Attorney: Rizzuto won't flip

A defense attorney for Vito Rizzuto said the reputed Canadian mob boss will not cooperate with U.S. investigators in order to win a lighter sentence for himself, according to a story by Adrian Humphreys of Canada's National Post.

Prosecutors had hinted that Rizzuto (right), 61, was looking for a plea deal. Defense attorney David Schoen refused to comment on any plea negotiations. But Schoen answered "unequivocally no" to a question on Rizzuto's possible cooperation.

Rizzuto was extradited to the U.S. from his home in Montreal to stand trial for alleged participation in the Bonanno Crime Family's 1981 assassination of three underworld figures in Brooklyn. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Former Bonanno Family bigshots Joseph Massino (left) and Salvatore Vitale are expected to testify for the prosecution in Rizzuto's trial. Vitale's cooperation with authorities has been apparent, as he has already testified repeatedly. Massino, who reportedly aided an investigation against Bonanno boss Vincent Basciano, has not appeared for the government on a witness stand yet.

Related MobNews posts:

• Rizzuto, dozens more, arrested in Canada mob sweep 11-26-06
• No parole for Canada mob turncoat Simard 10-22-2006
• Canada's Musitanos up for parole today 10-04-2006
• Fugitive mobsters known to be in Toronto 09-22-2006
• Canada's 'godfather' deported 08-18-2006
• Thug-boxer deported from Canada 08-16-2006
• Canada court clears way for Rizzuto extradition 07-22-2006
• Few contenders for Toronto mob boss title 07-21-2006
• Rizzuto extradition decision due Friday 07-17-2006

Basciano could face death penalty

Federal prosecutors have notified a federal judge in Brooklyn that they will seek the death penalty if Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano is found guilty of ordering a mob execution, according to an Associated Press story by Tom Hays.

Basciano (left), 47-year-old former boss of the Bonanno Crime Family, is scheduled to go to trial in June. He was convicted of racketeering offenses in a separate case last year.

In a brief letter to the trial judge, the prosecution did not explain its decision to pursue capital punishment, a rarity in Mafia trials. The only Brooklyn federal court case to result in a death sentence in the past year was that of Ronell Wilson, who was convicted of killing two police detectives. However, the threat of the death penalty has been used to convince other Mafia defendants to plea bargain or to cooperate with investigators.

Basciano's reputed predecessor as Bonanno boss, Joseph Massino, apparently decided to cooperate in an investigation of Basciano after being confronted with the possibility of a death sentence.

Basciano is accused of ordering the December 2004 murder of Randolph Pizzolo, believed to be a Bonanno family associate. He is also charged with compiling a list of targets for assassination, according to a story by Michael Brick of the New York Times. The list, which includes the name of trial judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, was a device to aid in prayer, according to Basciano. The defendant offered to take a polygraph test to show that the list was compiled with innocent purposes in mind. Prosecutors revealed that Basciano failed that test.

Related MobNews posts:

• 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

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Pondering Sicilian succession

A March 28 article from Janes Intelligence Review mulls the transfer of power within the Sicilian Mafia after the April 11, 2006, arrest of boss Bernardo Provenzano.

There is speculation that the Cosa Nostra is ruled at the moment by a triumvirate of Matteo Messina Denaro (right) of Trapani, Salvatore Lo Piccolo of Palermo and Domenico Raccuglia from Piana degli Albanesi.

Related MobNews posts:

• Sicilian godfather's Bible verse puzzle 01-04-07
• Two ambush murders in Sicily 08-22-06
• Sicily police arrest 52 suspected mafiosi 06-20-06
• Provenzano nearly caught in '04 05-09-06
• Sicilian boss's code 04-26-06

Two convicted of strip club extortion

A federal jury in Manhattan yesterday convicted Salvatore "Fat Sal" Scala and Thomas "Monk" Sassano of shaking down the Manhattan VIP Club, according to a report by 1010 WINS.

The two men were found guilty of extortion and conspiracy to extort. Prosecutors said they used "actual and threatened force" to extract payments from the strip club.

Scala (right), 64-year-old reputed captain in the Gambino Crime Family, was also found guilty of four counts of tax evasion. He reportedly did not file income tax returns for the years 1998-2001. Authorities labeled Sassano, 61, a soldier of the Gambino family.

The two men are in prison awaiting a sentencing date. Scala has reportedly been in poor health. He has cancer and a heart-related ailment.

Related MobNews post:

• Two tried for shaking down NY strip club 03-14-07

Illinois remains identified, man missing since 1997

The DuPage County, IL, coroner's office has identified decomposed remains that turned up in Downers Grove Township as those of Robert Charles Cruz, missing since Dec. 4, 1997, according to a report by ABC7 in Chicago.

The body was identified by fingerprints and tattoos, officials said.

The FBI is checking into possible connections between Cruz and organized crime. Officials note that the bodies of two mob-hit victims were discovered in 1988 about 50 yards from where Cruz's remains turned up on March 20. The former home of reputed mobster Joseph Jerome Scalise is also reportedly nearby.

Cruz was born Aug. 11, 1947. He was about 50 years old when he was reported missing. Authorities would not reveal his hometown. The coroner continues to look into the cause of death.

Related MobNews post:

• Corpse discovered at old Chicago mob burial site 03-23-07

Another trash company manager pleads guilty

Ciro Viento, 44, of Mahopac NY pleaded guilty March 26 in New Haven CT federal court to one count of conspiring to violate the RICO anti-racketeering act, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Viento was reportedly an operations manager for Connecticut-based Automated Waste Disposal, Inc., and affiliated companies.

Viento acknowledged conspiring with others in a monopolistic property rights scheme in the waste hauling industry in which carting companies worked assigned territories and did not compete.

Federal wiretaps revealed Viento conspiring with other haulers to set hauling rates and enforce territorial boundaries through threats (Viento allegedly promised one contractor "a world of hurt" if he did not surrender an account) and secret negotiations.

At sentencing scheduled for June 14, Viento faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Viento already has agreed to forfeit $20,000 to the government.

An investigation of AWD and affiliated companies resulted in indictments against 29 individuals and seven companies. The defendants in the case have included Genovese Crime Family bigshot Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello, who pleaded guilty in December, and AWD executive James Galante, who maintains his innocence. On March 21, another AWD operations manager, Richard Caccavale, 48, of Stormville NY, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

Related MobNews posts:

• Trash co. manager pleads guilty to scheme 03-23-07
• 'No-show' trash company workers sentenced 03-17-07
• Text of Ianniello plea agreement 12-21-06
• Ianiello pleads guilty to trash racketeering 12-20-06
• School bus union boss charged with racketeering 11-21-2006
• NYC schoolbus drivers want mob out of union 11-09-2006
• Galante employee admits hockey-trash link 11-02-2006
• CT mulls waste hauling regulation 09-24-06
• 'Matty the Horse' pleads guilty to racketeering 09-15-06
• Feds: Galante diverted millions 08-10-06
• Galante waste companies could be sold 07-17-06
• Trash racket defendants want court delay 07-12-06
• Indicted garbage co. tries to hold onto contracts 07-10-06
• Strict conditions set for Galante release 07-01-06
• Trash king Galante to stay in jail for now 06-28-06
• Feds run CT waste biz 06-13-06
• Indicted hauler's hockey team suspends operations 06-13-06
• 29 charged in CT-NY trash hauling rackets 06-10-06
• Garbage 'property rights' 04-28-06
• Guilty hauler 04-28-06

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Michigan breaks up auto insurance racket

A five-year investigation by Michigan State Police and the National Insurance Crime Bureau has resulted in 115 criminal charges against 10 individuals linked with an auto insurance fraud racket in metro-Detroit, according to a story by Ben Schmitt in today's Free Press.

State Attorney General Mike Cox said at least a dozen auto shops in the Detroit area are connected to the ring.

Norman Dehko, 35, of Orchard Lake, is accused of leading a criminal conspiracy that staged accidents and thefts and submitted false insurance claims.

Witness intimidation in Newark NJ

Corey McGill, 29, and Llewellyn Johnson, 26, were indicted Friday on charges of witness tampering and other offenses connected with the Jan. 23 beating of a government informant, according to a story by Anthony Ramirez of the New York Times.

The two men are reported to be members of the Grape Street Crips street gang.

They are accused of beating and threatening an informant who cooperated in an FBI drug investigation of the gang in 2005.

The incident is seen as an illustration of a growing problem of witness intimidation in New Jersey.

Sicilian Mafia link seen in Namibian gem firms

There is evidence that two recently licensed diamond firms in Namibia are linked to the Sicilian Mafia, according to a story published March 23 by The Namibian.

That story reports on an 18-month-long investigation into the licenses. Zackey Nefungo Nujoma, son of a former Namibian president and ex-member of the national intelligence service, was reportedly involved in obtaining approval for the licenses to cut and polish gems. Nujoma has stated that he did nothing improper and is not aware of any organized crime links to to the Avila and Marbella companies.

The newspaper quoted unnamed official sources as saying the companies are fronts for reputed Mafioso Vito Palazzolo.

Russian Mafiya suspect killed at courthouse

Accused blackmailer Maxim Kurochkin was shot to death today as he left a court building in Kiev, Ukraine, according to a story by the Reuters news agency.

Officials have linked Kurochkin (left) with a number of corporate scandals and with the Russian Mafiya organization. He was in court for a hearing on extortion charges.

An unidentified gunman shot Kurochkin and a police officer in the yard outside the court building. The police officer survived the attack.

An unsuccessful attempt was made on Kurochkin's life back in 2004.

Corpse discovered at old Chicago mob burial site

Construction workers on March 20 discovered a corpse in an area west of Chicago that had been known as a mob burial ground, according to a report by Mike Parker of CBS-2 Chicago.

Authorities dug up the area in 1988, acting on a tip. They found the bodies of two lower-level Chicago Outfit soldiers - Robert Hatridge and Michael Oliver - buried there. The find this week appears to indicate that the underworld has returned to its old ways. The corpse could have been placed at the site as recently as five years ago.

The DuPage County coroner is working to determine the victim's identity and cause of death.

Construction workers were digging to install a sewer for a townhouse project along Bluff Road near Route 83.

Trash co. manager pleads guilty to scheme

Richard Caccavale, 48, of Stormville NY, pleaded guilty in New Haven CT federal court March 21 to a single count of conspiring to violate the RICO Act through a property rights racket in the waste hauling industry, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Caccavale was operations manager for Connecticut-based Automated Waste Disposal (AWD) and affiliated companies. Federal investigators intercepted telephone calls in which Caccavale reportedly attempted to intimidate trash carters into joining the monopolistic property rights scheme. In his guilty plea, Caccavale acknowledged that a trash hauler's truck was damaged because it would not go along with the rules of the racket.

Caccavale is to be sentenced on June 8. He faces a maximum term of 20 years and a possible fine of $250,000. He has agreed to forfeit $20,000 to the government.

Caccavale was one of a number of individuals and businesses indicted in connection with the property rights scheme last June. Prosecutors charge that the businesses agreed on service territories and made regular payments to New York-based organized crime.

Related MobNews posts:

• 'No-show' trash company workers sentenced 03-17-07
• Text of Ianniello plea agreement 12-21-06
• Ianiello pleads guilty to trash racketeering 12-20-06
• School bus union boss charged with racketeering 11-21-2006
• NYC schoolbus drivers want mob out of union 11-09-2006
• Galante employee admits hockey-trash link 11-02-2006
• CT mulls waste hauling regulation 09-24-06
• 'Matty the Horse' pleads guilty to racketeering 09-15-06
• Feds: Galante diverted millions 08-10-06
• Galante waste companies could be sold 07-17-06
• Trash racket defendants want court delay 07-12-06
• Indicted garbage co. tries to hold onto contracts 07-10-06
• Strict conditions set for Galante release 07-01-06
• Trash king Galante to stay in jail for now 06-28-06
• Feds run CT waste biz 06-13-06
• Indicted hauler's hockey team suspends operations 06-13-06
• 29 charged in CT-NY trash hauling rackets 06-10-06
• Garbage 'property rights' 04-28-06
• Guilty hauler 04-28-06

Hathaway agrees to return to Italy

A British court decided today that Ann Hathaway (above), 44, will return to Italy within the next 10 days, according to a story in the Manchester Evening News. Facing Mafia-related charges in Italy, Hathaway reportedly agreed to the extradition.

The Italian government insists that the wife of jailed Sicilian Mafia boss Antonio Rinzivillo helped to administer the Rinzivillo empire in his absence. After Rinzivillo's conviction, Hathaway returned to her hometown in the Manchester area, where she lived with her two children. The Italian government requested her extradition, and Hathaway was arrested at her home on Jan. 18.

She faces a possible sentence of 24 years in prison if convicted of all charges against her.

Related MobNews posts:

• UK's Hathaway faces extradition to Italy 01-25-07
• UK 'Godmother' arrested 01-19-07
• UK press tracks Mafia 'godmother' 01-08-07
  

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Italy arrests 200 in Camorra crackdown

A thousand police officers swept through Naples, Italy, neighborhoods before dawn on March 20 and arrested nearly 200 suspected drug criminals, according to a report by BBC News.

Police said they were targeting two clans of the local Camorra underworld organization. Entire families, including women and children, were taken into custody and charged with drug dealing or drug trafficking.

Related MobNews posts:

• Italian police arrest more than 100 12-14-06
• Camorra secure in Italy's Scampia 11-15-06
• Naples violence continues despite crackdown 11-09-06
• Italy mulls sending troops to combat Camorra 11-01-06
• LaTorre to be extradited from Scotland 10-28-06
• Caldarelli emotional during UK hearing 09-13-06
• Arrested in London after hiding out for 11 years 09-08-06
• Naples grapples with 'uncivilized' image 08-10-06
• UK Camorra boss to be deported 07-14-06
• Camorra leader held in Spain 06-25-06
• Camorra boss gets 30 years 05-18-06
• 'Bluff the Bandits' in Naples 05-13-06

Feds pressing for Bulger info

According to the March 17 broadcast of America's Most Wanted, federal authorities have released a surveillance video of James "Whitey" Bulger in the hope of locating the fugitive.

Bulger, a former Boston area gang leader and federal informant, has been in hiding for the past eight years. He and Steven "the Rifleman" Flemmi provided information on the New England Mafia to FBI agent John Connolly, who has since been linked with criminal activity and convicted of racketeering.

Bulger was indicted for racketeering in January 1995 but apparently learned of his pending arrest and escaped. He was reportedly a key member of Boston's Winter Hill Gang. His brother Billy Bulger is a veteran legislator in the State of Massachusetts.

Related MobNews posts:

• Informant Mercurio dies at 70 02-13-07
• Dukakis testifies in Limone lawsuit 12-14-06
• Salvati, Limone sue FBI for 1960s frameup 08-19-2006
• Attorney: FBI responsible for mob hit 06-30-2006
• Agent had 'Whitey' concerns in '81 06-14-2006
• FBI 'condoned' crimes, gang hits 06-07-2006