Gangland News - 10/14/21

[Chucky]

This Week In Gang Land
By Jerry Capeci

FBI Canary In Colombo Case Sang On Broadway And In St. Patrick's Cathedral

Andrew Koslosky is a renowned singer who has sung at venues across the country over the last 30 years. He's had roles in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway musicals and has been a featured soloist at many U.S. churches, including St. Patrick's Cathedral.

In 2002, Koslosky was King Zeus XLV at the annual Zeus Ball in Kenner, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. That same year, the crooner was crowned King of Zeus by the New Orleans Mardi Gras Krewe of Zeus.

He's also got a big heart: In 2006, along with the Josephine Foundation, a New York non-profit group he founded in honor of his mom, he raised goods, money and buses for Katrina-ravaged Catholic schools in New Orleans.

In 2018, Koslosky directed a performing arts group from Broadway-Flushing in the musical Annie on the stage of the St. Andrew Catholic Church in Queens. Two years later, his foundation announced an "Initiative" on Facebook featuring Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) courses for folks "interested in vocational training in the construction trades."

These days, sources say, Andrew Koslosky is singing a different tune.

Sources have identified Koslosky as a key government witness in the racketeering case against Andrew (Mush) Russo, the beleaguered 87-year-old Colombo family boss and nine underlings.

The sources say Koslosky was arrested in April by the FBI and shortly after agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn. Since he began singing in his new venue he has tagged several defendants with illegal activity, including capo Vincent (Vinny Unions) Ricciardo, the accused ringleader of the family's alleged 20-year-long extortion of the president of a Queens labor union.

Koslosky, 63, pleaded guilty to a laundry list of crimes in August, a month before the feds arrested a total of 14 defendants, including Russo, his two top aides, and three capos, one of whom, Ricciardo, has been friends with Koslosky for many years, sources say.

The sources say Koslosky would often drive Vinny Unions to and from his hideaway in North Carolina, and was involved in the alleged shakedown of Andrew Talamo, the president of Local 621 of the United Construction Trades and Industrial Employees Union, and other illegal activity with Ricciardo.

In addition to labor racketeering charges involving Local 621, the sources say Koslosky also pleaded guilty to fraud charges stemming from an alleged OSHA training school scam headed by John (Bazoo) Ragano, a longtime Bonanno soldier. Ragano, 59, was a defendant in the same 2014 case in which Vincent Asaro was charged with the storied $6 million Lufthansa Airlines robbery — and acquitted at trial. Ragano copped a plea deal and served about four years in prison.

The sources say Koslosky had moved out of his three bedroom home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Westbury, Long Island, which is also the address of the Josephine Foundation, before the 14-defendant indictment was unsealed on September 14. The two-story home, which has a backyard pool, is listed with a realtor for $848,000. There was a car parked in front of the two car garage, but no one answered the bell when Gang Land stopped by the other day.

"I haven't seen him in about a month," said one local denizen who asked for anonymity. "He used to travel back and forth to New Orleans, where he and his wife have a house. Maybe he's moved to the Big Easy."

Wherever the Brooklyn-born tenor is hanging his hat these days, he told Gang Land he was "not interested" in talking about it, or anything else, before he hung up the phone on Tuesday. Neither is his attorney, Gary Kaufman, who declined to comment.

Koslosky "had a piece" of two workplace safety schools operated by Ragano that ran OSHA training courses for safety certificates, according to the sources. The schools "operated as mills turning out fraudulently obtained safety cards to hundreds of individuals who never attended any training courses," according to a government filing.

"Ragano would charge as much as $500 per card, and enrolled dozens of applicants per course," according to prosecutors James McDonald and Devon Lash, who stated in a detention memo that the scheme "generated tens of thousands of dollars monthly."

The prosecutors wrote that last October, an undercover officer (UC-1) obtained a blank test form for an OSHA-30 card, which is required for construction industry supervisors, along with an answer key and a sign-in sheet for the class roster from mob associate Domenick Ricciardo, a cousin of Vinny Unions, and an accused Bazoo underling in the OSHA scheme.

Several weeks later, the prosecutors wrote, UC-1 paid $500 for his OSHA-30 card, which certified that he had completed a 30 hour safety course. Domenick Ricciardo also provided UC-1 a New York City site-safety training (SST) card in exchange for $450, even though UC-1 did not attend any required training classes or complete any class requirements, the prosecutors wrote.

Persons who called the phone number on the Josephine Foundation's Facebook page, according to the sources, would be given the number for one of Ragano's "schools." One was in Ozone Park; the other in Franklin Square, L.I. Callers to the foundation number are told that it's temporarily disconnected. Bazoo's schools are no longer operating. Their phones are, but you can't leave a message, as the voice on the answering machine asks you to, because the mailbox is full.

That's probably not a detail that Ragano cares about. Back in April, he didn't seem to care about doing a bid for fraud charges when he was overheard talking about the possibility that his ex-girlfriend might finger him for the OSHA scam, a day after Bazoo had "slashed the tires" of her car, the prosecutors wrote.

"The only thing she could do is call the cops and tell them I'm doing OSHA," he said. "If she calls the cops and she tells them that? I'll just tell them, hey, okay, put me in jail, what's the problem? Non-violent, pal, what are they gonna give me, three years? I ain't afraid to go to jail for this, it's non-violent, I'll get 35 months, 40 months, and I'll be home, at 65. Not a problem."

If Ragano cops a plea deal and he's right about the prison term he expects, he'll be home before his 65th birthday, since he's 59.

Ragano, Russo, Vincent Ricciardo, and cousin Domenick Ricciardo, along with six other Colombo mobsters and associates charged in the case have been detained as dangers to the community and/or flight risks at the Metropolitan Detention Center since their arrests last month.

Yesterday, accused underboss Benjamin (The Claw) Castellazzo appealed his detention, claiming that prosecutors have illegally detained him since he is not charged with any "serious drug offenses" or a crime of violence that carries a possible sentence of "life imprisonment or death" in the 19-count racketeering indictment, as is required under the Bail Reform Act.

Because Castellazzo, 84, isn't charged with any of those crimes, and prosecutors have not cited any evidence that there is a "serious risk that [he] will flee" or obstruct justice, The Claw's court appointed lawyer, Jennifer Louis-Jeune, has asked Judge Allyne Ross to set a reasonable bail for her client, because he "is being detained in violation of the law."

"The law demands his release," she wrote, "particularly given how needless and cruel it is to incarcerate a man, presumed innocent, who is 84 years old and in poor health, at MDC Brooklyn during the global pandemic."

Turncoat Mobster Podcaster Splits With His MBA Cohost; Will Go It Alone

Six days after defense lawyers cited his post-conviction words as reasons why four wiseguys deserved a new trial for murder, turncoat wiseguy John Pennisi shuttered his podcast and plans to take down his entire site.

Without stating a reason for the surprise decision, cohost Tom Lavecchia announced Sunday that "effective immediately" he and Pennisi were "disbanding The MBA and the Button Man podcast." Lavecchia also said that the 95 podcast videos the duo have made will be removed from YouTube as will the iTunes audio versions that are hosted by Apple.

Lavecchia stated that Pennisi will continue the Sitdown News blog that he began back in October of last year, a month before he was rewarded with a no jail sentence for his testimony at three mob racketeering trials.

A day after the video podcast was terminated, Pennisi said in a statement on his blog that the break up of the duo was "amicable" and "without drama."

Last week, attorneys for four Luchese gangsters convicted of the murder of former Purple Gang leader Michael Meldish cited Pennisi's remarks on 23 podcasts as "newly discovered evidence" that he had an admitted "mental instability," and a "bias against the defendants." The lawyers asserted that Pennisi's podcast comments undercut and discredited his testimony, and, if revealed during the trial, might have led to a different verdict.

As Gang Land reported, lawyers for Luchese leaders Matthew (Matty) Madonna and Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea, and underlings Christopher Londonio and Terrence Caldwell, have cited post-conviction info they received about Pennisi, and cooperating witnesses Frank Pasqua III and David Evangelista, in seeking a new trial from White Plains Federal Judge Cathy Seibel.

In their filing, the attorneys allege that Pennisi acknowledged having a "deep bias" against the Luchese family. They pointed to seven podcasts in which the ex-gangster stated that family leaders had "dispatched assassins to kill him." On the shows, Pennisi alleged that he had fended off the would-be assassins with a gun that he carried in his knapsack in early 2018. That information, the lawyers said, should have been provided before Pennisi took the stand.

On one podcast, Pennisi said that he foiled one rubout attempt when he "chased them with a pistol in Levittown, L.I." near his home. In New York City, he said on another show, "they sent about four or five Bloods to where I work. I chased them in the middle of Manhattan with my hand in my knapsack, all through, down 7th Avenue."

The attorneys also argued that Pennisi's claim to podcaster Gary Jenkins that a "supernatural intervention by his deceased grandparents" had "influenced his decision to cooperate" was evidence that they should have been able question him about his "unstable and delusional mental state" during the months that he claims the Lucheses were out to kill him in 2018.

"His fears of the Luchese family's intentions could well have constituted unwarranted paranoia," they wrote, arguing that "Pennisi's mental instability and clinical paranoia — based on his conduct and his claims of dishware (in his home) shaking for hours — (was not) an idle observation."

During another podcast, they wrote, Pennisi "confided that he suffers from a chemical imbalance" for which he "took the prescribed medication" while he was in state prison for a 1989 killing. Pennisi, they said, admitted on the show that he stopped taking it "after he was released from prison in 2007."

"I have a chemical imbalance," he stated in another podcast, they wrote, explaining: "my serotonin levels are low. It was always suggested to me that I take some kind of medication, especially when I was in prison. And I refused to do it, because I didn't want anyone to talk about me. And I didn't want to be looked at as — it's looked at as a weakness, right? . . . Ever since I came home I never continued with it. But maybe I should."

According to medical authorities, low levels of serotonin can cause depression and anxiety. The most common drugs prescribed for the symptoms are a form of antidepressant called SSRI — selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

Prosecutors Hagan Scotten, Celia Cohen and Alexandra Rothman requested and were granted two months to repond to the massive defense filing — a 121 page legal brief and 524 pages of exhibits. Their reply is due on December 6.

Fans of Pennisi's shows, however, can still watch his vivid account of receiving a message as he prayed to his deceased grandparents that he should turn himself into the FBI on the Jenkins podcast. On the show, Pennisi described how "a Baker's rack with wine glasses, and all kinds of, you know, dishes" in his house shaked and clinked "for hours, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding," like "there was an earthquake."

It's A Numbers Game for Joe Amato, And None Of Them Are Good

It's been a tough two years for Joseph Amato, the Staten Island-based Colombo capo who's been locked up in the COVID-19 plagued Metropolitan Detention Center on a slew of racketeering charges stemming from a dumb crime: He placed a GPS tracking device on the car of a wayward girlfriend to try and keep tabs on her. And it's not going to get much better anytime soon.

The best that the 62-year-old wiseguy can hope for next week when he stands before Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Brian Cogan and faces the music for his passion, and his crimes, is for him to be sentenced to serve another three years and three months behind bars, according to his plea agreement with the feds.

That's because the bottom number of his plea deal, which covers a slew of crimes going back to 2015, calls for 63 months in prison. The crimes include gambling, loansharking, extortion and stalking the ex-paramour who found the GPS on her car, thus setting in motion a federal investigation that led to the indictment of Amato, his son Frank Jr, and 14 other mobsters.

And it could turn out much worse. The high end of the plea agreement, in the view of the, probation department, and his attorney, Scott Leemon, who argues for the low-end, is 78 months. The feds say the high end of the agreement could go even higher — 87 months.

And the worst number of all that Cogan can pick is 108. According to Amato's plea agreement, 108 months is the longest sentence he can get that he won't be able to appeal as excessive. That translates to a nine year sentence, or seven more years behind bars.

In prior sentencings, Cogan has stated that he normally gives inducted mobsters the high end of their sentencing guidelines, but, like everyone else, judges sometimes make exceptions to their rules.

In pushing for the minimum 63 months, Leemon cited news reports and numerous remarks by federal judges about the awful horrific conditions that inmates including his client have been forced to endure while housed at the MDC throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

In a sentencing in April, Leemon noted, Colleen McMahon, the former Chief Judge in Manhattan stated that the Metropolitan Correctional Center and the MDC were "two federal correctional facilities located in the City of New York that are run by morons, which wardens cycle repeatedly, never staying for longer than a few months or even a year."

"There is no excuse for the conditions in those two institutions," McMahon said. "There is no excuse for the serial leadership that does not allow the office of warden to take control and get control of those facilities, that they just cycle through, most of them at the end of their careers. It is unfair and (inmates) shouldn't have to suffer for the incompetence of the United States Department of Justice and its subsidiary agency, the Bureau of Prisons."

Leemon also cited a letter from an MDC counselor who wrote that Amato worked "very well with his peers" and praised the inmates work as a kitchen orderly as "very dependable" as an indication that he had learned his lesson and would not be breaking any laws in the future.

Prosecutors haven't submitted their final number yet, but it's likely to be higher than the one that Leemon and Amato wants as Cogan's final answer.

[Dapper_Don]

Thanks for posting

[Amershire_Ed]

Thanks for posting

[JohnnyS]

Thanks Chucky

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks Chucky.

So a low level associate's the rat. Interested as to how they were privy to discussions about Andy keeping the helm until Teddy was off paper etc.

Caapeci still seems petty in his write-up of Pennisi, signing off with the dish rattling. Women hold less grudges than this guy. Capeci does indicate the shutdown is likely based off the legal appeal. Links it quite clearly. Maybe the appeal has legs after all.

[Tonyd621]

An undercover for an OSHA test lmao

[Cheech]

Thanks Chucky.

So a low level associate's the rat. Interested as to how they were privy to discussions about Andy keeping the helm until Teddy was off paper etc.

Caapeci still seems petty in his write-up of Pennisi, signing off with the dish rattling. Women hold less grudges than this guy. Capeci does indicate the shutdown is likely based off the legal appeal. Links it quite clearly. Maybe the appeal has legs after all.

its definitely cause of the appeal. otherwise why scrub all the videos. I'm sure John's handler in the govt told him cut the fucking shit

[Southshore88]

Thanks for posting

[TommyGambino]

Thanks Chucky.

So a low level associate's the rat. Interested as to how they were privy to discussions about Andy keeping the helm until Teddy was off paper etc.

Caapeci still seems petty in his write-up of Pennisi, signing off with the dish rattling. Women hold less grudges than this guy. Capeci does indicate the shutdown is likely based off the legal appeal. Links it quite clearly. Maybe the appeal has legs after all.

Pretty embarrassing someone like that can take out the admin and half the captain's, unless there's another informant?

[Tonyd621]

I can't believe the govt is making such a big deal of this Osha thing. Seriously, you can bust anyone anywhere for something similar from Osha 10, Osha 30, scaffolding license, subpart-R, hell even union books... they are picking on them because of who they are. Not saying it's right or wrong. I'm just saying show me cases where they are arresting and sending undercover for similar crimes.

[Wiseguy]

I can't believe the govt is making such a big deal of this Osha thing. Seriously, you can bust anyone anywhere for something similar from Osha 10, Osha 30, scaffolding license, subpart-R, hell even union books... they are picking on them because of who they are. Not saying it's right or wrong. I'm just saying show me cases where they are arresting and sending undercover for similar crimes.

Well, it's obviously wrong but - relatively speaking - a more minor charge they could easily wrap into the larger RICO case.

[stubbs]

Since this informant seems to have been living in New Orleans part-time, for at least the past two decades, it would be interesting if he testifies to any insight about the remnants of the Marcello family.

I doubt there’s been any active street activity since the turn of the millenium, but maybe he’ll prove me wrong. It may not come up during the trial.

Chris Christie did post that Michael DiLeonardo said that someone from the New Orleans family had a meeting scheduled with the Gambinos circa 2002 (Joseph Gagliano perhaps?). But I don’t think there was any other info or context.

CC - If you ever talk to Michael again, that would be super fascinating to see if he knows any further info. Who from New Orleans was meeting with Binos and why? And also if he knows of any activity in the city post 1995 or so.

[Pmac2]

I bet the guy drove vinny unions to the restaurant then the feds either bugged the table ahead of time or roving bugs

[Pmac2]

Becauae they would have identified a CW at the table

[BobbyB]

In that thread i started about Penissi and the trolls i told you guys that hes a delusional maniac. Jerry Capeci confirms this in so many words in his column this week