Greater Springfield mob: Whatever happened to...?

[Handsome Stevie]

Albert Calvanese

Age: 52

Hometown: Springfield

Last rank held: loan-sharking freelancer, de facto head of the new "Springfield Crew," according to law enforcement sources

Criminal history: Unlike most organized crime figures, Calvanese has but a brief, albeit colorful criminal record. Long considered as one of the stealthiest and dangerous loan sharks in the region, according to law enforcement officials, Calvanese avoided prosecution until 2006. That year, he was caught on audiotape beating a government witness over a debt. Charged in federal court with extortion, investigators made public a recording by former mortgage broker Mark L. McCarthy.

The tape broadcast a confusing medley of profanities, threats, a dinging car door alarm and the thud of an apparent closed fist against flesh. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Newhouse told a magistrate judge at the time that Calvanese trapped McCarthy, who owed him $20,000, on a quiet street in Wilbraham.

According to the recording:

Calvanese: "You're avoiding me (expletive)!" A car alarm is heard dinging.

McCarthy: "I ain't avoiding you ... I just don't have it."

Calvanese: "Go get my money or I'll beat the (expletive) out of you in front of your wife, you (expletive) ... Are you (expletive) around or what?" The sound of an apparent punch follows.

McCarthy: "Don't do that, Al. Don't do that."

McCarthy met with state police after the confrontation, sporting a red and swollen left cheek, Newhouse said. The prosecutor argued that Calvanese had dodged a criminal record previously by operating stealthily and springing surprise meetings on debtors. Court records showed debts to Calvanese had hung over the heads of McCarthy and others for years, and that previous potential witnesses had been too fearful to testify against him.

When Calvanese sought pretrial bail in 2007, a magistrate judge said he was too dangerous to be released. He was a gun enthusiast on methadone who had made threats to McCarthy and his family during recorded prison calls, the judge said. A lawyer for Calvanese offered to post $1 million bail for his client's release, telling the judge the money came from family, friends, lottery winnings and revenues from a family-owned pizza shop.

Calvanese pleaded guilty to the extortion counts in 2007 and was sentenced to more than five years in prison. He was ordered to forfeit nearly $800,000 in loan-sharking proceeds, according to court records.

Status: Calvanese was released from prison in 2011. Law enforcements sources speaking on condition of anonymity have said Calvanese has emerged as the leader of the "Springfield Crew" in the wake of Anthony Arillotta's prosecution and cooperation with federal investigators. Calvanese faces no new charges.

Miscellaneous: According to multiple sources, Calvanese was recently involved in a clash at Tony's Famous barbershop in Springfield's South End that pitted him and others against convicted loan shark and barber Carmine Manzi. The incident spilled out onto the sidewalk in broad daylight, witnesses said. No charges or police reports have been filed.

[Handsome Stevie]

Also read this today on aboutthemafia.com

Genovese crime family has long been known to control mafia activity in Springfield, Massachusetts and the syndicates crew there now has a new boss. According to sources mobster Albert Calvanese is now the leaders of the Springfield mafia crew for the Genovese family. The 52 year old mobster is known on streets as a fearsome enforcer and was a top earner under former Springfield boss Anthony “Bingy” Arillota. An internal war between the young up and coming Arillota and his mentor Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno threatened to destroy the Genovese family grip on the mob stronghold in the mid 2000’s.

Arillotta took control of the mafia crew after he green lighted a hit man which gunned down Bruno in front of his social club in 2003. He was a freshly made guy in the New York Mafia and with in months had been made a captain in the Genovese family after the death of Bruno. His reign wouldn’t last long as he went on to turn rat after being indicted in 2010.

Calvanese plead guilty in 2007 to racketeering and loan sharking charges and quietly did his time finally getting out in 2011. With the Arillotta saga playing out just as he finished up his prison sentence an opening had developed for a new crew leader in Springfield. So now Calvanese takes control and hopes his reign will be longer then that of his predecessor. Investigative reporter Stephanie Barry is credited with the intel on the new appointment via Scott Burnstein and his gangsterreport site.

[Wiseguy]

Ralph A. Santaniello, a.k.a. "Ralphie Sant"

Age: 47

Hometown: Springfield

Last rank held: soldier/rising leader in "Springfield Crew," power-sharing with cousin Albert Calvanese, former Anthony Arillotta minion

Criminal history: Santaniello was Arillotta's co-defendant twice: first, in 1993 for waging a home invasion in Springfield armed with sticks and broom handles in 1993. Both were charged along with Gerald Daniele (still a fixture at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Club with Santaniello et al). Daniele admitted he was going after a family member of an ex-girlfriend.

The charges against Arillotta were dropped. Santaniello, then, 25, and three others pleaded guilty to assault charges in connection with the incident. He also pleaded guilty to a separate assault at the now-defunct Gaslight Lounge on Allen Street, a once-popular nightspot. Another patron said Santaniello cracked him over the head with a beer bottle. Santaniello said he was too drunk to remember.

For the next dozen years, Santaniello managed to stay out of law enforcement's cross-hairs, by all accounts. However, he was in 2005 charged along with Arillotta and two other men in connection with a gambling and loan-sharking ring investigators said grossed $500,000 a month.

With Arillotta at the helm enjoying relatively new power as Greater Springfield's Mafia Capo (which Arillotta orchestrated behind Al Bruno's back and through his murder) Santaniello assisted in accounting, strategy and collections efforts. He also was kind enough to offer up his parents' house on Converse Street in Longmeadow for weekly team sit-downs.

However, state police planted several bugs in the house and recorded the meetings for months. The recordings showed the team talking about who was placing which bets, who owed what money, and who was behind on their debts. One snippet showed Santaniello and Arillotta planning how to approach one debtor who owed more than $21,000:

Arillotta: "Grab him, and say look, either come up with the money or get out of business."

Santaniello: "I'll say I'm not going to play games."

Arillotta: "Say, pay ah, fifteen hundred a month. He pays us, we'll leave ya alone. Otherwise, we're going to send people into ya. You might come home, someone's grabbing ya, like that."

Santaniello was later overheard telling co-defendent Richie Valentini, a former postman, to "slap him."

In the end, the men hijacked the debtor's car and title, and sold it at auction.

Other information included in the affidavits to extend warrants for surveillance indicate Valentini and Santaniello were addicted to "prescription and non-prescription drugs" and made references over the phone to drugs that needed to be "cooked."

While under surveillance, the men also purchased new "burner phones" under aliases to attempt to stay ahead of the police, records show. Investigators were nonetheless intercepting their phone conversations, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Police picked up snippets of their dizzying accounting practices with several extended warrants to tap their phones, including from March 22, 2005;

Valentini: I mean, so, you know. Nicky's going to give you a call right?

Santaniello: Who?

Valentini: Nicky's

Santaniello: Nicky who?

Valentini: Little Nicky.

Santaniello: (unintelligible)

Valentini: Nicky used to be like clockwork every Monday. (laughs)

Santaniello: Okay, uhm, now, Timmy's (unintelligible) one fifteen and ah Google's is what, two forty right. So we'll shoot down and (unintelligible)

Valentini: Yeah.

Santaniello: Should be on the piece of paper this week, (unintelligible) Richie, you know, we should start organizing the money in order. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) yeah, (unintelligible) we got Granby two weeks, he is all set. Anthony, I don't see. Pauly Calcasola, you see him?

Valentini: I called him, he didn't call me back.

Santaniello: Well, we'll get that. So we'll just put it on (unintelligible) Okay, Umberto, Pauly C., Pat we see and Mark, that's (unintelligible), Mike, I see him, (unintelligible), did Louie, he didn't (unintelligible), Mike I see, Danny I see, Dino gave me four weeks, Anthony still owes Rico, we're all set, T owes two hundred. Dog, to T owes ah, two hundred. Mark it down (unintelligible)

Valentini: Okay, the five?

R. SANTANIELLO: Yeah, he gave me ah, (unintelligible), eight, I'll take it out of mine, (unintelligible), you know what I mean? So we got deduct (unintelligible), so the total, okay Richie's (unintelligible), two thousand two dollars, that's what you get Richie for the thing, okay? So one fifty plus Google's is what? Two forty?

Valentini: Two forty.

Santaniello:Two forty, you get Jimmy's Sant, ah Stellato's?

Valentini:Jimmy Stellato, I called him. He didn't call me back.

Santaniello: So, okay, so Jimmy's Stellato's we'll get his too. We'll just add it to you, our figure. Okay, that equals, okay three ninety divided by three, is one thirty is got to come off each of our figure okay? All right Richie?

Valentini: Yup.

Santaniello pleaded guilty and received two years in jail plus probation. He was ordered by a judge to speak to local high school students about the dangers of betting as part of his probation. His mother also was charged in connection with the betting ring, but received probation.

Status: Released in 2007

Miscellaneous: Former cook at Amedeo's ... Father Amedeo was a longtime associate of Bruno, until the two had a falling out in the 1990s ... Placed on the "pay no mind" list, Amedeo Santaniello spent a lot of time in Florida, leaving his Ferrari for sale on the lawn at his Converse Street home after his son's 2005 indictment ... Amedeo has re-emerged since Bruno's death.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/ ... ry_package

[SonnyBlackstein]

Interesting.

Thanks Wiseguy.