Mob-linked gambling ring busted in NY

Seventeen people, including alleged members of the Gambino and Genovese Crime Families, were indicted June 28 with participating in illegal sports gambling rings that generated an estimated $20 million a year, according to a story by R.M. Schneiderman of the Wall Street Journal.

Feds want Corozzo off Scarpaci case

Charging that attorney Joseph Corozzo is "house counsel" for the Gambino Crime Family, federal prosecutors have questioned Corozzo's suitability as defense attorney for accused Gambino associate Michael Scarpaci, according to a story by Alison Gendar of the New York Daily News.
    Prosecutors noted that Corozzo suddenly assumed the role of defense counsel following a two-day late-April release of Scarpaci to attend his daughter's baptism.They questioned whether Corozzo, son of reputed Gambino consigliere Joseph "JoJo" Corozzo and nepgew of reputed capodecina Nicholas "Nicky" Corozzo, was being forced upon Scarpaci by members of the crime family. The temporary release may have been interpreted as a sign that Scarpaci was poised to cooperate with authorities, the prosecutors explained, and a defense attorney may have been imposed upon him to keep him in line.
    Corozzo responded by stating that he is being paid for his defense work by Scarpaci alone. "The government will always try to disrupt the defense any way they can," he said.
    Scarpaci, 34, is charged with running gambling operations for the Gambino Crime Family and with extorting payments from loan customers and businesses.

No deals: Taccetta looks ahead to federal trial

Maria Noto, defense attorney for reputed Lucchese Crime Family big shot Martin Taccetta, said May 24 that her client is not seeking a plea deal and is looking forward to a jury trial, according to a story by Peter J. Sampson of the Record.

    Already serving a life prison sentence on a 1993 state racketeering and extortion conviction, Taccetta, 59, of East Hanover, NJ, was one of 23 reputed members and associates of the Gambino and Lucchese Crime Families indicted by a federal grand jury two years ago. The indictment contained 30 counts, but Taccetta was charged in only three of those. He is accused of conspiring to extort a loan payment and of involvement in a scheme to allow non-union labor at a Morristown NJ construction project in exchange for approximately $20,000.
    The cases against all other defendants have been resolved. Taccetta broke off plea deal negotiations in December. His federal trial is scheduled to begin July 6 in Newark.
    "He's not guilty of the charges, and we look forward to an acquittal by the jury," Noto said.
   Last week, Taccetta sought information about the government's witness list and its evidence against him. Prosecutors have noted that at least one informant currently in the witness protection program will be called to testify. Taccetta's request was rejected by U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler.
    

Kerik begins four-year prison sentence

Bernard B. Kerik, 54-year-old former commissioner of the New York Police Department, on May 17 began a four-year prison term at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, according to a story by Sam Dolnick of the New York Times. Kerik (left) pleaded guilty in 2009 to eight felony charges. He was indicted back in November 2007 on charges that he concealed favors he received while employed as a New York City official. Apartment renovations valued at $165,000 were provided to him by a construction company government officials linked with the Gambino Crime Family. Kerik admitted tax fraud, making a false statement on a loan application, and lying to White House officials while being interviewed for the position of Homeland Security Department chief for the George W. Bush Administration.

Kerik's pre-scandal autobiography:
The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice

No added jail time for former Gotti crew member

Michael Finnerty, ex-member of a Gambino Crime Family crew once led by John A. "Junior" Gotti, will serve no additional jail time for crimes he committed as a youth, according to a story by Alison Gendar and Corky Siemaszko of the New York Daily News.

Finnerty became a government informant and aided in the unsuccessful prosecutions of Gotti. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Honig said Finnerty, now a father of three, was sincerely "humiliated by the crimes he committed... I don't see any purpose sending him to jail." Manhattan federal Judge Denise Cote agreed and sentenced Finnerty to time already served, three years' probation and a $12,500 fine.

Finnerty pleaded guilty to numerous offenses in September 2009 and faced a possible sentence of six additional years in prison.

Gambino prostitution ring busted

Prosecutors state that the Mafia hit "a new low" when members engaged in an interstate sex trafficking ring involving underage girls, according to a story by Alison Gendar and Rich Schapiro of the New York Daily News.

Fourteen alleged members of the Gambino Crime Family were named in an indictment charging a host of crimes, including loansharking, extortion and murder. The indictment also charges alleged Gambino soldier Thomas Orefice with devising a scheme to advertise teenage girls for prostitution on Internet site craigslist. Orefice's crew members allegedly drove the girls to appointments in New York and New Jersey and took half of their $200-per-session payments.

One of those charged in the indictment with racketeering offenses was reputed Gambino boss Daniel Marino. Marino is charged with conspiring with then boss John J. Gotti and Salvatore Gravano in the 1989 murder of suspected turncoat Thomas Spinelli. Marino is also charged with the 1989 murder of his own nephew Frank Hydell, also suspected of supplying information to federal investigators.

Feds won't try Gotti a fifth time

Federal prosecutors announced that they will not pursue a fifth racketeering trial for John A. "Junior" Gotti, according to a story by Alison Gendar, Stephen Barcelo and Bill Hutchinson of the New York Daily News. Gotti, 45-year-old son of the late Gambino Crime Family boss John J. Gotti, was tried four times. Each trial ended with a hung jury. The decision was reached six weeks after the latest mistrial.

Merola pleads guilty to racketeering

Andrew Merola, reputed high-ranking member of the Gambino Crime Family in New Jersey, pleaded guilty in early January to one count of racketeering conspiracy, according to an Associated Press report.

Merola, a resident of East Hanover, NJ, was one of 23 reputed Mafiosi arrested in May 2008. He admitted to participation in a crime ring that extorted money from lunch truck vendors and used fake barcodes to buy goods from chain stores at reduced prices.

Two plead guilty to Hydell murder

Two Gambino Crime Family associates, Letterio DeCarlo, 47, and Thomas Dono, 34, pleaded guilty Dec. 21 to conspiring in the April 28, 1998, murder of suspected Gambino turncoat Frank Hydell. The men also admitted participating in an illegal gambling business in the late 1990s.

A fourth mistrial for Gotti

For the fourth time in five years, a federal racketeering case against John A. "Junior" Gotti ended Dec. 1 with a hung jury.

Gotti argued that he long ago ended his association with the Gambino Crime Family once commanded by his father, John J. Gotti. The defense timeline puts any organized crime offenses committed by Gotti outside of the federal statute of limitations.

DePalma dies in prison at 77

Gambino Crime Family capodecina Gregory DePalma of Scarsdale NY died Nov. 18 at age 77 at the Butner Federal Medical Prison in North Carolina.

Anastasia nephew convicted of racketeering

Anthony "Todo" Anastasio, 80, was convicted Oct. 27 in Brooklyn Federal Court of racketeering and extortion charges.

Anastasio is the nephew of legendary Gambino Crime Family boss Albert Anastasia.

Gotti's fourth trial opens

John A. "Junior" Gotti's fourth racketeering trial in the past five years opened today in New York.

Carneglia gets life in prison

Gambino Crime Family soldier Charles Carneglia was sentenced Sept. 17 to life in prison for a racketeering and murder conviction.

67-year-old Gambino deported

U.S. officials deported Rosario Gambino, 67, to Italy on May 23. Gambino, a cousin of former crime family boss Carlo Gambino, was linked to Pizza Connection heroin and cocaine smuggling rackets in the 1970s and 1980s.

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.

Ill 'Roach' seeks early out from prison

After serving 21 years of a 25-to-life sentence for heroin trafficking, Anthony "Tony Roach" Rampino, 70, is asking a Manhattan judge to let him out of prison, according to stories in the New York Daily News and Newsday. 

In requesting a resentencing, Rampino's attorney argued that today's laws would limit his client's prison term to 20 years. The attorney also said Rampino was in ill health with heart and respiratory problems. Justice Arlene Goldberg is considering the arguments.

Rampino (right, much younger), reputed associate of the Gambino Crime Family, is widely believed to have performed a backup role in the 1985 assassination of former Gambino boss Paul Castellano. He is also suspected of participating in the 1980 murder of late Gambino boss John J. Gotti's neighbor John Favara. Authorities say Rampino was never inducted into the crime family because of his drug use.

No public cash for Gotti defense lawyer

Manhattan federal Judge Kevin Castel has ruled that John A. "Junior" Gotti will not be able to acquire public funds to pay his attorney Seth Ginsberg and two paralegals, according to a story by Thomas Zambito of the New York Daily News.

Gotti, 45, is facing his fourth racketeering trial this September. The son of the late Gambino Crime Family boss John J. Gotti, John A. Gotti admits previous involvement in racketeering and pleaded guilty to the charge in 1999. However, he insists he separated himself from the crime family years ago - beyond the statute of limitations for the more recent charges brought against him.

Judge Castel offered to appoint a public defender for Gotti, if he could not afford legal counsel. "Trial will not take place until Sept. 14, 2009, and there is ample time for new counsel to become fully familiar with the case," Castel wrote.

Carneglia convicted of racketeering, murders

Charles Carneglia, once a trusted hitman for Gambino Crime Family boss John J. Gotti, was convicted in Brooklyn federal court today of racketeering and gangland murders, according to a story by John Marzulli and Larry McShane of the New York Daily News and other published accounts.

The jury reportedly reached its decision Monday night. It found Carneglia (right) guilty of four murders, racketeering, extortion and robbery. His victims were armored car guard Jose Delgado Rivera, Gambino soldier Louis DiBono, and reputed crime family associates Sal Puma and Michael Cotillo. The jury could not agree on whether he committed a fifth murder, that of court officer Albert Gelb in 1976. It found Carneglia not guilty of a conspiracy charge.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York provided details on the Carneglia murders. Cotillo was stabbed to death during a fight between two Gambino factions in front of a Queens diner in 1977. Puma was stabbed to death in 1983 over a dispute concerning the delivery of money to a jailed member of Carneglia's underworld "crew." DiBono was shot to death in 1990 on orders of John J. Gotti. DiBono had refused to meet with Gotti when the crime boss summoned him. Rivera was shot and beaten to death during a 1990 robbery of an armored truck at the American Airlines facility at JFK Airport.

Carneglia faces a possible sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. He argued, apparently unconvincingly, that he had left the Mafia life back in 2001, putting his offenses beyond the statute of limitations for federal racketeering charges.

Prosecutors said Carneglia dissolved some of his victims' bodies with acid.

"We sincerely hope that today's verdict brings a measure of closure to the families of Carneglia's victims," U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell said. "They have waited years for this day because the Gambino Family used violence and intimidation to silence witnesses and protect its members."

Carneglia was one of 62 alleged members and associates of the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno Crime Families arrested on Feb. 7, 2008. Carneglia is the only defendant to insist upon a trial - 60 others have reached plea deals.

Alite testifies for feds in Carneglia trial

Federal prosecutors put their latest underworld turncoat on the witness stand today. John Alite, expected to be a key witness in the upcoming racketeering trial against John A. "Junior" Gotti, testified in the Brooklyn federal trial of Charles Carneglia, according to a story by Tom Hays of the Associated Press.

Prosecutors are concluding their case against the 62-year-old Carneglia, a reputed soldier in the Gambino Crime Family who is accused of participating in five racketeering murders and other offenses. While Carneglia was supposed to be on trial, Alite's testimony dealt with a number of offenses charged against Gotti. Alite testified that Gotti collected monthly cash payments from a drug-dealing operation and ordered shootings of underworld rivals.

Alite and Gotti reportedly were close friends through the 1980s and 1990s. The relationship changed after Alite was charged in 2004 with being part of a Gambino crew operating in the Tampa, Florida, area. Alite reached a plea deal with prosecutors. He must testify against Carneglia and Gotti to fulfill his part of the deal.

This past summer, Gotti was charged in Florida with participating in murders and a drug trafficking operation. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyers succeeded in having the trial moved from Florida back to New York, where Gotti has managed to avoid conviction in the last three racketeering cases brought against him.