Buffalo/Ontario Mob Acitivity

[NickleCity]

About the priest who wrote a letter asking judge for leniency on Gerace

Family suspects foul play – not suicide – in beloved priest's death
By Dan Herbeck
Mar 26, 2017

Link: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/fami ... 55d31.html

Excerpts:
"When Father Joseph F. Moreno Jr., was found shot to death in October 2012, Buffalo police and other authorities declared his death a suicide. Investigators, after an autopsy, said they believed the 54-year-old priest killed himself with a handgun that was found by his side in the rectory of St. Lawrence Church.

Members of the priest’s family never accepted that finding. They have insisted ever since that Moreno, a colorful and popular priest, was the victim of foul play...."

Snip

"'After examining the evidence, I am not able to tell you definitively that this was a homicide, but I do believe serious questions have been raised,' Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, the Pittsburgh pathologist who conducted the new autopsy, told The Buffalo News.

Moreno had limited use of his left hand from an old injury, Wecht said, and it would have been extremely difficult – if not impossible – for the priest to use his right hand to fire the fatal shot, which entered his brain from behind his left ear.

“'I’ve been a pathologist for 55 years … I can’t tell you I’ve ever seen a case where a right-handed person with a crippled left hand would be able shoot himself from that angle,' Wecht said..".


Snip

"But those who knew him well also knew that Moreno had some problems. In 1989, three years after he became a priest, he was accused of arson in connection with a fire at St. Aloysius Church in Springville, where he served as associate pastor. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in state court and served no prison time. Officials of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo transferred him to a church in Olean.

At times, Moreno had serious money problems. In 2005, his Town of Tonawanda home was foreclosed upon, and he filed a personal bankruptcy, listing assets of $145,610 and debts and liabilities of $477,086, mostly credit card expenditures."

[Dave65827]

Italian organized crime in buffalo ? depends who you ask
https://www.wivb.com/news/crime/italian ... o-you-ask/

The DEA agent is claiming ethnic profiling for assuming he’s with the mob because he’s Italian lol

[Wiseguy]

Italian organized crime in buffalo ? depends who you ask
https://www.wivb.com/news/crime/italian ... o-you-ask/

The DEA agent is claiming ethnic profiling for assuming he’s with the mob because he’s Italian lol

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has responded in court papers that it does not have to provide the foundation for the Italian Organized Crime allegations or provide any proof that it exists.

“… the government will not be required to prove at trial the actual existence of the mafia or the ‘existence, structure, and alleged activities of IOC in Buffalo,’” wrote Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, in response to the one of the defendant’s motions.


Hmm, I wonder why.

99% of the time, the government is more than happy to explain the LCN connection, structure, RICO history, etc. It's usually the first they include in an indictment.

[elasticman]

Italian organized crime in buffalo ? depends who you ask
https://www.wivb.com/news/crime/italian ... o-you-ask/

The DEA agent is claiming ethnic profiling for assuming he’s with the mob because he’s Italian lol

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has responded in court papers that it does not have to provide the foundation for the Italian Organized Crime allegations or provide any proof that it exists.

“… the government will not be required to prove at trial the actual existence of the mafia or the ‘existence, structure, and alleged activities of IOC in Buffalo,’” wrote Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, in response to the one of the defendant’s motions.


Hmm, I wonder why.

99% of the time, the government is more than happy to explain the LCN connection, structure, RICO history, etc. It's usually the first they include in an indictment.

As we know, ever since the 1980s the government has been notorious for ignoring LCN connections in criminal cases.

[Wiseguy]

As we know, ever since the 1980s the government has been notorious for ignoring LCN connections in criminal cases.

Not sure what you're basing that on but they've tried to insinuate the connection in these recent Buffalo cases revolving Bongiovanni with the "Italian Organized Crime" allegations (unusual in itself) but apparently don't have the evidence to bring an actual LCN RICO case. In other words, they're not including anything regarding an LCN hierarchy in Buffalo because they're ignoring it. They not including it because it doesn't exist.

[NickleCity]

Italian organized crime in buffalo ? depends who you ask
https://www.wivb.com/news/crime/italian ... o-you-ask/

The DEA agent is claiming ethnic profiling for assuming he’s with the mob because he’s Italian lol

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has responded in court papers that it does not have to provide the foundation for the Italian Organized Crime allegations or provide any proof that it exists.

“… the government will not be required to prove at trial the actual existence of the mafia or the ‘existence, structure, and alleged activities of IOC in Buffalo,’” wrote Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, in response to the one of the defendant’s motions.


Hmm, I wonder why.

99% of the time, the government is more than happy to explain the LCN connection, structure, RICO history, etc. It's usually the first they include in an indictment.

The government has never proven a RICO against the Buffalo mob. Doesn’t mean it LCN in WNY didn’t exist. Same in in this case. Maybe, the government wants a provable case to make sure these guys do some time - so better to do what they usually do and stick to stand alone charged. And perhaps they are littering the indictment with IOC to begin to change the perception the mob in Buffalo is dead after Cohen’s statement to The Buffalo News.

[elasticman]

As we know, ever since the 1980s the government has been notorious for ignoring LCN connections in criminal cases.

Not sure what you're basing that on but they've tried to insinuate the connection in these recent Buffalo cases revolving Bongiovanni with the "Italian Organized Crime" allegations (unusual in itself) but apparently don't have the evidence to bring an actual LCN RICO case. In other words, they're not including anything regarding an LCN hierarchy in Buffalo because they're ignoring it. They not including it because it doesn't exist.

I'm being sarcastic. The fact that they aren't trying to aggressively prosecute LCN indicates that it probably isn't present as a hierarchy.

[Wiseguy]

And perhaps they are littering the indictment with IOC to begin to change the perception the mob in Buffalo is dead after Cohen’s statement to The Buffalo News.

Aaaaaand then you woke up.

[NickleCity]

And perhaps they are littering the indictment with IOC to begin to change the perception the mob in Buffalo is dead after Cohen’s statement to The Buffalo News.

Aaaaaand then you woke up.

Don’t dream of the Buffalo mob being active. Dream about it being brought to its knees and killed.

How do you deal with the fact the government has never been able to prove a RICO agains the Buffalo mob - and all successful cases against the mob have been stand alone charges like we have now?

[Wiseguy]

Don’t dream of the Buffalo mob being active. Dream about it being brought to its knees and killed.

Well then I have good news for you...

How do you deal with the fact the government has never been able to prove a RICO agains the Buffalo mob - and all successful cases against the mob have been stand alone charges like we have now?

Well I don't "deal with it" by making the baseless assumption that has anything to do with Buffalo today. To argue the lack of RICO convictions in Buffalo in years past could mean there still a structure today is just desperate and disingenuous.

Years ago, the feds at least recognized the existence of an LCN family in Buffalo. They had charts, identified the hierarchy, etc. Today we don't see that. The prosecution in this case can only go with the rather vague and generic "Italian Organized Crime." Individuals of Italian descent involved in organized crime? Sure. But not how the media has spun it.

[NickleCity]

Don’t dream of the Buffalo mob being active. Dream about it being brought to its knees and killed.

Well then I have good news for you...

How do you deal with the fact the government has never been able to prove a RICO agains the Buffalo mob - and all successful cases against the mob have been stand alone charges like we have now?

Well I don't "deal with it" by making the baseless assumption that has anything to do with Buffalo today. To argue the lack of RICO convictions in Buffalo in years past could mean there still a structure today is just desperate and disingenuous.

Years ago, the feds at least recognized the existence of an LCN family in Buffalo. They had charts, identified the hierarchy, etc. Today we don't see that. The prosecution in this case can only go with the rather vague and generic "Italian Organized Crime." Individuals of Italian descent involved in organized crime? Sure. But not how the media has spun it.

Federal agencies are investigating Italian organized crime in Buffalo and prosecuting this current case. The FBI was one of those agencies listed when Kennedy announced the Masecchia indictment and ongoing investigation int IOC in WNY. Federal prosecutors allege Todaro is the head of the Buffalo crime family in recent court documents, speak of the Buffalo family, and have used the the terms mafia and LCN. IMHO to suggest otherwise ignores the fact and is disingenuous.

[TommyGambino]

The same people having the same argument for years

[Wiseguy]

Federal agencies are investigating Italian organized crime in Buffalo and prosecuting this current case. The FBI was one of those agencies listed when Kennedy announced the Masecchia indictment and ongoing investigation int IOC in WNY. Federal prosecutors allege Todaro is the head of the Buffalo crime family in recent court documents, speak of the Buffalo family, and have used the the terms mafia and LCN. IMHO to suggest otherwise ignores the fact and is disingenuous.

Todaro has been identified as the boss, at least nominally, for a long time now. He's the boss just like William D'Elia or Pete Milano were the boss. With his level of actual involvement, the most he has to be worried about is health infractions at his restaurants.

Not a single identified made member in any of the charges against people tied to Bongiovanni. At least the previous bust had Violi. The most we've seen is a "possible made member" in Masecchia. Made member, my ass. He'd be the first public school teacher in mob history. The Miami Herald had a headline about Gerace saying "Leader of New York Crime Family Arrested in Florida," which shows just how sloppy the media can be.

When it comes to "Buffalo family, Mafia, LCN," the only thing that holds any water is that some of those charged have been identified as associates of the Buffalo LCN. Though what that that exactly means when there's no family left is a good question. In terms of any recognizable, formally structured mob family, there's no such thing in existence. Hence, the reason the prosecution hasn't brought an LCN RICO indictment. Italian Organized Crime? Yeah, some individuals of Italian descent engaging in crime. But that's a far cry from what is being alleged.

Congratulations. You're the ScottB of Buffalo.

[Lupara]

I can't believe this is still ongoing.

[Dave65827]

This debate is longer than Carlo Gambinos nose