Colombo family boss, 11 others busted in NYC mob sweep: feds

[nizarsoccer]

As part of the indictment towards the bottom, the Feds used this phrase, "cooperating witness who was once a co-conspirator." Does that mean someone flipped? I can't imagine the union official who got extorted was a co-conspirator.

[newera_212]

As part of the indictment towards the bottom, the Feds used this phrase, "cooperating witness who was once a co-conspirator." Does that mean someone flipped? I can't imagine the union official who got extorted was a co-conspirator.

Yes that's what it means. Almost 90% sure the John Doe 2 or whoever it is that's mentioned as the extortionate loan victim was an associated / affiliated loanshark himself who ended up flipping. He was $250K in debt paying over $3570 a week in vig alone (1.5%). The high amount...$250K...and the relatively low interest rate (for these guys)...1.5%...reads like it was another loanshark borrowing from the bank. Who else would be borrowing that type of money and keeping up with that type of vig, a cafe owner? Please. They make the guy sound like some victim getting bled, just like the guy in the Giallanzo indictment who was getting abused for a $100K+ debt, when it's probably another fellow loanshark who decided to flip

And even if the cooperating witness they're referring to was a union official... he's still a co-conspirator. Even though it's technically extortion he's still benefitting from the relationship. Like with Gravano and Bobby Sasso... Gravano 'controlled' Sasso but it was mutually beneficial - but if Sasso flipped the feds could still technically word it that Sasso was an extortion victim.

[Pogo The Clown]

Also, it looks like according to the article below, Andy Russo attended court virtually from a hospital bed - so he is not in good health.

Another toothpick.


Also it is hilarious watching Rooster trying to use this Colombo bust to resurrect the Pittsburgh family. The guy never stops.

Btw, Pennisi confirmed Ralph is the younger brother of Luca. He described him as a low key guy.

Yeah I figured he was a relative. I also suspect Richsrd Ferrara is related to member Michael Ferrara.


Pogo

[Newyorkempire]

Street Boss Andrew Russo indicted
Underboss Benjamin Castellazo indicted
Consigliere Ralph Dimmatteo indicted

Captains Teddy Persico Jr, Richard Ferrara and Vincent Ricciardo indicted

Solider Michael Uvino and associates Thomas Costa and Dominick Ricciardo indicted

If we take this at face value it's interesting that the consigliere and two captains we didn't even have listed as members on the Colombo thread in the charts section. So do we know if Ralph Dimatteo is related to the other Dimatteos? Also, kinda thought if Russo went down and a bunch of captains went down that William Russo would have gotten pulled into this.

Confirms further posters who create charts dont know every families membership to a tee and new guys are always coming and going. If a family has top guys who want it to exist theyll recruit without anyone knowing until they get investigated or indicted

To quote Pennisi again, but, the mob doesn't know how many guys it has.

Also, it looks like according to the article below, Andy Russo attended court virtually from a hospital bed - so he is not in good health.

It also states that not only did Teddy violate his probation by meeting with members of organized crime, but he apparently "directed much of the labor racketeering scheme."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/nyre ... ested.html

Big statement by Pennisi

[Rocco]

Huge. It looks like it might tie in to Thomas Fareses recent arrest

Why do you say that? Farese is a FL was a never a NY guy. He got busted in a FL fraud case. the NY case is centered around a NY Union Local.? They don't appear to be related at all. ?

[nizarsoccer]

Huge. It looks like it might tie in to Thomas Fareses recent arrest

Why do you say that? Farese is a FL was a never a NY guy. He got busted in a FL fraud case. the NY case is centered around a NY Union Local.? They don't appear to be related at all. ?

I think that was the first speculation because when the news broke, all the articles just mentioned healthcare fraud in connection to a union benefit fund. Farese got busted in a healthcare fraud case too, so its fair to assume they were related. Obviously once more details started to trickle in, it became clear they were quite separate.

[JohnnyS]

Few articles saying that Domenick is Vinny Unions' cousin. Pennisi thinks it's his son.

[JohnnyS]

Street Boss Andrew Russo indicted
Underboss Benjamin Castellazo indicted
Consigliere Ralph Dimmatteo indicted

Captains Teddy Persico Jr, Richard Ferrara and Vincent Ricciardo indicted

Solider Michael Uvino and associates Thomas Costa and Dominick Ricciardo indicted

If we take this at face value it's interesting that the consigliere and two captains we didn't even have listed as members on the Colombo thread in the charts section. So do we know if Ralph Dimatteo is related to the other Dimatteos? Also, kinda thought if Russo went down and a bunch of captains went down that William Russo would have gotten pulled into this.

Confirms further posters who create charts dont know every families membership to a tee and new guys are always coming and going. If a family has top guys who want it to exist theyll recruit without anyone knowing until they get investigated or indicted

To quote Pennisi again, but, the mob doesn't know how many guys it has.

Also, it looks like according to the article below, Andy Russo attended court virtually from a hospital bed - so he is not in good health.

It also states that not only did Teddy violate his probation by meeting with members of organized crime, but he apparently "directed much of the labor racketeering scheme."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/nyre ... ested.html

This pretty much backs up Capeci and the daily news reports to me. Andy Russo was most likely promoted from acting to official boss when Carmine died but it looks more like he was a placeholder for Teddy Persico jr.

I wonder if the meetings with Russo taking place at his house means he's been house bound for a while.

[Pogo The Clown]

New JP reaction video up, reminding us Ricciardo was in the car on the attempted vito guzzo revenge hit.

Pennisi has been throwing cold water on the idea that “Colombos are weak and on their last leg” for a while now.

Indeed. Continues to say they'll bounce back even after this.

Looking at this indictment, + Amato + thomas farase, they bounced back well after the 2011 indictment.

The NY families are virtually indestructible from a purely law enforcement standpoint. RICO indictments, informants, etc. certainly help by speeding the process along but its ultimately a slow waiting game for attrition to do its job.

I think this is probably accurate.

These indictments are hitting the actual family structure hard, but to the degree to which the deeper set of relationships (familial, social, business, racket-based) upon which the mafia depends and through which it exerts its influence are maintained, they will continue to bounce back. To use the botanical metaphor, they’ve chopped a good deal of the trunk and branches off but so long as some soil and roots remain it will grow back. Those latter factors remain, though it remains to be seen how long those networks will remain viable enough to reproduce a formal mafia structure for the family. I wouldn’t bet on the Colombos going the way of the Dodo (or Pittsburgh et al) any time in the immediate future.

And you can see attrition and changing demographics taking a big effect. Out of the 14 guys in this indictment only 2 are under the age of 50 and all 8 of the made members indicted are senior citizens.


You see a big drop off in criminal involvement with guys born in the 1970s and into the early 80s. That number just falls off a cliff when you get to the cohort born in the late 80s and 1990s. The millennials haven't become involved with LCN like previous generations did.


What we are seeing now are guys that were criminals in the 1980s and 1990s and before still engaging in crime but the guys born in the 1980s and 1990s aren't there in sufficient numbers to replace them.


Pogo

[Cheech]

100% Pogo

[aray22]

Colombos were NEVER weak or finished they were weak compared to the Genevese and Gambinos.This proves they are still powerful for in this day and age them still being involved in Union scams.Do you guys think any other crime group other than LCN is involved in this kind of crime.The Mexican Mafia in LA has cartel connection and huge mexican demographics and the best they could do is tax local gangmembers

The Mexican mafia and other ethnic criminal organizations and gangs are mostly confined to their communities. They don't really venture out of their ethnic communities. You can't compare them with LCN.

Yes but demographically, Italian Americans have very much moved from the working to middle classes. Therefore recruitment becomes a much harder sell to the next generation. The Hispanic (for want of a better catch-all descriptor) gangs, don't have that and therefore have a much bigger recruitment pool.

Like realistically, who are the next generation of members for the Colombos? Are there 20 'kids' aged between 18-30 interested in it?

Hispanic criminal organisations have a much bigger recruitment pool, but they are not at the level of the Italian crime families. Hispanic crime groups and gangs are not involved in union racketeering, healthcare frauds and construction. LCN is a far more sophisticated organization than MS13, Latin Kings,18th Street gang , Dominicans Don't Play,The Trinitarios etc which are essentially loose knit collections of small street gangs. A street gang, as the definition implies, runs the street. They have guns, but they're local. Quite terrifying, but nothing compared to the LCN. The American Mafia(even today) has far greater power.

According to John Pennisi all 5 families still have plenty of young associates in New York and New Jersey.

He has said there's plenty of associates but that there's really not many young guys coming up.

[johnny_scootch]

Isn't it usually the bosses and captains that control unions? I've always thought of labor racketeering as being above a soldier's paygrade. When soldiers get busted it's usually for street-level crimes like bookmaking, gambling, loansharking, drug trafficking, extortion, etc.

That’s not how it works. You ever hear of Ralph Scopo? He was just a soldier and probably the biggest labor racketeer of his day.

[Uncle Pete]

I think Andy Mush has been the real power in this family for a long time. He goes back to the 70’s with stints as acting boss almost 30 years ago. Him and Benji both were admin members in the 2011 bust and again ten years later in 2021. I believe they got minimal time and supervised release as a result of the 2011 bust. I think in all likelihood they were still functioning in an administration capacity at a high level through other acting bosses during their very short incarceration and supervised release. These two have been running the family since the Tommy Shots bust in 2008. Pretty impressive to have the reign they had and even I would never have predicted these guys would get indicted 10 years later with the same titles given their advanced age and law enforcement pressure. They both must have tons of respect from the guys on the street both within the Colombo’s and the other families.

[Dave65827]

There any pics of anybody arrested? All I’ve seen are the old Russo, Castellazo and Ragano pics

[Wiseguy]

I’ve heard posters say that indictments are indicative of how active a family is. Seems that the Colombo’s are continually being indicted yet are considered the weakest out of the NY5…

What about this is contradictory to you? Relatively speaking, the Colombos are the weakest of the NY families (though miles ahead of any remaining family outside the city). The last case of this magnitude against the Colombos was in 2011 and there have been a number of lesser cases between then and this latest one.

Don't think they're getting indicted more than anyone else. Since 2000 the Bonanno and Lucchese Families probably have been hit the most.

Obviously there are variuos ways you can measure the hits a family takes. Not just the number of indictments but how many people are charged in those indictments, their respective ranks, the charges and potential prison time involved, the impact on the family hierarchy and business interests, and so on.

Isn't it usually the bosses and captains that control unions? I've always thought of labor racketeering as being above a soldier's paygrade. When soldiers get busted it's usually for street-level crimes like bookmaking, gambling, loansharking, drug trafficking, extortion, etc.

It depends, sometimes yes, sometimes no. A classic case was Ralph Scopo, who was president of District Council of Cement and Concrete Workers Union and the main point guy for the mob's control of the concrete club prior to the Commission case. He was a soldier. Though, obviously he answered to people above him, so in a sense they had ultimate control.

Yes but demographically, Italian Americans have very much moved from the working to middle classes. Therefore recruitment becomes a much harder sell to the next generation. The Hispanic (for want of a better catch-all descriptor) gangs, don't have that and therefore have a much bigger recruitment pool.

Like realistically, who are the next generation of members for the Colombos? Are there 20 'kids' aged between 18-30 interested in it?

That's the attrition factor mentioned above. The reason why Philadelphia lasted longer than Tampa, or why New York will outlast them all, is due to the size of their recruitment pools. With the self-perpetuating hierarchy, as long as there are new members to fill the empty spots, the family can survive. In terms of quality, the decline started a long time ago. In terms of quantity, the NY families are smaller than they were decades ago but not substantially so. But with the average age of a NY mafioso being in the 60's and 70's - to say nothing of plenty of members in their 80's and even 90's - the coming years could show a big change.

Also it is hilarious watching Rooster trying to use this Colombo bust to resurrect the Pittsburgh family. The guy never stops.

As if we all don't know the NY charts aren't all-encompassing. They can only be updated as fast as the official info comes in, which they are. But to track the NY families, where there are hundreds of members, is quite different from tracking, oh say, Buffalo or Pittsburgh. As much some people may wish otherwise. Apples and oranges.