Botched hit on reputed Brooklyn mobster

A reputed associate of the Gambino Crime Family was wounded yesterday morning during a drive-by shooting in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, according to stories published in the New York Times and the New York Post.

Slugs struck the arm and the leg of Robert DeCicco, 56, son of alleged Gambino lieutenant George DeCicco. Another grazed his head, as he sat parked in his car in front of 1678 Bath Avenue, at the corner of 17th Avenue (photo). He was treated and later released from Lutheran Medical Center.

The DeCicco family is well acquainted with violence. Robert DeCicco's cousin Frank was killed by a car bomb in Bensonhurst on April 13, 1986.

Robert and George DeCicco were indicted along with 11 other alleged mobsters of the Gambino and Lucchese Crime Families, charged with racketeering, loan-sharking, extortion, money-laundering and other offenses.

Appeals court backs Peter Gotti conviction

The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the 2004 racketeering conviction of Peter Gotti, according to an AP story published in the International Herald Tribune.

Gotti, 67, was convicted of racketeering conspiracy. He contested the verdict, arguing that the trial judge acted improperly by allowing evidence of Gambino Crime Family murders with which Peter Gotti was not charged.

Peter Gotti, who reputedly served as acting boss and boss in the Gambino Family, was charged with ordering the death of Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, a mob turncoat whose testimony led to the conviction of Gambino boss John Gotti. The hit was never carried out.

Peter Gotti was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Related MobNews post:

• Peter Gotti still out $3.8M, but could face less time 07-13-06

'Lion' caged without bail

Danny "Lion" Leo, 66, alleged boss of the Genovese Crime Family, was charged with four counts of extortion May 30 and held without bail, according to stories by Kati Cornell of the New York Post and Thomas Zambito of the New York Daily News.

Leo (see Daily News drawing at right) pleaded not guilty to the charges in Manhattan federal court.

Also charged with extortion was Joseph Tricario, who allegedly set up meetings between Leo right-hand-man Charles "Fat Charlie" Salzano and a shakedown victim. Tricario was released on $5 million bail. Salzano reportedly pleaded guilty to related charges last month.

Prosecutors say Salzano was caught on tape threatening a taxi company owner in order to extract a payment. They say Leo also extorted money from an East Harlem gambling operation.

U.S. Attorney Eric Snyder said, "At trial, the government would prove [Leo] is the current boss of the Genovese Crime Family, perhaps the largest and most violent crime family that exists. Two hundred or so members of this violent, ruthless criminal organization can only commit acts of violence with the approval of the acting boss, and that's the type of power he holds."

Leo resides in a $2 million home in Rockleigh NJ, a Bergen County suburb.

Related MobNews posts:

• Feds bust alleged Genovese boss 05-30-07
• Authorities say NJ man leads Genovese family 12-05-07

Italy arrests 10 funeral racketeers

Ten people, including the reputed head of the Sinesi clan in southern Italy, have been arrested in connection with an organized crime racket controlling funeral homes, according to a report in the UK Telegraph.

The suspects were charged with extorting money from 13 funeral homes in the city of Foggia while building a monopoly in funeral arrangements and transport.

Authorities track the growth of the racket to the release from prison last February of Robert Sinesi, 45, and Raffaele Tolonese, 48. Tolonese is regarded as a senior capo in the Strisciouglio family. The Sinesi and Stirciouglio clans are said to be key elements of the Sacra Corona Unita, Italy's fourth largest crime syndicate.

Police are investigating the involvement of hospital personnel in the racket. Nurses, ambulance drivers and security guards are believed to have passed death count information on to underworld contacts and to have helped direct grieving families to connected funeral homes.

Biker gang violence escalates in Australia

Australian police are cracking down on outlaw motorcycle gangs, according to a story by the Marlborough Express. Strike Force Ranmore, drawing police officers from a variety of specialty squads, will conduct regular checks of gang clubhouses and business and motorcycle licenses, as well as covert operations.

There are 35 outlaw groups in Australia, according to an Australian Crime Commission 2006 report, and those include an estimated 3,500 members. Twenty-six new chapters were opened last year.

Gangs like the Nomads, Rebels, Commancheros and Bandidos are believed to be engaged in a violent struggle for territory. There has been a noticeable escalation of violence on the streets of Sydney.

Some gang members are involved in organized crime, murder, prostitution, arson robbery, drug trafficking and production, and money laundering, according to the crime report.

Feds bust alleged Genovese boss

Danny Leo, 65, reputed acting boss of the Genovese Crime Family, was arrested at his Rockleigh NJ home this morning, according to a story by WABC-TV in New York. He is scheduled for arraignment on extortion charges in Manhattan federal court today.

Authorities say Leo recently took over command of the crime family formerly led by Vincent "the Chin" Gigante. Leo's only known arrest occurred in 1980, when he was charged with criminal contempt for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury investigation of illegal activity in East Harlem and the Bronx, NY.

Law enforcement officials first mentioned Leo as the new boss of the Genovese clan at the end of November. New York Sun columnist Jerry Capeci shared the information through his Gang Land column on Nov. 30. Jeane MacIntosh and Kati Cornell followed with a story in the New York Post the following day.

Leo is believed to have associated himself with East Harlem's Purple Gang in the 1970s. That organization served as a minor league for a number of later Genovese and Lucchese Crime Family members.

Related MobNews post:

• Authorities say NJ man leads Genovese family 12-05-07

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

Panzuto agrees to extradition

Gennaro Panzuto, 32, held in custody in the UK, has agreed to be extradited to his native Italy for trial, according to a report in the Lancashire Evening Post. Italian officials have charged Panzuto with running a criminal organization known as the Pincirillo clan in Naples. UK and Italian police tracked him to Lancashire, where he was arrested last week. He is scheduled to be returned to Italy in about 10 days.

Related MobNews post:

• Reputed mob chief arrested in UK 05-24-07

Rizzuto may serve his time near Canada border

A U.S. judge has recommended that Vito Rizzuto, reputed boss of the Mafia in Montreal and confessed accomplice in the 1981 murders of three Bonanno capos, serve his 10-year prison sentence in an upstate New York institution, according to a CBC News report.

Rizzuto (right), 61, was officially sentenced today, though prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed on a 10-year prison term as part of his plea bargain earlier this month. He pleaded guilty May 4 to participating in the assassinations of Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera, Philip "Philly Lucky" Giaccone and Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato. He said his role in the hit was to shout "It's a hold up!" to cause a gathering of Bonanno mobsters at a Brooklyn social club to momentarily freeze.

Judge Nicholas Garaufis recommended that Rizzuto be placed in Ray Brook medium-security prison near the Canadian border. Prison officials will have the final say in his placement.

Related MobNews posts:

• Rizzuto pleads guilty to 1981 slayings 05-04-07
• Attorney: Rizzuto won't flip 04-03-07
• 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

NJ man arrested as Gambino leader

Andrew Merola, 40, of East Hanover NJ, was arrested May 21 and charged with supervising organized criminal activities, with racketeering and with theft by extortion, according to a story by Kareem Fahim of the New York Times.

Law enforcement officials say Merola (whose name was legally changed from Knapik) has been an important figure in the Gambino Crime Family and has worked closely with an ally in the Lucchese Crime Family on racketeering ventures.

Investigators have linked Merola to corruption in Springfield-based Local 825 of the International Union of Operating Engineers and Newark-based Local 1153 of Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA). Two union officials were also arested this week.

Through their influence with Local 825, Merola and his Lucchese Family ally allegedly arranged for a $20,000 bribe from a construction company. Prosecutors have charged Martin Taccetta with membership in the Lucchese clan and with engaging in racketeering with Merola. Taccetta is the brother of imprisoned Lucchese bigshot Michael Taccetta. (Martin and Michael Tacchetta shown at right.) Martin's recent racketeering conviction was overturned, and he is awaiting retrial.

Union officials John Cataldo of Nutley NJ and Joseph Manzella of West Orange NJ were arrested. According to a story in the Daily Record, Cataldo was an organizer for Operating Engineers Local 825, and Manzella was a business agent for LIUNA Local 1153.

"Both men basically surrendered their control of the unions to Andrew Merola of East Hanover, New Jersey, a known soldier of the Gambino Crime Family," said Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow.

Merola is also accused of supervising gambling rings in northern New Jersey and New York State. Those were allegedly run by Merola underlings Ralph Cicalese and Kyle Ragusa. Cicalese is a former investigator of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Before his name change, Knapik was reportedly jailed for almost four years in the 1990s for theft by deception and for distributing a controlled substance.

Genovese capo ordered assault on contractor

Angelo Prisco, 67, pleaded guilty in Newark, NJ, last week to authorizing an assault on an electrical contractor who was competing with a contractor allied to Prisco, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

The U.S. Attorney's Office identified Prisco as a capo in the Genovese Crime Family. Prosecutors charged that contractor John Capelli of the Bronx, NY, paid Prisco $2,500 for authorizing an assault on his competitor. Prisco reportedly passed the assignment along to Michael Visconti, who involved an associate already secretly cooperating with the FBI.

Prisco is likely to serve five years in prison. At the time of his arrest, he was on parole for a state arson conviction and on supervised release for a federal extortion conviction.

Chicago mobster admits 14 killings, cooperates

Nicholas Calabrese, former Chicago mobster and key witness to the upcoming Family Secrets trial, last week acknowledged participation in at least 14 mob murders, according to a story by Steve Warmbir of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The 64-year-old Calabrese pleaded guilty to the killings in U.S. District Court on May 18. Under a plea deal, county prosecutors will not try him for the murders and he will not face any charges as a result of his Family Secrets trial testimony. He is expected to serve at least 24 years in prison, but the U.S. Attorney's Office could recommend a shorter sentence if Calabrese is especially helpful in the upcoming trial.

At his hearing before Judge James Zagel, Calabrese admitted to participating in a racketeering conspiracy known as the Chicago Outfit, which engaged in murders, loansharking and extortion.

When the Family Secrets trial opens next month, Calabrese is expected to testify against his brother, Frank Calabrese Sr.

Nicholas Calabrese claims to have been present for the 1986 murders of brothers Tony (left) and Michael Spilotro. James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, 64, who the Sun-Times calls Chicago's "top mob boss," has been charged with participation in the Spilotro killings.

Nicholas Calabrese's cooperation with authorities followed that of Frank Calabrese's son, Frank Jr. Nicholas was linked by DNA and other evidence to the murder of John Fecarotta. Investigators believe Fecarotta was eliminated for failing to permanently dispose of the Spilotro corpses. Rather than take the fall for the Fecarotta killing alone, Nicholas Calabrese began supplying information on his underworld associates.

In late April 2005, 14 alleged Chicago Outfit members were indicted for racketeering conspiracy as a result of the Family Secrets investigation. Federal prosecutors linked defendants, including "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, Frank "Gumba" Saladino and Paul "the Indian" Schiro, with 18 murders dating back to 1970.

Related MobNews posts:

• TV report previews Chicago Outfit trial 05-15-07
• Family Secret jurors' names secret 04-25-07
• Feds look for $500K from Lombardo 04-24-07
• Witness list of Chicago Outfit trial revealed 04-23-07
• Deputy marshal charged with aiding mob 01-13-07
• Chicago commission papers subpoenaed 01-10-07

See also:

• U.S. Grand Jury Indictments in Family Secrets Case
• The American Mafia website article on Spilotro
• LasVegasNOW: Former wiseguys talk about Spilotro murders

Organized crime linked to Serbian assassination

Paramilitary police officers and members of the Zemun gang - linked to organized crime - were convicted and sentenced this week for the March 2003 assassination of reformist Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, according to a story by Nicholas Wood of the New York Times.

Milorad Ulemek, former leader of the country's top paramilitary unit, and his former deputy Zvezdan Jovanovic each were sentenced to 40 years in prison for their roles in the killing. Ten other associates received sentences between eight and 35 years.

Djindjic helped topple the Slobodan Milosevic regime in 2000. He was allegedly targeted by allies of the late Milosevic.

Reputed mob chief arrested in UK

Extradition proceedings against reputed Italian underworld leader Gennaro Panzuto, 32, begin in a London magistrate's court today, according to a report by BBC News. Italy filed a warrant of extradition with the UK in order to prosecute Panzuto for alleged organized criminal offenses.

After a cooperative effort by Italian and UK police agencies, Panzuto (right) was arrested last week in Lancashire, UK, according to a report on the Manchester.com website.

He has been charged with association with a criminal network and firearms crimes. He is also reportedly suspected of involvement in four organized crime murders in Italy, of extortion and of establishing businesses in Manchester and London to launder underworld funds. An initial review of the extradition papers was held on May 17.

Vittorio Pisano, a law enforcement official from Naples, Italy, stated that Panzuto was the head of the Pincirillo underworld clan of southern Italy, taking over that group from his uncles upon their arrests two years ago. The Pincirillos have battled the Missos clan in Naples for months. Police attribute 20 killings to the feud.

Sicilian mobsters return to power in NYC

Drug-trafficking Sicilian mobsters are returning to positions of influence in the New York City underworld, according to a story by Murray Weiss of the New York Post.

Weiss notes that some of the immigrant gangsters jailed in the Pizza Connection drug case have recently been released. He explains that investigators fear Sicilian bigshots like Rosario, John and Joseph Gambino will reassemble their criminal empires.

The three Gambino brothers are related to the late crime boss Carlo Gambino. Joseph Gambino (right) has been deported back to Sicily.