Genovese associates charged with killing, robbery

Two alleged associates of the Genovese Crime Family and a third man were charged Thursday in Brooklyn federal court with robbery and murder, according to a story by Tom Hays of Newsday. Anthony Pica, Christopher Prince and Charles Santiago pleaded not guilty to the crimes. They are being held without bail.

U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell said Pica and Prince were members of a robbery crew controlled by the Genovese Family.

According to the indictment, the defendants targeted jeweler Louis Antonelli on April 29, expecting him to be in possession of valuable jewelry. The indictment states that Pica and Prince identified Antonelli and alerted Santiago and a fourth unnamed accomplice when the jeweler exited a basement storage area below a restaurant on Staten Island. Santiago and the unnamed man confronted Antonelli. Santiago is charged with shooting the jeweler to death. The attackers then fled without any jewelry, said the indictment.

Antonelli's bodyguard, retired police Sgt. Jason Aiello, was inside the restaurant at the time of the attack. He was questioned by police but not charged. Aiello began behaving erratically. On July 22, police heard that Aiello was armed and possibly holding his family hostage. Officers approached Aiello and attempted to handcuff him, but he pulled a gun and fled. He reportedly shot in the direction of police a total of eight times. Officers shot him to death.

Four plead guilty to gangland murders

The Bonanno Crime Family's acting boss and three other men linked to the crime family pleaded guilty Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court to conspiring on gang murders, according to stories by Trymaine Lee of the New York Times and John Marzulli of the New York Daily News.

Acting boss Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso, 53, and Bonanno soldier Anthony "Ace" Aiello, 31, admitted participating in the murder of Randolph Pizzolo on Nov. 30, 2004. Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, 61, and Anthony Donato, 50, pleaded guilty to the Feb. 15, 2001, slaying of "gangland wannabe" Frank Santoro, according to prosecutors.

Aiello admitted to being the triggerman in Pizzolo's slaying. Prosecutors said Pizzolo was lured to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and killed there. That murder was ordered by Mancuso when he was merely a soldier in the Bonanno clan. The U.S. Attorney's Office reportedly will seek next year to convict former Bonanno boss Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano (left) of initiating the Pizzolo hit. Basciano is currently serving a life prison sentence on murder, attempted murder and gambling convictions.

When sentenced, Mancuso could receive 15 years in prison, and Aiello could get 30 years.

While walking his dog near his Bronx home, Santoro was shot to death by gunmen in a passing car. Indelicato and Donato admitted they were in the car, which belonged to Donato. Prosecutors said Basciano ordered and participated in the Santoro shotgun slaying because he believed Santoro was plotting to kidnap one of Basciano's sons. Basciano was convicted March 31 of his role in the Santoro killing.

When sentenced, Indelicato faces up to 20 years in prison, and Donato faces up to 25 years.

Vincent Basciano succeeded to the leadership of the Bonanno clan after previous boss Joseph Massino was convicted of racketeering. Massino subsequently cooperated in a federal investigation of Basciano. Mancuso is believed to have moved into an acting boss role after the jailing of Basciano. Authorities have indicated that the family's current acting boss is Salvatore Montagna.

Sicilian Mafiosi sentenced to 400+ years

Palermo Judge Piergiorgio Morosini sentenced 38 Sicilian Mafiosi today to a total of more than 400 years behind bars, according to a story published by the Makfax daily Internet newspaper.

The defendants, arrested in 2006, included the alleged leaders of 13 Sicilian Mafia clans. The longest prison sentences - 20 years apiece - were given to Antonio Rotolo, boss of the Pagliarelli organization, and Franco Bonura, boss of the Uditore organization.

Both organizations are based in the outskirts of Palermo. Uditore is a community to the northwest of the center of Palermo City. Pagliarelli lies to the southwest of the city center. The Uditore clan was known to be close to Corleone-based Sicilian boss of bosses Bernardo Provenzano, who was captured by Italian authorities in 2006 after four decades as a fugitive.

According to a report from Independent Online in South Africa, the leaders of the Sicilian crime families were caught through a combination of Provenzano's records and electronic surveillance at a Palermo garage where the bosses regularly met.

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Sicily's governor, Salvatore Cuffaro (right), was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday for aiding Mafia leaders by supplying information about ongoing investigations, according to a report by Reuters.

Cuffaro, member of the right wing Catholic political party, pledged to remain on the job during the appeal process, which could take years. He has served as governor for seven years, winning reelection to the post two years ago. His trial has gone on through the past three years. If the conviction is upheld, Cuffaro will be barred from holding public office.


A co-defendant, Michele Aiello, was sentenced to 14 years for associating with members of organized crime, leaking classified information and illegally accessing law enforcement computers, according to a story by the BBC.

Cicale: 'Gorgeous' ordered 2004 murder

Dominick Cicale, former lieutenant in the Bonanno Crime Family, testified yesterday that acting Bonanno bosses Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano and Michael Mancuso ordered the November 2004 murder of Randolph Pizzolo, according to a story by Anthony M. DeStefano published on AM New York.

Pizzolo was shot to death after Basciano (right) was arrested on racketeering charges. Cicale testified that Mancuso, standing in for Basciano as boss, approved the hit, while Bonanno soldier Anthony Aiello carried it out. The murder was called for, Cicale said, because of Pizzolo's indiscrete talk and actions.

Basciano, 47, is now on trial for the February 2001 racketeering murder of Frank Santoro in the Bronx. A capital murder trial on the Pizzolo murder is scheduled for next year. Mancuso and Aiello face racketeering trials, which include the Pizzolo murder charge.

Cicale noted that Basciano's personal involvement in the murder of Santoro left the mob bigshot with a bad bruise on his jaw, the result of a shotgun recoil, according to a story by Stefanie Cohen of the New York Post. Cicale said he, Basciano and another mobster drove up to Santoro as he was walking his dog on Feb. 15, 2001. Cicale and Basciano shot the man in the street.

That hit was ordered by Basciano because he learned that Santoro, a drug addict, planned to kidnap one of Basciano's children for ransom.

Cicale, 40, was an acting crew leader in the Bonanno clan. During cross examination, he acknowledged lying at times to avoid going to jail.

In earlier testimony, Cicale explained that Basciano was paranoid that an underworld associate might be working with law enforcement, accoridng to a story by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News. During a meeting with the boss in 2004, he demanded that underlings strip down to their underwear so he could be sure none were wearing a "wire."

Related MobNews posts:

• 'Gorgeous' back in court 06-19-07
• Basciano could face death penalty 04-03-07
• Basciano says poker buddies set him up 01-09-07
• Feds: Montagna is new top man for Bonannos 11-15-06
• 'Gorgeous' wants a new judge 11-02-06
• Not a hit-list, just a lucky charm 09-24-06
• Feds investigate Basciano plot against judge 09-20-06
• 'Gorgeous' complains to the management 08-29-06
• Feds: Gotti Jr. contemplated false testimony 06-15-06
• Vinny Gorgeous guilty of racketeering 05-10-06