OTHER CRIMES  

DAVID N. KELLEY, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, PASQUALE D’AMURO, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the FBI, ROBERT JOHNSON, the District Attorney for Bronx County, and GORDON S. HEDDELL, the Inspector General of the United States Department of Labor, announced today the unsealing of a 53-count Indictment in Manhattan federal court captioned United States v. Arnold Squitieri, et al., 05 Cr. 228 (the “Indictment”). The Indictment charges 32 defendants, most of whom are members or associates of the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra (“LCN”), with wide-ranging racketeering crimes and other offenses spanning  more than a decade, including violent assault, extortion of various individuals and businesses, loansharking, union embezzlement, illegal gambling, trafficking in stolen property and counterfeit goods, and mail fraud.  

The Indictment alleges that the Gambino Family, at times working in tandem with other LCN Families, infiltrated, controlled, extorted, and defrauded businesses and labor organizations operating in various industries in the New York City area, and surrounding suburbs, including construction companies, a New York City radio station, trucking companies, and restaurant and club owners. The Indictment also charges that the Gambino Family operated a lucrative illegal gambling operation throughout the 1990s to the present that netted LCN approximately $20 million in illegal proceeds.  

Among the defendants charged in the two RICO counts are: ARNOLD SQUITIERI, a/k/a “Zeke,” a/k/a “Bozey,” a/k/a “Sylvester,” who is alleged to be the Acting Boss and Official Underboss of the Gambino Family; ANTHONY MEGALE, a/k/a “Mac,” a/k/a “Machiavelli,” who is alleged to be the Acting Underboss of the Gambino Family; GREGORY DEPALMA, who is alleged to be an Acting “Capo” or Captain in the Gambino Family, who purportedly controls a crew of soldiers and associates within the Gambino Family and directly supervises their criminal activities; ALPHONSE SISCA, a/k/a “Funzi,” who is alleged to be a Capo in the Gambino Family and a close confidante of SQUITIERI; LOUIS  

FILIPPELLI, a/k/a “Bo,” who is alleged to be a Soldier in the Gambino Family; ROBERT VACCARO, who is also alleged to be aSoldier in the Gambino Family; NICHOLAS LASORSA, a/k/a “Nicky,”who is also alleged to be a Soldier in the Gambino Family; and CHRISTOPHER  SUCARATO, JOSEPH FORNINO, a/k/a “Joey Per Voi, ”ROBERT PERSICO, SAM NORDONE, and ROBERT VACCARO, JR., all of whom are alleged to be associates of the Gambino Family (the “RICODEFENDANTS”). In particular, the Indictment alleges that SQUITIERI was made Underboss of the Gambino Family by John J. Gotti, the former Boss of the Family, shortly after  SQUITIERI wasreleased from jail following a 1989 narcotics conviction. The Indictment further alleges that SQUITIERI was promoted to Acting Boss and MEGALE was made Acting Underboss after Peter Gotti’s2002 arrest on racketeering charges. The RICO DEFENDANTS are charged with engaging in a widespread pattern of racketeering that spanned more than a decade. The Indictment charges 22separate acts of racketeering in two racketeering (a/k/a “RICO”) counts, including the extortions of numerous construction companies in the New York City area, a New York City radio station, and several restaurant and club owners in the New YorkCity area and surrounding suburbs. In addition, Gambino Family Capo THOMAS CACCIOPOLI, a/k/a “Tommy Sneakers,” is charged in the Indictment with participating in the extortions of construction companies located in Staten Island and Long Island.

The Indictment also charges that two of the RICO defendants, GREGORY DEPALMA and ROBERT VACCARO, viciously assaulted a victim on February 21, 2005, in a Westchester department store, in order to maintain and increase their respective positions within the Gambino Family.

The Indictment separately charges members and associates of two other LCN families with engaging in several crimes. These individuals include: Luchese Family Capo JOHN CAPRA, a/k/a “Johnny Hooks,” and Luchese Family associates, AL ALVAREZ and MARK DENUZIO, with coordinating their efforts with the DEPALMA Crew in the extortion of an individual in Westchester; and Genovese Family Soldier PASQUALE DELUCA, a/k/a “Scop,” with operating an illegal gambling business in the Bronx.  

The Indictment unsealed today also includes numerous charges against other individuals alleged to be trusted associates of the Gambino Family. These defendants include: LEONARD MINUTO, SR., a/k/a “Lenny,” LEONARD MINUTO, JR., a/k/a “Lenny,” LOUIS NATRELLA, a/k/a “Little Louie,” JOHN VACCARO, a/k/a “Popcorn,” FRANK BUSCEMI, a/k/a “Cheech,” PAUL OLIVERI, and JUSTIN CARTISANO, who are all charged with gambling offenses; JAMES VETRANO, who is the president of Retail and Wholesale Department Store Union-United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 305, and a trustee of the Local 305 benefit funds, and JOSEPH MORAY, who are charged with union benefit embezzlement and related fraud charges; FRANK D’AGOSTINO, a/k/a “Frankie D.,” and TOMMY D’AGOSTINO, who are charged with extortion and receipt of  stolen property, respectively; NEIL DELIETO, who is charged with extortion charges; MICHAEL DEPALMA, the son of Acting Capo GREGORY DEPALMA, who is charged with interstate transportation of stolen property; and ALFRED LAFATA, JR. and ROBERT SANSEVERINO, a/k/a “Bobby Phones,” who are both charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods.

The Gambino Family Acting Boss, SQUITIERI, and alleged Capos, DEPALMA, SISCA, CACCIOPOLI, and CAPRA were arrested today in connection with the charges in the Indictment. SQUITIERI, DEPALMA, and SISCA are serving terms of parole or supervised release from prior federal convictions. Gambino Family Acting Underboss MEGALE is in federal custody pending trial on racketeering charges in another district. Genovese Soldier DELUCA is already serving jail time on other federal charges. All of the other Gambino Family members and associates, and the other defendants named in the Indictment, were arrested today. The defendants under arrest are scheduled to be presented in Manhattan federal court.

The charges in the Indictment are the result of an almost three-year long investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Labor. The investigation included obtaining court authorization to intercept conversations among the various defendants at several locations in Westchester  County, including at the United Hebrew Geriatrics Home (the “Home”), located in New Rochelle, New York. Craig DePalma, the other son of Acting Capo GREGORY DEPALMA, and himself a Gambino Soldier, who was previously convicted of racketeering charges in this District, is a convalescent patient at the Home. Authorization to intercept conversations at the Home was sought and obtained after law enforcement agents discovered that DEPALMA and the other members of his crew, as well as other members and associates of LCN, engaged in daily meetings and conversations about their ongoing criminal enterprise at the Home, in the mistaken belief that they could abuse the confines of the Home as a means to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.

The maximum penalties faced by the defendants charged in the various crimes are set forth in the attached chart. In addition, the Government has alleged that the criminal activities of the defendants has resulted in their obtaining at least $30million in illegal proceeds. The Government will seek forfeiture of that amount from the defendants.

Mr. KELLEY praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Labor, Office of Labor Racketeering, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office in this investigation. In addition, Mr. Kelley expressed his appreciation to the New York State Organized Crime Task Force and the New York City Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.  

Assistant United States Attorneys EDWARD C. O’CALLAGHAN and CHRISTOPHER P. CONNIFF are in charge of the prosecutions.  

The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 05-45 ###  

UNITED STATES v. SQUITIERI, et al. 05 Cr. 228