Suspending Mob-News

Editor's Note:

After much consideration, I have decided to suspend the Mob-News blog. This decision was necessary to accommodate numerous projects more closely related to my primary interest, Mafia history.

While I have no plans to update the Mob-News site, I intend to keep it available to visitors. With more than 860 news items (and three issues of MobNews Digest) published between April 2006 and June 2009, I suspect/hope that it has continuing value to researchers.I am happy to direct visitors interested in organized crime current events to the blogs shown below:

• Mafia Today
• Chicago Syndicate
• Friends of Ours
  

Chicago West Sider Tornabene dies at 86

Alfonso "Pizza Man" Tornabene, reportedly a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit, died May 17 at the age of 86, according to a story by Bon Goldsborough printed in today's Chicago Tribune. The story indicated that Tornabene died at MacNeal Hospital in Berywyn of complications related to peptic ulcer disease.

Authorities say Tornabene (right), once owner of Villa Nova Pizzeria, was a member of the Outfit for decades. A 1997 book by the Chicago Crime Commission identified him as a lieutenant within the leadership of the Outfit's West Side Crew, then reportedly run by Anthony Centracchio.

Court documents show that he and Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa presided over a 1983 induction ceremony for the criminal society. Among those inducted were Frank Calabrese Sr. and his brother Nick, both of whom figured prominently in the recent Family Secrets case. During the Family Secrets trial, a mob informant testified that Tornabene helped run the Outfit while boss James Marcello was in prison between 1992 and 2003.

In the summer of 2007, a news report by Chuck Goudie of WLS-TV in Chicago suggested that Tornabene might have risen to the position of consigliere in the crime family. The Chicago Sun-Times boosted him still further, speculating he might have taken over the position of boss.

Tornabene was the cousin of Sam "Wings" Carlisi, a former influential member of the Outfit. Authorities believe Tornabene's late brother Frank was also affiliated with the organization.

Alleged Bonanno crew indicted in Florida

Eleven residents of Florida's Palm Beach and Broward Counties were indicted May 21 on federal racketeering charges, according to a report by Don Jordan of the Palm Beach Post. Prosecutors say the 11 comprised a crew of the New York-based Bonanno Crime Family, to which they made regular tribute payments.

The 11 defendants are Thomas Fiore, 46, Palm Beach; Billie Robertson, 34, Boynton Beach; Lee Klein, 39, Boynton Beach; Daniel Young, 57, Delray Beach; Guy Alessi, 81, Delray Beach; Kenneth Dunn, 44, Boca Raton; Nicholas Fiore, 49, Boca Raton; Frank D'Amato, 48, of West Palm Beach; Pasquale Rubbo, 43, Coral Springs; Joseph Rubbo, 45, Coral Springs; and Marc Broder, 42, Coral Springs.

Prosecutors say Thomas Fiore (right) is an associate of the Bonanno Crime Family and the leader of its South Florida operations. None of the defendants is accused of being a formally inducted or "made" member of the criminal organization. Prosecutors say the crew engaged in fraud, narcotics trafficking, gambling and extortion.

The group was reportedly exposed through the work of an undercover FBI agent who posed as a corrupt businessman. The agent won the crew's trust by appearing to aid its money-laundering operations. The agent wore a hidden recording device to capture crew member conversations, according to a story by Curt Anderson of the Miami Herald.

Thomas and Nicholas Fiore and Pasquale and Joseph Rubbo were free on probation or supervised release after recent guilty pleas relating to other Bonanno criminal activities, prosecutors said.

Thomas Fiore pleaded guilty to state racketeering charges last year, according to the Miami Herald. While on probation, federal agents discovered a firearm during a search of his home. He was subsequently arrested for possession of the firearm. Then, as he was held on the possession charge, Fiore allegedly attempted to obstruct justice by asking someone else to claim ownership of the weapon. Prosecutors charge that Fiore burned down his own fitness center business in 2007 to defraud his insurance company.

U.S. deports Rosario Gambino, 67

Rosario Gambino, 67, was turned over to Italian authorities today, the Associated Press reported. Believed to be a leading member of the New York-based Gambino Crime Family, the cousin of former family boss Carlo Gambino was deported by the United States.

Rosario Gambino was linked to the Pizza Connection heroin and cocaine smuggling racket of the late 1970s and early 1980s. According to Italian police, Gambino was held in a California detention center since 2007, as he awaited expulsion.

Gambino will be brought to trial in Italy on drug and other charges.

New England mobster Danny Angiulo dies

Donato "Danny" Angiulo, convicted New England Mafia racketeer, has died at the age of 86, according to reports by the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.

Angiulo (left) died Sunday night at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center after a long illness. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Dello Russo Funeral Home in Medford, Massachusetts, Angiulo's hometown. A funeral Mass is scheduled for Friday, May 8, 11 a.m., at St. Leonard Church in Boston's North End.

Angiulo, once a caporegime in New England's crime family, served 11 years in prison after a 1986 conviction for racketeering, gambling and loansharking. Upon his release from prison in 1997, some wondered if he would take control of what remained of the Patriarca crime family, then decimated by successful prosecutions. Donato Angiulo's brother, Gennaro Angiulo, once served as underboss of the crime family. Gennaro also was sentenced to a long prison term in 1986. He was paroled in 2007 and is now 90 years old.

An electronic listening device installed in the crime family's North End headquarters in 1981 gathered evidence of Angiulo illegal activities. Two other brothers, Francesco and Michele, were also convicted of participating in those activities.

Imprisoned Mafia Cops are separated

Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, the so-called "Mafia Cops" serving life sentences in federal prison for moonlighting for the Mob, have been split up, according to a story by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News.

The two men, partners as detectives on the New York Police force, had been sharing a prison cell, locked down 23 hours a day. Caracappa, 67, recently was moved to Victorville Penitentiary in California. He had asked for a prison assignment on the East Coast. Eppolito, 60, is awaiting a placement decision from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Deputy U.S. marshal guilty of leaking info

A jury yesterday found John T. Ambrose, former deputy U.S. marshal, guilty of leaking information about federal witnesses, according to published accounts. He was acquitted on two counts of lying to federal agents.

See:
ABC7-Chicago
CBS2-Chicago
Chicago Sun-Times

Ambrose (right) was convicted of stealing and leaking information from the file of Nicholas Calabrese, a former Chicago mobster who aided prosecutors on the Family Secrets Case and was placed in the Witness Protection Program.

Federal agents became aware of the leak after they bugged the visitors room at a prison in Milan, Michigan, where Chicago Outfit boss James Marcello was held. During a visit by Marcello's brother Michael, the two men were overheard discussing an underworld ally within federal law enforcement.

The Marcellos referred to their "mole" in law enforcement as "the Babysitter" and indicated that he was the son of a former Chicago policeman who went to prison years ago after extorting money from drug dealers. From that information, federal authorities decided that Ambrose was the source of their information leak.

Ambrose's jury deliberated for three days, according to a story by the Chicago Tribune. One of the jurors had to be excused from the 12-person panel because she was sick with flu-like symptoms. The law permits a jury of 11 to reach a verdict.

Ambrose remains free on bond. He is expected to appeal. Judge John Grady provided grounds for appeal when he was slow to stop the playing of an FBI video recording of the two mobsters discussing Ambrose. The judge ordered the jury not to consider the tape as evidence.

Prisco convicted of 1992 Sangiuolo hit

Angelo Prisco, 69-year-old lieutenant in the Genovese Crime Family, was found guilty yesterday of conspiring to kill his first cousin, Angelo Sangiuolo, in 1992, according to a story by Thomas Zambito of the New York Daily News. Prisco (right) also was convicted of participating in a string of gunpoint robberies in the 1990s and of extorting money from individuals and businesses.

Prosecutors say Vincent "the Chin" Gigante, then boss of the Genovese clan, ordered the hit on Sangiuolo. Prisco then assigned underling John Leto and another man to kill Sangiuolo. The victim was lured to a Bronx social club and told to get into a van with Leto, who shot him to death, prosecutors say. The body was left in the van, as Leto drove away in a car with Prisco.

Prisco's trial lasted two weeks, according to a press release distributed by the FBI. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison. He is scheduled for sentencing on July 23.

Prosecutors say Prisco was inducted as a member of the Genovese Family in the late 1970s and later was promoted to capodecina. He oversaw a crew of Genovese soldiers and associates in New York City and nearby New Jersey. A state inquiry was launched several years ago when Prisco, a resident of Toms River, New Jersey, was paroled from a New Jersey prison just four years into a 12-year sentence for arson and conspiracy.

Cicilline expected to represent 'the Saint'

John F. Cicilline, a prominent attorney and father of Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor David N. Cicilline, is expected shortly to take over the defense of mobster Anthony M. "the Saint" St. Laurent, according to a story by Michael P. McKinney of the Providence Journal.

St. Laurent one week ago pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted the murder of a rival in the New England Crime Family. A federal grand jury indicted him earlier this month. The not guilty plea was entered by his court-appointed lawyer Olin W. Thompson. Thompson noted that John Cicilline is expected to take over the case.

In response, Magistrate Lincoln Almond said St. Laurent could be compelled to pay for Thompson's services if he discovers that the veteran mobster had sufficient resources to hire his own lawyer.

Cicilline has represented a number of New England Mafiosi in the past, including St. Laurent, reputed crime family lieutenant Edward C. Lato, racketeer Matthew L. Guglielmetti Jr. and Robert P. "Bobby" DeLuca Sr. St. Laurent is now charged with attempting to hire an assassin to kill DeLuca. St. Laurent and DeLuca have been rivals for years. Since the mid-1990s, DeLuca has accused St. Laurent of being an informant for state and federal authorities. St. Laurent denies the accusation.

St. Laurent is currently serving a five-year sentence for extortion at a federal prison in Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

Murder victim was mob associate

State and federal authorities say William Romano, 70, who was found murdered in his apartment Thursday, was a longtime associate of Salvatore "Sally Dogs" Lombardi, reputed lieutenant in the Genovese Crime Family, according to a story by Christine Hauser of the New York Times.

Officials recalled that Romano was arrested almost 20 years ago at Kennedy International Airport with two pounds of heroin taped to his shins and midsection. Romano avoided conviction through two trials by insisting that the drugs had been planted on him by law enforcement.

Last seen alive at 9 a.m. on April 22, Romano was found dead late the next afternoon, submerged in an upstairs bathtub of his duplex apartment, 8020 Bay Parkway in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Romano apparently died of head injuries. His companion, Elviza Aronova, 36, was found stabbed to death in a bedroom on the lower floor. She had also suffered head injuries.

Police said they found the apartment in disarray. The electricity had been turned off within. And it appeared that someone had tried to clean the crime scene using bleach.

Romano had owned the 54-unit apartment building until 2006. When he sold the building, he retained two apartments for himself. The second apartment was used as an office. Police found a small arsenal within, including two shotguns, a .45-caliber handgun and a live hand grenade.

Boston area gambling racketeers convicted

Four men were convicted Wednesday (April 22) of racketeering and other charges related to the operation of "one of the largest gambling and loansharking operations... in the greater Boston area," according to a story by Shelley Murphy of the Boston Globe.

Arthur Gianelli (right), 51-year-old reputed mob associate from Lynnfield, Massachusetts, was convicted of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, arson and attempted extortion. Prosecutors said he ran an organization involved in sports betting, video poker and online gambling. Court testimony and conversations secretly recorded by Massachusetts State Police indicated that Gianelli secured the protection of the New England Mafia by paying $2,000 per month in tribute to reputed underboss Carmen "Cheese Man" DiNunzio. The payments continued from 2001 to 2003.

Prosecutors say Gianelli used his rackets income and underworld connections to take over a number of bars in the Boston area. The extortion charge against him stemmed from his 1998 to 2002 attempts to control Clarke's Turn of the Century Saloon in Faneuil Hall and McCarthy's Bar and Grille on Roylston Street.

Gianelli's partners in the gambling operation included Dennis "Fish" Albertelli, 56, of Stow; Albertelli's wife Gisele, 54; and Frank Iacaboni, 65, of Leominster. They were convicted of a variety of charges, including illegal gambling and racketeering conspiracy.

The jury found Gianelli, Dennis Albertelli and Iacaboni guilty of arson. The three planned to burn down the Big Dog Sports Grille in North Reading. The arson charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Gianelli is reportedly the brother-in-law of former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr, according to the Boston Globe. Connolly was convicted of racketeering in 2002 and of second-degree murder late last year.

Gianelli's wife, Mary Ann, was initially named as a defendant in the case. She pleaded guilty March 4 to racketeering, money laundering and other charges and so avoided trial. In the wake of her guilty plea, prosecutors dropped 141 money laundering charges.

Leak case is in jury's hands

The case of a deputy U.S. marshal accused of leaking information about a federal witness to members of the Chicago mob has been in the hands of a jury since late Thursday afternoon (April 23), according to a story by Chuck Goudie of WLS-TV Chicago.

Deputy U.S. Marshal John Ambrose (left), 42, is charged with providing information about protected federal witness Nick Calabrese to a friend with connections to the Outfit. Prosecutors say he also leaked classified information regarding reputed Outfit boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo and leaked police information regarding the mob murders of the Spilotro brothers.

Through the testimony of convicted racketeer Mickey Marcello - brother of reputed Outfit leader James Marcello - prosecutors were able to link mob awareness of Nick Calabrese's cooperation in the Family Secrets investigation with Ambrose's friend. Robert Grant, special agent in charge of Chicago's FBI field office, testified April 20 to a confession made by Ambrose. Grant said Ambrose admitted to "a huge mistake" and to having improper friendships.

Ambrose's defense attorney Frank Lipuma argued that his client may have violated policies but committed no crimes. Among the character witnesses brought forward for Ambrose was longtime federal Judge Charles Kocoras. Kocoras did not choose to testify but was brought to the witness stand through a subpoena.

'Little Nick' goes away for 13+ years

A federal judge in Brooklyn has sentenced Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo, 69, to 13 and a half years in prison for the 1996 killing of Lucchese Crime Family associate Robert Arena that also left an innocent bystander dead, according to stories by the UPI and Newsday.

Corozzo (left), reputedly a high-level lieutenant in the Gambino Crime Family, admitted to ordering the Arena killing and to racketeering. He was sentenced April 17.

Last week, prosecutors attempted to restrict Corozzo's activities while in prison. They hoped to keep him from interacting with other mobsters or with family members linked to organized crime. Judge Jack Weinstein turned down the request, saying it would require prison officials to isolate Corozzo and/or place him in a penitentiary far from his family.

Researcher seeks Hoffa grand jury records

Believing there was "prosecutorial misconduct in the case," retired law professor William L. Tabac has asked a federal judge in Nashville, Tennessee, to unseal 45-year-old grand jury records relating to legendary Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa, according to a story by the Associated Press.

Tabac believes the records could show that federal prosecutors and Attorney General Robert Kennedy used illegal means - including wiretaps and improper testimony - to indict Hoffa on jury-tampering charges in the early 1960s. Hoffa (right) was convicted in Chattanooga in 1964.

The former Teamsters leader was last seen in 1975, as he prepared to rejoin the union after serving time in prison. It is widely believed that Hoffa was killed by former allies in the underworld. His remains have not been found.

U.S. attorneys are opposing Tabac's request. They say witnesses need to be confident that grand jury testimony will remain secret. They also argue that Tabac has provided no substantiation for his claim that Hoffa prosecutors acted improperly.

Reputed Bonanno boss bound for Canada

Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna, 38, reputed boss of the Bonanno Crime Family, soon will be deported to Canada, according to reports by UPI and the New York Daily News.

Montagna entered the U.S. through Canada as a teenager. Montagna's attorney said the government, frustrated at finding no grounds to prosecute Montagna, was deporting his client over a 2003 contempt of court conviction that violated the terms of his U.S. residency. Sources differ on the country of Montagna's birth. The Daily News reports that Montagna was born in Montreal but raised in Sicily. The UPI reports that he was born in Sicily. He was arrested April 6 by agents of the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Aside from the contempt conviction, Montagna has not been charged with a crime in the U.S.

Montagna is believed to have risen to the command of the Bonanno organization about 2006 after previous bosses Joseph Massino and Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano were successfully prosecuted.