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.

Lucchese betting ring arraignment

Thirty-four people, including leading figures from Lucchese Crime Family operations in New Jersey, were arraigned July 28 for racketeeing, money laundering, gambling and other offenses, according to a story by Peggy Wright of the Daily Record. The defendants all pleaded not guilty. The charges stemmed from an investigation of an international sports gambling enterprise that hauled in $2.2 billion in wagers over a 15-month period.
    The indictments against the 34 were returned in May. The defendants included Martin Taccetta, 59, of East Hanover NJ. Tacceta, currently serving a life prison sentence on a 1993 racketeering conviction, is believed to have been the New Jersey commander of the Lucchese organization. Taccetta was released from prison in 2004 after a successful legal appeal and allegedly became involved in the gambling operation during his time out of prison. The New Jersey State Supreme Court returned him to prison to serve out his sentence. He was charged July 28 with conspiracy and promotion of gambling.

    Other defendants are Ralph V. Perna (right), 64, of East Hanover, reputed top Lucchese capodecina in the Garden State; James Furfaro, Jr., 30, of Parsippany; and Alfonso "Tic" Cataldo, 68, of Florham Park. Perna is accused of overseeing the day-to-day operations of the gambling enterprise allegedly managed by his three sons, Joseph M. Perna, 40, John G. Perna, 32, and Ralph M. Perna, 38.

    Related post: NJ charges 34 with gambling, racketeering

Montreal Mafioso is victim of daylight hit

Agostino Cuntrera, 66, leading member of the Montreal Mafia, was murdered Tuesday in a daylight shooting at his east-end Montreal restaurant, according to a report by CTV of Canada. Also killed in the attack was Cuntrera's 48-year-old bodyguard.
    A black Chevrolet Impala was observed fleeing the scene. Police arrested two men in a similar automobile. One of the them was released.
    Authorities say Cuntrera took over command of the Sicilian criminal society in Montreal following the U.S. jailing of boss Vito Rizzuto for racketeering murders in Brooklyn. In December, Rizzuto's son Nick was shot to death in a daylight hit in Montreal's Notre Dame de Grace District. Paolo Renda, 70, a Rizzuto in-law who considered a top adviser to the Rizzuto organization, disappeared in May.
    A Calabrian underworld organization is widely believed responsible for the attacks on the Sicilian Rizzuto organization. The Rizzutos reportedly came to power in Montreal by eliminating a local Calabrian boss.
    Cuntrera was born in Sicily in 1944 and settled in Canada by 1965. He aided the Rizzuto clan as it established itself in Montreal. Cuntrera served five years in prison after being convicted of conspiring in the 1978 murder of Calabrian gang boss Paolo Violi.

Palumbo charged with 1992 murder conspiracy

Already charged with racketeering and extortion, Anthony "Tony D" Palumbo was indicted June 15 for conspiring in the 1992 mob murder of Angelo Sangiuolo, according to a story by Bruce Golding of the New York Post.

    Sangiuolo was reportedly targeted because he was found to be robbing Palumbo-run gambling establishments in the Bronx. Federal authorities say Vincent "the Chin" Gigante, then boss of the Genovese Crime Family, approved the hit. Genovese capodecina Angelo Prisco helped lure Sangiuolo, Prisco's cousin, to the scene of his murder. Prisco has been convicted and jailed for complicity in the murder. Triggerman John Leto pleaded guilty of involvement in the killing and testified against Prisco. Paul "Doc" Gaccione was arrested in April and charged with being a getaway driver in the hit.

   

    Reputed acting capodecina Palumbo has overseen Genovese operations in New Jersey since 2006, said federal prosecutors. The latest indictment also charges him with plotting to extort money from Russian mobsters engaged in a gasoline tax racket. That scheme, which never came about, would have involved a Palumbo killing of a hitman employed by the Russians, according to federal prosecutors.

    Palumbo, free on bond, pleaded not guilty to the new charges.

Sammartino pleads guilty to loansharking

Reputed Bonanno Crime Family capodecina Joseph "Sammy" Sammartino, 55, pleaded guilty June 21 to loansharking, according to a story by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News. The plea was entered in Brooklyn federal court. Sammartino faces a sentence of up to two years in prison when sentenced in October. Federal authorities say Sammartino is a member of the ruling panel of the Bonanno organization.

Riccobene grandson killed in Philadelphia

Rocco Maniscalco, 38, grandson of Philadelphia underworld leader Harry "the Hunchback" Riccobene, was shot to death June 10 by an unknown gunman outside his South Philadelphia home, according to a story by Dana DiFilippo of the Philadelphia Daily News. Maniscalco was walking home from the Wolf Street Cafe in the early morning hours, when the gunman, a slim man in a white shirt, jumped out of the shadows and fired at least 10 shots. The gunman escaped in a dark SUV. Maniscalco died near the corner of Wolf and Colorado Streets at 1:20 a.m.

Franzese Jr. testifies against underboss dad

John Franzese Jr. stepped to the witness stand in Brooklyn Federal Court on June 9 to testify against his father, reputed Colombo Crime Family underboss John "Sonny" Franzese, according to reports by the New York Daily News and the New York Post. The elder Franzese, 93 years old, is accused of setting up New York area businesses for mob extortion. As Franzese Jr. took the stand, his father lapsed into a nap, prompting New York media to nickname him, "The Nodfather." The younger Franzese, 50, testified that his father led him into a life of crime by age 16. Later, as Franzese battled a growing drug addiction, he became an informant for the FBI.

Bruno's Philly home is on the market

The South Philadelphia home where local Mafia boss Angelo "Gentle Don" Bruno was shot to death 30 years ago is up for sale. The asking price is $250,000, according to an AP report. The home was put on the market by Bruno's daughter Jean, who is planning to move out of the area. Sitting in his car in front of the home, Angelo Bruno (left) was killed March 12, 1980, by a shotgun blast to the head.

Read:
Before Bruno & How He Became Boss: Book 3 - 1946-1959 (The History of the Philadelphia Mafia)

$9.9M settlement for man framed for murder

Barry Gibbs spent about 18 years of his life behind bars for a crime he did not commit. On June 3, the 62-year-old Gibbs received a $9.9 million settlement from the City of New York as compensation, according to stories in the New York Daily News and the New York Post. It is the largest civil rights settlement in city history. Gibbs was reportedly framed for a murder conviction by corrupt "Mafia Cop" Louis Eppolito. He was convicted of killing prostitute Virginia Robertson and sent to prison in 1988. He was released in September 2005, after Eppolito and his partner Stephen Caracappa were arrested and a key witness in the Robertson murder case admitted that Eppolito coerced him into accusing Gibbs.

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.

Wiretaps capture Lucchese-Bloods alliance

A New Jersey case against 34 reputed underworld figures is based on hundreds of wiretapped conversations, some of which illustrate an alliance between the Lucchese Crime Family and the Nine Trey Gangster set of the Bloods street gang, according to a story by George Anastasia of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
    During the course of Operation Heat, investigators tracked and recorded at least a dozen conversations between imprisoned Nine Trey leader Edwin Spears and reputed mobsters Joseph Perna, 40, and Michael Cetta, 41. The groups are alleged to have cooperated on the smuggling of drugs and prepaid cellphones into East Jersey State Prison. Portions of the recorded conversations were presented in a 195-page investigative affidavit that is part of the pending criminal case.

Buffalo man charged in NJ gambling case

Brian R. Cohen, 61, of Buffalo NY, was charged May 27 with money laundering and gambling promotion in connection with a New Jersey-based Lucchese Crime Family online gaming racket, according to a story by Chris Megerian of  the Star-Ledger. The racket processed wagers amounting to $2.2 billion in a 15-month period, prosecutors said. Bets were routed through a wire room in Costa Rica, where Cohen (right) maintains a residence. Detectives arrested Cohen May 16 at Buffalo Niagara International Airport as he got off a plane from Central America. Two days earlier, prosecutors announced a 34-count indictment against alleged Lucchese Crime Family members and associates, including the alleged current and former leaders of the crime family's operations in New Jersey.

Canada agency orders Gallo deported

Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board ordered May 27 that reputed Montreal Mafioso Moreno Gallo be deported to Italy, according to a story by Paul Cherry of the Montreal Gazette. Born and raised in Italy, Gallo (left) has been a Canadian resident for almost 50 years. In the 1970s, Gallo was sentenced to a life prison sentence for the murder of a drug dealer. He was paroled in the early 1980s. During the Project Colisee investigation, authorities videotaped him bringing large quantities of cash to the Cosenza Social Club, a headquarters of the Rizzuto Mafia clan. Gallo was returned to prison for violating the conditions of his parole.

Bilek is Chicago Crime Commission exec VP

Criminologist Arthur Bilek has been named executive vice president of the Chicago Crime Commission. The commission announced the appointment May 23. Bilek is a highly regarded expert on organized crime. He founded the criminal justice department of the University of Illinois at Chicago, served as a special investigator for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office and held other law enforcement positions. He is author and coauthor of books about Chicago organized crime history. Following his appointment, Bilek said he intended to reintroduce the crime commission's "Most Wanted" program and to expose the link between Chicago area drug gangsters and street violence.

Genovese associate Masullo, two brothers sentenced

Three Masullo brothers of Brooklyn were sentenced May 25 to prison terms for criminal conduct related to the Genovese Crime Family, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Felice Masullo, 38, was sentenced to 41 months. Anthony Masullo, 35, was sentenced to seven months. Angelo Masullo, 40, was sentenced to one year and a day.
    Felice Masullo, described by federal prosecutors as an up and coming associate in Anthony Palumbo's Genovese crew, pleaded guilty Nov. 6, 2009, to charges related to cocaine distribution conspiracy, extortion conspiracy and illegal gambling conspiracy. According to federal prosecutors, he admitted participating in the racketeering enterprise known as the Genovese Crime Family.
    Anthony and Angelo Masullo pleaded guilty to participating in an extortion conspiracy.
    The press release states that Felice Masullo functioned in part as Palumbo's driver, accompanied him to meetings and delivered Palumbo messages to other members and associates of the Genovese Crime Family. "In connection with his criminal businesses, Felice Masullo relied on the assistance of two of his brothers..., who, among other things, collected cash payments from loansharking victims and gamblers. Felice Masullo, Anthony Masullo and Angelo Masullo operated these illegal businesses out of a restaurant they operated together in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York," the release said.
    The brothers were indicted with a group of other defendants, including reputed former Genovese acting boss Daniel Leo, his nephew Joseph Leo, Vincent Cotona, Charles Salzano, Arthur Boland and Patsy Aversa. Daniel Leo pleaded guilty to racketeering offenses and was sentenced March 23 to 18 months in prison and the forfeit of $1.3 million. Joseph Leo, who pleaded guilty to related charges, received a year in prison and was ordered to forfeit $200,000.
    Cotona pleaded guilty March 3 to receiving proceeds of extortion and was sentenced March 25 to 10 months in prison. Salzano pleaded guilty March 5 to knowingly receiving the proceeds of extortion and to operating a gambling business. He will be sentenced June 9. Boland pleaded guilty Feb. 19 to loansharking and will be sentenced May 21. Aversa pleaded guilty April 9 to tax evasion and will be sentenced July 8.