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 theGambino 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; andCHRISTOPHER SUCARATO, JOSEPH FORNINO, a/k/a “Joey Per Voi,”ROBERT PERSICO, SAM NORDONE, and ROBERT VACCARO, JR., all of whomare alleged to be associates of the Gambino Family (the “RICODEFENDANTS”). In particular, the Indictment alleges thatSQUITIERI 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. TheIndictment further alleges that SQUITIERI was promoted to ActingBoss and MEGALE was made Acting Underboss after Peter Gotti’s2002 arrest on racketeering charges. The RICO DEFENDANTS arecharged with engaging in a widespread pattern of racketeeringthat 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 constructioncompanies in the New York City area, a New York City radiostation, and several restaurant and club owners in the New YorkCity area and surrounding suburbs. In addition, Gambino FamilyCapo THOMAS CACCIOPOLI, a/k/a “Tommy Sneakers,” is charged in theIndictment with participating in the extortions of constructioncompanies 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 allegedCapos, DEPALMA, SISCA, CACCIOPOLI, and CAPRA were arrested todayin connection with the charges in the Indictment. SQUITIERI,DEPALMA, and SISCA are serving terms of parole or supervisedrelease from prior federal convictions. Gambino Family ActingUnderboss MEGALE is in federal custody pending trial onracketeering charges in another district. Genovese SoldierDELUCA is already serving jail time on other federal charges. All of the other Gambino Family members and associates, and theother defendants named in the Indictment, were arrested today. The defendants under arrest are scheduled to be presented inManhattan 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 chargedin the various crimes are set forth in the attached chart. Inaddition, the Government has alleged that the criminal activitiesof the defendants has resulted in their obtaining at least $30million in illegal proceeds. The Government will seek forfeitureof 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