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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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12-3-99 N.J. mob arrests to include Islanders. The suspects are accused of crimes including the extortion of an Island bus company. December 3, 1999
By ROBERT GAVIN Several Staten Islanders are said to be among the 39 reputed mobsters and associates charged in three federal indictments yesterday, which authorities are calling a major defeat for the New Jersey mob's Big Apple faction. The reputed goodfellas are accused of a host of crimes ranging from murder and robbery to the extortion of an Island bus company. Authorities say 33 of the suspects were arrested and six are still being sought. The names and addresses of the reputed Staten Island wiseguys are expected to be released today. The indictments target the Decavalcante crime family, which is based in New Jersey but has several New York crews, according to federal prosecutors. Reputed members of the New York-based Gambino, Colombo, Luchese and Bonanno families were also charged in the indictments handed down by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. "These indictments represent the broadest racketeering charges ever brought against the New York faction of the Decavalcante family," said Mary Jo White, the U. S. attorney for the Southern District. "The effect of these charges will be to dismantle the Decavalcante family's power base in New York and to help eradicate the corrupt influence of all of La Cosa Nostra throughout the metropolitan area." "This investigation confirms that those who declare the death of the mob do so at their own peril," said Lewis Schiliro, who heads the FBI's New York office. "Although enormous inroads have been made over the past decade and a half in reducing the power and influence of La Cosa Nostra, much remains to be done." The largest of the three indictments has 42 counts and names three reputed high-ranking Decavalcante members -- including an acting boss and two captains. They were charged along with 12 other reputed family members and associates, authorities said. That indictment alleges 23 acts of racketeering, including the murder of Decavalcante associate Joseph (Joey O) Masella on Oct. 10, 1998, and conspiracies to murder two others. Masella's body was reportedly found dumped on a Brooklyn golf course. A Decavalcante family soldier is accused in the murder. The reputed mobsters allegedly controlled and infiltrated various businesses through extortion, collected loansharking debts from individuals and operated an illegal bookmaking network. They allegedly conspired and tried to rob a payroll office in the Tishman Building at Times Square in Manhattan, participated in an extensive stolen property ring and tried to sell counterfeit Tommy Hilfiger and Jordache merchandise. There was also an alleged fraud scheme involving the purported private placement of stock in a company called RJF Trucking. In connection with the stolen property ring, a reputed Decavalcante soldier and others allegedly tried to sell stolen truckloads of merchandise. The list includes 2,250 cases of swiped Due Torri pino grigio wine, approximately 1,630 cases of stolen Nucci clothing, about 29,000 packages of Centrum vitamins, about 56 Minolta digital copiers and numerous pallets of toner and a refrigerated truck of Kraft goods, authorities said. The indictment alleges that a reputed Decavalcante captain, a soldier and two alleged associates, together with a reputed Colombo capo and associate, extorted businesses -- including Manti's Transportation, an Island bus company, T & M Construction, a Brooklyn contractor, and Barr Industries, a waste hauler in Brooklyn. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of about $2.5 million, which represents the proceeds of the racketeering -- including the homes of six of the reputed wiseguys. A second indictment charges members of the Gambino and Colombo families with running an illegal bookmaking network with the Decavalcante wiseguys. The third charges various defendants, including a Luchese family associate, with operating a stolen property ring with the Garden State goodfellas. The defendants were scheduled to be arraigned yesterday before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV in Manhattan Federal Court. Authorities say the charges came from a two-year investigation by the U. S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, the FBI, NYPD, Port Authority Police Department and Department of Labor's Office of Labor Racketeering. "It should be clear that whether the mob's social club is in New Jersey or in New York, whether the conspiracies are hatched on that side of the Hudson or this side, the law enforcement community in the metropolitan area has its own alliance and commitment to attack organized crime," said Schiliro. Police Commissioner Howard Safir in a statement said, "Today's arrests, which include some of the highest members of the Decavalcante crime family, including an acting boss and two top-level captains, are expected to have a devastating impact on the future of the Decavalcante crime family. "
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