Gangland News 2/4/21

[mafiastudent]

FBI Agent Arthur Ruffels Has Set His Sails For The Last Time

Gang Land Exclusive!

Arthur Ruffels, a champion sailboat captain who was the lead FBI agent and a driving force in a very productive task force of federal, state and local cops, agents and prosecutors, has set his sails for the last time.

Ruffels worked on a few big cases, but the one that made him most proud, was the arrest and conviction of the three living — and imprisoned for life — members of the murderous Roy DeMeo crew, a gang of serial killers that claimed more victims than any other Mafia crew in U.S. history.

A U.S. Navy veteran, Ruffels was 35 years old before becoming a G-man. But he became a major mob buster on the FBI's Gambino crime family squad where he bested many violent mobsters over the years. Like 400,000 other Americans though, he lost his battle with the deadly COVID-19 bug. He died January 16. He was 86.

In an era when the FBI was seeking accountants and lawyers, the silver-haired Artie Ruffels was an unlikely agent. He wore gold wire-rim spectacles and sports coats with turtleneck sweaters, often looking like the high school art teacher he had been for 10 years. He'd gotten bored with that gig and joined the Bureau in 1970 after listening to a Law Day speech that an FBI recruiter had given to the students at the Connecticut school where he was a teacher.

After a decade as a "brick agent" working an array of federal crimes from bank robberies to tracking suspected spies on the Upper East Side, Ruffels sought a spot on one of the five squads that the FBI had created to make use of the racketeering statutes and make cases against the hierarchies of each of the notorious five families.

"One of my objectives," he wrote in his application for a spot on the Gambino squad, "is to destroy the Robin Hood image of the Mafia and let the public know what members of the Mafia are really like."

In 1982, Ruffels was a great fit with the multi-agency task-force that federal prosecutor Walter Mack had formed to investigate a DeMeo crew that had made millions of dollars robbing drug dealers and shipping stolen cars to Kuwait while killing dozens of folks who crossed them. Led by Mack, the task force convicted dozens of mobsters and associates of 11 murders and a slew of racketeering crimes at two Manhattan Federal Court mega trials in 1985-86 and 1988-89.

Walter MackA 1984 indictment charged 25 gangsters with perpetrating 25 slayings in the 1970s and early 80s. A few months after the gang's last two "serial killers" were convicted of 11 murders in the second trial stemming from that case, Ruffels spoke about the investigation.

"They were the scariest people we've ever seen," said Ruffels as he stood up in the main conference room at FBI headquarters in Manhattan back in 1989 and graphically described how DeMeo and his crew killed and dismembered one of their many victims. "Just in Roy's crew there were five people you'd have to call serial killers," he said.

His audience included a spellbound group of agents, and reporters Gene Mustain and yours truly. It was the first major interview for a book we were working on that was published in 1992, Murder Machine.

Ruffels described one grisly murder that took place in 1979. The participants were DeMeo and Chris Harvey Rosenberg — who would both be killed by the crew later — and Freddy DiNome, a DeMeo associate. DiNome had opened the door and was leading Frederick Todaro to his death in the first floor apartment in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn where many victims lost their lives.

"Freddy is startled to see someone he knows, Chris, leaping into the hallway with a butcher knife in his hand," said Ruffels. "He doesn't have any clothes on except for his Jockey shorts because he didn't want to bloody his clothes. Freddy starts to wet his pants — he believes Chris is going to stab him — but no, Chris just grabs him by the arm and wings him out of the way."

Anthony Senter & Arthur Ruffles"Freddy then sees DeMeo coming out of the dark from the other end of the hall, just gliding along, and he's got a gun in one hand a white towel in the other," said Ruffels, as he mimicked the killers' movements. "He just glides up and shoots dumbfounded Mr. Todaro in the head, and even before the man hits the floor Roy is wrapping the towel around his head to prevent the blood from spurting all over."

"Then Chris comes over and stabs Mr. Todaro in the heart," Ruffels continued. "Many times. 'That stops it from pumping blood,' Roy tells Freddy, who's still shaking. The murder takes only a few seconds, but of course they're not done yet. They're going to make Mr. Todaro disappear," said Ruffels, who then detailed how the crew cut up their victim and packed him off to a dump.

"This butchery went on all the time," said Ruffels. "The system was, you know, almost ceremonious. And they used to talk about the kick they got from it, the high, the power. They used to say killing made them feel like God."

Convicted of racketeering and 11 murders in 1989, Joseph Testa, 66, and Anthony Senter, 65, are serving life sentences, according to the Bureau of Prisons database. Henry Borelli, 72, was implicated in many murders but never prosecuted for them after he was sentenced to 150 years for 15 auto-crime counts. His listed release date is in 2083.

In the fall of 1982, not long after Ruffels joined the task force, he and the late NYPD detective Kenneth McCabe were hidden above the ceiling of the main ballroom of the Plaza Hotel secretly videotaping DeMeo and other Gambino wiseguys paying their respects to DeMeo's boss, capo Anthony (Nino) Gaggi at the elegant wedding reception he threw for his daughter.

Ruffels never disclosed how he, McCabe, and other cops and agents gained access to the small room where Secret Service agents would hide while protecting the President. But he did tell us that about 90 minutes into the reception an apoplectic Gaggi stormed into the room with capo Daniel Marino and began screaming at McCabe, the well-known dean of mob busters.

"You're ruining my daughter's wedding," shouted Gaggi, who "looked on the verge of a heart attack," we wrote in Murder Machine.

"How would you like it if we came to your daughter's wedding," Nino screamed.
"You come to my daughter's wedding, and I will shoot you," replied McCabe, who then led the task force members out of the Plaza.

"I got calls about that from Jimmy LaRossa and Mike Rosen," Mack recalled on Monday, referring to two lawyers who represented Gaggi at the time. "I told them I had nothing to do with that," laughed Mack, insisting that he didn't.

"Artie Ruffels was a leader and integral part of every organized crime matter I was involved in the Southern District of New York," said Mack, who was also chief of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Organized Crime Strike Force in the early 1980s.

"He was tireless, without fear, overcame every challenge and never flagged in inspiring all of his law enforcement team sisters and brothers to do the right thing and carry out our duties to achieve the just results we hallow every year," said the former prosecutor.

In between chasing down murderous gangsters, Ruffels took to the waters of Long Island Sound near his home where he enjoyed racing and cruising his sailboat.

Ruffels, Mack recalled, was like the true sailor who never complains about the wind, the rain or the surf, but just adjusts his sails to make do.

"He was the most upbeat positive guy, no matter what the hell happened, he was devoted to righting the ship and moving forward," said Mack. Ruffels remained positive, he said, even when major problems beset the case. Among them were "issues" with cooperating witnesses, the murder of the lead defendant, mob boss Paul (Big Paul) Castellano during the first trial, and Gaggi's death from a heart attack during the second one.

"He was a sweetheart of a guy, a real gentleman," said Frank Pergola, a former hard-boiled NYPD homicide detective who recalled that several prior experiences he'd had with FBI agents had made him "no fan of the FBI" when he met Ruffels in 1983.

"He worked hard, and he was a team player," said Pergola. "Artie had a way of bringing out the best in people and he wouldn't ask you to do anything that he wouldn't do. He was great in dealing with cooperating witnesses," he said, noting it was something Mack often asked him, Ruffels and his FBI partner Marilyn Lucht to deal with.

"Artie was the ultimate team player," said former Gambino squad leader Bruce Mouw. "He never used the word me or I. It was always we."

Ruffels is survived by Inger, his wife of 67 years, their daughters Karen and Joan, a son Arthur, and their families, which include eight grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by a brother George, and a sister, MaryJane.

Chin's Grandson Gets A No-Jail Pass For Fingering Chin's Son As A Labor Racketeer

Manhattan Federal Court Judge Jed Rakoff cited the "truly extraordinary cooperation" that Vincent Fyfe gave the feds against his late grandfather Vincent (Chin) Gigante's crime family this week in meting out a no-jail sentence to Fyfe for stealing $15,000 of his former union's funds. The judge also cited a "very impressive" letter he received from Gigante's daughter Rita on Fyfe's behalf.

Rakoff cut to the chase quickly. As soon as the judge put on the record that the sentencing was being conducted virtually due to the COVID pandemic, he noted that Fyfe's guidelines were 6-to-12 months and declared: "There's no way I'm going to send the defendant to prison for any time" despite what he termed Fyfe's "serious crimes."

"His cooperation," Rakoff continued, "took considerable courage, has resulted in five racketeering and extortion-related convictions of members of the Genovese crime family, the seizure of millions of dollars in illicit funds." And the defendant's secret role as an informant continued "for something like five years, at considerable disruption and even threats," the judge noted.

Rita Gigantedifferent people" including his aunt, Rita Gigante, were "also very impressive."

In her letter, Rita Gigante, one of three daughters the late Mafia boss had with wife Olympia, wrote that she watched Fyfe, 47, the son of her older sister Yolanda, "grow from a little boy into the man he is" and that he "has always been a very loving, compassionate and giving person."

She has a "deep connection with him," Gigante wrote, "from having the privilege of mentoring him over the years and helping him through his struggles by introducing spirituality to him."

"Vincent has empowered himself by finding his truth, having the courage to speak his truth and has learned that his truth has set him free," she wrote. "This realization has changed the course of his life forever and for the better, as well as helped change the family lineage of the Gigantes."

Rakoff didn't give any details about Fyfe's cooperation. But the judge observed him testify for two days against Genovese mobster Frank (Frankie G) Giovinco whom he sentenced to four years. During the trial, Rakoff also heard Fyfe's testimony about mobster Steven (Mad Dog) Arena, and corrupt union officials Frank Cognetta and Vincent D'Acunto.

The judge also heard Fyfe testify that his uncle, Vincent Esposito, the son Gigante had with his longtime paramour, Olympia Esposito, extorted $10,000 a year from him for 15 years. Rakoff was also told during Fyfe's testimony that Esposito's sisters, Fyfe's aunts Carmella and Lucia, had called their nephew a piece of shit as he left the witness stand.

Rakoff said he was going to impose "only one year" of probation instead of the five years Fyfe faced. The lesser term, he said, was "in light of the way he has turned his life around" since 2012, when Fyfe, then-president of Local 2D of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which represents liquor sales workers and others, pleaded guilty to embezzling union funds and agreed to cooperate with the FBI.

Fyfe is barred by his labor racketeering conviction from working for a union for 13 years, under federal law. But he will be able to work as a "business consultant," Rakoff ruled, as long as it "does not include work for labor unions, work with access to pension or benefit funds, or advising or consulting on such plans."

The judge ordered assistant U.S. attorney Kimberly Ravener to draft an appropriate order for him to sign. As Gang Land reported last week, the co-chairman of a major liquor distribution firm has offered to hire Fyfe.

Fyfe was ordered to pay back the $15,000 he stole from Local 2D at the rate of 10% of his gross monthly income beginning the second month of his probation.

To let defense lawyer Joseph Giaramita and Ravener know there was no need for them to speak before Rakoff imposed sentence, the judge stated that he knew "that defense counsel and the government would have reiterated the many fine things they stated in their presentations" that they had already submitted to him.

But Rakoff noted that since he was "required by law to ask the defendant" if there was anything he wanted to say before sentence was imposed, he gave Fyfe a chance to address the court.

Fyfe got the message. He was brief. He thanked Rakoff, said he understood "the seriousness" of his crimes and their "consequences" and added that "since then I have tried to do everything I could to rectify the circumstances and to right the wrongs I committed."

Lawyers Say MDC Gave Wiseguy COVID; Ask Judge To Move Him To A Hospital

A Brooklyn Federal Judge will conduct a hearing this morning to decide whether to order the Metropolitan Detention Center to transfer a Colombo wiseguy to a hospital to treat him for the deadly COVID-19 virus that he contracted last week when jailers allegedly placed "a sick inmate" into his cell, Gang Land has learned.

Judge Brian Cogan ordered the session after lawyers for mobster Thomas (The Plumber) Scorcia charged in a Sunday night filing that he "had not received any medical treatment or medication" for the disease for four days at the federal lockup in Brooklyn even though he exhibited many coronavirus symptoms, including "fever, chills, and body aches."

The attorneys wrote that Scorcia had become sick and tested positive for COVID on Wednesday January 27, two days after an "infected inmate" was placed in his cell. They state that the MDC and prosecutor Elizabeth Geddes ignored numerous calls and emails from them demanding proper medical attention and information about their ailing client.

Scorcia, 54, has been at the MDC since his arrest on racketeering charges in October of 2019. As part of a global plea deal, The Plumber pleaded guilty in November to two loansharking counts. He also agreed to make restitution of $75,000 before he is sentenced on March 2, when he faces a recommended prison term of 37-to-46 months.

Noting that Scorcia has been confined "largely without access to daily showers, hot meals, lines of communication and essential medical care" for 16 months, attorneys Vincent Romano and Anthony DiPietro have asked Judge Cogan to order the MDC to "provide immediate medical treatment" for The Plumber or transfer him to a hospital where he can receive it.

The MDC has been a hotbed of coronavirus cases for months. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Prisons database listed 241 inmates and 75 staffers as recovered, and another 43 inmates and 29 staffers still suffering from COVID-19.

In their filing, the attorneys wrote that their client objects to a request by the Probation Department for a "minimum seven-week adjournment" in his scheduled sentencing date so that probation officials can perpare "an offense narrative detailing the entire conspiracy" that allegedly begn in 2015 and continued until 2019.

"Due to the ongoing pandemic," the lawyers wrote, "the MDC has been in lockdown status since March 2020" and "Scorcia has not had a social or legal visit in approximately one year." The first time convict wants out of the MDC. He has been "largely confined to his cell between 21-24 hours per day during this entire timeframe," they wrote.

When Gang Land contacted attorney Romano about the filing on Tuesday, the lawyer stated that since Scorcia tested positive on January 27, "he received just one dose of acetaminophen this Monday at 12:45 PM according to the medical records I finally received in an email from the prosecutor."

Yesterday, after speaking to Scorcia for the first time since he tested positive, Romano reported that things were even worse than the attorney had believed.

He learned from his client, and was going to tell Judge Cogan today, Romano said, that Scorcia became physically sick on Tuesday January 26, a day before he tested positive for COVID-19 and he "did not receive the bottle of prescription acetaminophen until (this Tuesday.) It was prescribed for him on Saturday, but he didn't get it until yesterday."

In a two page response that was filed last night after 9PM, Geddes confirmed that Scorcia had COVID and was prescribed Tylenol for his body aches, but stated that overall, his symptoms were "not severe," and his motion should be denied. She did not address the defendant's complaint that he contracted the deadly disease when an "infected inmate" was placed in his cell.

The prosecutor wrote she was unable to get any updated medical records, but hoped to get them in time for today's hearing. In addition, she wrote, there was no reason to "add additional burdens on the MDC" by requiring it to furnish "medical records on a daily basis" because Scorcia is now "in isolation" and the MDC "conducts daily checks of all inmates in isolation."

[eboli]

Thanks for posting, mafiastudent.

[Wiseguy]

"You're ruining my daughter's wedding," shouted Gaggi, who "looked on the verge of a heart attack," we wrote in Murder Machine.

"How would you like it if we came to your daughter's wedding," Nino screamed.

"You come to my daughter's wedding, and I will shoot you," replied McCabe, who then led the task force members out of the Plaza.

"You motherfuckers..."

300px-Sopranos_ep605.jpg

In her letter, Rita Gigante, one of three daughters the late Mafia boss had with wife Olympia, wrote that she watched Fyfe, 47, the son of her older sister Yolanda, "grow from a little boy into the man he is" and that he "has always been a very loving, compassionate and giving person."

She has a "deep connection with him," Gigante wrote, "from having the privilege of mentoring him over the years and helping him through his struggles by introducing spirituality to him."

"Vincent has empowered himself by finding his truth, having the courage to speak his truth and has learned that his truth has set him free," she wrote. "This realization has changed the course of his life forever and for the better, as well as helped change the family lineage of the Gigantes."

Who is this dyke kidding? Fyfe's only "truth" was saving his own hide after he got caught in the same union scams everyone else was involved in. If she's looking for someone to change the Gigante family lineage, it's not him.

[Dave65827]

Rita Gigante is a “gay spiritualist” and says she communicates constantly with her father and the Chin approves of her being gay. I believe she said that he attended her wedding in spirit. She’s on Instagram now selling essential oils and going to meetups for these people

[Wiseguy]

Rita Gigante is a “gay spiritualist” and says she communicates constantly with her father and the Chin approves of her being gay. I believe she said that he attended her wedding in spirit. She’s on Instagram now selling essential oils and going to meetups for these people

Chin only pretended to be crazy. She's a legit nutcase.

[JohnnyS]

thanks for posting

[Bklyn21]

Ganglandnews sucks these days , Gone are the days of mayhem, Shootings, Killings,Extortions,,big time schemes ,etc...

[Snakes]

Ganglandnews sucks these days , Gone are the days of mayhem, Shootings, Killings,Extortions,,big time schemes ,etc...

You could almost substitute "the mob" for Ganglandnews in your post.

[Tonyd621]

How can the BOP put a covid stricken inmate with an inmate who doesnt have it? Then not treat him for 4 days
I mean the BOP had to know some idea about the incoming inmate being sick, covid etc. They wont be transparent so we will never know. But geesh thats fucked up. If hes got less than a year send to home confinment, ankle monitoring, curfew, etc.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the post MS.

Minor point/opinion: Wrong the Feds should have a team listening at Gaggi's daughters wedding. She was an innocent 3rd party who was not responsible for her fathers crimes and should therefor not have to suffer the consequences. She has a right to privacy. Take all the photos you want outside, but unless she's marrying a button, what right have the Feds to her wedding?

[Bklyn21]

Ganglandnews sucks these days , Gone are the days of mayhem, Shootings, Killings,Extortions,,big time schemes ,etc...

You could almost substitute "the mob" for Ganglandnews in your post.

Yea, True

[NYNighthawk]

Rita Gigante is a “gay spiritualist” and says she communicates constantly with her father and the Chin approves of her being gay. I believe she said that he attended her wedding in spirit. She’s on Instagram now selling essential oils and going to meetups for these people

Chin only pretended to be crazy. She's a legit nutcase.

+1

[TommyGambino]

Rita Gigante is a “gay spiritualist” and says she communicates constantly with her father and the Chin approves of her being gay. I believe she said that he attended her wedding in spirit. She’s on Instagram now selling essential oils and going to meetups for these people

[Bklyn21]

Rita Gigante is a “gay spiritualist” and says she communicates constantly with her father and the Chin approves of her being gay. I believe she said that he attended her wedding in spirit. She’s on Instagram now selling essential oils and going to meetups for these people

[Pogo The Clown]

Fuck you and this bullshit. That's what this is you know, satanic black magic. Sick shit!


Pogo