97-year-old mobster gets 6 months house arrest

Albert "Chinky" Facchiano, 97, was sentenced today to serve six months house arrest followed by 18 months of probation, according to an AP story by Curt Anderson.

Facchiano pleaded guilty in February to racketeering-related offenses in Florida and in New York. Law enforcement officials say he is a longtime soldier in the Genovese Crime Family.

He faced a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison. Due to his advanced age and to medical problems, the court decided to confine Facchiano to his Florida condominium. He is permitted to leave the home only for doctor visits and other necessary travel.

Press reports indicate that Facchiano's first arrest, back in 1932, coincided with Charlie "Lucky" Luciano's rise to power in the American Mafia.

He was one of six members of a Florida-based wing of the Genovese Family to be arrested last summer. The group's acknowledged leader, 73-year-old Renaldi Ruggiero, was sentenced to 14 years in prison earlier this month.

Related MobNews posts:

• Miami mob boss gets 14 years 05-15-07
• South Florida racketeers get jail time 04-06-07
• 'Chinky' Facchiano, 96, pleads guilty 02-28-07
• Ruggiero admits to being Genovese capo 02-02-07
• Facchiano indicted in two states 01-04-07
• Guilty plea from Fla. Genovese associate 12-30-06
• Florida Mafia case based on wiretaps 08-16-06
• Four Floridians held without bail 07-08-06
• Feds break up Florida arm of Genovese family 07-01-06

Miami mob boss gets 14 years

Renaldi "Ray" Ruggiero has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, according to reports by CBS-4 in Miami and the Miami Herald. As part of a February plea deal, Ruggiero stated he was guilty of racketeering conspiracy and acknowledged being the leader of the Genovese Crime Family wing in South Florida.

The 73-year-old's sentence also includes two years of supervised release, a $25,000 fine and a forfeiture of $10,000 that was seized by the government.

Ruggiero and six other men were arrested in June 2006, charged with various racketeering offenses, including extortion, robbery, money-laundering and possession of stolen property. The U.S. Attorney's case was supported by wiretaps of thousands of telephone calls by the group.

Five other defendants pleaded guilty to single racketeering conspiracy counts and received sentences between three-and-a-half years and eight years. The one defendant still awaiting sentencing is 97-year-old Albert "Chinky" Facchiano. He was charged in Florida and New York State and pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and to tampering with a witness. Facchiano is scheduled for sentencing the end of this month.

Related MobNews posts:

• South Florida racketeers get jail time 04-06-07
• 'Chinky' Facchiano, 96, pleads guilty 02-28-07
• Ruggiero admits to being Genovese capo 02-02-07
• Facchiano indicted in two states 01-04-07
• Guilty plea from Fla. Genovese associate 12-30-06
• Florida Mafia case based on wiretaps 08-16-06
• Four Floridians held without bail 07-08-06
• Feds break up Florida arm of Genovese family 07-01-06

South Florida racketeers get jail time

Three South Florida men accused of working in league with the New York-based Genovese Crime Family were sentenced March 30 to prison terms and supervised release, according to an AP account published in the Gainesville FL Sun.

Mitchell Wiessman, 54, was sentenced to 97 months (about eight years) in prison and a subsequent two-year substance abuse program. Joseph Dennis Colasacco, 55, will serve 73 months (about six years) before heading into two years of anger management courses. Charles Steinberg, 31, has two years of gambling counseling to look forward to as he serves his 41 months (nearly three and a half years) in prison.

The three men pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy. Wiessman and Colasacco were facing possible 100-year terms if convicted after trial on the charges against them.

Wiessman, Colasacco and Steinberg were arrested in June 2006 along with four other men, including a reputed Genovese soldier, 96-year-old Albert "Chinky" Facchiano, and a reputed local capo, Renaldi Ruggiero, 73. The other men charged in the case were Clement Santoro of New York and Francis J. O'Donnell of Cooper City, FL. All the defendants reached plea arrangements. Ruggiero's plea deal included his acknowledgement that he served as a capo in the Genovese organization.

Related MobNews posts:

• 'Chinky' Facchiano, 96, pleads guilty 02-28-07
• Ruggiero admits to being Genovese capo 02-02-07
• Facchiano indicted in two states 01-04-07
• Guilty plea from Fla. Genovese associate 12-30-06
• Florida Mafia case based on wiretaps 08-16-06
• Four Floridians held without bail 07-08-06
• Feds break up Florida arm of Genovese family 07-01-06

'Chinky' Facchiano, 96, pleads guilty

Ninety-six-year-old Albert "Chinky" Facchiano reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors today and admitted to racketeering conspiracy in Florida and to conspiracy to tamper with a witness in New York, according to an Associated Press report.

Facchiano was charged in Florida along with other reputed members of an aging Genovese Crime Family wing. Prosecutors accused him of participating in rackets involving robberies, money-laundering and bank fraud between 2000 and 2003. He was also indicted last year in New York on charges of trying to locate and intimidate a government witness in 2005.

In declining health, he is likely to receive a sentence of house arrest. Sentencing is scheduled for May 25, according to a story by Jessica Gresko of the AP.

Six other Florida co-defendants, including Genovese capo Renaldi Ruggiero, 73, have pleaded guilty. Ruggiero admitted to his position within the crime family as part of a plea deal. He has not yet been sentenced. The guilty plea excludes Facchiano from an extensive New York case, involving more than 30 alleged members of the Genovese Family.

Facchiano's arrest record dates back to 1932. He was convicted of racketeering in 1979 and served eight years of a 25-year sentence.

Related MobNews posts:

• Ruggiero admits to being Genovese capo 02-02-07
• Facchiano indicted in two states 01-04-07
• Guilty plea from Fla. Genovese associate 12-30-06
• Florida Mafia case based on wiretaps 08-16-06
• Four Floridians held without bail 07-08-06
• Feds break up Florida arm of Genovese family 07-01-06

Ruggiero admits to being Genovese capo

Renaldi "Ray" Ruggiero, 73, admitted yesterday that he was a Genovese Crime Family capo in charge of operations in South Florida, according to a story by AP writer Curt Anderson published in the Miami Herald.

The admission came as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Ruggiero had been charged with participating in racketeering offenses, including extortion, robbery, money laundering and possession of stolen property. The aging and ill Ruggiero signed a deal after his attorneys failed to have FBI wiretaps and tape recordings ruled inadmissable in the case.

Prosecutors have indicated that the FBI listened in on more than 12,000 telephone calls. They say the Palm Beach Gardens resident became the leading figure in local Genovese operations in 2003.

Ruggiero did not agree to cooperate with investigators. He faces a possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine when sentenced on April 27.

Four other defendants charged with being part of a Genovese crew in South Florida have pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Two other defendants, including 96-year-old Albert "Chinky" Facchiano, are awaiting trial. Fiacchiano is also named in a New York indictment.

Fiacchiano's attorneys have requested that the federal cases be consolidated. It is believed that the attorneys are workin on a plea deal, according to a story by Vannessa Blum of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. That story indicates that a plea deal, already approved by the Department of Justice, would call for Facchiano to serve any sentence under house arrest instead of in prison.

Related MobNews posts:

• Facchiano indicted in two states 01/04/07


• Guilty plea from Fla. Genovese associate 12-30-06


• Florida Mafia case based on wiretaps 08-16-06


• Four Floridians held without bail 07-08-06


• Feds break up Florida arm of Genovese family 07-01-06

Facchiano indicted in two states

New York and Florida racketeering indictments against Albert "Chinky" Facchiano, 96, are the focus of an article by Curt Anderson of the Associated Press.
Facchiano is believed to have been a Genovese Crime Family soldier for decades. His police record stretches back to an arrest during the Great Depression.
More recently, law enforcement officials say Facchiano was part of a Genovese family arm operating in south Florida. In late June, he was formally charged in Fort Lauderdale - along with reputed Genovese lieutenant Renaldi "Ray" Ruggiero, 72, and five other men - with extortion, money-laundering and other crimes.
In New York, he faces a similar list of charges, plus an accusation that he attempted to locate and intimidate a government witness in 2005.
One defendant in the Florida case, Charles Steinberg, 31, pleaded guilty in December and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Related MobNews items:

• Guilty plea from Fla. Genovese associate 12-30-2006
• Florida Mafia case based on wiretaps 08-16-2006
• Four Floridians held without bail 07-08-2006
• Feds break up Florida arm of Genovese family 07-01-2006