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.

Lake Ontario victim was not Renda

Montreal Mafioso Paolo Renda remains missing. A body pulled Sunday from Lake Ontario was identified today as Quang Li, 47, a Thornhill, Ontario, resident who has been missing since 2007, according to a story by Katherine Wilson of the Montreal Gazette. Renda, a top man in the Rizzuto Mafia and a brother-in-law of reputed boss Vito Rizzuto, was reported missing on Thursday. His car was found near his home, its windows down and its key still in the ignition. Rizzuto is imprisoned in the U.S. Rizzuto's son Nick was shot to death in December. Canadian officials believe the Rizzuto organization is under siege by another underworld organization. The body of Quang Li was found encased in concrete within a rusty steel oil drum.

No deals: Taccetta looks ahead to federal trial

Maria Noto, defense attorney for reputed Lucchese Crime Family big shot Martin Taccetta, said May 24 that her client is not seeking a plea deal and is looking forward to a jury trial, according to a story by Peter J. Sampson of the Record.

    Already serving a life prison sentence on a 1993 state racketeering and extortion conviction, Taccetta, 59, of East Hanover, NJ, was one of 23 reputed members and associates of the Gambino and Lucchese Crime Families indicted by a federal grand jury two years ago. The indictment contained 30 counts, but Taccetta was charged in only three of those. He is accused of conspiring to extort a loan payment and of involvement in a scheme to allow non-union labor at a Morristown NJ construction project in exchange for approximately $20,000.
    The cases against all other defendants have been resolved. Taccetta broke off plea deal negotiations in December. His federal trial is scheduled to begin July 6 in Newark.
    "He's not guilty of the charges, and we look forward to an acquittal by the jury," Noto said.
   Last week, Taccetta sought information about the government's witness list and its evidence against him. Prosecutors have noted that at least one informant currently in the witness protection program will be called to testify. Taccetta's request was rejected by U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler.
    

Concrete-encased body may be Renda's

There is widespread speculation that a concrete-encased body drawn May 23 from Toronto's harbor on Lake Ontario was that of Montreal Mafioso Paolo Renda, missing since last week, according to a story published the Montreal Gazette.

    Police in Montreal have contacted Toronto authorities about the remains, which were found within concrete contained in a steel oil drum. However, neither police agency would publicly comment on any connection to Renda's disappearance. Toronto Detective Justin Vander Heyden told reporters that police have "a good idea" whose body it is. He said identification by the coroner's office would take at least two to three days.
    Renda has been a high-ranking member of the Rizzuto Mafia in Montreal. He is the brother-in-law of reputed Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto, now imprisoned in the U.S. Montreal authorities believe the Rizzuto underworld clan has been under siege since the shooting death of Vito Rizzuto's son Nick last December.
    Released from prison in mid-February, Renda was last seen at 3:15 p.m. on May 20. His wife reported him missing at 6 p.m. Police found his automobile, with the windows down and the keys in the ignition, not far from his home.

Canadian authorities search for Renda

While they wonder aloud if other members of the Rizzuto family of Montreal may be in danger, Canadian authorities are searching for Paolo Renda, missing since Thursday afternoon. Renda (left), 70, is described as 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds. He has gray hair and brown eyes. When last seen, he was wearing navy blue pants and a striped shirt. Renda's car was found parked on Gouin Boulevard West near Albert Prevost Avenue, a short distance from his home on Antoine Berthelet Avenue in Montreal's Cartierville District. Authorities suspect that Renda, an in-law of the Rizzuto family and reputed consigliere of the Rizzuto Mafia organization, was abducted by a rival underworld group. They ask that anyone with information about his disappearance contact Info-Crime: 514-393-1133.

Montreal Mafia leader Renda apparently kidnapped

Paolo Renda, 70, brother-in-law of imprisoned Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto and reputed consigliere of the underworld organization, disappeared on May 20, according to stories by Paul Cherry of the Montreal Gazette and Adrian Humphries of the National Post. Renda was last seen at 3:15 p.m. His wife Maria reported him missing at 6 p.m. Authorities suspect he has been abducted and fear he may have been killed.

    The Mafia of Montreal appears to be under siege by a rival underworld organization. Nick Rizzuto, son of boss Vito Rizzuto, was shot to death Dec. 28, 2009. Authorities suspect that a Calabrian gang may have been responsible. Two men were killed in a March 18 shooting that police suspected was a retaliatory move by the Sicilian Rizzuto clan. The Rizzuto family reportedly came to power in Montreal in the 1970s, after having local Calabrian underworld boss Paolo Violi killed.
    Renda (right), jailed in October 2008 for possessing the proceeds of crime, was released from prison in mid-February. Fearing that he would become involved in a gang war, authorities placed restrictions on his release. 
    Investigating the disappearance, police found Renda's Infinity automobile near Albert-Prevost Avenue not far from his Cartierville home. The windows were open, and the keys were in the ignition. 
    The Renda and Rizzuto families have been close for many years. They share a common background in Cattolica Eraclea, in southern Sicily between Sciacca and Agrigento. Renda's wife is the sister of Vito Rizzuto, now imprisoned in the U.S. He served as godfather to Rizzuto's son Nick, who was killed in December. Renda is considered Rizzuto's right-hand man and is believed to have handled the finances of the Montreal Mafia. He was among the dozens arrested in Operation Colisee in 2006. 
    Rizzuto's father, Nicolo, was scheduled to appear in court May 21 on a five-year-old impaired driving charge. That appearance was postponed after his attorney argued that it would be too dangerous for the 86-year-old to be seen in public. Nicolo was fined in February for evading taxes on millions of dollars held in Swiss bank accounts.


Click for more posts related to Paolo Renda.
Click for more posts related to the Rizzuto organization.


Read more about the Mafia of Montreal:
The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto 
by Adrian Humphreys and Lee Lamothe

Charged with facilitating Boston drug transactions

Mark Rossetti, 50, of East Boston, Massachusetts, was arrested May 20 at his Bennington Street home on charges that he has facilitated the regional drug trade, acording to stories by Richard Weir of the Boston Herald and Travis Andersen of the Boston Globe. Prosecutors say Rossetti is a capodecina in the New England Crime Family based in Boston. The Globe reported in 2003 that authorities identified Rossetti as one of a handful of leaders in the criminal organization.

    Rossetti (left) and several others were arrested in Revere and East Boston at the conclusion of a lengthy undercover operation. The investigation began when Juan Valdez allegedly sold heroin to undercover officers. The state police used surveillance and court-approved wiretaps to gain information on the ring. Prosecutors allege that Robert Ciampi, 39, of East Boston, purchased heroin from Rossetti, who arranged for its purchase through Valdez. Rossetti's home allegedly was used to make the transactions.
    Police arrested Ciampi, Valdez and another man at the same time as Rossetti. State troopers reportedly found large amounts of cash and drugs in homes and a Valdez-driven automobile they raided May 20. State Police spokesman David Procopio told the press that the drug ring distributed heroin in Lawrence, Lynn and surrounding communities.
    Essex Assistant District Attorney John T. Dawley said Rossetti used Mafia connections to broker and safeguard drug transactions. "He provided protection," Dawley said.
    The suspects pleaded not guilty to all charges at arraignment in Lynn on May 21. Defense attorneys said the case amounted to little more than suspicion. They said evidence does not link their clients with drugs. "If [Rossetti] is supposed to be such a big kingpin, where is all the money? Where are all the drugs?" said Rossetti's defense counsel Randi Potash. Of the 142 grams of heroin discovered in the car driven by Valdez at the time he was arrested, defense attorneys noted that the car was not registered to Valdez and that the drugs were found in a secret compartment unknown to Valdez.

Italian police release 'depressed' Mafioso

Magistrates in the northern Italian city of Pavia have released a jailed mobster because he was reportedly depressed and afflicted with diabetes and a heart condition, according to a story by Nick Squires of the UK Telegraph. Sicilian Mafioso Salvatore "Vito" Vitale (left), 64, was part of a gang that kidnapped and killed a boy in order to silence his informant father. Eleven-year-old Giuseppe DiMatteo was kidnapped in November 1993. He was held for two years as gangsters tried to force the father to alter his testimony. The boy was then strangled to death. Vitale provided his underworld associates with a tub of acid to dissolve the boy's remains and conceal the murder. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Vitale's attorneys convinced the Pavia court that Vitale was deserving of a compassionate release. He has returned to his home in Palermo, Sicily.

Staten Island loan shark to prison

Joseph Datello, 59, will serve up to three and a half years in prison for running a loansharking operation out of his brother's Staten Island bar, according to a story by Frank Donnelly of the Staten Island Advance. 

    Prosecutors charged Datello (right) and his brother with conducting illegal gambling and loansharking from the bar between October 2007 and July 2009. According to court documents, the operation paid tribute to the alleged Lucchese Crime Family capodecina Anthony Croce. Croce pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal usury. He will be sentenced June 22. Michael Peterson, charged with working as a collector for the Datellos, has not yet been tried. 

    Prosecutors say Joseph Datello is a Lucchese Family soldier. Datello was previously convicted of enterprise corruption and served two years in prison.

    The Datello brothers pleaded guilty last month to one felony count of first-degree usury. Joseph Datello was sentenced to serve between one and three-quarter years and three and a half years in prison. Frank Datello remains free on $125,000 bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 23.

    The Datellos were arrested in November 2009 during organized crime raids that netted 22 suspects.

Michael Persico released on $5M bail

Accused racketeer Michael Persico was released May 16 on $5 million bail, according to a story by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News. The 53-year-old son of imprisoned Colombo Crime Family boss Carmine "the Snake" Persico, Michael Persico was charged in Brooklyn federal court March 8 of extorting a construction company into hiring a mob-controlled trucking firm to help remove debris from the site of the 2001 World Trade Center bombing. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. Judge Carol Amon approved the release on several conditions. Persico must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. He may not leave his Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, home aside from driving his daughters to school. His telephone conversations will be monitored by the FBI. And he is prohibited from contact with a list of underworld figures.

Kerik begins four-year prison sentence

Bernard B. Kerik, 54-year-old former commissioner of the New York Police Department, on May 17 began a four-year prison term at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, according to a story by Sam Dolnick of the New York Times. Kerik (left) pleaded guilty in 2009 to eight felony charges. He was indicted back in November 2007 on charges that he concealed favors he received while employed as a New York City official. Apartment renovations valued at $165,000 were provided to him by a construction company government officials linked with the Gambino Crime Family. Kerik admitted tax fraud, making a false statement on a loan application, and lying to White House officials while being interviewed for the position of Homeland Security Department chief for the George W. Bush Administration.

Kerik's pre-scandal autobiography:
The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice

Chicago hit man Aleman dies at 71

Convicted Chicago underworld hit man Harry Aleman died May 15 at the prison infirmary of Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Illinois, according to stories by Andrew L. Wang of the Chicago Tribune and Robert Herguth of the Chicago Sun Times. Aleman was 71.

Regarded as a chief enforcer for the mob in 1970s Chicago, Aleman (left) was suspected of involvement in 20 or more murders. However, he was convicted only of the Sept. 27, 1972, shotgun murder of Teamsters union steward William Logan. It took many years for prosecutors to win that conviction. Aleman was acquitted of the murder in 1977. An informant later revealed that trial Judge Frank Wilson had been bribed. Wilson apparently took his own life during the ensuing investigation in 1990. The bribery accusation cleared the way for a second trial though defense attorneys argued it exposed Aleman to double-jeopardy (a second prosecution on a charge for which he had already been tried and found not guilty). Prosecutors successfully argued that Aleman faced no actual jeopardy in the first trial because of the bribery of the judge. Aleman was convicted of the Logan murder in 1997. Judge Michael Toomin sentenced him to a prison sentence of 100 to 300 years.

During his underworld career, Aleman was feared throughout the Midwest. Retired reporter John Drummond, who covered Aleman's murder trials, told the Tribune, "You were in trouble if you looked in your rearview mirror and saw Harry Aleman."

Read about the Chicago Outfit:
Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob
Capone: The Life and World of Al Capone
The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America
Mr. Capone: The Real - and complete - story of Al Capone

Genovese-linked DeLutro gets 20 years

John "Wizzie" DeLutro, 33, of New Dorp, NY, was sentenced May 14 to 20 years in prison for his role in the April 29, 2008, slaying of 43-year-old jeweler Louis Antonelli, according to a story by Frank Donnelly of the Staten Island Advance. DeLutro has been linked with the Genovese Crime Family.

There are five other defendants in the murder case. DeLutro was the first to be sentenced. Others include shooter Charles Santiago, 27, of Grant City; accomplice Joseph Gencarelli, 27, of Grant City; lookout and Genovese Family associate Anthony Pica, 31, of Bay Terrace; and 74-year-old Anthony "Tico" Antico. Except for Antico who has not yet been tried, the defendants have pleaded guilty or have been found guilty at trial.

A reputed capodecina in the Genovese organization, Antico is scheduled for trial in Brooklyn federal court this summer. His criminal history dates back to 1955 and includes convictions for attempted robbery and racketeering. Antico is serving time in federal prison for intimidating a witness. Prosecutors are seeking to impanel an anonymous jury for his trial.

Feds mull expense of executing Basciano

Brooklyn federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis has suggested that pursuing the death penalty against former Bonanno crime boss Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano could be prohibitively expensive, according to a story by John Marzulli of the New York Daily News. Basciano, 50, is already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Federal prosecutors are preparing for a racketeering murder case that could cost Basciano his life. But the cost to the taxpayer was on Garaufis' mind: "To date, Basciano's defense has required the expenditure of over $3 million of public funds for legal fees and ancillary expenses. The possibility of a death sentence ensures that these costs will grow substantially." Basciano is awaiting trial for the 2004 murder of mob associate Randolph Pizzolo.

A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno
The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino (Berkley True Crime)

No added jail time for former Gotti crew member

Michael Finnerty, ex-member of a Gambino Crime Family crew once led by John A. "Junior" Gotti, will serve no additional jail time for crimes he committed as a youth, according to a story by Alison Gendar and Corky Siemaszko of the New York Daily News.

Finnerty became a government informant and aided in the unsuccessful prosecutions of Gotti. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Honig said Finnerty, now a father of three, was sincerely "humiliated by the crimes he committed... I don't see any purpose sending him to jail." Manhattan federal Judge Denise Cote agreed and sentenced Finnerty to time already served, three years' probation and a $12,500 fine.

Finnerty pleaded guilty to numerous offenses in September 2009 and faced a possible sentence of six additional years in prison.