D'Amico, Watts charged with 1989 murder

John "Jackie the Nose" D'Amico, reputed acting boss of the Gambino Crime Family, and alleged Gambino associate Joseph "Joe the German" Watts have been indicted for participating in the 1989 killing of real estate developer Fred Weiss, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Weiss was shot to death Sept. 11, 1989, as he climbed into his car in front of his Staten Island home. At the time, Weiss was facing the prospect of 70 years in prison for his alleged role in a mob-connected dumping racket in Arlington, NY. Prosecutors say he was killed because then-Gambino boss John J. Gotti believed he was cooperating with federal investigators. Gotti dispatched a squad of hit men to eliminate Weiss, the press release said.

D'Amico (right), 72, was already in federal custody in connection with another case. He was charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy involving murder, extortion, witness tampering, obstruction of justice and gambling and one count of murder of a witness in a federal criminal case. Sixty-seven-year-old Watts, arrested Feb. 11 in Manhattan, was charged with one count of murder of a witness in a federal criminal case.

If convicted, the men could be sentenced to life in prison. Federal prosecutors are also seeking the forfeiture of $4 million from D'Amico.

D'Amico was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court last August to serve two years in prison and pay a $4,000 fine for extorting money from a Staten Island cement plant. He was arrested a year ago, along with scores of other suspects, in a federal roundup of alleged Gambino Crime Family members and associates. Sixty-two people were arrested in the roundup. Almost all reached plea deals for short sentences. D'Amico agreed to plead guilty to the single count of extortion.

Feds arrest 13 alleged NY mobsters

Thirteen men, allegedly affiliated with New York's Gambino and Colombo crime families, were arrested by federal agents yesterday, according to a story by Stefanie Cohen of the New York Post. The men were named in two separate indictments in Brooklyn's federal court.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern Division of New York, one reputed Colombo Crime Family soldier, Michael Angelo Souza, 38, and ten alleged family associates were indicted for racketeering, robbery, assault, firearms possession, loansharking, gambling and narcotics distribution. An indictment stemming from the same investigation charges an alleged Albanian organized crime associate, Lulzim Kupa, 30, with marijuana distribution conspiracy.

The indictments concluded eight months of investigation, including electronic surveillance. Prosecutors say the overheard Souza plans to assault and possibly to murder a Bonanno Crime Family associate in Staten Island.

The ten named as Colombo associates were Anthony Souza, 42; Michael Bolino, 46; Nicholas Bruno, 31; Shelton Willis, 35; Emanuel Ruta, 41; Charles Fusco, 32; Donato DiCamillo, 38; Charles McClean, 33; Stuart Dugan, 30; and Michael Arminante, 33. Michael Souza, Bolino, Willis, McClean, Dugan and Kupa face possible life prison sentences if they are convicted of the charges against them. Maximum sentences against the other accused range from five years (Arminante) to 48 years (Anthony Souza).

Reputed Gambino Crime Family soldiers John "Johnny G" Gammarano, 65, and William "Billy" Scotto, 39, were charged with racketeering and securities fraud conspiracy, according to a separate U.S. Attorney's Office press release.

Federal prosecutors say Gammarano has been affiliated with the Gambino family since 1982 and at various times has held the rank of acting captain. The prosecutors charge that Scotto is also a "made" member of the crime family.

The two men are charged with stock-related frauds between 1995 and 2003, in addition to extortion conspiracy in connection with the frauds. Each faces a possible sentence of 45 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Gammarano's name was in the news in late August, when the court testimony of Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo indicated that John A. "Junior" Gotti became enraged at a group of underworld partners who he believed cheated him out of construction industry extortion money in the early 1990s. According to DiLeonardo, Gotti planned to murder capo Daniel Marino, soldier Gammarano and associate Joseph Watts. When the three men were unexpectedly accompanied by a number of friends to a Gotti-summoned sit-down, Gotti called off the hit, DiLeonardo testified. DiLeonardo made the statements during Gotti's racketeering trial. Gotti was released after a jury could not reach a verdict on the charges against him.

See also:
Gotti ratted on targets of botched hit 09-01-2006