by TommyGambino » Sat Jan 30, 2016 9:06 am
B. wrote:TommyGambino wrote:B. wrote:Also, thinking of the discussion over in the Cammarano topic, this is yet another example of the Gambino family trying to strengthen ties with other families.
So far we have heard of the current leadership of the Gambino family solidifying their relationships with the DeCavalcantes, Philadelphia, the Bonannos, and Canada, not to mention the overseas relationship with Sicily (i.e. the Sicilian members who met with Cali in NY, and Cali/Cefalu's names coming up on Sicilian tapes).
The Genovese may be the most powerful family in the US, but I can't help but wonder if the Gambinos are attempting to grow their influence by reaching out to smaller families.
Anyway, back to Philly...
What do you make of Cefalu's cousin, the captain. Making 10's of millions for that Montreal construction company, I forget the details but it was in Gangland when he got pinched for loansharking. Always thought it was weird that nobody really questioned it.
I'm not sure I saw that. Was that "Big Dom" Cefalu you're talking about?
This Week in Gang Land
By Jerry Capeci
Gambino Capo Gets A Free Pass On A Loansharking Rap
Gang Land Exclusive! Eight years ago today, Gambino capo Dominic (Big D) Cefalu sat in the Tomato & Basil Pizzeria in Merrick, L.I. talking to two bookmakers about $500,000 that a deadbeat gambler owed the bookies and Cefalu's brother Joseph. A bug installed by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office picked up every one of his unhappy words.
"I don't want to hear this 'few weeks' bullshit," said Cefalu, a first cousin of current Gambino boss, Domenico (Italian Dom) Cefalu. "I'm gonna tell him if we don't get our money right away … At some point, I'm gonna put him in a coma. I'm gonna go on vacation far away, go sit on a beach somewhere, put him in a fucking coma on a respirator."
During the same November 6, 2006 pizzeria conversation, when bookmakers Salvatore Gerrato and Frank Lonigro suggested that Cefalu might not want to "pressure" the deadbeat — a family friend of the Cefalus — because he might become "a rat," Cefalu summarily dismissed that notion.
"I'm gonna rip that kid a new asshole in three seconds," said Cefalu, adding, "I'm already thinking that, with money that we are all talking about, we're never gonna see it. I really feel strong about that."
Despite that tough talk, Cefalu, 57, caught a break from Central Islip Federal Judge Joanna Seybert when he came before her for sentencing last month. Thanks to a plea deal, he was looking at up to 33 months for loansharking. But the judge credited the wiseguy, who was convicted of heroin trafficking in 1981, with keeping his nose clean since his arrest three years ago, and gave him no time behind bars. As she pronounced sentence she wondered aloud though whether she might be making a mistake. "Maybe I've been fooled. I hope not," said Seybert.
In court papers, assistant U.S. attorney Amir Toossi had noted both Big D's close ties to the Gambino family hierarchy as well as the threats picked up on the tape back in 2006. Those words, the prosecutor asserted, clearly showed Cefalu's "willingness to use his position to threaten violence." He asked Seybert to impose a "guidelines" sentence, which was a lot less than the 20 years he would have faced if he'd been convicted at trial.
In court, Toossi expanded and expounded on the same theme.
But during the three hour long proceeding, it was Cefalu lawyer Eric Franz who had Seybert's ear, and who carried the day.
The attorney's main thrust, one he repeated several times, was that his client was "All talk and no action." Franz explained away his client's talk of putting the deadbeat debtor, whom all parties called John Doe, in a coma, as "verbal vomit venting."
"Dominic did not lend money to John Doe; his brother did," said Franz. "Dominic found out; Dominic was upset. Dominic wanted his brother to get his money back. And Dominic would have constant discussions" about that during that time frame. According to court papers, Cefalu's brother Joseph, a reputed mob associate, initially loaned Doe $50,000, then another $150,000. Doe also owed Gerrato and Lonigro $300,000 in gambling losses.
Franz conceded that the bookies, who were convicted of gambling charges in state court, were making tribute payments to Cefalu. "No doubt about it," the lawyer said. But Franz said his client did not tell either man to harm the debtor, or say that he would tell anyone else to harm John Doe, and challenged the government to find one conversation where his client had.
The clincher in his argument was another tape-recorded conversation between the two gamblers in which both men complained that Cefalu was "all talk and no action," and wasn't delivering what they were paying him for.
Franz read the relevant portion of the October 17, 2006 discussion aloud, and gave a copy to Seybert.
Sal: "I mean, you are kind of giving me the impression, he, Dominic, does a lot of talking and not a lot of action, bro."
Frank: "That's what I'm getting at, you finally get the picture (laughing). Ding, ding, ding, the bells just went off. You get it now?"
"This is where you would think they say, 'Dominic wants me to do this. He told me to do that. We'll crack this guy,'" said Franz. "There's none of that. These guys are lamenting. They are despondent. What are we going to do? I thought he would help us. He's not. These are the words."
The excerpt ends with Gerrato telling Lonigro that he wants "to have faith in people," but that he doesn't take Cefalu seriously, said Franz. He noted that Gerrato went on to mimic his client, saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," but then complain, "it just doesn't happen."
Franz sought probation, telling Seybert that there was no need to send Cefalu to prison since he was not suspected of committing any crimes since 2006. He also argued that to incarcerate him would be unduly harsh punishment to his client, his wife, and his family, and many workers for a Montreal-based architectural design company named Muraflex, whose CEO Fernando Petreccia, praised his client's work as extraordinary in a letter to the court.
Since hiring Cefalu, "the number one expert in the architectural wall industry" four years ago, Petreccia wrote that his company's gross sales had jumped from $3 million to $25 million a year and that Cefalu's incarceration would be "devastating to Muraflex," stating, "Many people would lose their jobs."
"Dominic Cefalu is the ultimate professional. He is our face in the U.S., meeting with company executives from the major architectural and construction firms. He travels to every major city in the U.S.," wrote Petreccia, adding that Cefalu is overseeing two large high-profile projects, one for Hundai Motors of America in Fountain Valley CA, and one for the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C.
Frank Lonigro Toossi retorted that having a job does not make you a good guy. Cefalu, who has been involved in the construction industry for years, was gainfully employed when he committed crimes in 2006, and many Gambino mobsters have "legitimate" businesses for many reasons, mostly devious, said the prosecutor. Underboss Frank Cali "runs an import export business," said Toossi, and family boss Domenico Cefalu is often called "Dom The Baker" because "he's actually a baker" but he still "gets money from illegal activities."
The prosecutor also argued that the passage of years was no reason for Cefalu not to do the time for his crime, but Seybert told Toossi that despite Big D's likely mob status, and his admission of a "serious" crime, "the Court is not going to send him to jail," but give him "time served," meaning no time, since Cefalu had been free on bail since his arrest in December, 2011.
When Seybert imposed sentence, FBI case agent Jeffrey Tarkin packed his things, and quietly walked out of the courtroom without waiting to hear what the judge gave brother Joseph, whose guidelines were 18-to-24 months.
Toossi hung around to hear Seybert give 54-year-old Joseph Cefalu, who owns a jewelry store in Huntington, L.I. the same sentence she gave brother Dominic, of Morganville, N.J. — no time behind bars and three years of supervised release.
"The case was all about a loan between friends," Joseph's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told Gang Land. "Technically," the lawyer said, "my client committed a crime but I believe the judge accurately saw what the case was worth and sentenced my client accordingly."
When lawyer Franz told Seybert that his client had wanted to address the court before he was sentenced, the judge said she was "interested" in hearing what Cefalu had intended to say.
Big D thanked Seybert for allowing him to remain free so he could support his family and "solidify my position at Muraflex and throughout the architectural industry." He went on to apologize for taking "actions eight years ago" without giving much thought about their impact. He ended by returning to his lawyer's main theme.
"Actions speak louder than words and I hope that the way I have lived my life in recent years will attest to my sincerity," said Cefalu, prompting a final thought from the Judge.
"If you are involved in organized crime," said Seybert, "destroy the myth and get out, because you are not particularly effective, certainly in this situation, if that was the result."
[quote="B."][quote="TommyGambino"][quote="B."]Also, thinking of the discussion over in the Cammarano topic, this is yet another example of the Gambino family trying to strengthen ties with other families.
So far we have heard of the current leadership of the Gambino family solidifying their relationships with the DeCavalcantes, Philadelphia, the Bonannos, and Canada, not to mention the overseas relationship with Sicily (i.e. the Sicilian members who met with Cali in NY, and Cali/Cefalu's names coming up on Sicilian tapes).
The Genovese may be the most powerful family in the US, but I can't help but wonder if the Gambinos are attempting to grow their influence by reaching out to smaller families.
Anyway, back to Philly...[/quote]
What do you make of Cefalu's cousin, the captain. Making 10's of millions for that Montreal construction company, I forget the details but it was in Gangland when he got pinched for loansharking. Always thought it was weird that nobody really questioned it.[/quote]
I'm not sure I saw that. Was that "Big Dom" Cefalu you're talking about?[/quote]
This Week in Gang Land
By Jerry Capeci
Gambino Capo Gets A Free Pass On A Loansharking Rap
Gang Land Exclusive! Eight years ago today, Gambino capo Dominic (Big D) Cefalu sat in the Tomato & Basil Pizzeria in Merrick, L.I. talking to two bookmakers about $500,000 that a deadbeat gambler owed the bookies and Cefalu's brother Joseph. A bug installed by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office picked up every one of his unhappy words.
"I don't want to hear this 'few weeks' bullshit," said Cefalu, a first cousin of current Gambino boss, Domenico (Italian Dom) Cefalu. "I'm gonna tell him if we don't get our money right away … At some point, I'm gonna put him in a coma. I'm gonna go on vacation far away, go sit on a beach somewhere, put him in a fucking coma on a respirator."
During the same November 6, 2006 pizzeria conversation, when bookmakers Salvatore Gerrato and Frank Lonigro suggested that Cefalu might not want to "pressure" the deadbeat — a family friend of the Cefalus — because he might become "a rat," Cefalu summarily dismissed that notion.
"I'm gonna rip that kid a new asshole in three seconds," said Cefalu, adding, "I'm already thinking that, with money that we are all talking about, we're never gonna see it. I really feel strong about that."
Despite that tough talk, Cefalu, 57, caught a break from Central Islip Federal Judge Joanna Seybert when he came before her for sentencing last month. Thanks to a plea deal, he was looking at up to 33 months for loansharking. But the judge credited the wiseguy, who was convicted of heroin trafficking in 1981, with keeping his nose clean since his arrest three years ago, and gave him no time behind bars. As she pronounced sentence she wondered aloud though whether she might be making a mistake. "Maybe I've been fooled. I hope not," said Seybert.
In court papers, assistant U.S. attorney Amir Toossi had noted both Big D's close ties to the Gambino family hierarchy as well as the threats picked up on the tape back in 2006. Those words, the prosecutor asserted, clearly showed Cefalu's "willingness to use his position to threaten violence." He asked Seybert to impose a "guidelines" sentence, which was a lot less than the 20 years he would have faced if he'd been convicted at trial.
In court, Toossi expanded and expounded on the same theme.
But during the three hour long proceeding, it was Cefalu lawyer Eric Franz who had Seybert's ear, and who carried the day.
The attorney's main thrust, one he repeated several times, was that his client was "All talk and no action." Franz explained away his client's talk of putting the deadbeat debtor, whom all parties called John Doe, in a coma, as "verbal vomit venting."
"Dominic did not lend money to John Doe; his brother did," said Franz. "Dominic found out; Dominic was upset. Dominic wanted his brother to get his money back. And Dominic would have constant discussions" about that during that time frame. According to court papers, Cefalu's brother Joseph, a reputed mob associate, initially loaned Doe $50,000, then another $150,000. Doe also owed Gerrato and Lonigro $300,000 in gambling losses.
Franz conceded that the bookies, who were convicted of gambling charges in state court, were making tribute payments to Cefalu. "No doubt about it," the lawyer said. But Franz said his client did not tell either man to harm the debtor, or say that he would tell anyone else to harm John Doe, and challenged the government to find one conversation where his client had.
The clincher in his argument was another tape-recorded conversation between the two gamblers in which both men complained that Cefalu was "all talk and no action," and wasn't delivering what they were paying him for.
Franz read the relevant portion of the October 17, 2006 discussion aloud, and gave a copy to Seybert.
Sal: "I mean, you are kind of giving me the impression, he, Dominic, does a lot of talking and not a lot of action, bro."
Frank: "That's what I'm getting at, you finally get the picture (laughing). Ding, ding, ding, the bells just went off. You get it now?"
"This is where you would think they say, 'Dominic wants me to do this. He told me to do that. We'll crack this guy,'" said Franz. "There's none of that. These guys are lamenting. They are despondent. What are we going to do? I thought he would help us. He's not. These are the words."
The excerpt ends with Gerrato telling Lonigro that he wants "to have faith in people," but that he doesn't take Cefalu seriously, said Franz. He noted that Gerrato went on to mimic his client, saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," but then complain, "it just doesn't happen."
Franz sought probation, telling Seybert that there was no need to send Cefalu to prison since he was not suspected of committing any crimes since 2006. He also argued that to incarcerate him would be unduly harsh punishment to his client, his wife, and his family, and many workers for a Montreal-based architectural design company named Muraflex, whose CEO Fernando Petreccia, praised his client's work as extraordinary in a letter to the court.
Since hiring Cefalu, "the number one expert in the architectural wall industry" four years ago, Petreccia wrote that his company's gross sales had jumped from $3 million to $25 million a year and that Cefalu's incarceration would be "devastating to Muraflex," stating, "Many people would lose their jobs."
"Dominic Cefalu is the ultimate professional. He is our face in the U.S., meeting with company executives from the major architectural and construction firms. He travels to every major city in the U.S.," wrote Petreccia, adding that Cefalu is overseeing two large high-profile projects, one for Hundai Motors of America in Fountain Valley CA, and one for the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C.
Frank Lonigro Toossi retorted that having a job does not make you a good guy. Cefalu, who has been involved in the construction industry for years, was gainfully employed when he committed crimes in 2006, and many Gambino mobsters have "legitimate" businesses for many reasons, mostly devious, said the prosecutor. Underboss Frank Cali "runs an import export business," said Toossi, and family boss Domenico Cefalu is often called "Dom The Baker" because "he's actually a baker" but he still "gets money from illegal activities."
The prosecutor also argued that the passage of years was no reason for Cefalu not to do the time for his crime, but Seybert told Toossi that despite Big D's likely mob status, and his admission of a "serious" crime, "the Court is not going to send him to jail," but give him "time served," meaning no time, since Cefalu had been free on bail since his arrest in December, 2011.
When Seybert imposed sentence, FBI case agent Jeffrey Tarkin packed his things, and quietly walked out of the courtroom without waiting to hear what the judge gave brother Joseph, whose guidelines were 18-to-24 months.
Toossi hung around to hear Seybert give 54-year-old Joseph Cefalu, who owns a jewelry store in Huntington, L.I. the same sentence she gave brother Dominic, of Morganville, N.J. — no time behind bars and three years of supervised release.
"The case was all about a loan between friends," Joseph's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told Gang Land. "Technically," the lawyer said, "my client committed a crime but I believe the judge accurately saw what the case was worth and sentenced my client accordingly."
When lawyer Franz told Seybert that his client had wanted to address the court before he was sentenced, the judge said she was "interested" in hearing what Cefalu had intended to say.
Big D thanked Seybert for allowing him to remain free so he could support his family and "solidify my position at Muraflex and throughout the architectural industry." He went on to apologize for taking "actions eight years ago" without giving much thought about their impact. He ended by returning to his lawyer's main theme.
"Actions speak louder than words and I hope that the way I have lived my life in recent years will attest to my sincerity," said Cefalu, prompting a final thought from the Judge.
"If you are involved in organized crime," said Seybert, "destroy the myth and get out, because you are not particularly effective, certainly in this situation, if that was the result."