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News and Features about Organized Crime, Mafia and La Cosa Nostra taken from National and Local News Sources. In an attempt to get you this type of coverage in a timely manner we can not be responsible for the content of the following material. |
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8-18-00 Curtains for Troubled Queens Nightclub. Friday, August 18, 2000
By PETE DONOHUE A judge closed a notorious Queens nightclub yesterday that has been the scene of underage drinking, brawling and murder. Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Lonschein ordered the Metropolis Night Club in College Point shut for up to one year. Under the order, the club could only reopen with Lonschein's consent and, most likely, the city's approval. The decision came about two weeks after a Brooklyn teen with alleged links to organized crime stabbed five other young men — including the son of a reputed Genovese crime family captain - at the club, a law enforcement source said. The NYPD Legal Bureau, citing the club's long history as a magnet for trouble, had gone to court seeking closure under the city's Nuisance Abatement Law. "It's good news that it's closed," said Mary Anderson, president of the East Flushing Civic Association. "It was a pit ... breeding problems. It had so many deaths and fights it ruined the community." Police last night padlocked Metropolis, which is on an industrial stretch of 123rd St. and is capable of holding up to 1,000 people. Last August, a gunman riddled a van in the club's parking lot with bullets. A 29-year-old man was killed and three others were wounded. In February, a young man was fatally stabbed in the club's parking lot. Since then, cops issued more than a dozen summonses there for underage drinking and other offenses. Cops padlocked Metropolis on March 17, citing violence and sales of alcohol to minors, but a judge allowed it to reopen. A new owner took over the club in June but problems persisted. On Aug. 4, a dispute outside the club over a woman turned into a melee and punches were traded. Nicholas Gambino, 19, returned with a folding knife and stabbed five men, leaving two in critical condition, police said. A law enforcement source said one victim, Anthony Federici Jr., 19, is the son of a reputed Genovese captain. According to the source, Gambino is the nephew of a soldier in the Gambino crime family. Anderson hopes the days of bloodshed at Metropolis are gone, adding that ideally, it could be converted for use as a community center or a place for after-school activities.
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