Statement links construction firm to the mob

An affidavit filed in Brooklyn federal court links officials of the Schiavone Construction Company with schemes involving organized crime, according to a story by William K. Rashbaum of the New York Times.

The affidavit was part of a 2005 investigation of organized crime. In it, a federal investigator described the methods through which Schiavone officials intended to direct payments to a trucking executive connected with the Mafia. The statement includes a quote attributed to carting company executive Nicholas Calvo, in which Calvo explained Mafia influence over Schiavone. Calvo, arrested in a racketeering case earlier this year and identified by prosecutors as a Genovese Crime Family associate, recently pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy.

Schiavone ties to the Genovese Crime Family have been rumored since an unsuccessful state fraud prosecution of a company owner in 1987. However, the contracting giant's general counsel Mary Libasi insists Schiavone is operating within the law and is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn on the investigation. No charges related to the affidavit have been filed against the company or its executives.

Two employees of Schiavone Construction Company were among the 62 people charged in a broader racketeering investigation earlier this year.

'Mafia cop' Eppolito gets 18 months on tax charge

Louis Eppolito, a former New York Police detective who aided the Lucchese Crime Family, has been sentenced in Las Vegas to 18 months in prison for filing a false income tax return, according to broadcast reports.

During his July 1 sentencing in U.S. District Court, Eppolito also was ordered to pay $102,000. The imposition of a prison sentence won't mean much to the former detective. In federal custody since 2005, he has been credited for time already served. He pleaded guilty in February to one count of filing a false income tax return. As part of his plea deal, Eppolito acknowledged owing just over $102,000 to the IRS for tax years 2000 through 2002.

Eppolito is expected to be turned over to New York authorities. The state has a detention order against him in connection with a racketeering case.

In 2006, Eppolito and his NYPD partner Stephen Caracappa had been convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn of participating in mob killings on the behalf of the Lucchese Family. The two former detectives became known in the press as the "Mafia Cops." A federal judge ruled, however, that the statute of limitations on the charges had expired. Prosecutors are appealing that decision.