NYC investigates alleged restaurant-mob link

New York City agencies are looking into allegations that a license to run Caffe on the Green in Bayside, Queens, was granted to a reputed mobster, according to a story by Murray Weiss of the New York Post.

Joseph Franco, 53, is the approved licensee. But law enforcement sources indicated that Franco and his 71-year-old brother Salvatore are also made members of the Gambino Crime Family, said the Post. In addition, the sources say that Franco's uncle, Giuseppe, 93, was selected to help run the crime family in 1992 when boss John Gotti went off to prison.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (left) pledged to look into the allegations. The Department of Investigation and the Law Department is examining the license award. The Post noted that Bloomberg was photographed with Franco last July at a political fundraiser held at the Bayside restaurant.