Horse gets two years in trash case

U.S. District Judge Ellen Bree Burns today sentenced Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello to two years in prison for racketeering conspiracy and income tax evasion, according to an Associated Press story. Ianniello learned of the penalty in New Haven, CT, federal court.

Ianniello (left), 86, was also ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and more than $250,000 in back taxes. The prison sentence will run concurrent with an 18-month term imposed by a court in New York after Ianniello pleaded guilty of wrongdoing in connection with a bus drivers' union.

As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, the reputed Genovese Crime Family bigshot pleaded guilty to participation in a monopolistic property rights scheme in the waste hauling industry in western Connecticut and nearby New York. Prosecutors claimed that waste haulers paid a regular "mob tax" to Ianniello in exchange for Genovese support for the property rights arrangements.

The plea deal allowed for a maximum sentence of two and a half years behind bars. Judge Burns said she lessened the sentence due to Ianniello's poor health.

Ianniello is a decorated veteran of World War II. Law enforcement agencies believe he became an acting boss of the Genovese family after the successful prosecution of Vincent "Vinny the Chin" Gigante (above right).

Related MobNews posts:

• Ianniello asks for leniency 05-02-07
• 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

Accused 'godmother' returns to UK

Ann Hathaway reached a deal with Italian prosecutors that allowed for her return to Britain last night, according to a story published by the UK Guardian Unlimited.

Hathaway, 44-year-old mother of two and the wife of jailed Sicilian Mafioso Antonio Rinzivillo (the couple appear in the photo above), admitted to Mafia associations and was given a suspended sentence by an Italian court. She was released and returned home to the Middleton area.

Italian prosecutors had arranged for her extradition from the UK by arguing that she managed her husband's underworld empire in his absence. Hathaway has denied the charge.

Related MobNews posts:

• Hathaway agrees to return to Italy 03-23-07
• UK's Hathaway faces extradition to Italy 01-25-07
• UK 'Godmother' arrested 01-19-07
• UK press tracks Mafia 'godmother' 01-08-07

Albania intercepts heroin shipments

Albanian police seized a total of 489 kilos in two recent anti-trafficking operations, according to a story published by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.

The larger of the two operations resulted in the discovery of 428 kilos in a van traveling from Kosovo to the Albanian capital of Tirana. The heroin was hidden in grocery bags.

Albania is reportedly a conduit for Afghan heroin on its way into western Europe.

'Ndrangheta rises to control Milan drug trade

The Calabrian secret society known as 'ndrangheta has risen to control the cocaine trade based in Milan as well as a number of legitimate businesses in northern Italy, according to a UPI story published in the Washington Times.

'Ndrangheta is traditionally a rural gang network in southern Italy. But the story indicates that the network is becoming more involved in urban drug trafficking and violent crime.

During last week's arrest of 20 suspected Calabrian mobsters, including reputed boss Salvatore Morabito, 550 pounds of cocaine were seized.

Pizzonia / Diconiglio trial update

Two women were called to the witness stand in New York Monday to poke holes in the federal case against Dominick "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia and Alfred "Freddy Hot" DiConiglio, according to a story by John Marzuli of the New York Daily News.

The two men are accused of the 1998 racketeering murder of Frank "Geeky" Boccia. Pizzonia (to the left of the photo) is individually charged with the slaying of Thomas and Rosemarie Uva on Dec. 24, 1992.

The 78-year-old mother of Pizzonia's mistress testified that Pizzonia could not have committed the Uva killings because he was at her home in Howard Beach helping to prepare the Christmas Eve dinner.

Francine Boccia said prosecutors "overexaggerated" the fight between her mother and her husband in order to create a motive for Boccia's murder. Prosecutors contend that Frank Boccia struck his mother-in-law, the wife of reputed Gambino Crime Family mobster Anthony "Fat Andy" Ruggiano Sr. and was subsequently killed for that offense.

Last week, the Daily News reported details relating to the disposal of Boccia's corpse in the Atlantic Ocean. Thomas "Tommy Flash" Morea described the transportation and gutting of the remains before they were dropped into the water.

Related MobNews posts:

• Court hears of Boccia slaying in 1988 05-01-07
• 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

Rizzuto pleads guilty to 1981 slayings

Reputed Canadian "godfather" Vito Rizzuto pleaded guilty in a New York court today to participating in the assassination of three Bonanno Crime Family capos back in 1981, according to an Associated Press story.

Rizzuto, 61, will serve 10 years in prison for racketeering under a plea deal with prosecutors.

When Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis demanded that Rizzuto describe the nature of his participation in the 1981 slayings, Rizzuto hesitated. After a conversation with his attorneys, he told the judge that his specific responsibility was to shout "It's a hold up!" so a gathering of mobsters would momentarily freeze. Rizzuto said his co-conspirators then opened fire on Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera, Philip "Philly Lucky" Giaccone and Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato.

The murders were reportedly done to eliminate a rebellious wing of the crime family. Joseph Massino, who rose to command the family and has been sentenced to life in prison for racketeering-murder, set up the hit.

See also: Rizzuto Timeline from Ottawa Citizen

Related MobNews posts:

• 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

Sicilian mob boss is focus of 3 books

Three new books discuss the underworld career of reputed Sicilian Mafia boss of bosses Bernardo Provenzano, according to a story by Steve Scherer of Bloomberg.com.

The books are all written in Italian: "Iddu: La Cattura di Bernardo Provenzano," "Il Codice Provenzano," and "Pizzini, Veleni e Cicoria."

The first book deals largely with the manhunt for the Sicilian boss who eluded authorities for more than 40 years. The second deals with the supposed code used by Provenzano to retain control over his vast underworld empire while in hiding. The third is largely a discussion with Italy's top Mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso.

Related MobNews posts:

• Pondering Sicilian succession 03-31-07
• 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

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

JUST RELEASED:

Deep Water:

Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia

by Thomas Hunt and Martha Macheca Sheldon

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