Daniel J. Franco's Blogspot: 2011-01

Please Note:

Before submitting commentary, to ensure readability and maintain credibility, please do your best to:
*Check spelling and grammar.
*Verify authenticity of information and its sources. If possible, include links to supporting information/evidence.
*Do not repost an entire article published elsewhere by another author. Include a link to the original article when possible. Post a few lines, or at most a paragraph or two. Otherwise, you are most likely infringing upon that author’s copyright.
*If you would like to disseminate information posted at this blog, I ask that you give credit where credit is due -please back-link when possible or at least cite these pages as the source when copying.

Thank you.

2011-01-20

Organized Crime Arrests, 2011-01-20

United States Department of Justice (USDOJ): Briefing Room

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Press Conference on Organized Crime Arrests
Thursday, January 20, 2011
"Today, more than 800 federal, state and local law enforcement officials have arrested over 110 individuals, including dozens of La Cosa Nostra members and associates."

91 Leaders, Members and Associates of La Cosa Nostra Families in Four Districts Charged with Racketeering and Related Crimes, Including Murder and Extortion
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Ninety-one members and associates of seven organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra (LCN), including the New England LCN family, all five New York-based families and the New Jersey-based Decavalcante family have been charged with federal crimes in 16 indictments returned in four judicial districts.

Documents and Resources from the January 20, 2011 "La Cosa Nostra" Press Conference

U.S. v. Alesi et al (USDC, EDNY) [16 Defendants]

Fred Alesi, aka "Whiney"
Anthony Arcuri, aka "Tony"
Robert Berliner, aka "Bacala"
Lawrence Betro
Franklin Camarano
John Cavallo, aka "Jackie Cavallo" and "Little John"
Anthony Cavezza, aka "Tony Bagels"
Francis Costello
Dominick Delio
Robert Dito
Thomas Ditta
Frank Politi, aka "Frankie P" and "Frankie Cap"
Anthony Sabbagh, aka "Tony O"
Ayub Sayed, aka "Adam"
Giovanni Vella, aka "John Vella" and "Mousey" and "Little John"
Carlos Zambrano

U.S. v. Balzano and Collina (USDC, EDNY) [2 Defendants]

Jerry Balzano
Joseph Collina

U.S. v. Caramanica et al (USDC, EDNY) [4 Defendants]

Dominic Caramanica
Daniel Cilenti, aka "Uncle Danny"
Glenn Mazzella
Peter Pace, Jr.

U.S. v. Cicalese et al (USDC, EDNY) [3 Defendants]

Patrick Cicalese
Robert Moreno
Manuel Salgado

U.S. v. Colandra (USDC, EDNY) [1 Defendant]

Anthony Colandra

U.S. v. Depiro et al (USDC, DNJ) [15 Defendants]

Stephen Depiro, aka "Beach"
Albert Cernadas, aka "The Bull"
Nunzio Lagrasso
Richard Dehmer, aka "Dickie"
Edward Aulisi, aka "Eddie"
Vincent Aulisi, aka "The Vet"
Thomas Leonardis, aka "Tommy"
Robert Ruiz, aka "Bobby"
Michael Trueba, aka "Mikey"
Ramiro Quintans, aka "Romo"
Salvatore Lagrasso
Anthony Alfano, aka "Brooklyn"
Tonino Colantonio, aka "Tony"
John Hartmann, aka "Lumpy", "Fatty" and "Fats"
Giuseppe Pugliese, aka "Pepe"

U.S. v. Dragonetti et al (USDC, EDNY) [9 Defendants]

Vincent Dragonetti, aka "Vinny", "Skinny", "Mike", "Mikey" and "Marbles"
Thomas Frangiapane
Emmanuel Garafolo, aka "Manny"
Anthony Licata, aka "Cheeks", "Anthony Firehawk", "Anthony Nighthawk", "Nighthawk" and "Firehawk"
Joseph Lombardi
Anthony O'Donnell, aka "Tony O"
Anthony Scibelli
William Scotto, aka "Billy" and "Big Billy"

U.S. v. Gallo (USDC, EDNY) [1 Defendant]

Lawrence Gallo, aka "Larry"

U.S. v. Gioia and Larosa (USDC, EDNY) [2 Defendants]

Anthony Gioia
Salvatore Larosa

U.S. v. Messina et al (USDC, EDNY) [4 Defendants]

Neil Messina
John Porcello, aka "Johnny Pizza"
Nicolo Valenti, aka "Nick"
Benito Valenti, aka "Benny"

U.S. v. Russo et al (USDC, EDNY) [39 Defendants]

Andrew Russo, aka "Mush"
Ralph Arpaio
John Azzarelli, "Johnny Cash"
Daniel Bogan
Anthony Calabro, aka "Nooch"
Roger Califano
Daniel Capaldo
Joseph Carna, aka "Junior Lollipops"
Michael Castellano, aka "Big Mike"
Benjamin Castellazzo, aka "Benji", "The Claw" and "The Fang"
Dennis Delucia, aka "Fat Dennis", "Little Dennis" and "The Beard"
Giuseppe Destafano, aka "Pooch"
Joseph Dimarco
John Dunn, aka "Johnny Five"
Anthony Durso, aka "Baby Fat Larry" and "BFL"
Scott Fappiano
Emanuele Favuzza, aka "Manny"
Vincent Febbraro, aka "Jimmy Gooch"
Richard Fusco, aka "Richie"
Gaetano Gallo, aka "Tommy"
Giovani Galluzzo, aka "John"
Ali Juseinoski
John Maggio
Reynold Maragni, aka "Ren" and "Reynolds"
Hector Pagan, aka "Junior"
Theodore Persico, Jr., aka "Teddy" and "The Kid"
Frank Pontillo, aka "Frankie Steel"
Nicky Rizzo
Jack Rizzocascio, aka "Jack the Whack"
John Rossano
Anthony Russo, aka "Big Anthony"
Joseph Savarese
Ralph Scopo, Jr.
Frank Senatore, aka "Buzz"
Ilario Sessa, aka "Larry", "Fat Larry" and "FL"
Angelo Spata, aka "Little Angelo"
Louis Venturelli, aka "Louie Ices"
Joseph Virzi
Vito Vizzi

U.S. v. Samperi (USDC, EDNY) [1 Defendant]

Walter Samperi

U.S. v. Vernace (USDC, EDNY) [5 Defendants]

Bartolomeo Vernace, aka "Pepe", "Bobby", "Bobby Glasses" and "Robert"
Vito Cortesiano, aka "Vito Love"
Michael Dolphin
Anthony Vaglica, aka "Bosch"
Robert Wehnert, aka "Bobby Werner"

U.S. v. Manocchio and Iafrate (USDC, DRI) [2 Defendants]

Luigi "Louie" Manocchio, aka "Baby Shacks", "The Old Man", "The Professor"
Thomas Iafrate

U.S. v. Corozzo et al (USDC, SDNY) [21 Defendants]

Joseph Corozzo, aka "JoJo"
Bartolomeo Vernace, aka "Bobby"
Alphonse Trucchio
Louis Mastrangelo
Michael Roccaforte, aka "Roc"
Anthony Moscatiello
Vincenzo Frogiero, aka "Vinny Carwash"
Todd Labarca
Frank Bellantoni, aka "Meatball"
Christopher Colon
Christopher Reynolds, aka "Burger"
Salvatore Tortorici
Michael Russo, aka "Mush"
Anthino Russo, aka "Hootie"
Frank Roccaforte
John Brancaccio, aka "Johnny Bandana"
Salvatore Accardi
Keith Croce
Sean Dunn
Robert Bucholz
Michael Kuthenia, aka "Jello"

U.S. v. Cipolla et al (USDC, SDNY) [5 Defendants]

John Cipolla
Frank Boehme
Anthony Mascuzzio
Jonathan Mascuzzio
Francis Lacorte

FBI targets mob in major sweep, dozens in custody

FBI targets mob in major sweep, dozens in custody
By David Ariosto, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/20/new.york.mob.raids/index.html

"If you look at the mob in the '50s and '60s and '70s, there were virtually no informants," said New York Waterfront CommissionerRonald Goldstock. "The picture has changed dramatically today. The mob is practically unrecognizable."

But Thursday's sweep may now do away with "the myth" of the mafia and the widely held notion that "La Cosa Nostra is a shell of its former self," said Janice Fedarcyk, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Division.

"I think we made a serious dent today," Fedarcyk said, but she warned of a new generation of criminal leadership "coming up behind them."

The mob revival concept, however, is the subject of debate.

"Their leadership ranks have been battered by federal and local law enforcement over the years," said James B. Jacobs, a professor at the New York University School of Law. "It's very hard to see to how they could have ever reconstituted in the way they were before."

Attorney General Holder said organized crime is not resurgent and no longer nationwide, but still subtracts millions of dollars from local businesses by way of a "mob tax," or tribute exacted through corrupt local officials.

Holder described the phenomenon as "a major threat to the economic well-being of this country."

On Thursday, New Jersey and New York prosecutors identified more than a dozen New Jersey residents with alleged mob ties who worked as officials for longshoremen's unions, charging them with racketeering and other related offenses, according to a joint statement from district attorneys in both states.

A man described as a "soldier in the Genovese organized crime family" allegedly collected money from port workers, extorting payments after the workers received their annual Christmas bonuses.

Police say workers from the International Longshoremen's Association, Local 1235, were forced to pay corrupt officials between $500 and $5,000 each year if they hoped to rise above entry-level dock jobs, according to New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

"Organized crime means what it has always meant on the waterfront: Mobsters getting rich on the backs of dock workers," he said.

Despite declines in mob activity in other industries, dockyards in the U.S. Northeast are places where organized crime remains a threat, according to Waterfront Commissioner Goldstock.

And with law enforcement focused on preventing terrorism and providing port security, organized crime is often left without the "day-to-day pressures" it may have felt in years past, he said.

Last April, 14 members of the Gambino crime family -- including Daniel Marino, who was then considered the family head -- pleaded guilty to charges that included murder, racketeering, extortion and prostitution of minors, court officials said.

CNN's Mary Snow, Deborah Feyerick, Terry Frieden and Brian Vitagliano contributed to this report.

Nearly 125 Arrested in Sweeping Mob Roundup

Nearly 125 Arrested in Sweeping Mob Roundup
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
The New York Times
January 20, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/nyregion/21mob.html

The criminal accusations spanned several states and several decades, encompassing figures from seven mob families, and led to the arrest of nearly 125 people on federal charges on Thursday.

There were murders, including a double homicide over a spilled drink in a Queens bar. There were the more run-of-the-mill activities associated with organized crime: racketeering, extortion, loan-sharking, money laundering, gambling and the like.

There were even some names from mob lore, including Luigi Manocchio, 83, the former boss of New England’s Patriarca crime family, who was said to have dressed in women’s clothing to avoid capture decades ago. He was arrested in Florida, accused of another mob standby: shaking down strip clubs, in Providence, R.I.

The charges were included in 16 indictments handed up in federal courts in four jurisdictions. Taken together, they amounted to what federal officials called the “largest mob roundup in F.B.I. history.”

The indictments were announced by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who appeared at a news conference on Thursday morning in Brooklyn.

For the attorney general, it was an opportunity to preside over the kind of law enforcement operation that was once the core mission of the Justice Department, but that has been largely overshadowed during his tenure by far more ambiguous issues inherited from the Bush administration. Mr. Holder spoke of the “unprecedented scope and cooperation” in the investigation, but questions were also raised by the diffuse nature of the indictments, which involved myriad unrelated criminal activity.

The sweep began before dawn, with 800 federal agents and state and local investigators fanning out across the region. The targets, officials said, ran the gamut from what they called small-time bookmakers and shakedown artists to mob middle managers and the entire current leadership of the Colombo crime family, as well as two senior Gambino family figures. Prosecutors said 34 made members of New York’s five crime families — Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese — and crime families in New Jersey and New England were among those arrested.

By taking out the leadership of the Colombos and charging large numbers of reputed crime figures from the other families, the F.B.I. and federal prosecutors hoped the case would have a significant impact. But at the same time, officials acknowledged that the mob had shown itself to be remarkably resilient.

“Arresting and convicting the hierarchies of the five families several times over has not eradicated the problem,” said Janice K. Fedarcyk, the head of the New York F.B.I. office, calling it a “a myth” that the mob is a thing of the past.

At the news conference, Mr. Holder also announced that the Justice Department was merging its Organized Crime and Racketeering Section with its Gang Unit, a move he said would provide more-experienced prosecutors and increased resources for cases like the one announced on Thursday.

Some federal, state and local law enforcement officials have privately expressed concern about a possible resurgence in some quarters of the influence of organized crime after two decades of decline.

Mr. Holder emphasized several times that organized crime remained one of the department’s top priorities because mob members and associates were “among the most dangerous criminals in our country.” And he played down the notion of a resurgent mob, saying that while it had been weakened, and “is probably not nationwide in its scope, in its impact, as it once was,” it remained a continuing major threat “to the economic well-being of this country.”

He said his decision to go to Brooklyn to announce the arrests was meant to underscore the importance of the case to the department. Others at the news conference included the head of the department’s Criminal Division, Lanny A. Breuer, and the United States attorneys from Brooklyn, Manhattan, Newark and Rhode Island: Loretta E. Lynch, Preet Bharara, Paul J. Fishman and Peter F. Neronha, respectively. There were also officials from other agencies, including Raymond W. Kelly, the police commissioner of New York, and Daniel R. Petrole, the acting inspector general of the federal Labor Department.

Most of the arrests took place before 8 a.m.; by early evening, all but 3 of the 127 men sought had been taken into custody. Most of them were processed at a United States Army base in Brooklyn and arraigned in the borough’s federal courthouse.

Most of the defendants whom prosecutors characterized as higher-ranking mob figures were held without bail after pleading not guilty.

A dozen of the indictments, naming more than 80 defendants, were handed up in Brooklyn. Among those charged, according to the indictment, were the Colombo street boss Andrew Russo, the acting underboss Benjamin Castellazzo and the consigliere Richard Fusco, and two high-ranking members of the Gambino family hierarchy: the consigliere Joseph Corozzo and the ruling panel member Bartolomeo Vernace.

They were named in a racketeering indictment that also charged four reputed captains and eight soldiers. The alleged crimes spanned two decades and include the 1993 murder of underboss Joseph Scopo, the family’s asserted control of Local 6A of the Cement and Concrete Workers Union and the asserted defrauding of the city in connection with an annual feast, La Festa di Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst.

Two indictments unsealed in Manhattan charged 26 men they identified as Gambino crime family figures, including Mr. Vernace and Mr. Corozzo, with racketeering, extortion, assault, arson and running a large marijuana and cocaine trafficking operation.

The indictment claims that they distributed cocaine and marijuana over 30 years, generating tens of millions of dollars in profit for the crime family. Two other racketeering indictments in Brooklyn name 13 men described as Gambino members and associates, including Mr. Vernace, who is charged in the double murder in the Shamrock Bar in Queens.

Mr. Vernace’s lawyer, Gerald L. Shargel, said his client was acquitted of the murders in state court in 2002. “These charges will be vigorously contested,” he said.

An indictment handed up in Newark charged 14 people, including several current and former union officials who are said to be affiliated with the Genovese family, with racketeering and extortion of Local 1235 of the International Longshoremen’s Association and other dockworkers’ locals.

The indictment charges a conspiracy over the course of many years to extort union members around Christmastime, when they receive an annual bonus based on the number of containers moving through the port.

The indictment in Rhode Island charged Mr. Manocchio — said to be an enduring figure in the New England mob that was named for its former leader, Raymond L. S. Patriarca Sr. — and Thomas Iafarte, 61, with extorting strip clubs.

Mr. Manocchio, long viewed as the quiet, disciplined power behind the Patriarca family, is a man whose low-key, old-school style has, over the years, reined in a dysfunctional crime operation, officials have said.

Dan Barry and Charlie Savage contributed reporting.

---------------------------------------------------
F.B.I. and Police Arrest More Than 100 in Mob Sweep
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
The New York Times
Published: January 20, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/nyregion/21mob.html

In a blanket assault against seven mob families in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island, the F.B.I. and local authorities began arresting more than 100 people on Thursday on charges including murder, racketeering and extortion, people briefed on the arrests said.

The sweep began before dawn and the targets ranged from small-time book makers and crime-family functionaries to a number of senior mob figures and several corrupt union officials, according to several people briefed on the arrests. Among those arrested or sought, some of the people said, were more than two dozen made members of New York’s five crime families and the families in New Jersey and New England, along with dozens of their associates.

Several of of the men arrested, the people who had been briefed said, were charged with murders — some dating back to the 1980s and 1990s. Others were charged with selections from a full menu of mob crimes: racketeering, extortion, loan-sharking and gambling, as well as labor-racketeering crimes in two sectors that officials say remain under the mob’s sway: the construction industry and the waterfront.

The arrests were based on more than a dozen unrelated indictments handed up in federal courts in four jurisdictions, several of the people said. Taken together, the arrests appeared to be the largest such sweep of organized crime figures ever conducted by federal authorities.

The charges were expected to be announced by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. at a news conference Thursday morning in Brooklyn, where the charges against many of defendants were lodged, the people briefed on the arrests said.

Those who talked about the case did so on the condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not yet been made and because some court papers remained sealed. Most of the arrests were completed by 8 a.m. — a mammoth undertaking involving the F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies, along with the United States attorneys’ offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Newark and Providence, R.I.

The cases were also investigated by the New York Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States. Labor Department’s Office of Labor Racketeering, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor and several other agencies.

The decision to announce the arrests in Brooklyn and Mr. Holder’s planned presence at the news conference would seem to underscore the importance of the case to the Justice Department.

The arrests came at a time when several federal, state and local law enforcement officials have expressed some concern about a resurgence of organized crime’s influence in some quarters after two decades of decline.

An impressive string of victories over the mob began in 1991 with the defection of the Luchese family’s acting boss, Alphonse D’Arco, who proved to be a devastating witness. Later that year, Salvatore Gravano, the Gambino family underboss, defected, and his testimony secured the conviction of John J. Gotti.

With the cooperation of those two men, a trickle of significant defections grew into a torrent, weakening the culture of omertà, the Mafia’s code of silence, and thus the foundation of organized crime itself.

The subsequent loosening of the mob’s grip on several industries and unions led to proclamations about the mob’s decline and some refocusing of law enforcement resources. Those resources directed at organized crime were further reduced after the 9/11 attacks.

Prosecutors in Brooklyn and the F.B.I. nonetheless waged a campaign over the last decade that decimated the Bonanno crime family . But the relative health of crime families tends to run in cycles, with some ascendant and some on the decline.

The more-powerful Genovese family, for example, which has found its strength in labor racketeering and construction and some more-sophisticated schemes, remains powerful, as do the Gambino and Luchese families, law enforcement officials have said. .

And in recent years, after the period of some declining focus, officials and union monitors say the mob remains stubbornly entrenched in a number of major construction unions — including locals representing carpenters, concrete workers and operating engineers — as well as on the waterfront.

---------------------------------------------------
Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Thu, January 20, 2011 -- 8:33 AM ET
-----

F.B.I. and Police Arrest More Than 100 in Mob Sweep

In a blanket assault against seven mob families in New York,
New Jersey and Rhode Island, the F.B.I. and local authorities
began arresting more than 100 people on Thursday on charges
including murder, racketeering and extortion, people briefed
on the arrests said.

The sweep began before dawn and the targets ranged from
small-time book makers and crime-family functionaries to a
number of senior mob figures and several corrupt union
officials, according to several people briefed on the
arrests. Among those arrested or sought, some of the people
said, were more than two dozen made members of New York's
five crime families and the families in New Jersey and New
England, along with dozens of their associates.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/nyregion/21mob.html

2011-01-11

Carpenter Steward Think Tank

Attn: ALL CARPENTER STEWARDS

JOIN OUR STEWARD THINK TANK

Many Stewards do their jobs on a daily basis without any recognition of a job well done. We are the caretakers of our Union. However, more and more often the very men and women whose rights we protect hold us in contempt, justifiably so in some cases.

In light of the August 2009 Indictments and subsequent guilty pleas, in which 5 of 10 persons indicted & convicted were Stewards, this is to be expected. Due to this, morale among Stewards is at an all time low. The credibility of Stewards is in jeopardy, but we believe we can work together to change this negative perception.

If you are tired of doing this alone and wish to change our condition for the better, consider volunteering your suggestions and / or time in assisting to form a Stewards’ organization to be recognized at some point by the union.

Stewards, to succeed we ask that you consider the following:

*The formation of a Recognized Steward Body advocating on behalf of all Stewards
*Name of this Steward Body: (Consider acronyms like “STEW / STU“ would be ideal)

*Creation of a Mission Statement (What our goals / objectives should be)

*Possible Meeting Locations (e.g. Churches / Community Centers / Etc.)

We need Volunteer Stewards who have skills & abilities in the following areas:

*Organizing / Group Dynamics / Negotiating

*Web Hosting / Web Design / Blog Creation

*Public Speaking / Public Relations

*Creative Writing / Speech Writing / Proposal Writing

*Teaching / Instruction / Class or Workshop Creation

*Book Keeping / Accounting / Fundraising

*Labor Law / Contract Law / Political Science

*Parliamentary Procedure / Robert’s Rules Of Order

As Stewards for the Rank & File Carpenters of our Union we call for a STEWARDS ONLY MEETING on Friday, 01/14/11 (union cards will be checked for steward status) at The Moonstruck Diner at 4:30 PM (back room). The location of the diner is 400 West 23^rd Street (corner of 9^th Ave) in the borough of Manhattan. The meeting will be informal as usual. The last of the donated Tee-Shirts and Information Folders will be handed out free at this meeting.

Share the Rank & File’s feedback regarding the recent Dissolution of Local 608, the Pay Raise Giveback of 01/01/11, and the Immediate Opening of Contract Negotiations.

Daniel J. Franco's Blogspot

Pages

Please Note:

2011-01-20

Organized Crime Arrests, 2011-01-20

FBI targets mob in major sweep, dozens in custody

Nearly 125 Arrested in Sweeping Mob Roundup

2011-01-11

Carpenter Steward Think Tank

Carpenters' Union Related Site Links

Law, Labor, Union and Political Related Site Links

Official Carpenters' Union Site Links

AEC Periodicals, Magazines, Newsletters, Catalogs, Markets

General News and Radio Site Links

History and Other/Unsorted

US Goverment Links

Organized Crime, American Mafia, Sicilian Mafia, La Cosa Nostra

LU/Council/Int Blogs

Blog Archive

Total Pageviews

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Map

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed