This Week in Gang Land
By Jerry Capeci
It's A Family Affair For New ILA Local President Brandon Garcia
Brandon GarciaGang Land Exclusive!Brandon Garcia, the recently elected president of International Longshoremen's Association Local 1235, has a familiar pedigree for waterfront union bosses: He is the stepson of a Genovese capo and a grandson of the twice convicted former president of the scandal-plagued ILA local. Those family ties have helped fuel a nice living for Garcia and other members of his clan in waterfront related jobs over the years, Gang Land has learned.
That's not to say that Garcia, who turns 35 later this week, or his grandmother, or his aunts, or cousins, or several other relatives who have managed to get good-paying jobs along the waterfront, have done anything improper. Except, of course, for those who've been convicted of crimes or ousted from their well-paid gigs for one reason or another.
Garcia has done remarkably well, however: He was 17 when he got his first longshoreman's job back in 2003, and made $216,448 in 2017, his last full year as a dock worker. He earned $220,000 during the first nine months of last year as president of Local 1235. But those are legit wages. His grandfather, Albert (The Bull) Cernadas earned millions of dollars for himself — and for the Genovese crime family — from 1982 to 2005 while he headed the Newark-based local, according to court records.
Albert CernadasHis grandfather's status as a convicted waterfront racketeer didn't stop Garcia from being elected as Local 1235 president in 2018. Over the years, Cernadas's status as an outlaw union boss likely helped many Garcia-Cernadas relatives, and extended family members we'll tell you about later, earn a very nice living on the waterfront.
But his grandpa's status as a waterfront racketeer came back to haunt a childhood Garcia pal, Robert Sumner, 33, last month. It's an intriguing case. Sumner, described as an "athlete and scholar" with "no criminal or disciplinary history" by Administrative Law Judge Patrick McGinley, lost his longshoreman's job because he went to a soccer game with Garcia, Cernadas, and his son Albert Jr. and had his picture taken with them on a fateful day in June of 2013.
Robert SumnerFor six years, the photo showing a smiling Cernadas with his arm around Sumner, both wearing bright red, matching Spain soccer jerseys during a 2-0 win over Ireland at Yankee Stadium on June 11, 2013, was posted for all to see on Garcia's Instagram account without any negative feedback or repercussions from the Waterfront Commission.
After all, there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with an Instagram photo of a grandfather with his son — a former dock worker who's been a distinguished Union County prosecutor since the mid-1990s — and his grandson and his grandson's teammate on several baseball teams they played on during their high school days.
No, there couldn't. Cernadas is on an ILA "Barred List," preventing all contact with him by ILA members, except for family members, which excluded Garcia from the provision, and did not affect Cernadas Jr. It didn't pertain to Sumner either, until after April 17 of last year, when Sumner "was issued a temporary registration as a longshoreman" and had begun working at APM Terminals in Port Elizabeth after passing an extensive background check.
Spain-Ireland Soccer une 11, 2013That's when Matthew Lidinsky, the WC official who had interviewed Sumner, saw the Instagram post, along with a hashtag by Garcia identifying Cernadas "as his grandfather and a comment suggesting that (Sumner) had become Cernadas's favorite grandson," according to a 35-page decision by McGinley that led to Sumner losing his job as a longshoreman.
Sumner, who earned $103,000 during his 15 months as a card-carrying member of Local 1235, was bounced by the WC on August 2.
In recommending that Sumner's longshoreman's application be denied and his temporary registration as a longshoreman be revoked, McGinley wrote that he did so even though Sumner led an "exemplary life" that included jobs as a real estate salesman, a substitute teacher and a stint as a "volunteer coach at the Boys and Girls club" in his hometown of Union, N.J.
Based on his longtime friendship with Garcia, and testimony that Sumner's "best friend" was a member of Local 1235 who had written a letter in 2005 to the judge who sentenced Cernadas for his first conviction, McGinley found that Sumner knew "Cernadas was an organized crime figure," and that he knowingly "associated" with him in 2013. Sumner also lied about that in his longshoreman's application and in his testimony after the Instagram photo was spotted, the ALJ wrote.
Albeet Cernadas Jr.Noting that Sumner's father "went to college" with Cernadas Jr., McGinley wrote: "It is impossible to believe that (Sumner's) father would not have enlightened him on the background of the family Cernadas, at least to the professional dichotomy between father and son. It is clear to me (Sumner) was aware of Cernadas and his background at the time the photograph was taken and posted on Instagram."
The Instagram posting "clearly depicts an association between (Sumner) and Cernadas, as a friend, companion or ally in a social relationship," McGinley wrote, noting that "Cernadas has his arm around (Sumner)" in the photo with his son Albert Jr. and his grandson Brandon.
McGinley rejected the argument by Sumner's lawyer Thomas Tormey that the photo was "one moment in time" and that the WC was "seeking to change the definition of 'association' to a single, unplanned, unexpected meeting where a photo was taken and posted on the internet."
Silvio DeVitaThe picture of Sumner and Garcia "driving to the soccer game in matching Spain soccer jerseys," was "a powerful retort" to the claim that "the Spain-Ireland game was an unplanned meeting," the ALJ wrote. And the Instagram photo of Cernadas and Sumner was a "more insidious" form of "association" because it "exists indefinitely," McGinley wrote, even after it was taken down by Garcia in July of last year, after it caused his old friend so much trouble.
Sumner's "association with Cernadas," McGinley wrote, "creates a reasonable belief that his participation as a longshoreman would be inimical to the policies of the Waterfront Commission Act."
One Big Happy FamilyBack to Garcia: His stepfather, Silvio DeVita, a Genovese capo, never worked on the waterfront. He does have a lengthy rap sheet including a conviction for first degree murder during a robbery back in 1951, two years before the bi-state WC was created. DeVita was sentenced to death, but his conviction was reversed on appeal. At retrial in 1958, DeVita was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Released on parole in the 1970s, he's managed to steer clear of any prison stretches since then, although the FBI still carries him as a powerful capo in the Genovese family.
Sources say two DeVita crew members, soldiers Salvatore and Joseph Cetrulo, have four relatives working on the New Jersey docks. And their niece, Michele Caruso, is the wife of Genovese capo Stephen (Beach) DePiro, who was convicted of being a Cernadas partner in a 30-year-long shakedown of Christmastime "tributes" from 1235 members that netted about $3 million for the crime family.
DeVita, 88, and father-in-law Al Cernadas, 85, are both barred from gambling at New Jersey casinos by the state's Gaming Enforcement Division.
Cernadas's daughter Lana, who married DeVita after her first husband Anthony Garcia died, worked as a Local 1235 secretary for years, according to WC records.
WC records show that Garcia's grandmother, Balbina Cernadas, worked as a receptionist at the ILA Health Clinic in Newark and as Local 1235 Secretary while her husband was president. Her brothers, Raymond Costa, who earned $251,036, in his last year, Manuel, who made $238,317, and Jose, who earned $171,975, are all retired 1235 members.
Edward MitjansThe records also show that Albert and Balbina's daughter Linda is the manager of the Local 1235 Federal Credit Union, and that Linda's ex-husband, Henry Machado Jr. was a Local 1 checker who earned $263,005 in 2009, the last full year he worked on the piers. He was bounced in 2010 for smuggling cocaine into Port Elizabeth. His brother Robert, who was arrested with Henry and suspended from the port, made $103,043 in 2009.
Another ex-hubby, Edward Mitjans, is a Local 1235 member with a Special Deal as a "Van Driver" with APM Terminals that calls for him to be paid for many hours when he is not working, except when he is on vacation. He earned $411,121 in 2018. Linda and Mitjans's daughter, Kristina Mitjans Amado, is an assistant manager at the 1235 Credit Union.
Kristina Mitjans is married to former Maher Terminals pier superintendent, Anthony Amado, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in 2017 as part of a classic "pump and dump' stock scam, and awaits sentencing in November. His plea deal with the government calls for a prison term between 24-to-30 months and the forfeiture of $671,080.
Harold DaggettAl Cernadas's nephew, Gary Vicente, who's been working on the docks since the 1980s, is a Telecommunications System Controller. He calls longshoremen, who no longer "shape up" on the piers, as they did years ago, and as they were portrayed doing in On The Waterfront, the movie classic starring Marlon Brando and Lee J Cobb.
Vicente, a 1235 vice president who has been a local officer for several years, calls members to let them know they'll be needed to work when a ship arrives in the port, or when they are needed for other longshore duties. He earns more than the $165,000 a year that a checker makes, but Gang Land was unable to obtain a better estimate of his annual salary.
While all contact with Cernadas by ILA members — except for family members — is banned, ILA International President Harold Daggett, who was acquitted of racketeering in the same case that The Bull pleaded guilty to in 2005, seems to be openly thumbing his nose at that ban by "friending" Cernadas on Facebook.
Asked about that by Gang Land, WC executive director Walter Arsenault said: "Mr. Daggett cannot be sanctioned by the WC because his registration is inactive."
Lawyers Say Grandson Of Mob Boss Not A Danger; Feds & Judge Disagree
Frangesko RussoIn an effort to spring him from a federal lockup as he awaits trial for stealing $100 million from lottery winners, lawyers for Frangesko (Frankie) Russo argued that FBI tapes do not indicate that their client threatened a deadbeat loanshark customer in May as the government claims.
The feds disagreed, adding that other taped talks also show that Russo, the grandson of Colombo crime family boss Andrew (Mush) Russo, is a danger to the community and should stay behind bars. And that's where Frankie Russo remains.
Russo's lawyers say the government has misinterpreted the FBI tapes that prosecutors used to justify detaining Russo as a danger to the community.
While Russo is heard discussing how accused Ponzi schemer Gregory Altieri, "had gotten hit in the face with a wrench by one of his creditors," it wasn't a threat, lawyers say, but a reference to violence inflicted by other investors in the scheme.
Andrew RussoIn their briefs asking Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis to reverse his earlier decision and release Russo on a $2.5 million bail package, attorneys Robert LaRusso and Joseph Conway wrote that the May 6, 2020 tape recording that the government deemed "terrifying," was actually an effort by their client to warn Altieri, rather than threaten him.
For emphasis, the lawyers emboldened a few words in the government supplied transcript, in which Russo allegedly told Altieri: "The threat to your family was imminent, and that if he loved his daughter, son, and wife, then Altieri should go to the police and get them out of the house."
Noting that Russo told Altieri to "go to the police and get his wife and kids out of the house," the lawyers asked:"Does that sound like someone who is doing the threatening, or does it sound like someone warning of a threat coming from another party?"
As the discussion continued, the lawyers wrote, "in response to a question from Altieri, 'What would happen to his family?' Russo replied, 'They're going to make you watch as they rip your son's teeth out of his mouth, watch they're going to do worse things to your wife.'"
Robert LaRusso"While this sounds, and is no doubt terrifying, it cannot be any clearer," LaRusso and Conway argued that "Russo was not making the threat," but "warning Altieri that the threat was imminent and coming from the individuals who (had) allegedly assaulted Altieri."
"Altieri called or attempted to call Mr. Russo three times on May 7, 2020," the lawyers wrote, arguing that "common sense dictates" that if Altieri believed those threats were from his client, "there is no chance whatsoever he would be trying to call Mr. Russo the next day."
And since Altieri called Russo up until May 20, and since an FBI wiretap never heard any other alleged threats to Altieri, who was arrested and charged on July 10 with a $200 million Ponzi scheme, the lawyers wrote that "Russo was not a danger to Altieri prior to May 20," and "is not a danger to Altieri now or to the community."
Prosecutors insist the threats involved the lion's share (about $170,000) of a $250,000 loan that Russo and codefendant Francis Smookler gave Altieri in March to pay off others who had threatened and assaulted him. But to be on the safe side, they told Garaufis that Russo had made some pretty explicit violent threats after Altieri was arrested and released on a $750,000 bond.
Lindsay Gerdes"I'm coming straight for your fucking middle of your eyes, watch what I do to you, you scumbag," Russo told an unidentified victim on July 29, wrote prosecutors Andrey Spektor and Lindsay Gerdes.
The next day, they wrote, "Russo told this person, 'I don't know who you are, you are somebody, huh?' The person responded defensively, 'I'm a nobody Frank.' Russo continued: 'No, no, no, no, you're a half a rat, I know, I know a lot about you, and, and, and you'll see in person, how, how I view it. So we'll see you half a rat, we'll see. Call everybody cuzzi! You hear me?'"
"The person tried to interject," the prosecutors wrote, "but Russo, as he did with Altieri, invoked his father, JoJo Russo, a Colombo crime family captain: 'My father died in Lewisburg prison you know nothing about what I know. I'm gonna teach you a thing or two, you fucking jerk off! You hear me? Watch how it has something to do with you! Watch how close it comes home to you! You think I give a fuck?'''
Prosecutors wrote that it is "simply inaccurate to claim, as Russo does, that his threats ended in May and that they were focused only on Altieri." They added that the FBI extended the wiretap period until almost the day of Russo's arrest, "in part to make sure Russo did not commit additional crimes that would have required the FBI's intervention."
On Tuesday, Garaufis stated he saw "no new information" in Russo's filing to upset the judge's ruling last month that Russo "poses a threat to the community (and) requires pre-trial detention."
Feds Say Plea Deals Are Coming In The Case Of The Lovesick Colombo Capo
Joseph AmatoProsecutors have tentative plea deals with several defendants charged with racketeering in Brooklyn Federal Court. But Colombo capo Joseph Amato, the Staten Island based wiseguy whose dumbguy decision to place a GPS on the car of a wayward paramour to try and keep tabs on her put himself, his son and 18 others in the legal soup, is not among them, Gang Land is told.
In a filing with the newly assigned Judge, Brian Cogan, prosecutors sought a 30-day delay in their deadline to respond to a number of pre-trial motions by several defendants to suppress wiretap evidence or to seek a separate trial. Cogan, who took over the case from senior Judge I. Leo Glasser last month, gave them until September 30.
"Based on conversations with defense counsel," explained prosecutors Megan Farrell, Elizabeth Geddes, and James McDonald, "the government believes that it has reached agreements with several of the defendants and that these plea agreements would resolve several of the outstanding motions."
The prosecutors declined to name any of the defendants with whom it has reached agreement, but several sources say that neither Amato, his son Joseph Jr. nor the three others charged specifically with being part of a five-year long racketeering conspiracy have come to terms with the government.
Joseph Amato Jr."The only defendants who have been offered plea deals," said one defense lawyer, "are the 11 charged with lesser crimes. And the numbers being offered are pretty steep, guidelines of 24 to 30 months for charges where violence was never even discussed with a potential victim."
Another attorney told Gang Land that the prosecutors have been "moving very slowly" in their efforts to resolve the cases, leading him to "speculate that there may be a superseding indictment in the mix."
Along with the Amatos, the other defendants charged with racketeering in the case, are Colombo mobsters Daniel (The Wig) Capaldo and Thomas (The Plumber) Scorcia, and mob associate Anthony (Bugz) Silvestro.
As Gang Land has reported, four defendants charged in two other cases that were linked to the Amato indictment by taped talks involving Joseph Amato Jr., have copped plea deals and are awaiting sentencing.
Benjamin BifalcoIn one case, Benjamin Bifalco, who pleaded guilty to trying — but failing miserably — to fix a December 16, 2018 NCAA basketball game, is scheduled to face the music before Judge Glasser next month.
For those keeping score, the game was between Wagner College, the Staten Island school Bifalco was attending at the time, and St. John's University at the Johnnies' home court in Queens. "We are hoping for a non-jail sentence," attorney Vincent Martinelli told Gang Land last month, noting that his client's "activities were more of inappropriate braggadocio than anything else."
In a No Good Deed Goes Unpunished case, Nicholas Bosco, a young Staten Island-based businessman, faces a couple years behind bars because Nick loaned $10,000 to a good friend. Instead of paying him back, the friend had his mother call Colombo capo Joe Amato and sic the mob on him for having the nerve to demand return of his money.
His father Joseph, who along with his son, have no prior arrests and aren't even alleged to be mob associates, and his cousin Anthony Bosco, the bookie who got skunked in the case, are slated to be sentenced next week by Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Carol Amon.
Lawyers for Nicholas and Joseph Bosco have each argued that their clients were victims and have asked Amon to impose a non-jail sentence for them. The attorney for Anthony Bosco has yet to publicly file a sentencing memo for his client.
GL NEWS 9/17/20
Moderator: Capos
Re: GL NEWS 9/17/20
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Re: GL NEWS 9/17/20
When i first looked at that Ben Bifalco guy i thought it was Vanilla Ice (ice ice baby) lollol
Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God - Corinthians 6:9-10
Re: GL NEWS 9/17/20
I agree
Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God - Corinthians 6:9-10
Re: GL NEWS 9/17/20
Great GL this week. Thanks for posting.
Re: GL NEWS 9/17/20
I dont understand why Bosco is facing jail time,He lent someone money the guy didnt pay him back and also got the colombos to beat him and his father up,they were the victims
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SonnyBlackstein
- Filthy Few
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SonnyBlackstein
- Filthy Few
- Posts: 7564
- Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2014 2:21 am
Re: GL NEWS 9/17/20
IIRC Bosco called his cousin the bookie to recoup the money who threatened the kid.
Don't give me your f***ing Manson lamps.
Re: GL NEWS 9/17/20
Devita looks good for being almost 90. Depiro was indicted as a soldier in the 2011 bust with Cernades, so it seems likely Depiro was/is also under Devita.
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SonnyBlackstein
- Filthy Few
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Re: GL NEWS 9/17/20
States DePiro is now a Capo.
Believe he was under Fuimara. Likely took over his crew.
Don't give me your f***ing Manson lamps.