Gangland news 7th sept 2017

[Hailbritain]

By Jerry Capeci

Feds To Judge: Patsy's A Violent Recidivist Mobster; Hit Him Hard

Gang Land Exclusive!Pasquale ParrelloLast week Gang Land told you about the wonderful things that a 107 year old Bronx denizen had to say to the sentencing judge about his pal, mob capo Pasquale (Patsy) Parrello ("...the son I never had.")

This week, it's the feds' turn and they've got some very different stories to tell about the owner of Pasquale's Rigoletto, the famed Arthur Avenue eatery, who faces sentencing today in Manhattan Federal Court.

For their account, prosecutors drew on Parrello's many acid-tongued comments as tape-recorded by a cooperating witness in the case in asking Judge Richard Sullivan to give the Genovese crime family wiseguy up to 78 months in prison — a possible life sentence for the 73-year-old mobster.

Parrello is the central figure in the huge racketeering conspiacy indictment against 46 defendants with ties to five crime families. More than three dozen of his codefendants — and their lawyers — will be paying close attention to the goings on in Judge Sullivan's courtroom.

Judge Richard SullivanOnly four of the 45 defendants who were arrested a year ago are still planning to go to trial in the case that has been snake-bit by allegations of wrongdoing by three FBI agents in the five-year-long investigation. And Sullivan is slated to impose sentence on all but three of the 41 defendants who have copped guilty pleas

In a long, 15-page sentencing memo, prosecutors detailed conversations in which Parrello was heard instructing underlings to use "expressed or implied threats of death or bodily injury" to collect $86,000 that three victims owed him or his cohorts, and if necessary, to assault them.

"We don't take no for an answer," Parrello said about a gambler who was $30,000 in arrears, prosecutors wrote.

The prosecutors wrote that Parrello was tape recorded telling cooperating witness John (J.R.) Rubeo, in no uncertain terms, that he wanted his money from one victim, even if his uncle was dying.

John Rubeo"Youse go there and youse get this motherfucker," prosecutors quoted Patsy as saying in one taped talk. "Get your money; get your mother fuckin' money. Knock on his mother fuckin' door where he lives over there and tell him I want my fuckin' money."

In another conversation, Parrello instructed Rubeo to tell associate Israel (Buddy) Torres "to choke" a victim, prosecutors wrote. "I want Buddy to choke him, choke him, actually choke the motherfucker and tell him, 'Listen to me, next time I'm not gonna stop choking. I'm gonna kill you.'"

To stress that while Patsy didn't directly threaten his victims, "he directed others to do so on his behalf," prosecutors named Torres and a dozen other mobsters and associates from four crime families who were involved in the three violent extortions to which Parrello pleaded guilty in their sentencing memo.

Noting that Parrello opted "to terrorize debtors by proxy" after serving an 88 month prison term for similar extortions in a 2003 conviction, prosecutors asked Sullivan to sentence Patsy to up to six and a half years in prison "to protect the public from further crimes" by the recidivist mobster.

Israel TorresBased on the first prison term that Sullivan imposed in the case last week — of a very minor player with only a bit role in the monster case — it's likely that the judge will give the aging wiseguy the recommended maximum term called for in his plea agreement, or maybe one that's a little above it.

The recommended prison term for Gambino soldier John Lembo for wire fraud was six-to-12 months. Sullivan split the baby, giving him eight months. On the surface, that may seem like a moderate sentence, since it was closer to the low end of the guidelines. But the dry numbers in Lembo's case are deceiving.

To begin with, Lembo, who is serving a state prison term for a 2013 assault conviction for which he is slated to be released in 16 months, didn't do much, if anything. In 2012, according to court records, he agreed to take a "skimmer" from a cohort, place it near a credit card machine at an undisclosed establishment, and obtain and store credit card info on the small device that would be used to create phony, but usable credit cards. But Lembo, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, never took the skimmer, and did not get any credit card info.

John LemboIn addition, as attorney Joseph Corozzo noted in court papers, and stated again in court on August 28, probation officials recommended a "time served" sentence for Lembo to be served concurrently with his state prison term. After the lawyer noted that Lembo was severely injured by falling debris when he tried to rescue a co-worker in a 2005 construction accident at a Bronx courthouse, and is on permanent disability, Sullivan left the bench to consider his sentence.

When he returned, the judge told Lembo that he had planned to give him nine months but based on Corozzo's impassioned plea, had decided to give him eight months — but made it consecutive to his current prison term, as prosecutors Jessica Lonergan, Amanda Kramer and Jonathan Rebold had requested. Sullivan also gave him three years of supervised release.

So, instead of finishing up his federal prison stay in October, 2019, Lembo will be done a month earlier. We doubt he'll be sending any Thank You notes to Judge Sullivan. But poor Patsy Parrello — no matter how many kindnesses he's paid to old timers — will likely still be getting settled in.

Mob Associate Found Sleeping With The Fishes In Mill Basin

Carmine CariniLaw enforcement officials are looking into suspected mob ties of Carmine Carini, the 35-year-old ex-con who was found dead in the waters off Brooklyn's Mill Basin on Saturday, and they are also looking to question two friends who "went missing" last weekend, Gang Land has learned.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, say Carini, the son of a 57-year-old Gambino associate also named Carmine, was a Luchese crime family associate with reputed ties to several Canarsie-based members, including soldiers Anthony Grado, 53, and Thomas (Tommy Red) Anzeulotto, 54. The duo, who were convicted of extortion charges in 1996, haven't had any troubles with the law since their release from prison in 2002.

Carini's missing friends, said one law enforcement source, "are brothers" whose names Gang Land could not confirm at press time yesterday. "We're trying to determine whether they're suspects, or on the lam, or in the same condition as Carini," the source added.

Carmine Carini Sr.Neighborhood sources say Carini lived on the second floor of the same Mill Basin home on 64th street and National Drive where the brothers, who haven't been seen in several days, also resided. One street source reported: "The word in the neighborhood is that the brothers killed him and took off for Arizona, where they have some stuff going."

Carini, who was stabbed and bludgeoned to death, was a member of a notorious Brooklyn family. His uncles, Vincent and Enrico (Eddie) Carini, were murderous Colombo family associates who were murdered in Brooklyn 30 years ago.

The Carini brothers took part in a bizarre mistaken identity execution of 78-year-old Administrative Law Judge George Aronwald in 1987 when they were assigned by capo Joseph (Joe Waverly) Cacace to kill Aronwald's son William, a former federal prosecutor, according to court records.

A few months later, the Carini brothers were each found shot to death in the back seats of separate stolen cars that were left in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn by killers who were allegedly dispatched by Cacace in an effort to cut his ties to the murder of George Aronwald.

Robert BoyceOn Tuesday, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce stated at a news conference that the investigation into Carmine Carini's murder was in its early stages, but that police believe that Carini, whose body was wrapped in a blue tarp, was dumped "in the water Friday night. He was weighted down with a cinder block and a five pound bag of compound. That didn't work, and we recovered the body."

"We've got a long way to go," said Boyce. "Right now, we're into an active investigation, and we're going forward to see exactly who was in his life at this time, his phone, and everything else. We've got a long way to go."

Sources told Gang Land yesterday that police recovered evidence indicating that Carini, who hadn't been seen since last Wednesday, may have been killed in his apartment.

Sources say that young Carini opted to run with a different crime family than the elder Carmine Carini, a longtime Gambino associate with ties to former Canarsie-based Gambino mobsters Leonard DiMaria and Nicholas (Little Nick) Corozzo. The duo was famously acquitted of racketeering charges along with their late Mafia boss, John Gotti, in 1987.

Joel CacaceBut like his old man, the younger Carini has several convictions for violent crimes. Investigative sources say that since his release from state prison in 2015 for an armed robbery, he has been spotted several times hanging around with Grado and other Lucheses.

The elder Carini was released from federal prison in July following a 10 year sentence for a 2008 home invasion robbery in Staten Island. He was arrested for the armed robbery a year after his murder conviction for the 1983 slaying of a Brooklyn record store owner was thrown out based on the testimony of two FBI informers who said his murdered cousin Vincent had killed the store owner. Carini subsequently copped a plea to manslaughter and was released from prison.

Reached by The New York Times yesterday, the elder Carini declined to comment. He gave the phone to his sister, Annie Carini, who told the paper that the "family was pained by coverage of her nephew's death," wrote reporter Ashley Southall.

"My nephew was murdered," she told The Times. "That's what they need to be working on. It's disgusting."

An NYPD spokesman declined to comment yesterday, except to say, "Our detectives are actively pursuing several leads in the case."

Ask Andy: Welcome To Las Vegas (Or, Bugsy Siegel And Billy Wilkerson Are Flipping In Their Graves)

Andy PetepieceWhether or not you're one of the 250,000 fans who have seen Jennifer Lopez in her All I Have show at the Planet-Hollywood hotel-casino in Las Vegas since she began her "residency" there last year, the time is right for a primer on Sin City. Just the other day, Jenny From The Bronx said that folks go there — some 43 million people spend about $35 billion for hotels, meals, gifts, tours, and gambling each year — "to let loose and have a good time."

Many folks know that gangster Benjamin (Bugsy) Siegel, who was famously shot to death on June 20, 1947, was a not-so-silent owner of The Flamingo, the firstl Monte Carlo-like first-class hotel-casino built on the Las Vegas Strip. There's a plaque on the Flamingo grounds, near the wedding chapel, commemorating Siegel's contribution to the place.

But very few folks know that it was the brainchild of a forgotten Hollywood impresario who loved to gamble named Billy Wilkerson who began the Flamingo project in 1945, but sold two thirds of the place to Bugsy for a cool $1 million when his funds ran out during construction.

Jennifer LopezBy then, the conversion of Las Vegas into a national gambling mecca that began when Nevada legalized most kinds of casino gambling on March 19, 1931, was in high gear. Nevada had been in a steep decline due to the depression and other factors. The tax base had been seriously eroded and casino gambling became the state's badly needed "new" source of revenue.

At first, most of the gambling took place in downtown Las Vegas, where modest casinos and hotels were located. In 1941, the famous Las Vegas "strip" began to develop when the El Rancho opened, followed by the Last Frontier in 1942. These were Western-style themed hotel/casinos that attracted mostly a middle class clientele.

Early in 1945, W.R. (Billy) Wilkerson, who had been a Universal Studios executive and close personal friend of Joseph Schenck, a former chairman of 20th Century Fox Pictures, bought 33 acres of desert land and commissioned plans for his resort, to be built along the lines of those in Monte Carlo. Financing came from a variety of sources, including the Bank of America and famously reclusive Howard Hughes. To run the casino, Wilkerson made deals with gamblers Moe Sedway and Gus Greenbaum, who were to take a cut of the gambling profits. In fact, they also held hidden interests in the entire project. The foxes were already in the hen house.

Billy WilkersonWilkerson was soon in both financial and mental trouble. Cost had continued to rise and his reckless gambling continued. He walked away from the project, legally turning over his dream to Sedway and Greenbaum. But he changed his mind months later, and bought the land back from them, and began construction. The foundations and steel frame work were complete before money problems once again overwhelmed Wilkerson. That's when Bugsy Siegel got his hooks into project and forced out Wilkerson, who faded from the picture.

In The Man Who Invented Las Vegas, an excellent, well-researched book by Wilkerson's son, W.R. Wilkerson III, the author notes that for the rest of his life, Billy Wilkerson, who died in 1962, disassociated himself with the Flamingo, "rarely mentioning it in public or private" because he "did not view the Flamingo as a particularly happy episode in his life."

Siegel went on to complete the Flamingo, which after a brief "official" opening on December 26, 1946 and quick closing, opened with a flourish in March of 1947. But plagued by money disputes, and suspicions by Siegel's hidden mob partners that he was skimming money from them, Siegel was killed on June 20, 1947, while in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, tickets costing up to about $500 a pop just went on sale for Jenny From The Bronx's shows that are scheduled to run through next year. Bugsy and Billy Wilkerson must be turning over in their graves.

[Stroccos]

in case anyone cares , here is a pic of parello and the 100 year old guy

and thanks for posting hailbriatin

[Cheech]

Thats dean

[TommyGambino]

Does anybody know when Lembo was made and what crew he's in?

[SonnyBlackstein]

Mob Associate Found Sleeping With The Fishes In Mill Basin

N, n, n, ne, ne , new.....NEWS!





Thanks for the post HB. Can you post the pics of Torres and Lembo?
Cheers

[SonnyBlackstein]

Good Pic Stroccos. Cheers

[Eld]

John Lembo (pic not from Gangland news).

[Hailbritain]

Lembo

[Hailbritain]

Torres

[moneyman]

Not sure if this has been posted before but apparently Lembo was a fugitive for a year from 2012-2013, he shot somebody in the neck https://patch.com/new-york/glencove/gle ... lf-pursuit

[Adam]

Not sure if this has been posted before but apparently Lembo was a fugitive for a year from 2012-2013, he shot somebody in the neck https://patch.com/new-york/glencove/gle ... lf-pursuit

What's the story behind Lembo shooting that guy?

[Cheech]

Thats dean

he took it down

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the pics Eld and HB.
Cheers

[JerryB]

Hey Hailbritain -

Thanks for posting GL.

In regard to your reference to the photo of Carini Sr. possibly being incorrect, I believe Jerry obtained the photo and cropped it from one published about ten years ago, posted by Staten Island Live when running a story about one of Carini, Sr.'s arrest. I have no idea if SILIVE.com was mistaken about the photo at the time or not, but I hope someone on the forum can come up with some type of evidence, either way. Another photo of Carini I have is older and it is hard to tell if it is the same guy.

[Cheech]

SILIVE put up the wrong picture. its why jerry took it down.