OC News articles (NewYork Times)

[Benito]

A union leader, two former union officials and five businessmen were indicted in Manhattan yesterday on Federal charges of racketeering, extortion and labor payoffs in the Fulton Fish Market.

Federal prosecutors also disclosed that 10 wholesale fish companies had pleaded guilty to making illegal labor payoffs to union officials. The union is Local 359 of the United Seafood Workers Union, which represents all of the market's fish handlers.

John S. Martin Jr., the United States Attorney, said the 167-count racketeering indictment was ''the result of an intensive two-year investigation of organized crime's influence in the Fulton Fish Market.''

A lawyer for Local 359, Patrick M. Wall, said the union had no comment on the indictment because it was ''a matter now pending before the courts.'' The defendants pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. Linked to Organized Crime

Daniel H. Bookin, the prosecutor, said at the arraignment that the defendants were associated with organized crime and that one of them, Carmine Romano, ''runs the Fulton Fish Market for the Genovese crime family.''

A defense lawyer, Louis J. Martine, said the prosecutor had made ''outrageous statements.'' The defendants include Peter Romano, 46 years old, of Hicksville, L.I., the secretary-treasurer of Local 359; his twin brother, Carmine, of Manhattan, who formerly led the local and now administers its welfare and pension funds, and Anthony O'Connor, 42, of Manhattan, a former business agent of the union.

According to the indictment, the three men controlled Local 359 with Carmine Russo, an uncle of the Romano brothers. But Mr. Russo was not named as a defendant, apparently because he is 80 years old and ill. 'Pattern of Racketeering'

The indictment said the defendants had conducted the fish market's affairs ''through a pattern of racketeering activity'' that included extortion, labor payoffs, misuse of welfare and pension funds and obstruction of justice.

They obtained cash payments through the ''use of fear'' and other means from businesses in the fish market, the indictment charged. Charging that the Romano brothers and Mr. O'Connor operated the Fulton Patrol Service, which provided ''protection'' to fish companies, the indictment said the service collected $644,000 for protection. It added that the defendants received some of the money, ''although they performed no legitimate services.''

The Romano brothers were also charged with obtaining $66,000 for ''renting'' union signs to 46 wholesale fish companies in the market. The signs stated that the companies employed members of Local 359. Businessmen Face Charges

Five businessmen were charged with collecting illegal payoffs from fish companies for officials of the union. The businessmen are John Billera, 46, of Jericho, L.I.; John Ciccarone, 66, of New Rochelle, N.Y.; Rosario Gangi, 42, of Queens; Frank Rozzo, 66, of Queens, and Julius Sirowitz, 62, of Manhattan.

They were accused of collecting $300 payments each December from many other businessmen in the fish market on the Lower East Side. All are associated with wholesale fish companies in the Fulton market.

Local 359 was convicted and fined $200,000 earlier this year on related violations of the Taft-Hartley Act. If convicted of the racketeering charges, the defendants could each face up to 20 years in prison, substantial fines and forfeiture of their union positions and business interests in the fish market.

The 10 companies that have pleaded guilty to making labor payoffs could each be fined $10,000. They are the Berman Fish Company, the Blue Ribbon Fish Company, Booth Fisheries, Caleb Haley & Company, the Commercial Fish Company, R. J. Cornelius Inc., the Finest Fillet Company, Lockwood & Winant, the Montauk Seafood Company and Frank W. Wilkisson Inc.

Two other fish-company operators were charged with income-tax evasion. They are Gerard Albanese, 45, and Meliton Cubeiro, 41, both of Staten Island.

Charges were filed earlier this year against three other fishcompany operators in the market. Rosario Leanzo, 57, of Freeport, L.I., was convicted of tax evasion. His brother, Nunzio Leanzo, 55, of Massapequa Park, L.I., and Arthur Fleisher, 58, of Brooklyn, were charged with perjury in the investigation.

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/14/nyre ... yoffs.html

[Benito]

Carmine Persico, who re­putedly runs the powerful Pro­fact gang's‐gambling racket in Brooklyn, was arrested yesterday with 34 other book­makers in a series of raids that began soon after sunrise.

More than 100 detectives and uniformed policemen were sent) out to pick up those named in a packet of 47 individual indict­ments handed up last Friday. The indictments were returned by the grand jury investigating an alleged multimillion‐dollar criminal conspiracy involving gamblers, policemen and em­

Persico, 32 years old, led the listing of those indicted. He and another leader, Hugh Mc­Intosh, 37, were told through Persico's lawyer, Maurice Edel‐baum, to surrender at 186 Joralemon Street, headquarters of the Brooklyn rackets bureau. They did so..

Two Leaders Released

In Supreme. Court, before Justice Julius Helfand, only Persico and McIntosh were paroled without bail. Persico, his right hand dangling as a result of a bullet wound in­flicted by the Gallo gang last year, was freed because he is now out on $70,000 bail in three other court actions. McIntosh likewise has put up heavy bail, $35,000.

Acting District Attorney Aaron E. Koota described these two as foremost among the borough's gamblers. Persico gave his address as 144 Sunset Drive, Hemstead, Li., and Mc­Intosh as. 115 Bay 23d Street,

Arthur Scala, 44, of 2819 West 12th Street; Joseph Sciannameo, 34, of 407 Second Street, and Dominick Monte­marano, 25, of 1301 East 37th Street, all Brooklyn.

However, among the missing are other prime suspects in the conspiracy, according to Walter Buchbinde; head of the Dis­trict Attorney's rackets bureau. These were said to be Alle Giannattasio, John J. Capichano, Alfred Venturino, Charles Dima and Theodore Persico, a brother of Carmine.

Homes Under Scrutiny

“These are the working op­erators who are probably locked up in a figures room some­where, toting up the day's action,” explained Mr. Buch­binder. “They all left home the night before, as usual, and we know none of them slept in their own beds.”

The remaining 30 bookmak­ers who were picked up, consisted of 20 men and 10 I women, mostly minor charac­

The current indictment has two counts: conspiracy misde­meanors for operating a policy business and bookmaking as a felony. Prison sentences of up to three years are possible upon conviction. Assistant District Attorney Irving Seidman is handling the gambling investi­gation.

Careful planning went into yesterday's police action. Be‐ginning at 6 A.M., 107 detec­tives and patrolmen and 14 po­licewomen, their watches syn­chronized, moved under the command of Assistant Chief In­spector John A. Shanley of the Police Commissioner's Confi­dential Investigating Unit, Deputy Chief Inspector Sydney C. Cooper of the same unit, and Deputy Inspector Seymour Sil­er of the District Attorney's office.

Three hours earlier they had fanned out through the bor­ough. When the deadline ar­

“Persico is the overlord of the gambling operation,” Mr. Koota said. “And it's a big one—$35,000 a day at least.

The roundup took on the look of a campaign against the Pro­faci gangsters, compensating, in a sense, for the recent cm­railing of 17 members of the Gallo gang. Larry and Albert (Kid Blast) Gallo and their fol­lowers went on trial a month ago charged with conspiring to wipe out the Profacis, but all pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and are awaiting sentencing.

Mr. Seidman explained that although Profaci interests were involved yesterday, the primary target was bookmak­ing and not the gang as such.

Thus far the investigation has concentrated on allegedly delinquent police officers, the questioning of telephone corn­

Persico, a short, slender, swarthy man, was deeply in­volved in the Cosa Nostra crime syndicate's feud with the Gallo gangsters; indeed he has been identified as the No. 1 target of the Gallos, who are said to covet his control of gambling.

Two and a half years ago, Persico, Montemarano, who was arrested yesterday, and an­other defendant were indicted for assaulting Sidney Slater, a Gallo man, in the Copacabana night club. In 1961 Persico was named a co‐defendant after Lar­ry Gallo was nearly strangled in Brooklyn.

The arraignment of the gamblers yesterday strained the, facilities of the new Brooklyn Supreme Court Building. Justice, Helfand disposed of the cases, in three batches.

https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/28/35-b ... raids.html

[Benito]

MINEOLA, L. I., Jan. 28— Six men allegedly associated with Mafia families were in dicted today by a Nassau Coun ty grand jury investigating or ganized crime, and District At torney William Cahn said that six other men being sought as material witnesses had disap peared.

Declaring that the six men could not be found despite in tensive efforts by his office and the police of other juris dictions, Mr. Cahn added: “The fact that there is a crime war is quite evident. There is a fight for power and control of the crime families and it is pos sible that some of them may be dead.”

The special grand jury has been investigating organized crime in the county since last September and is particularly concerned about the crime “families” of the late Thomas (Three‐Finger Brown) Luchese, Joseph Colombo and the Paul Sciacca. The last family was formerly headed by Joseph (Joe Bananas) Bonanno.

Arrested on various charges to day after having been indicted by the grand jury were:

Henry Hill, 32 years old, of 15 Sagamore Road, Island Park, with possession of gam bling records.

John Morale, 58, of 39‐30 Glen wood Street, Little Neck, Queens, criminal contempt.

Raymond Montemurro, 35, of 27 Harris Drive, Oceanside, L. I., criminal solicitation.

Louis D'Agostino, 40, of 4050 Massachusetts Avenue, Island Park, conspiracy to com mit usury.

Louis Fragiliossi, 33, 605 Wa ter Street, Manhattan, crimi nal contempt.

Larry Knohl, 64, 750 Shore Road, Long Beach, L. I., grand larceny.

The defendants pleaded not guilty at their arraignments in court today.

He said the following men were being sought:

Salvatore (Sally the Sheik) Musacchio, 2947 Murdock Avenue, Wantagh, L I., de scribed as an associate of the Colombo family and a former underboss of the Jo seph Profaci family.

Sebastian (Buster) Aloi of 115‐34 117th Street, Rich mond Hill, Queens, called a capo in the Colombo family.

Vincent (Jimmy) Muce, 1165 Palermo Court, Franklin Square, L. I., allegedly a sol dier in the Colombo family.

Pasquale (Paddy Mack) Mac chiarole, 77‐03 Elliot Avenue, Rego Park, Queens, reported ly a soldier in the Colombo family.

Jerome (Jerry) Asaro, 562 Lincoln Boulevard, Long Beach, L. I., identified as a soldier inthe Sciacca family.

Salvatore Ferrugia of 84‐14 250th Street, Bellerose, Queens, listed as a soldier in the Bonanno family.

Also being sought by Mr. Cahn's office on indictments for criminal contempt for re fusing to testify before the grand jury are Rosario Morale, 235 Elizabeth Street, Manhat tan, described as a capo in the Sciacca family, and Frederick DeLuccia of 25 Atkins Avenue, Brooklyn, called a soldier in the Colombo family.

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/28/arch ... assau.html

[Benito]

James Vincent Napoli, the reputed boss of the late Vito Genovese's Mafia family, was arrested yesterday and charged with operating the country's largest policy gambling operation with a yearly handle put at “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The 63‐year‐old Mr. Napoli, who allegedly ran the vast operation from a bar in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, was seized along with eight other alleged members of the ring, including his son, James Vincent Napoli Jr., and a North Bergen, N.J., policeman.

The nine—all of whom were released on $50,000 bonds —were among 24 defendants indicted by a Federal grand jury in Brooklyn after a four‐year investigation by the Organized Crime Strike Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Two of those indicted were listed as fugitives after apparently eluding F.B.I. agents during yesterday's roundup, and the 13 others, evidently considered lesser figures, were sent notices asking them to surrender.

Wiretaps and other recording devices reportedly played an important role in the investigation despite what the indictment described as elaborate protective measures.

The indictment said the defendants had bribed police officers, changed locations of pollcy banks and offices reaularly, used telephones sparingly and frequently inspected the HiWay Lounge at 362 Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn to gauard against electronic surveillance.

The elder Mr. Napoli, who lives in a luxurious Kips Bay town house with an indoor pool, used the Williamsburg bar as a base of operations, according to the indictment, which referred to a number of conversations there that had apparently been recorded.

Despite the reference to payoffs to police officers, the indictment said their identities were not known to the grand jury. The alleged role of the North Bergen policeman, Frank Pinto, 37, was not specified either by the indictment or by law‐enforcement officials.

Beyond saying that the ring operated in all five boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties and New Jersey, authorities gave few details of the alleged operation or the investigation.

The indictment, however, outlined elaborate bookkeeping procedures allegedly used by Mr. Napoli to keep track of controllers runners and other workers. Mr. Napoli allegedly extended credit to his controllers and decided how the profits would be divided among subordinates designated by code on “policy slips, ribbons, master sheets and other records.”

Investigators would not say what had led them to start the investigation in 1971. But two men named as unindicted coconspirators by the grand jury John A. Lotierzo Jr. and Charles Guadio, were apparently the same men arrested in June. of that year and described by Strike Force officials as key members of a $12‐million‐ayear numbers ring centered in Brooklyn. It could not be learned whether they had cooperated with the investigator or whether there was another reason they were not indicted.

Mr. Lotierzo's father. John A. Lotierzo, of 211 North Sixth Street, Brooklyn, and Kenneth C. Rossi of Jersey City, were the two men listed as fugitives.

The elder Mr. Napoli has been considered one of the city's top Mafia leaders after he and Frank Tieri reportedly took over the old Vito Genovese “family” following the 1972 slaying of Thomas Eboli—described by law enforcement offficials as one of Mr. Napoli's closest associates.

Mr. Napoli, his 40‐year‐old son, who lives in North Bellmore, L. I., and Pasquale Macchirole, a 53‐year‐old reputed Genovese family captain, of 77‐03 Elliot Avenue, Maspeth, Queens, were arraigned together late yesterday afternoon before Judge Jacob Mishler.

In asking that a high bail be set, Fred Barlow, an assistant United States attorney, said the Government had made a secret recording of a conversation between the elder Mr. Napoli and Mr. Macchirole in which they allegedly discussed plans for getting out of town and disappearing if they ever felt the Government was about to move against them.

But after the three had pleaded not guilty, Judge Mishler set hail at $50,000, allowed the younger Mr. Napoli to sign a $50,000 personal recognizance bond and let his father and Mr. Macchirole pledge their homes as collateral. Mr. Napoli's lawyer said his client's house at 216 East 31st Street was worth “at least $150,000.”

The six other defendants, who were not represented by lawyers, were freed on $50,000 personal recognizance bonds and directed to appear for arraignment on May 16.

In addition to Mr. Pinto, they were Salvatore Annarumo, 41, of 250 East 38th Street, Brooklyn; Saverio Carrara, 53, of 73‐12 53d Road, Maspeth, Queens; Martin Anthony Casella, 58, of Secaucus, N. J.; Michael DeLuca, 56, of 21‐06 South Hoyt Avenue Astoria, Queens, and Sabato J. Vigorito, 57, of 58‐19 69th Street, Maspeth, Queens,

Two of the 13 defendants asked yesterday to surrender, John E. Carcia, 39, of 92‐12 215th Street, Queens Village, Queens, and Peter Frank Guido, 53, of Deer Park, L. I., were named in a separate indictment charging them with lying to the grand jury.

The others indicted but not yet arrested were the following:

Frank Altese, 48, of 1534 6th Street, Brooklyn.

Anthony Di Matteo, 42, of 68‐12 Central Avenue, Brooklyn.

Jerry O'Avanzo, 49, of 68‐22 78th Street, Middle Village, Queens.

Bario John Mascitti, 29, of 42‐07 47th Street, Long Island City, Queens.

Anthony Mascuzzio, 30, of Elmont, L. I.

Carmine Pirone, 48, of 356 Leonard Street, Brooklyn.

Henry John Radzewicz, 56, of Jersey City.

Rocco P. Ricciardi, 46, of 1653 Stephens Street, Ridgewood, Queens.

Luigi Scafidi, 52, of 1610–20 91st Street, Howand Beach, Queens.

Joseph Simonelli, 47, of 75‐06 Juniper Valley Road, Middle Village, Queens.

Robert Joseph Voulo, 27, of 86‐17 157th Avenue, Howard Beach, Queens.

https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/08/arch ... ld-in.html

[DPG]

MINEOLA, L. I., Jan. 28— Six men allegedly associated with Mafia families were in dicted today by a Nassau Coun ty grand jury investigating or ganized crime, and District At torney William Cahn said that six other men being sought as material witnesses had disap peared.

Declaring that the six men could not be found despite in tensive efforts by his office and the police of other juris dictions, Mr. Cahn added: “The fact that there is a crime war is quite evident. There is a fight for power and control of the crime families and it is pos sible that some of them may be dead.”

The special grand jury has been investigating organized crime in the county since last September and is particularly concerned about the crime “families” of the late Thomas (Three‐Finger Brown) Luchese, Joseph Colombo and the Paul Sciacca. The last family was formerly headed by Joseph (Joe Bananas) Bonanno.

Arrested on various charges to day after having been indicted by the grand jury were:

Henry Hill, 32 years old, of 15 Sagamore Road, Island Park, with possession of gam bling records.

John Morale, 58, of 39‐30 Glen wood Street, Little Neck, Queens, criminal contempt.

Raymond Montemurro, 35, of 27 Harris Drive, Oceanside, L. I., criminal solicitation.

Louis D'Agostino, 40, of 4050 Massachusetts Avenue, Island Park, conspiracy to com mit usury.

Louis Fragiliossi, 33, 605 Wa ter Street, Manhattan, crimi nal contempt.

Larry Knohl, 64, 750 Shore Road, Long Beach, L. I., grand larceny.

The defendants pleaded not guilty at their arraignments in court today.

He said the following men were being sought:

Salvatore (Sally the Sheik) Musacchio, 2947 Murdock Avenue, Wantagh, L I., de scribed as an associate of the Colombo family and a former underboss of the Jo seph Profaci family.

Sebastian (Buster) Aloi of 115‐34 117th Street, Rich mond Hill, Queens, called a capo in the Colombo family.

Vincent (Jimmy) Muce, 1165 Palermo Court, Franklin Square, L. I., allegedly a sol dier in the Colombo family.

Pasquale (Paddy Mack) Mac chiarole, 77‐03 Elliot Avenue, Rego Park, Queens, reported ly a soldier in the Colombo family.

Jerome (Jerry) Asaro, 562 Lincoln Boulevard, Long Beach, L. I., identified as a soldier inthe Sciacca family.

Salvatore Ferrugia of 84‐14 250th Street, Bellerose, Queens, listed as a soldier in the Bonanno family.

Also being sought by Mr. Cahn's office on indictments for criminal contempt for re fusing to testify before the grand jury are Rosario Morale, 235 Elizabeth Street, Manhat tan, described as a capo in the Sciacca family, and Frederick DeLuccia of 25 Atkins Avenue, Brooklyn, called a soldier in the Colombo family.

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/28/arch ... assau.html

First time I've ever read Henry Hills name in an article. Kinda cool.

[Benito]

MINEOLA, L. I., Jan. 28— Six men allegedly associated with Mafia families were in dicted today by a Nassau Coun ty grand jury investigating or ganized crime, and District At torney William Cahn said that six other men being sought as material witnesses had disap peared.

Declaring that the six men could not be found despite in tensive efforts by his office and the police of other juris dictions, Mr. Cahn added: “The fact that there is a crime war is quite evident. There is a fight for power and control of the crime families and it is pos sible that some of them may be dead.”

The special grand jury has been investigating organized crime in the county since last September and is particularly concerned about the crime “families” of the late Thomas (Three‐Finger Brown) Luchese, Joseph Colombo and the Paul Sciacca. The last family was formerly headed by Joseph (Joe Bananas) Bonanno.

Arrested on various charges to day after having been indicted by the grand jury were:

Henry Hill, 32 years old, of 15 Sagamore Road, Island Park, with possession of gam bling records.

John Morale, 58, of 39‐30 Glen wood Street, Little Neck, Queens, criminal contempt.

Raymond Montemurro, 35, of 27 Harris Drive, Oceanside, L. I., criminal solicitation.

Louis D'Agostino, 40, of 4050 Massachusetts Avenue, Island Park, conspiracy to com mit usury.

Louis Fragiliossi, 33, 605 Wa ter Street, Manhattan, crimi nal contempt.

Larry Knohl, 64, 750 Shore Road, Long Beach, L. I., grand larceny.

The defendants pleaded not guilty at their arraignments in court today.

He said the following men were being sought:

Salvatore (Sally the Sheik) Musacchio, 2947 Murdock Avenue, Wantagh, L I., de scribed as an associate of the Colombo family and a former underboss of the Jo seph Profaci family.

Sebastian (Buster) Aloi of 115‐34 117th Street, Rich mond Hill, Queens, called a capo in the Colombo family.

Vincent (Jimmy) Muce, 1165 Palermo Court, Franklin Square, L. I., allegedly a sol dier in the Colombo family.

Pasquale (Paddy Mack) Mac chiarole, 77‐03 Elliot Avenue, Rego Park, Queens, reported ly a soldier in the Colombo family.

Jerome (Jerry) Asaro, 562 Lincoln Boulevard, Long Beach, L. I., identified as a soldier inthe Sciacca family.

Salvatore Ferrugia of 84‐14 250th Street, Bellerose, Queens, listed as a soldier in the Bonanno family.

Also being sought by Mr. Cahn's office on indictments for criminal contempt for re fusing to testify before the grand jury are Rosario Morale, 235 Elizabeth Street, Manhat tan, described as a capo in the Sciacca family, and Frederick DeLuccia of 25 Atkins Avenue, Brooklyn, called a soldier in the Colombo family.

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/28/arch ... assau.html

First time I've ever read Henry Hills name in an article. Kinda cool.

I’ll post more unassorted ones as I go along and have time. But glad you’re enjoying

[Benito]

On the eve of a major racketeering trial, five more defendants have pleaded guilty to state charges that they joined what prosecutors call a Mafia cartel that controlled New York City's billion-dollar-a-year private garbage collection industry.

In plea negotiations for reduced sentences, the defendants, all owners of garbage carting and recycling companies, admitted using ''economic retaliation against those who broke the cartel's rules.'' Another carting executive pleaded guilty to a lesser felony charge that he violated the state's antitrust laws, without admitting a role in the cartel.

The six guilty pleas last Thursday whittled the ranks of the defendants to 8 from an original list of 17 owners of carting companies and officials of trade associations.

By pleading guilty to the cartel charges, the five executives now face prison terms ranging from one to four and a half years when sentenced on April 17. But a defense lawyer said some of them could be released after only two months to work programs during the day and incarceration at night in halfway houses.

With the owners of several major carting companies now out of the picture, the focus of the trial, which is to begin today, shifts mainly to three reputed mobsters -- Joseph Francolino, Alphonse Malangone and Frank Giovinco -- who are accused of being the Mafia's garbage industry managers.

Prosecutors have said Mr. Francolino is a captain in the Gambino crime family, Mr. Malangone a captain in the Genovese family and Mr. Giovinco a Genovese family soldier, or member. The men were top officials in three trade associations that prosecutors asserted were used to allocate customers and exact payoffs from independent carters who competed with cartel members.

Lawyers for the three men have denied that they are mobsters. Ronald Fischetti, a lawyer for Mr. Francolino, said the pleas would help his defense because ''he will not be thrown in the same pot with 16 others.''

Jury selection for the remaining eight defendants is to start today in State Supreme Court in Manhattan before Acting Justice Leslie Crocker Snyder.

Those charged in the case were accused of fixing prices and rigging bids to get the major share of $1.5 billion a year in fees for removing and recycling refuse in New York City. Several of the defendants were also charged with arson and violence in a scheme that prosecutors said inflated trash collection costs for virtually every office building, store, restaurant and private hospital and school in the city.

According to District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau of Manhattan, the cartel operated for 40 years, and in 1995, overcharged customers by about $400 million.

In the aftermath of the indictments, the city created a commission to regulate garbage haulers, and three national carting companies that previously shunned New York began competing for business in the city. Industry experts say the increased competition and the role of the watchdog commission have led to sharp price drops for customers, including an annual $1 million cut at an office tower in lower Manhattan.

On Thursday, after admitting that the cartel flourished for years, the five executives each pleaded guilty to a single felony count of attempted enterprise corruption. They, along with the other defendants in the case, had been indicted on more serious charges of violating the state's Organized Crime Control Act. The act sets a maximum prison sentence of 25 years for people convicted of involvement in a ''racketeering enterprise,'' including a criminal gang, an organized crime family or a business cartel.

The owners who agreed to prison terms and forfeiture of assets ranging from $375,000 to $750,000 are Frank Allocca, 68; Daniel Todisco, 42; Dominick Vulpis, 55; Henry Tamily, 69, and Joseph Virzi, 69.

Without admitting complicity in the cartel, Raymond Polidori, 49, pleaded guilty to a lesser felony of violating the state's antitrust laws. He was placed on probation for five years and agreed to forfeit $250,000 in assets.

All six were banned from holding jobs in the carting industry in New York City and accepting payments from carting companies doing business in the city.

The forfeitures were part of $268 million in assets held by the original 17 defendants and their 23 companies that were frozen under a court order in 1995 and that are subject to seizure by the state if the defendants are found guilty.

''We got a good deal from these pleas,'' said Daniel J. Castleman, the head of the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation division. ''All but Polidori are going to state prison and are disgorging a fair amount of their criminal proceeds.

''It is another indication that the cartel is basically dead.''

But Salvatore J. Marinello, a lawyer for Mr. Vulpis, said that under the plea agreements, some defendants might be eligible for work release after two months in prison. ''It was a reasonable plea for my client and a good business decision to settle the matter,'' he said.

On Jan. 27, the former lead defendant in the case, Angelo Ponte, the owner of what was once the city's largest carting company, pleaded guilty to charges that he was a member of the cartel. He faces two to six years in prison when sentenced.

https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/18/nyre ... artel.html

[Benito]

BUFFALO, May 5—The 24 men indicted here earlier this week in a Federal drive against organized crime were said by Federal information to have one thing in common—they all knew Joseph Zito Sr., 45 years old, of Batavia, N.Y.

Zito, whom agents of the F.B.I. say was a “muscle man” for the Mafia, is in hiding under close government protection. According to F.B.I. affidavits on which the indictments were based, Zito for the last two months has been providing information against his former companions. At times he has been wired with electronic equipment.

At one point in early April, he introduced an undercover F.B.I. agent as a New York City mobster at a $36,000‐anight Rochester dice game, The two men charged with running the game were among those indicted. Most of the 24 defendants are expected to be arraigned in Federal Court here on Monday.

The indictments charge crimes Including gambling, robbery, perjury and extortion. Government agents say the crimes occurred in territory that indicates a gradual weakening of power by the reputed upstate Mafia leader Stefano Magaddino, 80 years old, of Lewiston, N.Y., and a filling of that vacuum by Russell Bufalino, 69, reputed crime lord of northeastern Pennsylvania. Bufalino is one of the 24 defendants.

Two of the crimes described in the affidavits seemed more like a violent comic opera than an efficient Godfather‐type syndicate operation.

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Zito described repeated failures to intimidate two businessmen into selling their vendingmachine companys to a concern controlled by an associate of Bufalino's.

The F.B.I. affidavits say Zito was told by Salvatore Aleccia, 58, that two competitors were moving in on his A & G Vending Company in Binghamton, and that “the job would be to kill or frighten those competitors out of business.” Zito's first job was to “beat up and put one Anthony S. Custara of Binghamton in the hospital,” the affidavits say.

Zito was said to have gone to Rochester and hired two of the defendants for the job. When they were still unsuccessful after stalking Custara for several days, Zito hired three more men, this time from Buffalo. They failed also. Then Zito himself took two men to Binghamton and formulated a plan to dope Custara in a bar, then keep him out of the bar, “whereupon Zito's henchmen would beat him.” Again they failed.

Zito was said to have arranged one more meeting, in which Custara was to be lured to a Syracuse restaurant where the owner had provided a backroom for the beating. Custara backed out over the telephone at the last minute. The restaurant owner also is a defendant.

Finally, the affidavits say, two men caught up with Custara and hit him on the head with baseball bats at his home. He was hospitalized.

The affidavits say Zito believed that another competitor of Aleccia's was Henry L. Wells of Syracuse. Aleccia reportedly told Zito that he “wanted Wells's arms and legs broken.”

Zito told the F.B.I. that there were several unsuccessful attempts to beat or shoot Wells. Three more men were recruited. They arrived in Syracuse with a bomb, but were arrested and charged with possession of explosives. The three, Peter Talarico, 44, Leonard Joe Fambo, 57, and Vincent D. Caci, 47, all of Buffalo, are serving three‐year terms in Attica State Correctional Facility.

The Federal grand jury charged that Aleccia, as a result of these plots, finally gained 100 per cent control over the cigarette‐vending business by racketeering. The property is subject to forfeiture if he is convicted.

https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/06/arch ... rimes.html