Gangland 3/17/22

[Dr031718]

Who's The Boss? Feds Waffled On Colombo Gang Chief

Theodore PersicoGang Land Exclusive!It took awhile, but the feds finally got it right: As part of the big labor racketeering case they brought last fall against the Colombo crime family hierarchy, the government named Andrew (Mush) Russo as boss of the family. Bingo.

But Gang Land has learned that the indictment represented a major course correction for the government which had wrongly believed that for much of 2020 and 2021 that capo Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico had succeeded his uncle Carmine (Junior) Persico as boss of the crime family.

Their incorrect belief was based on "false" information the feds got from a mixed-up snitch who told the FBI that Persico had been promoted to the top spot around the time he was released from prison on May 29, 2020. That’s according to an explosive motion for bail by Persico's attorney that cites details the lawyer gleaned from previously undisclosed FBI affidavits.

Andrew RussoAttorney Joseph Corozzo stated that the bogus info was used by the FBI and Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office to obtain a wiretap on Persico's phone in March of last year. And when the feds realized that their confidential snitch, whom the FBI had dubbed "credible and reliable," was wrong the following month, they quickly closed down their wiretaps — without admitting their goof.

"It seems," Corozzo wrote, "that the federal agents preferred to give up one of the investigative tools in their arsenal rather than have to concede (in a subsequent affidavit to a federal judge) that their information was wrong. And we wonder if a concern about saving face also explains why" the feds didn't turn over wiretap info "until four months after" Persico was locked up.

Even worse, the lawyer wrote, the false allegations by an informant known as CS-2 caused agents and prosecutors to wrongly assume that phrases picked up in wiretapped talks on other phones referred to Skinny Teddy. Corozzo said that was "based solely on the erroneous conclusion that Mr. Persico was the boss of the Colombo enterprise."

Joseph CorozzoAs a result, the lawyer wrote, FBI agents misinterpreted some crucial references picked up by their wires. In one taped talk, a reference was made to "the 'top' of the Colombo" enterprise; in another, a gangster stated he was "going right to the top." Both references, the FBI concluded, meant Persico.

"From this conclusion, the Government continued to falsely implicate Mr. Persico in a multitude of criminal activity," Corozzo wrote.

In at least one over the top instance detailed by Corozzo, the feds threw logic out the door. That was when one gangster told another gangster, "I did see that fat motherfucker." The FBI agent wrote that investigators had interpreted "that fat motherfucker" to refer to "boss THEODORE PERSICO" in the March 4, 2021 affidavit that the feds used to wiretap his phone.

The agent "should have known," Corozzo wrote, "that "Persico was previously alleged to go by the alias 'Skinny'" as well as "Teddy" in a 2010 Brooklyn Federal Court racketeering indictment. "It is incredible that the FBI Special Agent extrapolated that someone identified as 'that fat motherfucker' meant Mr. Persico," wrote Corozzo, "considering the Government's earlier assertion that Mr. Persico is also known as 'Skinny.' Why would a co-defendant have been referring to someone called 'Skinny' as 'that fat motherfucker'"?

James McDonaldEven though the feds eventually correctly named Mush Russo as the family's boss in their indictment, prosecutors James McDonald and Devon Lash gave a Magistrate Judge "false" information that Persico was a high-ranked Colombo wiseguy who had given "direction" to other mobsters in order to detain him, Corozzo alleges in his bail motion for the 58-year-old capo.

The lawyer also alleges that prosecutors jumped to more convenient conclusions when they told the judge they had "evidence" Persico attended two important meetings of "captains and senior Administration" members of the crime family. In fact, asserts Corozzo, they had documentary evidence from the NYPD that Persico "was not even in the same borough" at the same time when the first restaurant meeting took place on November 10, 2020.

The FBI used similar NYPD information "as evidence" to argue that Skinny Teddy was at a meeting nine days later at Brennan & Carr when the "NYPD license plate reader data" proved that he was "nine miles away."

Benjamin Castellazzo The FBI used "the fat motherfucker" quote to allege that Persico was at the Brennan & Carr session in the affidavit that the feds used to obtain the court-ordered wiretap of Persico's phone, the lawyer wrote.

Russo, underboss Benjamin (The Claw) Castellazzo and consigliere Ralph DeMatteo have all been released from jail and can meet freely with their attorneys to prepare for trial. But Corozzo argues that his client wrongly remains locked up solely because "his role in the hierarchy" and "the danger he would pose should he be released" have been "overestimated" by prosecutors.

Corozzo insisted that if Persico were released and confined to his home under electronic monitoring on a $5 million bond co-signed by 10 individuals and secured by $4.5 million in six properties the safety of the community would be assured.

Ralph DeMatteoAlong with the family leaders, Persico and five other Colombos have received plea offers raging from about four to seven years to cover racketeering charges for extorting monthly payments form the president of Local 621 of the United Construction Trades and Industrial Employees Union for 20 years.

But Persico apparently isn't looking to plead guilty to the racketeering charges or related charges he faces for violating his post prison supervised release by associating with other wiseguys.

One reason, the lawyer wrote, is that a July 2021 conversation that prosecutors cited in their detention memo "actually indicates that he was not a part of the extortion scheme."

On July 20, 2021, cooperating witness Andrew Koslosky, who had informed the feds that Russo was the family boss when he flipped in April of last year, tape recorded a discussion about the union extortion plot with mobster Michael Uvino while he was trying to gather evidence against Persico.

Andrew KosloskyAfter Uvino stated that he had told Mush Russo that "everything's going smooth," and Koslosky asked, "What protection do we have if the other guy takes over?" in a reference to Persico, Uvino was decidedly upbeat about the possibility, according to the detention memo.

"Teddy? When he takes? It's smooth sailing," Uvino replied, noting that they recently "went out to Body English," a Carle Place LI pub together, and he found out that "the guy is the best guy in the world to deal with." In this conversation, the prosecutors wrote, Uvino said he "believed that Persico would be very supportive of Uvino and others" in the labor union extortion scheme.

Corozzo wrote that "the tense used by the government" in the memo, namely the words would be, "indicates that as of the date of the recorded conversation," prosecutors didn't believe that Persico was part of the "extortion scheme, let alone giving any orders to co-defendants."

This conversation also negates the argument that Persico was giving any orders in the shakedown scheme "when codefendants went to visit him on April 1, 2021," or when he visited Mush Russo two days earlier, since those events "pre-date the July 20, 2021 conversation," the lawyer wrote.

Michael Uvino"For all the months of investigation and all the tools that were used, including wiretaps, confidential sources, physical surveillance by law enforcement and consensual recordings," Corozzo wrote, "the Government's case boils down to one thing – guilt by association."

After reviewing the government's lack of evidence, Corozzo wrote, "the defense is ready for trial," noting that "the Government has conceded that the volume of evidence against Mr. Persico is significantly less than the evidence the Government has against some of his codefendants, including co-defendants who have already been released on bail."

"And we would like to know," the lawyer added, "if the Government will seriously contend that Mr. Persico is somehow more dangerous or would have a greater level of influence over the racketeering enterprise than, say, the alleged boss, alleged consigliere, and alleged underboss of the enterprise, all three of whom have already been released on bond."

It just might. The U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment about the bail motion, stating it will file its response to Persico's motion for bail next week.

NY Asks Supremes To Block NJ From Quitting The Waterfront Commission

Bramhall CartoonTony Soprano has a big smile on his face as he reads the newspaper headline, NJ WANTS TO QUIT WATERFRONT COMMISSION, in the Bramhall's World cartoon in yesterday's Daily News. But on Monday, New York State filed a complaint with the U.S. Supreme Court to block the Garden State's move, and suddenly the real-life Soprano-types who still operate on the docks are not so happy. So the smiles are now on the faces of the folks who support the complaint.

Other than an occasional, "What took them so long," supporters of the waterfront watchdog appeared generally pleased with New York's huge 233-page complaint that seeks to prevent Jersey from withdrawing from the Waterfront Commission. The complaint argues that the move is illegal since the agency exists as part of a "binding contract" that can only be amended by "concurring legislation from both states."

Until Monday, aside from a mild two page letter to NJ Governor Murphy's chief counsel last month, NY Governor Hochul had been silent about the issue since New Jersey officially notified New York in December of its intentions after the Supreme Court declined to enter the fray unless New York filed a suit to block the move.

Governor HochulHochul also kept a tight lid on exactly when New York would move in court. Her move came amid widespread pressure from the metro area law enforcement community – the exception being the New Jersey State Police – which had urged her to keep the Waterfront Commission policing the piers in New York and New Jersey.

The only person with any connections to the Commission and its work who has responded to queries from Gang Land since December, is former New York Organized Crime Task Force chief Ronald Goldstock, who served as the New York Commissioner on the bi-state agency from 2008 until 2018.

Last week, after declaring that the waterfront was "the last bastion of the mob in New York," Goldstock told Gang Land that he "firmly believe(d) that New York understands the consequences of inaction and will do what is necessary" to stop New Jersey's move to oust the Commission from monitoring the piers and docks of both states.

Ronald GoldstockTo do nothing, he said, would have a "severe economic impact" on New York, which has a paramount interest in maintaining oversight on corruption on the waterfront. "Whether or not the port operations have moved from 80% on the New York Side to the New Jersey side is largely irrelevant," said Goldstock. "New Jersey has lots of land for containers, but the port serves New York far more that it does the Garden State," he said.

"Unlike New Jersey," said Goldstock, "New York has done an incredible job removing organized crime from the industries they have historically dominated, with the sole exception being the waterfront."

Gov. Murphy, ILA prez Dennis DaggettGoldstock, who as chief of the task force, helped develop many of the racketeering cases credited with knocking out Mafia influence in labor unions and businesses in the metro area, said "New York recognizes that, is concerned about that, and understands that an increased mob influence on the waterfront would have a substantial negative economic impact on New York."

A longtime critic of the mob ties of the scandal ridden International Longshoremen's Association, Goldstock says the Commission is "the only thing that stops the mob from exercising its predatory practices against the terminal operators and the longshoremen through their influence of the ILA and the New York Shipping Association."

The Commission, he says, is "the only body that is capable of stopping the dishonest union officials and the mob from forcing terminal operators to hire connected workers, pay them huge salaries, and require little or no work while they steal both money and democratic rights from honest workers."

Walter Arsenault, the Commission's Executive Director, who serves as the agency's spokesman but like everyone else affiliated with the 69-year-old bi-state agency has been ducking for cover for months, still isn't returning calls from Gang Land. But he issued a two sentence statement on Monday.

Harold Daggett"We are very pleased with New York's action today to stop New Jersey from illegally seeking to unilaterally dissolve the Waterfront Commission. The Commission's mission to combat corruption and ensure fair hiring in the Port is critical now more than ever, and despite unprecedented challenges we remain undeterred in our work."

ILA president Harold Daggett, a staunch supporter of New Jersey Governor Murphy, who has been smiling broadly like Bramhall's cartoon Tony Soprano for months, seemed a bit grumpy yesterday.

In a statement, Daggett, who was acquitted of racketeering charges in 2005 a couple weeks after his codefendant, Genovese mobster Lawrence Ricci, disappeared and was later found shot to death, blasted Hochul for filing a "shameful, disgraceful and politically motivated" suit that "dishonors New Yorkers."

A Mob Two-Fer: Bonanno Boss Snared In FBI's Colombo Family Probe

Michael MancusoThe FBI investigation that led to the indictment of Colombo boss Andrew (Mush) Russo last fall has snagged another big mob fish in Uncle Sam's nets, Gang Land has learned: Bonnano boss Michael (Mikey Nose) Mancuso was back in Brooklyn Federal Court this week after he was spotted meeting with a trio of Russo's codefendants.

That was a big No-No for the Bonanno Big who was on supervised release after serving a 15-year bid for the 2004 gangland-style slaying of rival gangster, Bonanno associate Randolph (Randy) Pizzolo.

Mancuso was released from prison three years ago. As part of the conditions of his release, he was barred from meeting with convicted felons — especially wiseguys.

John RaganoThanks to the eagle-eyed FBI agents who spotted Mikey Nose, the Bonanno chieftain was charged with violating his supervised release (VOSR) between August of 2020 and June of 2021 for the alleged meet-ups with the three mobsters, all of whom were indicted along with Mush Russo in September.

Mikey Nose was hit with the VOSR charges last week — just two days before his three-year supervised release stint ended. Sources say he was seen meeting with Bonanno soldier John (Bazoo) Ragano and Colombo wiseguys Michael Uvino and Vincent (Vinny Unions) Ricciardo several times during the Colombo probe by FBI agents.

It's not the first time Mikey Nose has been unable to — well — keep his nose clean since going to prison. While serving his time, Mancuso was caught running the crime family from nearby Danbury Federal Prison by using his nephew, Frank (Frankie Boy) Salerno, to relay messages to and from favored family members. As a result, Mancuso spent the last few years of his sentence at prisons far from his home base, before earning his release in 2019.

Michael MancusoaSources say Mancuso was not charged with committing any crimes with the trio of mobsters or anyone else. He was accused merely with associating with members of organized crime. But the mob boss could still end up back behind bars. The guidelines for his violation, the sources say, are five to 11 months in prison.

Magistrate Judge James Cho released Mancuso, 66, on a $500,000 bond. The bond was secured by his Bronx home and cosigned by Mancuso's wife Joanne and their two daughters in a package deal worked out by defense attorney Stacey Richman and assistant U.S. attorney Devon Lash after the mob boss denied the allegation.

Asked by Cho if she had any income, Mrs. Mancuso stated she gets rental income from two condos she owns in Florida and a house she recently bought that is next to their home in the Country Club section of the Bronx.

Asked if her husband lives with her, she replied, "He comes and goes."

According to the bail restrictions ordered by Cho, Mancuso will be able to come and go as he pleases, within the five boroughs and Long Island, until his scheduled court appearance next month before Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis, the same judge who sent him to prison for 15 years.

Mancuso, who uttered one word, "Deny," in court, clammed up completely and hid his face behind his black leather jacket when he was approached for comment by Daily News reporter Noah Goldberg in Cadman Plaza Park across the street from the courthouse following his arraignment.

[Pmac2]

Thanks for post. Interesring. Corrozzo is a good lawyer. You wonder if he still wantes his button. They probaly give to him if he wanted. Surposely philly has a lawyer made

[Cheech]

Jesus, who are these agents lately? reminds me of the rubeo case where it seemed the agents didn't know anything.

[TommyGambino]

Thanks for post. Interesring. Corrozzo is a good lawyer. You wonder if he still wantes his button. They probaly give to him if he wanted. Surposely philly has a lawyer made

Why on earth would he want to be made.

[johnny_scootch]

Thanks for post. Interesring. Corrozzo is a good lawyer. You wonder if he still wantes his button. They probaly give to him if he wanted. Surposely philly has a lawyer made

Why on earth would he want to be made.

If he gets straightened out there’d be no way to keep it secret for long and when it got out his career would be kaput. Imo it’s crazy to think he’s even considering that because in a family full of wrong moves (corozzo family) he’s always made the right moves.

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for posting.

[AnIrishGuy]

Thanks for posting.

Happy St. Patricks day everyone.

[Shellackhead]

Thanks for posting

Mancuso must be sick. 2 days before his Parole is up he gets nabbed

[kingfromqueens]

VSR has to be filed before termination, probably didn’t want to play the card until the last minute. But doesn’t mean they didn’t know about it.

[Southshore88]

Thanks for posting

[NYNighthawk]

Time to look at the Genovese family!

[Teddy Persico]

Jesus, who are these agents lately? reminds me of the rubeo case where it seemed the agents didn't know anything.

You already know the answer. They aren't sending their best and brightest to OC no more. Seems like the opposite.

[PolackTony]

Asked by Cho if she had any income, Mrs. Mancuso stated she gets rental income from two condos she owns in Florida and a house she recently bought that is next to their home in the Country Club section of the Bronx.

Anyone know if the Mancusos live right by the park? I'm pretty sure I know where their two properties are, but I'm not 100%.

[Waingro]

Thanks for posting.

[Philly d]

Thanks for post. Interesring. Corrozzo is a good lawyer. You wonder if he still wantes his button. They probaly give to him if he wanted. Surposely philly has a lawyer made

Still wants? What makes you think he wanted it?