Ianniello asks for leniency

Reputed mob bigshot Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (above) cited his decorated service to his country during World War II as he asked for sentencing leniency in a New Haven CT federal court today, according to an AP story published by the Hartford Courant.

He is to be sentenced to between 24 and 30 months in prison on May 9. He pleaded guilty in December to racketeering conspiracy and tax evasion, acknowledging participation in a property rights racket in the western Connecticut waste hauling industry. Prosecutors say he received regular payments from a group of Connecticut waste haulers who cooperated to set prices in the industry.

Ianniello, who is 86 years old and reportedly suffers from cancer and other ailments, is believed by law enforcement authorities to have been a key figure in the Genovese Crime Family after boss Vincent "the Chin" Gigante was successfully prosecuted.

Ianniello recently was sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to a union racketeering charge in New York.

Related MobNews posts:

• Ianniello sentenced to 18 months in prison 04-23-07
• Another trash company manager pleads guilty 03-28-07
• 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

Court hears of Boccia slaying in 1988

Anthony Ruggiano Jr. related in Brooklyn federal court yesterday the details of Frank "Geeky" Boccia's 1988 murder, according to a story by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News.

Ruggiano, Boccia's brother-in-law and a participant in his murder, was testifying in the trial of Dominic "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia (far left) and Alfred "Freddy Hot" DiConiglio (left). Ruggiano said he, Pizzonia, DiConiglio and the late Anthony "Tony Lee" Guerrieri were jointly responsible for the killing, the result of Boccia beating his mother-in-law (Ruggiano's mother).

According to the testimony, Ruggiano's father and Gambino Crime Family boss John J. Gotti approved the killing. Boccia was lured to a social club run by Pizzonia, where he was shot to death. His body was then taken out into the Atlantic Ocean aboard a mob associate's boat. The body was cut open at the stomach and lungs and then dumped into the water, Ruggiano testified.

Boccia's fight with his mother-in-law occurred after Boccia's daughter's baptism, just a week before his murder.

While Pizzonia and DiConiglio are on trial jointly for Boccia's murder, Pizzonia alone is charged with murdering Thomas and Rosemarie Uva on Christmas Eve of 1992.

Related MobNews posts:

• Two to stand trial for Uva, Boccia slayings 04-10-07
• Gotti lawyers want to exclude Uva evidence from trial 06-28-06
• Gotti tapes link him & dad to Uva murders 06-23-06

Five charged with scheme to rob union

Five people were charged April 24 with plotting to embezzle more than $250,000 from Local 911 of the International Union of Production, Clerical and Public Employees (IUPCPE), according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

Investigators say the scheme was designed to create no-show jobs for family members and friends of August "Augie" Vergallito, 72, of Brick, NJ. Vergallito, a former officer of Local 734 of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), was barred from union activity after being convicted of filing false financial records in 1996.

Vergallito; his daughter Kimberly, 42; his wife Rhoda, 72; an alleged Vergallito business associate Isaac Barocas, 66; and Local 911's finance manager Charles Purcell, 46, were named in the eight-count indictment.

The U.S. Attorney's Office called Vergallito the "de facto head" of Local 911, according to a story in the Asbury Park Press. He reputedly served as an associate of the Genovese Crime Family when he was convicted in 1996, according to testimony in a 2004 LIUNA trusteeship hearing.

Mafia is trafficking in artifacts

The Sicilian Mafia is reportedly involved in the smuggling of stolen archaeological objects through Malta and into the UK and the United States, according to a report by MaltaMedia News.

Authorities are pursuing connections to bank accounts in Switzerland and Malta.

Investigators feel the artifacts smugglers work independent of the Mafia but have been commissioned by that underworld organization.

Family Secret jurors' names secret

U.S District Judge James Zagel yesterday granted a prosecution request to keep the names of jurors in the upcoming "Family Secrets" Chicago Mob trial confidential, according to a story by Steve Warmbir of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The defense objected, noting that jurors could be prejudiced against defendants by learning that the court felt it important to hide their identities. Judge Zagel said he would allow portions of the names of jury pool members to be revealed in order to give attorneys a clue about the ethnic background of prospective jurors.

More than a dozen accused Mafiosi will stand trial in the case, including Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, James "Little Jimmy" Marcello and Frank Calabrese Sr.

Related MobNews posts:

• 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

Feds look for $500K from Lombardo

Federal authorities are pressing to collect almost half a million dollars in fines and judgments from reputed Chicago crime boss Joseph "the Clown" Lombardo, according to a story by Steve Warmbir of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The judgments date back to the 1980s. Lombardo (right) reportedly paid $250 toward a penalty of $143,409.58 in 1986. Since then, the government has been charging Lombardo 18 percent interest per year on the unpaid portion.

Lombardo's court-appointed attorney Rick Halprin has objected both to the timing of the government's demand - on the eve of the "Family Secrets" trial in which Lombardo is a defendant - and to the enormous interest rate.

"Apparently, this is a federally approved involuntary juice loan," Halprin has stated.

Related MobNews posts:

• 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

Witness list of Chicago Outfit trial revealed

Federal prosecutors last week released a partial list of the witnesses they plan to call in the "Family Secrets" Chicago Mafia trial, according to a report by CBS-2 in Chicago (Click here for video). Witness names had been kept secret for fear that harm might come to them.

Among those expected to testify are former mob enforcer James LaValley and Frank Culotta, one-time aide to slain gangster Tony Spilotro.

There are 15 defendants in the massive racketeering case (Click for indictments), including reputed Outfit boss Joseph "the Clown" Lombardo (right). The defendants could face life in prison if convicted.

Related MobNews posts:

• Deputy marshal charged with aiding mob 01-13-07
• Chicago commission papers subpoenaed 01-10-07

Mob turncoat describes fed 'torture'

During courtroom questioning last week, Mafia turncoat Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo described the pressure law enforcement agents put on him to testify against his underworld colleagues, according to a story by Stefanie Cohen of the New York Post.

DiLeonardo (right), a former captain in the Gambino Crime Family, revealed that he had been locked in a freezing cell and given uncooked or inedible food.

The informant said, however, that the "torture" did not prompt him to cooperate with authorities. He agreed to testify only after the Gambino organization turned its back on him and tried to manipulate his son, he said.

DiLeonardo was questioned in connection with Dominick "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia's trial for killing Thomas and Rosemarie Uva.

Related MobNews posts:

• Two to stand trial for Uva, Boccia slayings 04-10-07
• Gotti lawyers want to exclude Uva evidence from trial 06-28-06
• Gotti tapes link him & dad to Uva murders 06-23-06

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Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia

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Ianniello sentenced to 18 months in prison

Eighty-seven-year-old Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello has been sentenced to 18 months behind bars for orchestrating illegal payments to corrupt officials of a Queens, NY, bus drivers union, according to a story by Thomas Zambito of the New York Daily News.

Ianniello has been regarded as a key figure in the Genovese Crime Family for more than a decade. He is believed to have served as an acting boss of the family following the 1997 conviction of Vincent "the Chin" Gigante.

He could have been sentenced up to two years on his September 2006 conviction. In December, Ianniello pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the IRS in connection with a "property rights" scheme in the waste hauling industry in western Connecticut.

Related MobNews posts:

• Another trash company manager pleads guilty 03-28-07
• 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

Assassination focuses attention on Yakuza

A public outcry against Japanese organized crime, known as Yakuza, is the result of the April 17 shooting death of Nagasaki Mayor Kazunaga Ito, according to a story by Martin Fackler of the New York Times.

Law enforcement officials estimate that there are more than 84,000 Yakuza members in Japan.

Tetsuya Shiroo, 59, reportedly has confessed to shooting the 61-year-old Ito. Shiroo is alleged to be a member of the local Suishinkai, a branch of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the country's largest underworld group.

Two to stand trial for Uva, Boccia slayings

Gangland racketeering-murders more than a decade old will soon be tried in Brooklyn federal court, according to a story by William K. Rashbaum of the New York Times.

Dominick Pizzonia (far left), 65, and Alfred "Freddy" DiConiglio, 77, are charged in the case. The two men are jointly accused of the 1988 murder of Frank Boccia. Pizzonia is also charged with the 1992 murders of Thomas and Rosemarie Uva and with gambling and loansharking.

Prosecutors say Pizzonia is a captain in the Gambino Crime Family.

John A. "Junior" Gotti was named as a conspirator in the case yesterday, but he was not officially charged. Gotti has long been mentioned in connection with the Uva slayings, but he has denied any involvement.

Thomas and Rosemarie Uva (right) made a brief but memorable criminal career out of raiding Mafia social clubs in New York. Thomas carried an Uzi submachine gun on the raids, while Rosemarie drove the getaway car. Their career ended on Christmas Eve, 1992, as the couple's car stopped at a red traffic light in Ozone Park, Queens.

Boccia, son-in-law of reputed mobster Anthony Ruggiano, was murdered in June 1988. Rumors linked Boccia's slaying with his physical mistreatment of Ruggiano's wife.

Related MobNews posts:

• Gotti lawyers want to exclude Uva evidence from trial 06-28-06
• Gotti tapes link him & dad to Uva murders 06-23-06

JUST RELEASED: Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia by Thomas Hunt and Martha Macheca Sheldon Click for more information or to order.

Feds: Scala was one of Castellano shooters

During sentencing of Salvatore "Fat Sal" Scala for extortion on April 6, federal prosecutors remarked that Scala had been identified as one of four shooters in the 1985 assassination of Gambino Crime Family boss Paul Castellano, according to a story in the New York Daily News.

Scala (left), 64, was sentenced to six years in prison and 18 years of supervised release for forcing thousands of dollars of payments from a West Side Manhattan strip club and for not paying taxes on the money. He and reputed Gambino soldier Thomas "Monk" Sassano were convicted March 30 of shaking down the VIP Club. Scala, believed to be a former Gambino family lieutenant, was also convicted of four counts of tax evasion for not filing income tax returns for the years 1998-2001.

The stunning news occurred when prosecutor Eric Snyder revealed that mob informant Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano named Scala as one of four Castellano assassins. Scala has never been charged with participating in that mob hit. Castellano and his close aide Thomas Bilotti were shot down outside Manhattan's Sparks Steakhouse (right) reportedly on orders from rebellious Gambino capo John Gotti. Gotti subsequently took the reins of the crime family.

"We could prove he was the shooter on those two murders," Snyder said of the Castellano-Bilotti slayings. The prosecutor said he hasn't been charged because Gravano's reputation as a witness has suffered.

Judge Lewis Kaplan could have sentenced Scala to as many as 17 years in prison, but he lessened the sentence because the aging Scala is currently battling liver cancer, according to a story by Kati Cornell of the New York Post. Scala will be confined to his home for two years after his prison sentence and then will have 16 more years of supervised release.

Related MobNews posts:

• Two convicted of strip club extortion 03-31-07
• Two tried for shaking down NY strip club 03-14-07

Troubled union's boss takes home big bucks

The International Longshoremen's Association faces new scrutiny since it was revealed that the president of the struggling union was paid more than half a million dollars last year, according to a story by Steven Greenhouse and William K. Rashbaum of the New York Times.

John Bowers' salary of $587,078 was twice as much as the leaders of unions more than 30 times larger than the longshoremen's group. Bowers' son James, a union vice president, was paid $292,440. The association membership has dropped 26 percent in the past two years to a level of 43,000 while port traffic continues to climb. The union reported a $10 million operating deficit last year.

The federal government has brought a civil racketeering lawsuit against the association, attempting to have a trustee assigned to control it. Federal officials argue that the union has long been tied to the Genovese and Gambino organized crime families in New York and New Jersey. The lawsuit was filed in July 2005.

Rio prison break attempt fails

Brazilian guards turned back 20 armed men intent on busting convicted Italian drug smuggler Alessandro Castiglioni out of a Rio de Janeiro prison hospital on April 6, according to a story by Reuters UK.

Guards exchanged fire with the men, who reportedly wore black and were heavily armed. No one was hurt. The 20 men sped off in several cars.

Castiglioni, who has been jailed since 2003, was found with two other inmates as they attempted to scale a wall at the prison hospital.

South Florida racketeers get jail time

Three South Florida men accused of working in league with the New York-based Genovese Crime Family were sentenced March 30 to prison terms and supervised release, according to an AP account published in the Gainesville FL Sun.

Mitchell Wiessman, 54, was sentenced to 97 months (about eight years) in prison and a subsequent two-year substance abuse program. Joseph Dennis Colasacco, 55, will serve 73 months (about six years) before heading into two years of anger management courses. Charles Steinberg, 31, has two years of gambling counseling to look forward to as he serves his 41 months (nearly three and a half years) in prison.

The three men pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy. Wiessman and Colasacco were facing possible 100-year terms if convicted after trial on the charges against them.

Wiessman, Colasacco and Steinberg were arrested in June 2006 along with four other men, including a reputed Genovese soldier, 96-year-old Albert "Chinky" Facchiano, and a reputed local capo, Renaldi Ruggiero, 73. The other men charged in the case were Clement Santoro of New York and Francis J. O'Donnell of Cooper City, FL. All the defendants reached plea arrangements. Ruggiero's plea deal included his acknowledgement that he served as a capo in the Genovese organization.

Related MobNews posts:

• '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