by JCB1977 » Tue May 26, 2015 10:02 am
This article was done in 1999 in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette after Strollo agreed to cooperate. As part of his cooperation, the Feds let him keep $10 million in cash and other real estate holdings worth another $10 million.
OHIO CRIME BOSS STROLLO DESCRIBES HIS OPERATIONS, POLITICAL PAYOFFS
BYLINE: FROM WIRE DISPATCHES
DATE: March 7, 1999
PUBLICATION: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
EDITION: TWO STAR
SECTION: NATIONAL
PAGE: A-14
Lenine Strollo spoke last week about a place where justice was for sale, an unbought prosecutor was targeted for death, underworld rivalries turned deadly and lucrative municipal contracts flowed to mob coffers.
Federal prosecutors in Ohio say Pittsburgh organized crime figures chose Strollo to head mob activities in Mahoning County, Ohio, because of his control of politicians and police and his ability to earn money from illegal gambling operations in and around Youngstown. Strollo, 68, pleaded guilty Feb. 16 to racketeering and tax fraud, in exchange for a prison term of as little as 12 years. Last week he testified in U.S. District Court in Cleveland against his top associate, Bernard Altshuler, 67, and Altshuler's enforcers, Jeffrey Riddle, 38, and Lavance Turnage, 25. They are accused of planning the killing of rival mobster Ernie Biondillo, trying to assassinate Mahoning County Prosecutor-elect Paul Gains and participating in Strollo's illegal gambling operations.
In the mid-1980s, Strollo testified, he and Joseph Naples were inducted into the Pittsburgh Mafia.
He identified Michael J. Genovese, 79, of West Deer, whom prosecutors have not charged, as the head of the Pittsburgh Mafia family. "You get together with other members, you took an oath, draw blood from a finger and burn a religious card to take an oath of silence," he said.
Naples headed the Mahoning Valley mob for several years, until his murder in August 1991. Strollo said he played no role in Naples' death and does not know who killed him. But he inherited Naples' position.
He said Charles Imburgia of Warren, Ohio, summoned him to a meeting with Patsy Feruccio of Canton, Ohio. In 1990 the Pennsylvania Crime Commission described Imburgia, now 91, and Feruccio, 81, as top associates of Genovese.
"They told me that I was going to be the boss of Youngstown," he said.
Strollo made Altshuler and Lawrence Garono his top lieutenants. He had met Altshuler 30 years earlier through Henry Zottola of Plum, another top Genovese associate who died in August.
Strollo and other witnesses made other disclosures last week.
* Strollo admitted having attorney Gary Van Brocklin shot to gain a delay in a 1996 robbery and burglary case against mob soldier Lavance Turnage. Turnage wanted attorney Michael Rich to take over as attorney and get the case fixed, but Van Brocklin balked at getting the case delayed. In the middle of the trial, on April 1, 1996, Van Brocklin was shot in the leg at his office. A mistrial was declared, and Turnage hired Rich.
* Van Brocklin admitted that he had done legal work for Strollo. Later, Strollo testified that Van Brocklin was his business lawyer in the 1970s and that he financed Van Brocklin's 1984 campaign for county prosecutor. At his request, he said, Van Brocklin made Rich an assistant prosecutor. But as prosecutor, Strollo said, Van Brocklin shifted his allegiance to Naples.
* Van Brocklin denied that he did anything improper for Strollo. But on Friday he resigned as a special prosecutor for the Mahoning County Fraud Task Force. He was appointed to the position in October to investigate sheriff's deputies on various corruption charges.
* In an attempt to fix the Turnage case, Strollo turned to George Alexander, a disbarred attorney, and James Philomena, a former county prosecutor. They planned to have Turnage sentenced to three-to-fifteen years in prison, and then get him released quickly on shock parole.
* In exchange for fixing the Turnage case, Strollo said, Alexander and Philomena wanted Paul Gains killed. Gains had defeated Philomena in the March 1996 primary election. Strollo would then try to have Rich appointed prosecutor. On Dec. 24, 1996, a gunman ambushed and shot Gains in his home. He survived the attack. Neither Alexander nor Philomena has been charged.
* Strollo said he mediated a dispute between New York mob boss John Gotti and Boardman, Ohio, businessman Bruce Zoldan, who operated B.J. Alan Fireworks Inc. He said Zoldan had agreed to a 10 percent kickback on all fireworks sold in New York City, then reneged on a $300,000 payment. New York mobsters wanted to hurt or kill Zoldan, but working through Zottola and William D' Elia of the Buffalo, N.Y., crime family, Strollo got the debt reduced to $100,000. Zoldan's attorney called Strollo's story "pure fabrication."
* Strollo admitted ordering the hit on mob rival Ernie Biondillo in 1996. He said Biondillo ran gambling operations behind his back, including poker machines in Hillsville, Pa., and a bingo game at the Pacar Center near New Castle. He said Biondillo had badmouthed him to Zottola and he believed Biondillo was trying to have him killed. "He had no respect for anybody," Strollo said of Biondillo.
* Strollo admitted that he helped arrange the 1980 disappearance of Charles Carabbia for mob leaders. Carabbia represented the Cleveland Mafia family that was engaged in a turf war with the Pittsburgh mob in which 10 people were killed. His car was found abandoned in Cleveland and his body was never found.
* Strollo said he arranged to have police Sgt. Charles Xanakis made police chief in the Youngstown suburb of Campbell. Xanakis, no longer police chief, has pleaded guilty to charges that he took $500 monthly payments fromStrollo and $2,000 for a Hawaiian vacation in exchange for ignoring illegal gambling.
* Michael Rich, Campbell law director for most of the period from 1976 to 1996, said he fixed cases in municipal court for Strollo, protected Strollo's gambling operations, falsified the results of police promotional exams soStrollo could determine who served on the force, and steered contracts worth millions of dollars to companies controlled by Strollo. Rich has pleaded guilty to charges.
* While serving as an assistant county prosecutor, Rich said, he fixed grand jury cases for Strollo.
* Strollo said he bribed Mahoning County Court Judge Martin Emrich because his stepson, Raymond Hertz, had a drunken driving case before the judge. Strollo had associate Lawrence Garono do landscaping at Emrich's home.
* Strollo said he gave $10,000 to Philip Chance for his 1996 campaign for county sheriff. Chance has pleaded not guilty to charges.
* Garono said he got Chance to appoint his cousin, John Chicase, chief of detectives, and then had Chicase raid illegal gambling operations that were not sanctioned by Strollo. Chicase has pleaded guilty to charges.
This article was done in 1999 in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette after Strollo agreed to cooperate. As part of his cooperation, the Feds let him keep $10 million in cash and other real estate holdings worth another $10 million.
[b]OHIO CRIME BOSS STROLLO DESCRIBES HIS OPERATIONS, POLITICAL PAYOFFS
BYLINE: FROM WIRE DISPATCHES
DATE: March 7, 1999
PUBLICATION: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
EDITION: TWO STAR
SECTION: NATIONAL
PAGE: A-14[/b]
Lenine Strollo spoke last week about a place where justice was for sale, an unbought prosecutor was targeted for death, underworld rivalries turned deadly and lucrative municipal contracts flowed to mob coffers.
Federal prosecutors in Ohio say Pittsburgh organized crime figures chose Strollo to head mob activities in Mahoning County, Ohio, because of his control of politicians and police and his ability to earn money from illegal gambling operations in and around Youngstown. Strollo, 68, pleaded guilty Feb. 16 to racketeering and tax fraud, in exchange for a prison term of as little as 12 years. Last week he testified in U.S. District Court in Cleveland against his top associate, Bernard Altshuler, 67, and Altshuler's enforcers, Jeffrey Riddle, 38, and Lavance Turnage, 25. They are accused of planning the killing of rival mobster Ernie Biondillo, trying to assassinate Mahoning County Prosecutor-elect Paul Gains and participating in Strollo's illegal gambling operations.
In the mid-1980s, Strollo testified, he and Joseph Naples were inducted into the Pittsburgh Mafia.
He identified Michael J. Genovese, 79, of West Deer, whom prosecutors have not charged, as the head of the Pittsburgh Mafia family. "You get together with other members, you took an oath, draw blood from a finger and burn a religious card to take an oath of silence," he said.
Naples headed the Mahoning Valley mob for several years, until his murder in August 1991. Strollo said he played no role in Naples' death and does not know who killed him. But he inherited Naples' position.
He said Charles Imburgia of Warren, Ohio, summoned him to a meeting with Patsy Feruccio of Canton, Ohio. In 1990 the Pennsylvania Crime Commission described Imburgia, now 91, and Feruccio, 81, as top associates of Genovese.
"They told me that I was going to be the boss of Youngstown," he said.
Strollo made Altshuler and Lawrence Garono his top lieutenants. He had met Altshuler 30 years earlier through Henry Zottola of Plum, another top Genovese associate who died in August.
Strollo and other witnesses made other disclosures last week.
* Strollo admitted having attorney Gary Van Brocklin shot to gain a delay in a 1996 robbery and burglary case against mob soldier Lavance Turnage. Turnage wanted attorney Michael Rich to take over as attorney and get the case fixed, but Van Brocklin balked at getting the case delayed. In the middle of the trial, on April 1, 1996, Van Brocklin was shot in the leg at his office. A mistrial was declared, and Turnage hired Rich.
* Van Brocklin admitted that he had done legal work for Strollo. Later, Strollo testified that Van Brocklin was his business lawyer in the 1970s and that he financed Van Brocklin's 1984 campaign for county prosecutor. At his request, he said, Van Brocklin made Rich an assistant prosecutor. But as prosecutor, Strollo said, Van Brocklin shifted his allegiance to Naples.
* Van Brocklin denied that he did anything improper for Strollo. But on Friday he resigned as a special prosecutor for the Mahoning County Fraud Task Force. He was appointed to the position in October to investigate sheriff's deputies on various corruption charges.
* In an attempt to fix the Turnage case, Strollo turned to George Alexander, a disbarred attorney, and James Philomena, a former county prosecutor. They planned to have Turnage sentenced to three-to-fifteen years in prison, and then get him released quickly on shock parole.
* In exchange for fixing the Turnage case, Strollo said, Alexander and Philomena wanted Paul Gains killed. Gains had defeated Philomena in the March 1996 primary election. Strollo would then try to have Rich appointed prosecutor. On Dec. 24, 1996, a gunman ambushed and shot Gains in his home. He survived the attack. Neither Alexander nor Philomena has been charged.
* Strollo said he mediated a dispute between New York mob boss John Gotti and Boardman, Ohio, businessman Bruce Zoldan, who operated B.J. Alan Fireworks Inc. He said Zoldan had agreed to a 10 percent kickback on all fireworks sold in New York City, then reneged on a $300,000 payment. New York mobsters wanted to hurt or kill Zoldan, but working through Zottola and William D' Elia of the Buffalo, N.Y., crime family, Strollo got the debt reduced to $100,000. Zoldan's attorney called Strollo's story "pure fabrication."
* Strollo admitted ordering the hit on mob rival Ernie Biondillo in 1996. He said Biondillo ran gambling operations behind his back, including poker machines in Hillsville, Pa., and a bingo game at the Pacar Center near New Castle. He said Biondillo had badmouthed him to Zottola and he believed Biondillo was trying to have him killed. "He had no respect for anybody," Strollo said of Biondillo.
* Strollo admitted that he helped arrange the 1980 disappearance of Charles Carabbia for mob leaders. Carabbia represented the Cleveland Mafia family that was engaged in a turf war with the Pittsburgh mob in which 10 people were killed. His car was found abandoned in Cleveland and his body was never found.
* Strollo said he arranged to have police Sgt. Charles Xanakis made police chief in the Youngstown suburb of Campbell. Xanakis, no longer police chief, has pleaded guilty to charges that he took $500 monthly payments fromStrollo and $2,000 for a Hawaiian vacation in exchange for ignoring illegal gambling.
* Michael Rich, Campbell law director for most of the period from 1976 to 1996, said he fixed cases in municipal court for Strollo, protected Strollo's gambling operations, falsified the results of police promotional exams soStrollo could determine who served on the force, and steered contracts worth millions of dollars to companies controlled by Strollo. Rich has pleaded guilty to charges.
* While serving as an assistant county prosecutor, Rich said, he fixed grand jury cases for Strollo.
* Strollo said he bribed Mahoning County Court Judge Martin Emrich because his stepson, Raymond Hertz, had a drunken driving case before the judge. Strollo had associate Lawrence Garono do landscaping at Emrich's home.
* Strollo said he gave $10,000 to Philip Chance for his 1996 campaign for county sheriff. Chance has pleaded not guilty to charges.
* Garono said he got Chance to appoint his cousin, John Chicase, chief of detectives, and then had Chicase raid illegal gambling operations that were not sanctioned by Strollo. Chicase has pleaded guilty to charges.