Gangland July 25th 2024

[Dr031718]

Double Trouble For Gambino Crime Family Odd Couple

They never met. They live in different boroughs. And they have never been codefendants. But Kyle (Twin) Johnson and Mileta (Michael Michael) Miljanic are a Gambino crime family Odd Couple. On the same day three years ago, they were both arrested and jailed after the feds found loaded guns as they searched their apartments looking for evidence tying them to mob-run construction industry rackets.

The arrests have meant double trouble for the duo. Each mob associate was hit with federal weapons charges in the federal district where he lives — Johnson in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and Miljanic in the Eastern District (EDNY.) And each defendant was later indicted for other crimes in the federal courts on the opposite side of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.

Meanwhile, the main target of the labor racketeering investigations by the feds in both districts, Louis (Bo) Filippelli, a 57-year-old Gambino capo who has two prior racketeering convictions in cases going back two decades, has suffered none of those worries. He has avoided any trouble with the law since his release from federal prison back in 2008.

Since 2020, Filippelli has been publicly linked to alleged construction industry rackets with Miljanic, the reputed leader of a violent Serbian American organized crime gang, Grupo Amerika. That's when federal prosecutors noted that corrupt union leader James Cahill had stated that the duo were "partners in the construction business" who were "happy as pigs in shit."

But nearly five years later, a full-bore SDNY investigation into the alleged involvement of Miljanic, Filippelli and other Gambino family wiseguys, including consigliere Lorenzo Mannino, in several construction industry schemes have ended with little to show for it. Michael Michael has been the only defendant charged with a crime, and it was pretty small-bore stuff: He pleaded guilty to tax evasion and an SBA fraud.

In that case, as Gang Land noted two months ago, Miljanic, 64, of Ridgewood, Queens, was released from prison and placed in a halfway house on March 6 after serving the lion's share of a 33-month sentence. That prison term came after 16 a month bid for the gun rap that was filed against him in the EDNY. All told he spent three years and a couple of weeks behind bars for his crimes.

Unless Johnson rolls the dice and is somehow acquitted at trial, Twin is a virtual cinch to fare worse than Michael Michael did when his two cases are resolved.

In his Brooklyn case, Johnson, 47, is charged with being an active member of a ten-defendant racketeering conspiracy from 2017 to 2023 that was headed by Gambino capo Joseph (Joe Brooklyn) Lanni. The defendants include three other mobsters, Diego (Danny) Tantillo, Angelo (Fifi) Gradilone, and James (Jimmy) LaForte.

Johnson, a reputed enforcer for Tantillo, allegedly used repeated efforts of "actual and threatened violence" to extort money from Tantillo's rivals in the private carting and demolition industries through arson and assaults in 2020, according to government filings in the case.

Prosecutors say Johnson was an active member of the enterprise who for years took part in extortion shakedowns by Tantillo against three brothers who owned a leader in the tri-state area's demolition industry, the Waldorf Demolition Company of Englewood, NJ, where Tantillo and Gradilone had worked for more than 10 years.

In a court filing, the feds claimed that on October 29 of 2020, after Tantillo had extorted $50,000 in cash from the brothers and had received $3.9 million in reduced fees to use their facilities, he and Johnson arranged a violent hammer assault by an unidentified cohort against a Waldorf employee when the owners refused to fork over "additional amounts that Tantillo demanded."

Johnson's role as an enforcer for Tantillo ended abruptly a few months later — on February 23, 2021.

On that day, as Miljanic was being arrested on federal weapons charges and arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court after an NYPD detective found a loaded handgun in the bedroom of his Queens apartment, an FBI agent found a semi-automatic pistol in the living room of Johnson's apartment in the Claremont section of the Bronx, where he lived then, and where he now resides.

Like Michael Michael, Twin, a convicted felon was detained without bail as a danger to the community when he was arraigned on federal weapons charges in Manhattan Federal Court. And like Michael Michael, he knew there was no way he could beat the case, so he pleaded guilty.

On sentencing day, his attorney noted that Miljanic, the "head of an international organized crime family" who had escaped from an Italian prison, was sentenced to 16 months a few weeks earlier. He argued "it would be manifestly unjust" for Johnson to spend "more time in prison than a person who was arrested on the very same day, for the very same offense, with a significantly greater criminal history."

The judge disagreed. She gave Johnson 30 months. He was released last year, and was back in The Bronx, toiling as a construction worker and helping out at Sapoara, a popular Latin American restaurant in East Harlem when he was arrested on the racketeering charges for which he and his codefendants face up to 20 years in prison.

After spending two months cooling his heels in the Metropolitan Detention Center as a danger to the community without enough cash or property to secure a hefty multi-million dollar bond like Tantillo had, Judge Frederic Block ordered him released on a $250,000 bond that was co-signed by Giselle Malave, the owner of Sapoara in January.

A June status conference in the case was postponed to September to allow lawyers for Johnson and the others to pore through the voluminous discovery the feds have accumulated about the gangsters' alleged criminal activity in the past five years and decide whether to negotiate plea deals or fight the charges at trial.

The evidence includes, "wiretap intercepts, consensual recordings, text messages, bank records, witness testimony, surveillance evidence and physical evidence" including pictures, videos, and business records of companies owned by Tantillo, Lanni and other defendants that were obtained through their search warrants, according to government filings in the case.

So far, though, Filippelli, the Bronx-born wiseguy who toiled as a member of Local 780 of the Cement Masons Union for years before moving into the management end of the construction industry in the early 1990s, and who remains a major player in the construction industry today, according to law enforcement officials, has avoided any problems with the law.

Following his first arrest — in March of 2005 along with dozens of other Gambino gangsters including then-acting family boss, Arnold (Zeke) Squitieri after a 30-month sting operation by superstar FBI undercover agent Joaquin (Big Jack) Garcia — prosecutors tabbed him as an up-and-coming major player in the crime family.

They noted that a year earlier, when the crime family's then-acting underboss Anthony Megale was arrested on racketeering charges and jailed without bail, "Filippelli assumed some of Megale's supervisory responsibilities" in helping Squitieri run the crime family following the death behind bars of John Gotti.

Detained without bail as a danger to the community, Filippelli pleaded guilty to racketeering charges including the extortion of a New Jersey trucking company for 18 months and the seven-year-long extortion of a Bronx night club owner that began in 1998, and was sentenced to 46 months in prison.

After serving that term, and a sweet five-month sentence he received for an unrelated racketeering conviction in Brooklyn following another undercover sting operation, Filippelli was released from custody in December of 2008.

Law enforcement officials maintain that Bo Filippelli is the Gambino crime family's main player in the borgata's construction industry operations. Maybe so, but since 2008, despite their best efforts, the feds haven't been able to accuse him of doing anything wrong.

Good Things — Or Bad Things, Depending On your Point Of View — Often Lead To More Of The Same

Two recently inducted Gambino mobsters who were charged last month with running a lucrative Staten Island-based gambling and loansharking ring first showed up on the radar screen of NYPD mob watchers five years ago while detectives were investigating capo Frank Camuso and his crew for their involvement in the alleged theft of $5 million from major NYC builders, Gang Land has learned.

Sources tell Gang Land that in 2019 and 2020 detectives who were investigating Camuso, his crew as well as the focal point of the long running bribery and bid-rigging scheme, Robert (Rusty) Baselice, saw budding wiseguys John (John The Hammer) LaForte, 53, and Anthony Cinque, 39, in numerous meetings with Camuso and his crew members.

Detectives first spotted LaForte having a guarded conversation with Camuso's right-hand-man in the bid-rigging and labor racketeering scheme, mobster Louis Astuto, in a shopping center in the Rossville section of the borough on June 28, 2019, according to an NYPD surveillance report about the meeting.

Louis AstutoSix months later, LaForte attended a pre-Christmas dinner party on December 9 with Camuso, Astuto, codefendant Paul Noto and a dozen other crew members at Wolfgang Steakhouse on Greenwich Street in Manhattan.

Two days later, after picking up a mention from a Camuso cell phone message, detectives spotted LaForte attend a meeting for several hours with Camuso and several other crew members at the Café Luna on Page Avenue in Staten Island's Tottenville section. After they left the restaurant, LaForte and Camuso had an animated discussion standing next to the capo's car, "using hand gestures and strong body language," before getting into their cars and driving away.

A month later, on January 11, 2020, detectives spied Camuso meeting with LaForte and another mobster at Mike's Place Diner on Hylan Boulevard for about two hours. As they watched, it became an animated conversation. When the trio left the diner, "Camuso yelled and flailed his arms" at the two underlings in the parking lot until the other gangster left. "Camuso continued to yell and point his finger at Laforte" until the men drove away a few minutes later, according to the report.

Detectives also saw Cinque drive away from a car dealership in Woodbridge NJ that he owns with Camuso and Astuto to a nearby steakhouse restaurant for lunch on September 11, 2019 for what detectives believed were real estate transactions that they were discussing at the time.

In January of 2020, detectives watched as Cinque parked outside Baselice's Staten Island home and sat there until Baselice walked out of his house. "The two men engaged in conversation while standing in the street" next to Cinque's car. "Cinque appeared animated," the report stated, "using hand and body gestures" in the discussion that detectives believe were about the "potential real estate development deals with Astuto and Camuso."

None of the meetings that LaForte and Cinque had with Camuso and his crew members led to any charges in the Manhattan District Attorney's 83-count indictment against the Gambino capo, and his 23 individual codefendants or 26 companies in the case.

But they alerted the NYPD that LaForte and Cinque were gangsters they should pay attention to. It eventually led to the indictment which accuses them of enterprise corruption charges for running an illegal gambling ring that handled $22 million in wagers from September of 2022 until March of 2023 and with maintaining $500,000 loanshark book.

Meanwhile, the DA's office told Gang Land yesterday that none of the 15 defendants — they include individuals and companies — that have reached tentative agreement to plead guilty in the case have done so. Sources tell Gang Land that they are expected to do so before August 7, the next scheduled status conference in the two year old case.

Judge Says: Wiseguy On Home Detention Can Work, And Attend A Wedding In His Backyard

Carmelo (Carmine Pizza) Polito recently received two positive decisions regarding his home detention from the judge who'll be sentencing the wiseguy for racketeering in the coming months. But the stories behind the rulings by Brooklyn Federal Judge Eric Vitaliano indicate that things aren't going well for the 65-year-old Genovese capo these days.

In the more surprising ruling, to a request that Gang Land has never encountered before, Vitaliano gave Carmine Pizza permission to attend the wedding ceremony and reception of his son Salvatore in the backyard of the Polito home in the Whitestone section of Queens from 11AM until 11PM. The wedding took place earlier this month, according to the filing.

The judge's one word decision was in response to a letter request in which Polito's attorney, Gerald McMahon, indicated that he had gotten a runaround from assistant U.S. attorney Anna Karamigios and Pretrial Services supervisor Jeannine Quijije to a request that didn't need to be made in the first place, let alone be filed with the court.

In the letter, McMahon wrote that he was seeking permission from the Court because after Karamigios referred him to Quijije, and she referred him to the EDNY Location Monitoring Unit, that unit did not respond to requests he made on three consecutive days.

As to Gang Land's initial reaction on why Polito needed permission to attend his son's wedding at his home, McMahon said: "In its infinite wisdom, pretrial service stated that if my client wanted to step off the back porch and into the back yard to attend the wedding reception, he needed to get permission because the backyard was not considered part of the home."

"When they gave me the runaround," the lawyer continued, "and didn't respond to three email requests for three days, that's when I wrote to the judge. That's when they told me that they had no objection to him attending the wedding."

Vitaliano also ruled, over objections by the government, that Polito can continue leaving his home to work the 600 hours he wants to log as a union cement mason before he begins serving the prison term he receives later this year. That will insure that his wife Victoria, who has heart disease and underwent open heart surgery last year, will have the medical coverage she needs next year when he is behind bars, Polito has told the Court.

Vitaliano had indicated that he would go along with Carmine Pizza's request for daily work furloughs during discussions about the medical benefits issue in April. Prosecutors argued that Polito had conducted Genovese family business when he was supposedly working in prior months, a claim that was categorically denied and disputed by the wiseguy's lawyer.

The judge made his official ruling on the issue, when Polito's employer informed the court that working at home was not a viable option. Carmine Pizza is "required to work one location with no overtime" and must specify "his work location" and he must inform Pretrial Services of a new work location as soon as he obtains that info from his employer, the judge wrote.

McMahon declined to discuss whether financial considerations played a role in the backyard wedding decision. He told Gang Land he didn't know whether Polito has logged the 600 hours he needs to guarantee that his wife will have the medical coverage she needs when he is in prison.

"Give pretrial services a call," he said. "They're trying to keep track of how many hours he works. I don't know why, but they are."

No sentencing date has been set yet for Polito, who copped a plea deal to racketeering charges with sentencing guidelines calling for up to three years in prison.

[Dapper_Don]

thanks for posting

[AntComello]

Lot of animated conversations

[TSNYC]

Thanks for posting. The federal Filipelli case seems like it’s never coming.
Lots of animated conversations after big meals …
Another person who I believe either is made or very close to Camuso is Joe Casazza whose also on the younger side, early 40s

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for posting.

I was working on putting a list together of known Camuso crew members. Might see if I can finish it.

[CornerBoy]

THESe guys love eating at wolfgangs. cpl blocks from my house. rocco basile built the bldg diagonal from there and has the whole top floor.

the only one of those boiler room kids that saved the money they stole from old ladies and turned it into hundereds of millions. unreal. his sicilian dad made him save all those huge "rips" instead of going on 100k vegas trips. he also does a lot for charity. a lot.

ill mattone used to be next door but closed down and moved around the corner to a much smaller, mostly takeout place. pretty good stuff. aanthony? fusco owns it w sister connie. very nice. how old is anthony?

[Dr031718]

THESe guys love eating at wolfgangs. cpl blocks from my house. rocco basile built the bldg diagonal from there and has the whole top floor.

the only one of those boiler room kids that saved the money they stole from old ladies and turned it into hundereds of millions. unreal. his sicilian dad made him save all those huge "rips" instead of going on 100k vegas trips. he also does a lot for charity. a lot.

ill mattone used to be next door but closed down and moved around the corner to a much smaller, mostly takeout place. pretty good stuff. aanthony? fusco owns it w sister connie. very nice. how old is anthony?

Is that the same Rocco Basil’s who owns Avo Construction?

[CornerBoy]

i don't know what his company is called, sorry

i can find out

[PolackTony]

i don't know what his company is called, sorry

i can find out

Should be the Rocco Basile from Avo. Big time guy and major charity donor, as you said.

https://exeleonmagazine.com/rocco-basil ... per-dream/

[Cheech]

He was in Born To Steal? Rocco ?

[Cheech]

@corner I am going to tribeca in a few. Locanda verde for dinner then billy at msg.

[aray22]

I wonder if Cinque was made before 2020 if we're to believe he got "animated" with a made guy.

[johnny_scootch]

I wonder if Cinque was made before 2020 if we're to believe he got "animated" with a made guy.

You know any Italians who aren't animated when they talk? It's not a sign of disrespect.

Locanda verde for dinner then billy at msg.

I love Billy although I haven't seen him since New Years Eve 2014 at the Barclays Center. Sounds like a great night, enjoy!

[aray22]

I wonder if Cinque was made before 2020 if we're to believe he got "animated" with a made guy.

You know any Italians who aren't animated when they talk? It's not a sign of disrespect.

Locanda verde for dinner then billy at msg.

I love Billy although I haven't seen him since New Years Eve 2014 at the Barclays Center. Sounds like a great night, enjoy!

I know. They made it seem like he was upset and getting animated with Astuto, that's all. Most likely nothing.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Can someone kindly post the pic of Astuto.

Cheers.