</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Assault" target="_blank">assault</a>, witness intimidation, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">narcotics distribution</a>, and weapons trafficking. </p>
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Profile: Gambino crime family mobster Joseph Chirico
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-gambino-crime-family-mobster-joseph-chirico
2018-03-11T14:45:19.000Z
2018-03-11T14:45:19.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-gambino-crime-family-mobster-joseph-chirico" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237098456,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237098456?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>His pals in the mob call Joseph Chirico “Joe Marco Polo,” because he runs Marco Polo Ristorante in Brooklyn. Chirico, who grew up in Italy, is a restaurant buff but has another side gig going that landed him in trouble with the law.</p>
<p>In 2008, he was caught up in a wide-ranging federal racketeering indictment aimed at the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a>’s leadership, which ensnared 62 wiseguys, including such notorious figures as <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-boss-domenico-cefalu" target="_blank">Domenico Cefalu</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-capo-francesco-cali" target="_blank">Francesco Cali</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-capo-nicholas-corozzo" target="_blank">Nicholas Corozzo</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-soldier-charles" target="_blank">Charles Carneglia</a>, Leonard DiMaria, John D’Amico, and Joseph Corozzo.</p>
<p>Among them, Chirico was just a minor fish. He was charged with playing a role in an extortion scheme alongside <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-capo-nicholas-corozzo" target="_blank">“Little Nicky” Corozzo</a>, DiMaria, Jerome Brancato, and Vincent Dragonetti. Prosecutors claimed the group extorted money and material from trucking company boss Joseph Vollaro’s Liberty Harbor View construction project in Jersey City, New Jersey, and used the threat of violence when doing so.</p>
<p>Chirico pleaded guilty to money laundering, admitting that he passed on $1,500 in tribute money to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a> soldier Jerome Brancato. Thanks to some of his political contacts who gave glowing character references, Chirico was sentenced to 6 months of house arrest and was allowed to work 10 hours a day at his restaurant.</p>
<p>The judge was lenient because if he had sent Chirico to prison, it might’ve put his staff out of work. With regards to his affiliation with the Gambino family, the judge <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mob-tied-brooklyn-restaurateur-avoids-jail-marty-markowitz-article-1.354156" target="_blank">said</a>: “Being connected with this gang has been useful in his business, he's looked up to, unfortunately, with respect.”</p>
<p>Whether this is true, remains to be seen. Chirico’s beloved <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brooklyn" target="_blank">Brooklyn</a> eatery was shot up by an <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gunman-wearing-fedora-shoots-up-mob-linked-restaurant-in-brooklyn" target="_blank">unknown gunman</a> wearing a fedora in February of 2018. The restaurant was closed and no one was inside at the time, but police believe the shooting is a chilling <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gunman-wearing-fedora-shoots-up-mob-linked-restaurant-in-brooklyn" target="_blank">message</a> to 73-year-old Chirico.</p>
<p>In the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> respect is everything. When it’s gone, usually, it means the end of the road for the person who has lost it.</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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Philadelphia mob boss Joey Merlino swaggers to mistrial in high-profile New York racketeering case
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-mob-boss-joey-merlino-swaggers-to-mistrial-in-high-p
2018-02-21T09:40:43.000Z
2018-02-21T09:40:43.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-mob-boss-joey-merlino-swaggers-to-mistrial-in-high-p" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237090472,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237090472?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Philadelphia Mafia boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino took a huge gamble and won big yesterday when his high-profile racketeering case ended in a mistrial. After three weeks, followed by almost 30 hours of deliberations, the jury remained hopelessly deadlocked.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Merlino" target="_blank">Merlino</a> was among 46 members and associates of New York’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno</a> crime families arrested in the summer of 2016 on charges that they were part of what prosecutors called the “<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philly-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-and-mobsters-of-5-different-crim" target="_blank">East Coast La Cosa Nostra Enterprise</a>.”</p>
<p>They claimed Merlino was involved in several illegal <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> operations, including one that utilized a company named Costa Rican International Sportsbook in Costa Rica, and health care fraud worth $157 million in which corrupt doctors issued unnecessary and excessive prescriptions for expensive compound cream that were then billed to insurers.</p>
<p>During the trial, prosecutors brought in several informants, former gangsters like John “JR” Rubio, who had flipped and wore a wire while talking to Merlino. Though Rubeo’s testimony didn’t hurt him in court, Rubeo’s story about Merlino having an affair with a pharmaceutical saleswoman probably did hurt him at home with his wife, who left the courtroom in shock.</p>
<p>It took guts to take the government to trial, but it is befitting of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-mob-boss-joey-merlino-stands-up-and-goes-to-trial" target="_blank">Merlino’s attitude</a> that he did. 44 other mobsters took plea deals instead. One Genovese crime family capo even had his case severed from Merlino’s after he <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-family-capo-eugene-onofrio-doesn-t-want-to-stand-trial-a" target="_blank">refused</a> to stand trial alongside the flamboyant mob boss.</p>
<p>Merlino couldn’t care less. “We got a good shot,” he told <a href="http://www.fox29.com/news/judge-declares-mistrial-in-joey-merlino-trial" target="_blank">FOX 29</a> before his trial began. Such confidence, even if it’s an act, is rare among today’s Mafia kingpins. Confronted with turncoats and enhanced surveillance tactics by the feds, many of them are fearful to fight the government in court.</p>
<p>Released from prison in 2011 after serving over 15 years for racketeering, Merlino settled in Boca Raton, Florida, far away from his old stomping grounds in South Philadelphia. Sporting a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/joey-merlino-living-like-a-boss-in-florida" target="_blank">chiseled physique</a>, he went out, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/joey-merlino-living-like-a-boss-in-florida" target="_blank">partying</a> with women, and hanging around in the sun. He got involved in the restaurant business for a while, but questions remained about his alleged ties to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family" target="_blank">the Mafia back in Philly</a>.</p>
<p>This mistrial doesn’t give us a definite answer to the question about his mob connections. Was he lucky? Is the government’s current crop of turncoats a bit too dirty for the jury’s taste? Whatever it was, the media and public will monitor “Skinny Joey” as he continues living not just like a boss, but as someone who at one point grabbed that official crown, only to distance himself from it as the cost became too much to bear.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philadelphia crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
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Philadelphia mob boss Joey Merlino hits hospital with chest pains – Racketeering trial delayed
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-mob-boss-joey-merlino-hits-hospital-with-chest-pains
2018-01-12T18:06:47.000Z
2018-01-12T18:06:47.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-mob-boss-joey-merlino-hits-hospital-with-chest-pains" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237090472,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237090472?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Is the stress of a long life in the Mafia finally becoming too much for <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family" target="_blank">Philadelphia</a> mob boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Merlino" target="_blank">Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino</a> or is he using the old “Sicilian flu” trick? It does look like the tension is getting to him as media reported that he was hospitalized after suffering from “chest pains and coronary spasms and shortness of breath.”</p>
<p>Merlino entered the Boca Raton hospital emergency room on Tuesday, where he was checked by doctors. Tests showed “abnormal” results and “revealed two significant blockages,” <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/crime/fl-reg-skinny-joey-trial-delay-20180112-story.html" target="_blank">according</a> to Edwin Jacobs, Merlino’s lawyer.</p>
<p>The health scare comes just one week before the start of Merlino’s trial, which was scheduled for January 16 in Manhattan Federal Court. The longtime Philly mobster faces a slew of racketeering charges revolving around a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philly-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-and-mobsters-of-5-different-crim" target="_blank">nationwide Mafia syndicate</a> involving gangsters from several crime families.</p>
<p>Due to his medical issues, Merlino is taking medication and needs to be under close observation for adjustment of meds. This means that he can’t fly or travel from his home in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/joey-merlino-living-like-a-boss-in-florida" target="_blank">Boca Raton</a>, Florida – where he has been staying after his release on $5 million bond - to the courthouse in New York for at least two weeks.</p>
<p>His trial is now scheduled to begin on January 22.</p>
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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.
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<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>
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Former Lucchese mobster Frank Gioia outed as multi-million-dollar fraudster while in Witness Protection
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/former-lucchese-mobster-frank-gioia-outed-as-multi-million-dollar
2017-11-04T17:00:00.000Z
2017-11-04T17:00:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/former-lucchese-mobster-frank-gioia-outed-as-multi-million-dollar" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236988673,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9236988673?profile=original" width="566" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>A <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese family</a> mobster who flipped and helped send dozens of New York wiseguys to prison has been outed as a fraudster who scammed mall owners and developers out of tens of millions of dollars while in the Witness Protection Program.</p>
<p>According to an <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2017/10/31/mafia-soldier-turned-phoenix-businessman-frank-capri-gioia/748957001/" target="_blank">extensive investigation</a> by <em>The Arizona Republic</em>, <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/pages/interactives/mafia-in-our-midst/" target="_blank">Frank Gioia Junior</a> began a new life in the Witness Protection Program as Frank Capri, living in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Arizona" target="_blank">Arizona</a> where he worked as a real-estate developer and restaurateur. The enterprising former mobster from New York quickly found his groove and negotiated deals to build Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill restaurants throughout the United States.</p>
<p>The money came pouring in. In the late 2000s, Gioia was involved in a court battle with his ex-girlfriend, who accused him of lying about his income. She provided the court with a 2005 tax return in which his reported income was around $900,000 a year. The woman estimated her ex had real-estate assets worth over $15 million.</p>
<p>Whether those numbers are accurate remains to be seen. Especially in light of recent discoveries that show Gioia might’ve gotten a brand-new identity, but probably didn’t lose any of his criminal tendencies that were part of his old identity. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: Profile of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-boss-vittorio-vic-amuso" target="_blank">Lucchese family boss Vittorio "Vic" Amuso</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>“[Gioia] is accused of orchestrating the failure of Toby Keith restaurants as part of a scheme to steal money meant for construction,” <em>The Arizona Republic</em> <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2017/10/31/mafia-soldier-turned-phoenix-businessman-frank-capri-gioia/748957001/" target="_blank">reports</a>. “He or his companies are accused of taking millions in up-front fees in exchange for signing long-term leases that weren’t honored. Developers who did business with [Gioia] accuse him in civil lawsuits of racketeering and fraud.”</p>
<p>The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Lucchese" target="_blank">Lucchese</a> turncoat or his companies have been ordered to pay a total of $65 million in court judgments, according to <em>The Arizona Republic</em>. Quite the sum. One can only wonder whether Gioia had been able to pull off such a scam if he had never joined the Witness Protection Program.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/once-a-crook-always-a-crook-the-gangster-who-joined-the-witness-p" target="_blank">The gangster who joined the Witness Protection Program</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>What if he had been out on the streets of New York. Out there he was known as the son and grandson of mobsters. He himself was known as a stone-cold gangster willing to murder when his bosses asked. If he had approached a real-estate developer then, as <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-soldier-frank-gioia" target="_blank">Frank Gioia Junior</a>, a simple check would have kept any smart businessman at arm’s length.</p>
<p>Yet, in Arizona, where he was known as Frank Capri and had no criminal background, or hell, not much of any background to speak of, businessmen were charmed by this fast-talking go-getter. "Because federal prosecutors erased his past, [Gioia's] business associates had no way of knowing he was a confessed murderer, drug dealer, gun runner, extortionist, arsonist and loan shark," <em>The Arizona Republic</em> reported.</p>
<p>Even if they had heard about that other mob kingpin that had been operating in the area. Because at the same time Gioia was conning mall owners out of millions of dollars, former <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a> underboss “Sammy the Bull” Gravano’s new identity had already been blown. Though he claimed to make an honest living, he was actually one of the state’s biggest ecstasy traffickers.</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">Gravano is a free man</a>, but also a poster boy for the dangers of dealing with gangsters</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Still, that was Sammy the Bull. The man who helped put away infamous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gotti" target="_blank">mob don John Gotti</a>. That guy made a once-in-a-lifetime kind of deal. The feds wouldn’t just hand those lenient sentences and new identities out to every Mafia killer willing to squeal, right? It’s not like they’d place several of these guys in the same area, no?</p>
<p>It prompted Gangsters Inc. to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sammy-the-bull-gravano-is-a-free-man-but-more-importantly-a-poste" target="_blank">point out</a> how his story serves as a warning to authorities who make deals with gangsters and that the balance between good and evil may be a bit off. In turn, Gioia’s current legal troubles prompt <em>The Arizona Republic</em> to ask if the public is protected from protected witnesses?</p>
<p>Are we? Check out the excellent <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/pages/interactives/mafia-in-our-midst/" target="_blank">multi-part series</a> of this in-depth investigation by <em>The Arizona Republic</em> into Frank Gioia/Capri at <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/pages/interactives/mafia-in-our-midst/" target="_blank">Mafia in Our Midst</a>. A must-read and terrific piece of journalism.</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>
<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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Profile: Patriarca mob family enforcer Frank “Bobo” Marrapese Jr.
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-patriarca-mob-family-enforcer-frank-bobo-marrapese-jr
2017-09-17T14:30:00.000Z
2017-09-17T14:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-patriarca-mob-family-enforcer-frank-bobo-marrapese-jr" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237091077,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237091077?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>New England’s Patriarca crime family isn’t what it used to be, but as long as it can rely on the muscle and reputation of tough old-timers it will remain an underworld force. One of those hard men is longtime mob enforcer Frank “Bobo” Marrapese Jr., a man convicted of murder who refused to say farewell to <em>the life</em> by himself and had to be taken out in a coffin.</p>
<p>“People know about me. What I’m about,” Marrapese once was recorded saying. “People shit their pants when they hear my name.”</p>
<p>Indeed, he may be aging, heading well into his seventies, but the man nicknamed “Bobo” has a reputation dipped in blood. He was convicted of murdering mob associate Richard A. “Dickie” Callei on March 15, 1975 at the Acorn Social Club in Federal Hill, a place owned by his father. Police later found Callei’s dead body riddled with bullets near a golf course in Rehoboth.</p>
<p>Though he was a prime suspect in the gangland slaying, investigators weren’t able to charge him with the murder until 1984. While authorities kept digging for evidence, Marrapese rose up the ranks of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-new-england-crime-family" target="_blank">Patriarca crime family</a>, becoming a feared enforcer and big earner.</p>
<p>Before finding enough proof of his involvement in the Callei hit, prosecutors charged Marrapese in two other murders. Both occurred in 1982. Anthony “The Moron” Mirabella was murdered in Fidas Restaurant on Valley Street in May, followed by 20-year-old Ronald McElroy, who was beaten to death with a baseball bat in August after he inadvertently cut off Marrapese and a mob associate on Broadway in Providence.</p>
<p>Marrapese was found not guilty in both murders.</p>
<p>His legal troubles were a big headache for Marrapese. He was caught on a wire discussing his problems. “How do you think I feel?” he said. “I got three houses, five businesses, five kids, two girlfriends and a wife, and now I’m right there. I’m almost at the top, where I’m set for life.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/boston-mafia-boss-peter-limone-dies-at-age-83" target="_blank">Profile of Boston Mafia boss Peter Limone</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The killing of Callei, however, came back to haunt him, halting his rise in the mob. In September of 1987, three years after being charged and twelve years after the crime, Marrapese was finally found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was released in April of 2008.</p>
<p>With his reputation for violence intact, he went back to the streets. In May of 2011, Marrapese and 24 members and associates of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-new-england-crime-family" target="_blank">Patriarca mob family</a> were busted for running a large-scale sports <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> operation and hit with racketeering, extortion, conspiracy and gambling charges.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fbi-releases-audio-of-boston-mafia-induction-ceremony" target="_blank">FBI releases audio of Boston Mafia induction ceremony</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Seeing the evidence against him, Marrapese threw in the towel and pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> conspiracy and loansharking. In 2013, he was sentenced to 9 years in state prison.</p>
<p>Last Friday, September 15, 2017, Marrapese applied for parole, but the state parole board turned him down. The 74-year-old enforcer would've been able to apply for parole again in a year and a half, but he never made it that far. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/patriarca-mafia-family-enforcer-frank-bobo-marrapese-dies-behind" target="_blank">He died on December 22</a>, 2017, at the age of 74.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-new-england-crime-family">New England Patriarca crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Lucchese family mobster planned to escape from Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, prosecutors say
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/lucchese-family-mobster-planned-to-escape-from-metropolitan-deten
2017-09-16T09:00:22.000Z
2017-09-16T09:00:22.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-family-mobster-planned-to-escape-from-metropolitan-deten" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237093860,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237093860?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>He’s a wiseguy who took his flossing seriously. Christopher Londonio, an alleged soldier in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">New York’s Lucchese crime family</a>, was charged Wednesday with planning to escape from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn using dental floss, sheets, blankets, and a saw blade smuggled into the facility by a priest.</p>
<p>According to prosecutors, the breakout was concocted somewhere in June, by 43-year-old Londonio and another unnamed detainee. The imprisoned mobster used dental floss as a cutting tool to tamper with a window in the center. He also planned to solicit a priest to smuggle a saw blade into the facility, and secretly stockpiled a large number of sheets and blankets, intending to use them as a rope to aid in his escape. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-boss-vittorio-vic-amuso" target="_blank">Profile of Lucchese family boss Vittorio Amuso</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>As usual when it comes to these high-profile <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> busts, the plan was foiled after a fellow detainee reported the escape plan to authorities.</p>
<p>“Although sounding like a script for a made-for-tv movie, the charges allege yet another serious federal crime against Londonio,” Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York told the press. “As alleged, with this latest chapter in his years-long life in the mob, Londonio adds to the string of crimes he must now face, in a criminal justice system he was desperately seeking to escape.”</p>
<p>Londonio has been detained at the MDC since February 2017 in connection with murder and racketeering charges pending in White Plains federal court. He was among nineteen members and associates of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Lucchese" target="_blank">Lucchese</a> La Cosa Nostra family <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-s-lucchese-mafia-family-deadly-as-ever-in-2017-prosecuto" target="_blank">charged</a> with racketeering, murder, narcotics offenses, and firearms offenses.</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></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Authorities have charged Londonio with the murder of drug boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Meldish" target="_blank">Michael Meldish</a>, a former leader of the infamous Purple Gang in New York which had longstanding ties to New York’s five Mafia families. Many of the current mob bosses started out as members of the Purple Gang. Londonio is also charged with playing a role in the shooting of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno family</a> soldier Enzo “The Baker” Stagno.</p>
<p>He will be arraigned on the new charge at the next pretrial conference, which is currently scheduled for September 20, 2017. The attempted escape charge carries a maximum prison term of five years. Londonio is represented by his lawyer Charles Carnesi.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/prison-breaks-from-mobsters-and-hitmen-to-serial-killers-and-drug" target="_blank">Prison Breaks: From mobsters to drug lords</a></strong></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>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
New York’s Lucchese Mafia family deadly as ever in 2017, prosecutors say after indicting bosses and underlings
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/new-york-s-lucchese-mafia-family-deadly-as-ever-in-2017-prosecuto
2017-06-01T12:30:00.000Z
2017-06-01T12:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-s-lucchese-mafia-family-deadly-as-ever-in-2017-prosecuto" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237087488,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237087488?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>The year is 2017 and it is business as usual for the Lucchese crime family, one of New York’s infamous five Mafia families. While many thought the American mob had lost its teeth – gangland murders had become a rarity – prosecutors say that the Lucchese family proved them wrong in 2013 with one cold-blooded slaying reminiscent of the mob’s glory days and plenty of other violent deeds, including two shootings of Bonanno family gangsters, one because he had insulted Lucchese boss Steven Crea.</p>
<p>Yesterday, agents of the FBI and officers of the NYPD arrested 19 members and associates of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese crime family</a> and charged them with murder, attempted murder, assault, drug distribution, loansharking, illegal gambling, mail and wire fraud, and selling untaxed cigarettes.</p>
<p>Headlining the indictment is the family’s hierarchy consisting of alleged acting boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Madonna" target="_blank">Matthew Madonna</a>, underboss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-acting-boss-steven" target="_blank">Steven Crea</a>, and consigliere <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-capo-joseph-dinapoli" target="_blank">Joseph DiNapoli</a>. Madonna is considered “acting” or “street boss” because the Mafia (and authorities) still views <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-boss-vittorio-vic-amuso" target="_blank">Vittorio Amuso</a>, serving a life prison sentence, as the titular head of the Luccheses.</p>
<p>Under the leadership of these men, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese crime family</a> operated not like it was 2017, but as if it was still 1967 and La Cosa Nostra was the biggest player in town.</p>
<p>In those years long since passed, boss Matthew Madonna was one of the city’s biggest dope peddlers. Back then, he provided notorious <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drug-boss-leroy-nicky-barnes" target="_blank">Harlem drug kingpin Leroy “Nicky” Barnes</a> with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Heroin" target="_blank">heroin</a>. The two had met in prison and became good friends and business partners. They also became very rich.</p>
<p>But the fast life came to a screeching halt when the whole drug ring was busted and Madonna received a 30-year sentence for drug trafficking in the mid-seventies. Upon his release from prison in the 1990s, Madonna began his rise in the Lucchese family, becoming part of a ruling panel overseeing the organization’s operations by the mid- to late-2000s.</p>
<p>Led by a man with a history in the drug business, it is no surprise to see the indictment that was revealed yesterday contain serious drug charges. Prosecutors allege the Luccheses trafficked in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a>, heroin, prescription drugs such as oxycodone, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Marijuana" target="_blank">marijuana</a>. Lucchese family soldier Joseph Datello (66) and associate Carmine Garcia (65) also conspired to import cocaine from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drug-cartels" target="_blank">South America</a>, the indictment reads.</p>
<p>The two men, together with Lucchese family captains John Castelucci (57) and Tindaro Corso (56), and associate Richard O’Connor (63), also dealt in contraband cigarettes – a scheme where they profited from the purchase of “cigarettes that did not bear the stamp evincing payment of applicable cigarette taxes.”</p>
<p>Though 81-year-old Madonna is now labeled as the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese family</a>’s supreme leader, for a long time, authorities pointed their finger at 69-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-acting-boss-steven" target="_blank">Steven Crea</a>. When Lucchese bosses Vittorio Amuso and Anthony Casso went on the lam in the early 1990s, Crea was one of several men tasked with running the family. After doing time in prison on a labor racketeering conviction, he was back on the streets in 2006 and considered the family’s acting boss.</p>
<p>Now, however, prosecutors say he is the family’s underboss. His son, 45-year-old Steven Junior, allegedly followed in his father’s footsteps and is labeled as a captain in the crime family.</p>
<p>The father and son worked together, prosecutors allege, while planning the demise of feared Purple Gang hitman Michael Meldish. The Purple Gang was a New York street gang filled with killers and drug traffickers, many of whom would go on to become high-ranking Mafiosi.</p>
<p>With such old connections, Meldish had a lot of dirt on several dangerous individuals. According to the indictment, in November of 2013, Madonna, Crea Sr. and Jr. gave orders to 43-year-old Christopher Londonio and 59-year-old Terrence Caldwell to “whack” the 62-year-old Purple Gang inductee.</p>
<p>On November 15, a woman, driving with her daughter, on Ellsworth Avenue in the Bronx saw a Lincoln parked with its driver’s door open and a man’s leg hanging out. When they went to investigate what they thought would be a possible stroke or heart attack, the two women discovered the gruesome scene of a gangland execution. Meldish was bleeding from both his ears, as he lay dead from a gunshot to the head.</p>
<p>It felt like 1967 alright.</p>
<p>Only it wasn’t. It was 2013 and the mob had not committed such brazen acts of murder in the streets for several years. Murders connected to the American Mafia can be counted on one hand – If they can be counted at all.</p>
<p>The hit on Meldish, however, was different. It was also part of an escalating pattern of violence handed out by the Lucchese family. Several months earlier, then-47-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno family</a> mobster Enzo “The Baker” Stango was shot and wounded by Caldwell as he sat in his SUV making a phone call.</p>
<p>Stango wasn't the only Bonanno mobster targeted by the Luccheses. In late 2012, 38-year-old Paul Cassano and 33-year-old Vincent Bruno, acting at the direction of father and son Crea, attempted to murder a Bonanno family associate who had shown disrespect toward Crea Senior.</p>
<p>It seems that Crea had quite a taste for blood, not <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-new-jersey" target="_blank">unlike his predecessors</a>. According to the indictment, in October of 2016, he also ordered Joseph Datello to go to New Hampshire and murder a man who cooperated with law enforcement.</p>
<p>Whacking a rat? Now that’s old school! That is going back in time, back to the sixties. Only, again, the sixties are long gone. So is J. Edgar Hoover. Today, we live in 2017. Today, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> is run by competent agents intent on taking down the Mafia and anyone deemed a threat to society. Agents that have a wide variety of tools at their disposal, including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO.</p>
<p>Madonna, Crea, and 81-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-capo-joseph-dinapoli" target="_blank">DiNapoli</a>, another old-timer, know this. Yet, for some reason they decided to ignore it and run their organization as if it was 1967 and La Cosa Nostra ruled the underworld and parts of the world above, leaving a trail of blood in their path.</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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Profile: Greek crime boss Panagiotis Vlastos
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-greek-crime-boss-panagiotis-vlastos
2017-03-07T10:58:48.000Z
2017-03-07T10:58:48.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-greek-crime-boss-panagiotis-vlastos" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237084275,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237084275?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Milko</p>
<p>Panagiotis Vlastos was born in Athens, Greece, in 1971. Growing up in Metamorfosi, Vlastos got involved in crime at an early age, committing theft and burglaries. In the 1990s, he and another gangster named Kostas Nastoulis were fighting a gangland war against each other. In 1994, Vlastos murdered Yerasimos Nastoulis, a brother of Kostas, and Dimitros Spinos, one of Kostas Nastoulis’ underlings.</p>
<p>In the years that followed two of Vlastos’ brothers were killed. His brother Kostas was shot to death by police, while his brother Markos – who himself was not involved in the criminal business - was presumably murdered by henchmen of Kostas Nastoulis.</p>
<p>After being arrested and convicted Vlastos was sent to prison in June of 1998. He continued running his criminal enterprise from behind bars where he was accompanied by four to eight other inmates serving as bodyguards at all times. He ran an <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> racket and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a> operation. Nightclubs had to pay him for “protection.” If club owners refused to pay, he bombed their establishments with explosives.</p>
<p>He was released from prison in 2007, but quickly ran in trouble with the law again after he had shot a shop owner who refused to pay him his extortion fee. Back in prison, he partnered up with crime bosses Vassilis Stefanakos and Ioannis Skaftouros even though they continued to operate independently, they cooperated on many issues and even exchanged men for various jobs.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-greek-crime-boss-alexandros-angelopoulos" target="_blank">Profile of Greek crime boss Alexandros Angelopoulos</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Between 2005 and 2009 Vlastos’ war with Kostas Nastoulis flared up once again. Both sides took casualties, among them Aristidis Lakiotis in 2005, Yiannis Gavakis in 2006, Aristotelis Yiayias and Vasilis Nasipian in 2007 and Yiorgos Anagnostopoulos in 2009.</p>
<p>The partnership between Vlastos, Stefanakos and Skaftouros remained stable throughout and after this period. All three crime bosses were even thought to be responsible for the attack on the home of Judge Kalaïtzi, who presided over a case involved the three men in which they were charged with the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Kidnapping" target="_blank">kidnapping</a> of the wealthy businessman Periklis Panagopoulos. The three gangsters were also alleged to have bombed the home of the warden of the prison they were housed in and the home of a prosecutor.</p>
<p>On February 2013, 43-year-old Vlastos tried to escape from a prison again – it was to be his fourth attempt. A helicopter with four passengers – two armed – appeared above the prison. A rope was thrown down which would be used to pull Vlastos up. The crew used Kalashnikovs to keep guards at a distance. In total, they fired over 500 rounds of ammo. A gunfight erupted between the guards and gangsters during which Vlastos was shot in the leg by one of the prison guards. Vlastos then fell down three-and-a-half meters.</p>
<p>Whether he was tired of battling authorities is unknown, but on March 9, 2015, Vlastos caved and pleaded guilty in multiple criminal cases against him. He admitted his involvement in kidnappings, bomb attacks, and extortion.</p>
<p><em><strong>Milko (a pseudonym) is a Dutchman who has studied organized crime in the Netherlands, its history, and its offshoots in foreign countries for over two decades. He is also very knowledgeable about crime in other European countries and is eager to share his information.</strong></em></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
China sends crime boss and 66 members of mob-style syndicate to prison
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/china-sends-crime-boss-and-66-members-of-mob-style-syndicate-to-p
2017-01-02T15:41:36.000Z
2017-01-02T15:41:36.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/china-sends-crime-boss-and-66-members-of-mob-style-syndicate-to-p"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237083069,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237083069?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>The leader and 66 members of a crime syndicate in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui were sentenced to time in prison on Sunday, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=China">China</a>’s news agency Xinhua reported. The group was involved in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion">extortion</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling">gambling</a>, and violence, the court verdict read.</p>
<p>According to Chinese authorities, the syndicate was led by 37-year-old Xing Zhaogang, who did time for assault, but was released from prison in 2012. Over a period of little over six months, his gambling operations brought in $2.9 million in profits. In order to protect his business, Xing regularly used violent force to intimidate and take out rivals.</p>
<p>After a trial, Xing was found guilty of running a “<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/triads-overview">mafia-style gang</a>” and using violence against his rivals. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His 66 underlings were handed sentences ranging from several months to 14 years.</p>
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Russian extortionist pleads guilty after mob boss flips and agrees to testify against him
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/russian-extortionist-pleads-guilty-after-mob-boss-flips-and-agree
2016-10-31T15:37:59.000Z
2016-10-31T15:37:59.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-extortionist-pleads-guilty-after-mob-boss-flips-and-agree"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237072874,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237072874?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Boris Kotlyarsky pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to extorting payment from a man who was marked for death in a murder-for-hire plot involving notorious <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-mob-boss-charged-with-extortion-scheme">Russian Mafia boss Boris Nayfeld</a>. Kotlyarsky and Nayfeld (photo above) told the victim they would let him live if he paid them. Kotlyarsky’s guilty plea comes after Boris Nayfeld’s decision to become a cooperating witness and testify against his former partner-in-crime.</p>
<p>68-year-old Kotlyarsky faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.</p>
<p>The scheme began in October of 2015, when Nayfeld told Kotlyarsky that a Russian businessman had approached him with a contract to kill the man’s son-in-law in exchange for payment. Kotlyarsky told his partner that the intended target was very wealthy and offered to broker a meeting between Nayfeld and the victim so they could negotiate a payment to the infamous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Boss">mob boss</a> to avoid harm.</p>
<p>The next few months, Kotlyarsky repeatedly contacted the victim and emphasized Nayfeld’s reputation for violence and connections with the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-mafia-overview">Russian Mafia</a> in New York. In January 2016, Kotlyarsky arranged a series of meetings between both men at which the mark was told he was fortunate and that he owed $125,000, with $50,000 due by January 15, 2016.</p>
<p>When the victim met Nayfeld and Kotlyarsky on January 14, 2016, he gave them a check for $50,000. Shortly thereafter, authorities busted the elderly extortionists. Then, just a few weeks ago, on October 12, it became known that the big, bad mob boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-mob-boss-charged-with-extortion-scheme">Boris Nayfeld had decided to cooperate</a> with prosecutors, no doubt making a sweet deal for himself.</p>
<p>One has to ask why prosecutors would make a deal with such a man? Isn’t he a much bigger threat than his partner? Why not take this case to trial? Police were in on the sting from the get-go and have a lot of evidence, including testimony from the victim. Not to mention the fact that there were just two defendants! Why let one go in favor of locking up the other?</p>
<p>Now a beautiful bust is tainted by yet another deal with a less-than-worthy <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Turncoat">turncoat</a>.</p>
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Profile: Russian mob boss Boris Nayfeld
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/russian-mob-boss-charged-with-extortion-scheme
2016-10-13T18:00:00.000Z
2016-10-13T18:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-mob-boss-charged-with-extortion-scheme"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237051886,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237051886?profile=original" width="500" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Russian mob boss Boris Nayfeld (photo above) just can’t stay on the straight and narrow, nor can he keep his mouth shut. In January, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged the notorious gangster and coconspirator Boris Kotlyarsky with an extortion plot in which the two men sought payment from a victim who they claimed Nayfeld had been hired to murder.</p>
<p>Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara explained the scheme as follows, “Boris Kotlyarsky and Boris Nayfeld conspired to extort $125,000 from a victim, claiming that Nayfeld had been hired to murder the victim.”</p>
<p>In October of last year, Kotlyarsky told the victim, who runs an international shipping business in Newark, New Jersey, that a Russian businessman had approached infamous mob boss Boris Nayfeld with a contract to kill him in exchange for a $100,000 payment. Kotlyarsky offered to broker a meeting between the victim and Nayfeld at which he could make things right and cancel the contract.</p>
<p>The following months, Kotlyarsky arranged a series of meetings between the victim and Nayfeld. During these meetings, Nayfeld told him, among other things, that the businessman had transferred $50,000 to Nayfeld as partial payment on a contract for his murder, and that it was good that Kotlyarsky had intervened on the victim’s behalf. Nayfeld told the victim to pay him $125,000 due January 15. </p>
<p>At a meeting on January 14, the victim met Nayfeld at a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, to finish up business. He wanted assurances from Nayfeld that no harm would come to him after he had paid him the money. Nayfeld then called the businessman who supposedly had ordered the hit and told him, aloud, that the victim should not be touched or he would punish the businessman.</p>
<p>After that, the victim wrote Nayfeld a check worth $50,000 without specifying a recipient.</p>
<p>Easy money, Nayfeld must’ve thought. Right up until the moment he exited the restaurant and was swarmed by law enforcement officers. When he saw them come at him, he cursed and tore up the check as fast as he could.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE</strong></span></p>
<p>Try as he might, Nayfeld continues to have trouble evading indictments. He has been a fixture in New York’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-mafia-overview">Russian underworld</a> since the 1980s. Starting out as the bodyguard and enforcer for mob boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-boss-evsei-agron">Evsei Agron</a>, Nayfeld was always looking for ways to move up in the world. When he was approached by Marat Balagula, another crime boss, to join his crew and help set up Agron, he saw an opportunity. Nayfeld switched sides and in May of 1985 a hitman shot Agron twice in the head, leaving his dead body in the streets.</p>
<p>After Marat Balagula was sent away to prison, Nayfeld began asserting himself as the main Mr. Big in New York’s Russian mob. He fought a bloody war with rivals in the 1990s and narrowly escaped death himself on quite a few occasions. On February 14, 1991, he discovered an unexploded bomb under his car and decided to lay low in the Belgium city of Antwerp, while his troops roamed the streets of New York.</p>
<p>In Belgium, Nayfeld organized several lucrative smuggling routes with other Eastern European gangsters, including a heroin pipeline that stretched from Thailand, where he acquired the drugs, to Singapore and on to Poland, from where it was shipped to the United States and sold to distributors in New York.</p>
<p>American authorities were onto the ring, however, and in January of 1994, they shut it down, charging Nayfeld and several others with the smuggling, distribution, and sale of heroin.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/nyregion/14-years-later-2-killings-are-linked-to-russian-mob.html?_r=0" target="_blank">article in the New York Times</a>, describes the period following, "In recent years, [...] Mr. Nayfeld started cooperating with investigators to avoid prosecution."</p>
<p>And now, 22 years later, Nayfeld returns to an American prison. Some people never change. Allegedly, of course.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>SNITCHING PART 2</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UPDATE:</strong></span> On October 12, 2016, Nayfeld made yet another familiar move: He flipped on his codefendant. <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/10/13/mob-boss-who-spared-millionaires-life-will-squeal-on-mobster-cronies/" target="_blank">The New York Post</a> reported that Nayfeld signed a plea agreement. Asked by the judge if he would "truthfully and completely disclose all information with respect to yourself and others about which the US Attorney’s office is asking of you?"</p>
<p>Nayfeld answered, "Yes."</p>
<p>"And the US Attorney can use that information for any purpose?" the judge asked.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Nayfeld answered.</p>
<p>“And you are agreeing to testify if asked to testify?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” the fallen mob boss said.</p>
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Philly Mafia boss Joseph Merlino and mobsters of 5 different crime families charged with racketeering
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/philly-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-and-mobsters-of-5-different-crim
2016-08-04T17:00:00.000Z
2016-08-04T17:00:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philly-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-and-mobsters-of-5-different-crim"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237067858,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237067858?profile=original" width="519" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Federal agents arrested over 40 members and associates of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family">Bonanno</a> crime families in New York and the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Bruno crime family</a> in Philadelphia this morning in a racketeering bust ranging from New York to Florida. The men are charged with a long list of crimes including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion">extortion</a>, arson, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking">loansharking</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling">illegal gambling</a>, health care and credit card fraud, selling untaxed cigarettes, trafficking firearms, and assault.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237068066,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237068066?profile=original" width="250" /></a>The biggest name among the group of wiseguys is <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philadelphia</a> boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, who was recently <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/high-profile-philadelphia-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-latest-gangst">banned from setting foot in any Pennsylvania casino</a>. Merlino got out of prison in 2011 after serving over a decade behind bars on racketeering charges. He popped up in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/joey-merlino-living-like-a-boss-in-florida">Florida</a> where he got into the restaurant business. He claimed to be retired from the Mafia.</p>
<p>Prosecutors disagree. They say 54-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Merlino">Merlino</a> (right) was part of several illegal gambling operations, including one that utilized a company named <em>Costa Rican International Sportsbook</em> in Costa Rica. Furthermore, he is charged with health care fraud in which he, together with various other gangsters, got corrupt doctors to issue unnecessary and excessive prescriptions for expensive compound cream that were then billed to insurers.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese family</a> mobster <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-genovese-crime-family-capo-pasquale-parrello">Pasquale “Patsy” Parrello</a> features prominently in the indictment. Prosecutors allege he was involved in loansharking, illegal gambling, health care and credit card fraud, assault, and involvement in the sale of $3 million worth of contraband cigarettes.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237068671,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237068671?profile=original" width="165" /></a>According to the indictment, 72-year-old <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-genovese-crime-family-capo-pasquale-parrello">Parrello</a> (left) and his crew obtained hundreds of cases of contraband cigarettes which did not bear a stamp of evincing payment of applicable taxes, earning that a huge payday on the streets.</p>
<p>According to the indictment, Merlino, Parrello, and the others were part of, what prosecutors call, the “East Coast La Cosa Nostra Enterprise,” a group that consisted of members and associates of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family">Bonanno</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philadelphia</a> crime families. Its members would use coded language to arrange meetings, which were held at rest stops along highways and at restaurants.</p>
<p>The group ran a gambling club in Yonkers, New York, which, “several nights a week […] held poker tournaments, dice tournaments, and took bets on horse races. The owners took a percentage of the proceeds.” To add more revenue, the group installed illegal poker machines.</p>
<p>To protect their illegal operations, the group wasn’t afraid to use violence. When a rival bookmaker set up shop nearby in 2011, they set fire to his car. In the summer of 2011, Parello, who owns a restaurant on Arthur Ave. in the Bronx, ordered several of the defendants to break a nearby panhandler's knees for bothering his customers.</p>
<p>As we’ve come to expect from the new generation of mobsters, at first, they grabbed the wrong guy. But they couldn’t be fooled twice and got the right guy the second time, beating him “with glass jars, sharp objects and steel-tipped boots, causing bodily harm,” according to the indictment.</p>
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Genovese family mobsters charged with murder, extortion, gambling
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/genovese-family-mobsters-charged-with-murder-extortion-gambling
2016-05-13T07:59:05.000Z
2016-05-13T07:59:05.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-family-mobsters-charged-with-murder-extortion-gambling"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237069253,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237069253?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Eighteen members and associates of New York’s Genovese crime family were indicted yesterday and charged with racketeering conspiracy, involvement in a murder conspiracy, an attempted murder, an extortion conspiracy, and an illegal gambling operation.</p>
<p>Chief among the defendants are 74-year-old Robert “Old Man” DeBello, who was frequently observed by the FBI meeting with his mob captain at a social club in lower Manhattan, and 56-year-old Steven Pastore, both regarded as made members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese crime family</a> holding the rank of soldier; and mob associates Ryan “Baldy” Ellis (34) and Salvatore “Fat Sal” Delligatti (40).</p>
<p>All four are accused of involvement in the criminal affairs of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese family</a> in a period spanning 2008 through to 2016. Prosecutors allege that DeBello, Ellis, and Delligatti participated in a 2014 murder conspiracy and an attempted murder, in a conspiracy to commit extortion, and in the operation of an illegal gambling business. While doing so they also committed firearms offenses.</p>
<p>Serious charges that could earn them life in prison if convicted. </p>
<p>Pastore is charged with racketeering conspiracy and participating in the illegal gambling operation. He faces 20 years on the conspiracy charge and 5 years on the gambling pinch.</p>
<p>The rest of the defendants can be divided into two groups: Five of them are charged with participating in the murder-for-hire conspiracy with Mafia associate Salvatore Delligatti and related firearms offenses; while the nine remaining defendants were involved in the illegal gambling ring.</p>
<p>At a press conference announcing the arrests, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “[These] charges show that the mob continues to wreak havoc in our communities, including through a recent murder conspiracy, attempted murder, and extortion. With [these] charges, we strike an important blow against the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese Crime Family</a>. Whether you are an old school made member of the mob or a young street criminal looking to join it, the message today is clear: the life of a mobster is a dead-end street that ends nowhere good.” </p>
<p>FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez added: “The crimes of extortion for so-called ‘protection,’ illegal gambling businesses, and conspiracy to commit murder are woven into the history of organized crime families, but so are the federal racketeering charges that wiseguys face after committing those criminal activities. Today, 18 defendants were indicted as part of a multi-year investigation by the FBI and our partners at Nassau County Police Department and New York City Police Department. As long as organized crime members and associates keep their criminal ways, we will keep investigating and bringing charges against them.”</p>
<p>“This racket was as old as <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">La Cosa Nostra</a>,” NYPD Commissioner Bratton William J. Bratton concluded. “From murder for hire to extortion and gambling, there wasn’t a scheme that was off limits to these soldiers and associates of the Genovese family. The mob may be diminished, but it’s not dead, and it requires our continued vigilance. I commend of the FBI, Nassau County Police, U.S. Attorney, and team of NYPD detectives who made today’s arrests possible.”</p>
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Boston mobsters sentenced to prison for extortion scheme
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/boston-mobsters-sentenced-to-prison-for-extortion-scheme
2016-05-04T10:20:47.000Z
2016-05-04T10:20:47.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/boston-mobsters-sentenced-to-prison-for-extortion-scheme"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237064056,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237064056?profile=original" width="500" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Two alleged members of the New England Family of La Cosa Nostra were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Boston on Monday in connection with extortion. Anthony Spagnolo (74) - photo above - was sentenced to 20 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $5,000. Earlier, in the same case, Pryce Quintina (76) was sentenced to 15 months in prison.</p>
<p>Both men pleaded guilty to conspiring to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion in December of last year. According to prosecutors, in November 2012, a social club in Revere named the Moose Lodge wanted to replace its existing video poker machines, supplied by Constitution Vending Company, with new video poker machines. </p>
<p>There was, however, a problem. Constitution paid Spagnolo and Quintina to protect their video poker machines in social clubs, including the Moose Lodge. If the Moose Lodge intended to replace Constitution’s aging machines with new ones they would decrease Constitution’s profits and potentially cause Spagnolo and Quintina to receive less protection money.</p>
<p>Fuggedaboutit! Spagnolo and Quintina thought, as they quickly <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-england-mafia-bust-emphasizes-mob-s-decline">sprang into action</a>. They met with the manager of the Moose Lodge and told him that Constitution’s machines “were not going anywhere.” The manager knew both men and their reputation. He knew they were part of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-new-england-crime-family">Boston mob</a>. After their visit, he decided not to replace those machines.</p>
<p>The case was part of a multi-year investigation into La Cosa Nostra operations in Eastern Massachusetts, which resulted in the conviction of five members and associates of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-new-england-crime-family">New England Mafia</a>.</p>
<p>Those busted include: Louis DiNunzio (29) of Medford, who the government alleges is a made member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-new-england-crime-family">New England crime family</a>, Joseph Spagnuolo-Kazonis (30) and John Woodman (43) were convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. In addition, John Evans (68) and Joseph Petrucelli (24) were convicted of conducting an illegal gambling business.</p>
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