Bonanno crime family captain Nicky “Cigars” Santora was caught on secret wire tap telling one of his mob crew to quit acting like a clown as he was grooming him to take over. Santora told fellow mobster Vito Badamo that he had to start to conduct himself in a certain way because when he left he was going to take over the neighborhood and he needed to know what he was doing according to prosecutors. Assistant District Attorney Gary Galperin read off excerpts at Santora’s arraignment from the secret wiretaps and seems the aging capo had taged Badamo as his upcoming replacement. Santora went on to say the days of acting like a clown were over for Badamo and you gotta act like your supposed to. Santora a powerful Bonnano family capo was in court to face the latest charges against him related to a July takedown of the mob crew he allegedly controls on drug, extortion, and other charges.

“Nicky Santora”

The judge said it was clear that Santora was the head of a New York mafia crew that ran a lucrative racketeering business. Eight other alleged mobsters including Anthony “Skinny” Santoro, Vito Badamo, Anthony Urban, and mob associate Nicholas Bernhard were arrested along with Santora. They have all been charged in a 158-count indictment that includes charges of grand larceny, enterprise corruption, among other crimes. Santora has a rap sheet that dates back to 1966 and is currently serving a 24 month prison sentence for his most recent federal conviction. Santora was granted bail set at $1 million dollars bond or $500,000 cash to be posted upon his release from federal custody in October.

“(left to right) Anthony Santoro, Vito Badamo, Anthony Urban, and Nicholas Bernhard “

Santora’s attorney alleged that his client was already charged with the current crimes and it is a case of “double jeopardy”. He also stated that during the time much of these new alleged crimes and mafia activity took place his client was in prison and there is no direct evidence that links Santora to this indictment.

Three mobsters in the Genovese crime family pleaded guilty to extortion charges in a scheme to try to control part of the New York and New Jersey garbage collection industry. Joseph Sarcinella, Dominick Pietranico, and William Cali were arrested along with alleged mafia members for racketeering and other charges back in January. The mob trio met who they thought was a trash collector in Bronx social club and loaned him thousands of dollars with a 3% a week interest charge and threats to charge even more. It turned out that the man they loaned the money and made threats against was working with the FBI. The three mobsters were initially facing multiple counts that held max sentences of 20 years but with the current plea deal are facing sentences ranging from 24-37 months.

“Joseph  Sarcinella”

Cali told federal judge Kevin Caster that he was simply trying to get some money back from someone he was doing business with. He said i made him understand that if he didn’t pay me it wouldnt be good and frightened him a little your honor as he copped to extortion charges. Sarcinella and Pietranico both plead guilty to making extortionate extensions of credit to the undercover FBI informant. Carmine “Papa Smurf” Franco who prosecutors say is the head honcho for the Genovese family in the garbage industry has plead not guilty and is awaiting trial. The New York mafia has long used the garbage industry as a source of income and these latest arrest prove that they are still very active in this industry. Even with the feds efforts to root them out the mafia once again shows how resilient they can be.

“Carmine “Papa Smurf” Franco “

Former Bonanno crime family captain Richard “Shellackhead” Cantarella along with his wife Castelli and son Paul are set to be sentenced on a host of crimes but are likely to get a free pass in return for their cooperation. The trio decided to become turncoats and help the feds to dismantle the Bonanno family after they were arrested in 2002. Richard Cantarella was a known killer for the Bonanno family according to the feds and had resisted offers to cooperate until his wife was charged with money laundering and his son became unhinged in prison. Richard had his son Paul inducted as a made man into the crime family in 1995 and he was the first to flip but the feds needed Richard’s cooperation because of his knowledge of the Bonanno family business and close relationship with then boss Joseph Massino.

Richard Cantarella not only testified against Massino but also his successor Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano. Along with his son Paul they also ratted out over three dozen other mobsters from all of the five New York mafia families and the DeCavalcante family in New Jersey that produced more then two dozen convictions. Prosecutors added that Richards wife Castelli did not have the wealth of information that her husband and son did but assisted the government in any way she could and her cooperation was key to securing the cooperation of the others. Amy Busa assistant U.S. Attorney stated in court papers that the cooperation of the Cantarella family was by any measure extraordinary and substantial in getting convictions of members of the Bonanno family.

The whole Cantarella family will be sentenced together in an unprecedented family affair next month in Brooklyn Federal Court. Richard Cantarella could face a life sentence and son Paul Cantarella up to 20 years from Judge Nicholas Garaufis. But sources close to the case believe that they will both get a free pass and never see a day in jail as payment for their cooperation against the mafia.

An illegal sports betting ring in New Jersey allegedly run by the Genovese crime family that took in an alleged $1 million dollars of wager per week has been busted up. FBI and local law enforcement agencies combined on the eight month long investigation dubbed “Operation Strikeout” focusing on what they called traditional organized crime activities in the area of Bergen county. Thirty four arrest were made and approximately $1.3 Million dollars in cash was seized as arrest and search warrants were executed in Essex County, Bergen County, Monmouth County, and Somerset County. According to authorities the illegal sports betting operation was run by John “Blue” DeFroscia and Thomas Conforti. DeFroscia is a made member of the Genovese family and Conforti is a high level family associate according to the feds.

 
Conforti and DeFroscia were both running their own respective bookmaking operation with large networks of “agents” running gambling packages for them. These agents were paid a percentage or “commission” of the profits being made. Money was also kicked up by both DeFroscia and Conforti to the hierarchy of the Genovese family. A wire room located in Costa Rica took wagers via telephone numbers and the internet from players and agents collected losses and paid out winning to players. Mid-level members of the organization would then meet the individual agents to collect the profits and then pass it along to Conforti and DeFroscia. The pair used these middle men in an attempt to insulate them from direct contact to the agents and law enforcement.

 
Authorities claim that Conforti employed Michael Cirelli as his middle man to help run the operation for him and DeFroscia did the same with Gerald “Jay” Napolitano and Paul “Shortline” Weber among others. According to authorities who infiltrated the illegal sports betting ring Napolitano would drop off envelopes of cash at a store in New Jersey and Nicholas “Pigeon” Restaino would hold on to it until DeFroscia was able to pick it up. Meeting were being held in parking lots , diners, and even book stores for co-conspirators to drop off cash to ranking members of the organization. Paul Weber was even observed by detectives with help of MLB security having meetings with underlings to collect payments at both CitiField and Yankee Stadium where he is employed as a vendor.

The following individuals were all charged in the roundup:

(click to enlarge)

Thomas “Tommy Shots” Gioeli the former action boss of the Colombo crime family and fellow mobster Dino “Little Dino” Saracino had their motion for a new trial denied. Brooklyn Federal Judge Brian Cogan ruled that the favorable defense evidence the defense claimed the government withheld was not at a level of importance to have upset the jury’s guilty verdicts. Gioeli was arrested back in 2008 on charges of murder and racketeering , he was acquitted of the six murder charges but was found guilty of racketeering and now faces up to 20 years in prison. Saracino was also convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice but like Gioeli was acquitted on murder charges. Prosecutors are pushing for not only the 20 year maximum sentence for the racketeering charge against Saracino but also an added 80 years in prison for the obstruction of justice charges.

“Thomas Gioeli (left) and Dino Saracino (right)”

Judge Cogan said that even the most favorable of the new evidence presented by the defense which included tape recordings by an alleged participant in the murder conspiracy that Gioeli was part of was but a pebble on the mountain of material they already put before the jury. The judge said he remained confident in the previous verdict and was unmoved by the aspects of the defense motion. Gioeli is set to be sentenced on November 4 and Saracino on November 22. Many believe that both mobsters will receive fairly stiff sentences running closer to the maximum then the minimum guidelines. So looks like the Colombo family will be with out two more of its members for an extended period of time as the assault by law enforcement on the New York mafia continues.

Anthony “Skinny” Santoro was one of the seven mobsters busted last july on charges of racketeering, loan sharking, extortion , and drug dealing. He is allegedly a member of a crew led by veteran Bonanno crime family leader Nicholas “Nicky Cigars” Santora. The feds recovered gambling records, marijuana, several weapons, and over 40 thousand dollars in cash at his Staten Island home in February of 2012. He is currently being held with out bail on his current charges and it seems the portly and somewhat obese mobster has quite a large temper and violent side. He was captured on a secret wiretap going on a series of threat laced rants filled with profanity according to recent court filings.

“Anthony Santoro”

Santora was caught spewing threats as he talked to alleged Bonanno family associate and Teamsters local president Nicholas Bernhard. Court filings suggest the wiretap dialogue is something that could be coming straight out of movies like “Goodfellas”. Here are some exerts from court transcripts from a conversation where Bernhard and Santora were discussing an unidentified man that Santora was planning to threaten.

“You tell him … that he’s doing some s–t that’s affecting me personally,”
 

“I’m gonna split his f—ing head with a hatchet, to be honest with you,”

“I’ll put two holes in his f—ing forehead. I’ll double tap his forehead right now!”

 
“Kid’s a young punk,” “He’ll be one dead young punk. I’ll leave him in the street right now. I’ll shoot him right now, this minute. I’ll take a shower and shave (and) just to go shoot him,”

Santoro was also caught again on wiretap showing his violent side on another call with an alleged mob accomplice Richard Sinde. Santoro talking to Sinde mentions a group of apparent foes who seems to be causing him some problems , he says that they was “making jerk—s out of people. … Someone’s gonna get f—ing hurt.“. But Tim Parlatore an attorney for Santoro said that all of this excited jabber from his client was simply a part of his theatrical personality and for all of the dramatic speech he produced nobody ever got hurt. Prosecutors paint a much different picture of the mobster and his former New York mafia crew.

According to a new Johnny Carson biography the TV icon had a run in with the New York Mafia. Carson in 1970 was having drinks at Jilly’s Saloon Frank Sinatra’s favorite bar in Manhattan when he tried to pick up an attractive young lady. There was only one problem this young lady was not unattached as Johnny would soon discover. He was doing his considerable best to get her to leave with him writes Henry Bushkin when her boyfriend a major mob figure showed up. The mobster was not happy that Carson was entertaining his ‘goomar‘ a mob term used to describe a married mafia members girl on the side. Carson was picked up by the mobster and his wiseguy pals off of a bar stool and thrown down some stairs before bar owner Jilly Rizzo interceded to prevent Carson from being beat more seriously.

“Johnny Carson – left and Joseph Colombo – right”

According to the book still unsatisfied and angry with Carson the wiseguy put out a contract for him to be killed. For next three days Carson laid low in his room at the UN Plaza missing three shows. One of Carson’s William Morris Agency agents was able to cut a deal with then Mafia boss Joseph Colombo to get the vengeful mobster to back off. Colombo has just formed the Italian-American Civil Rights League in an effort to prove that not even Italian was a member of the Mafia. A big rally was being planned by the group on Columbus day and the TV networks were refusing to cover it to the disappointment of Colombo. So an accommodation was reached between the two in which Colombo got his fellow mobster to give Carson a pass and NBC News would in turn cover the rally.

Anthony “Big Anthony” Russo former captain in the Colombo crime family turned rat is hoping to be rewarded for his cooperation. According to Brooklyn federal court documents federal prosecutors are looking to do just that asking for leniency for the former mobster at his upcoming sentencing. Prosecutors say that Russo supplied them with information on more then twenty of his fellow wiseguys and his substantial cooperation aided the government in its continuing investigation into the New York mafia and the Colombo family. He supplied the feds with an inside look into the crime families sensitive inner workings along with key administrative maneuvers and vicious crime. Among those he helped put away was former Colombo family street boss Andrew Russo and underboss Benjamin Castellazzo.

“Anthony Russ0 – court sketch”

Big Anthony also came clean about his own vicious crimes and a decade long organized crime career. This included him and a mob colleague cutting off the penis of a dead man and placing it in his mouth for a final humiliation. He hopes to become the latest turncoat to handsomely benefit from turning on his fellow mobsters and helping federal prosecutors in their ongoing war against the mafia. In recent months their have been a parade of mafia turncoats through Brooklyn federal court including former Bonanno family boss Joseph Massino and capo Richard Cantarella being rewarded for their cooperation. Big Anthony faces a minimum sentence of five years and a max of up to thirty years but it is believed that he will be rewarded nicely for his cooperation.

Ralph Scopo Jr a soldier in the Colombo crime family has passed away at the age of 63 from heart and liver failure. Scopo was among those arrested by the feds in the historic take down against the New York Mafia in January of 2011. His trial had been delayed for past two years as he continued to file letters to the court with details of his deterioration health and now it seems he was not simply malingering. He is the only mobster of the 112 arrested to avoid conviction from the massive 2011 mafia sweep. He was charged with extorting Cement and Concrete Workers Local 6A coffee errand-runners. He was confined to his home in Long Island over last couple of years under electronic monitoring as he awaited trial. Scopo was last convicted back in 2006 for racketeering and claimed at sentencing he was told he had less then two years to live according to court documents.

“Ralph Scopo Jr (center)”

Scopo’s family has a long history in the mafia and the Colombo crime family. His father Ralph Sr was also a member of the Colombo family and died in prison and his brother Joseph Scopo was killed during the bloody Colombo family civil war. A law enforcement said of the deceased mobster that he now has to answer to a higher judge. While Scopo was avoided conviction with his passing the massive 2011 raid on the New York mob families did include some convictions of high ranking mobsters from New York’s five families. Among those convictions were Colombo family acting boss Andrew “Andy Mush” Russo and under boss Benjamin Castellazzo, Gambino capo Bartolomeo “Bobby” Vernace and consigliere Joseph “Jo Jo” Corrozzo among others.

Anthony Russo a former capo in the Colombo crime family who turned on his fellow mobsters hoped his cooperation would buy his freedom. Wednesday he was rewarded with just that as he was sentenced to time served and released into the witness protection program. He served 53 months in prison before being sentenced Wednesday a very small price for a life of crime. Russo was facing a sentence of life in prison after his 2011 arrest before deciding to roll over on more then a dozen of his former mafia pals. As part of his agreement with government Russo detailed his criminal career and admitted to doing everything from selling stolen goods to his part in a murder plot.

“Anthony Russo” 

Russo was part of a hit team in 1993 that whacked then Colombo family underboss Joseph Scopo during the bloody Colombo family war. Scopo was gunned down in front of his home in Queens as the rival factions one loyal to Carmine Persico and another loyal to Victor Orena battled for control of the family. Russo was the getaway driver for the hooded gunmen who whacked Scopo. Russo told judge Kiyo Matsumoto that he was sincerely sorry for all the suffering and pain he caused and there was no excuse for his actions. He then said he had to cooperate despite the fact that he would now be labeled a traitor in the mafia world where traitors are murdered. Russo said he will have to live the rest of his life in fear but he needed to protect him family and keep them together.
 

Judge Matsumoto noted Russo’s criminal past and the severity of it that of which included murder before then calling his testimony against his former New York mafia crew as extraordinary. As he was sentenced to time served Russo wearily dropped his head.

New Jersey is finally turning up the heat on a racketeering case against the Lucchese crime family of the New York mafia. In may of 2010 thirty four members and associates of the Lucchese family were indicted for racketeering with charges of gambling and money laundering topping the list. Among the arrested were Lucchese family leaders Matthew Madonna and Joseph DiNapoli who once served as part of a family leading ruling panel that ran the crime family before current boss Steven “Stevie Wonder” Crea was named official boss. Also arrested was Ralph V. Perna which feds claim is a Lucchese family captain who ran the families New Jersey based crew and operations. The case which was called “Operation Heat” focused on a $2.2 billion dollar illegal sports betting business run from a wire room in Costa Rica using the internet according to prosecutors.

“Matthew Madonna and Joseph DiNapoli”

For first time in more the two years a status conference was held and defense pre-trial motions are now due by the end of October. After which another conference all will be held in December and the trial is expected to begin sometime early in 2014. The prosecution is expected to present hundreds of house of wiretap conversations including some from a bug placed in the car of Perna’s son Joseph who often drove around DiNapoli and Madonna to mob meetings and once even to a mob making ceremony held in New Jersey. Prosecutors claim some of these secretly recorded conversations can establish the leadership roles held by both Madonna and DiNapoli. During one conversation Madonna is heard discussing the Jersey based crew of the Lucchese family and its unsettled and Waring factions comparing them to the “Hatfields and McCoys” and explaining how crime family leaders tried to step in and settle the disturbance. Another recording has DiNapoli caught talking about a bookmaking operation that him and Madonna had piece of saying “I got 25 percent of this thing, me and matty”.
 

There are also some violence and threats of violence detailed in affidavits using snippets pulled from recorded conversations including Perna and his sons John and Joseph. Jose Perna was caught on wiretap setting up an assault plan on a non-paying gambling client saying “Go and find this kid … and make an example now … bust his head, I don’t give a (expletive) if it’s three in the morning and I don’t care if you gotta break his front (expletive) door down”. There are also many more recordings some of which have the Perna family discussing the inner workings of the Lucchese family and the brothers talking about the growing role their father was playing in the crime family. The biggest pre-trial issue are these witetap recordings as the defense plans to file motions to have most if not all of them thrown out. Many insiders believe if these tapes and recordings are ruled to be admissible the defendants may scramble to try and work out plea deals.

Richard Uva and Victor Amereno both alleged members of the Gambino crime family have been sentenced for their parts in a large scale illegal gambling operation in Connecticut. Uva was said to be the second in command to Dean DePreta the head of the Gambino family operations in Connecticut according to assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen. Uva helped supervise a network of bookmakers for a large scale sports bookmaking operation along with illegal card playing clubs in the area. According to the FBI the illegal sports betting operation brought in a total revenue of approximately $1.7 million dollars from mid 2010 to June of 2011. Uva also admitted to being involved in an extortion scheme where he collected tribute payments on behalf of the Gambino family and New York mafia from local independent bookmakers in Connecticut.

There were twenty people in total charged in connection with the illegal bookmaking operation and 18 defendants have pleaded guilty so far and agreed to forfeit almost $1.4 million dollars. Uva was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in prison with 3 more years of probation following his release and has to forfeit $250,000. Amereno was sentenced to six months in prison and three years of probation and has to forfeit $15,000. Earlier this month ring leader DePreta was sentenced to 71 months in prison.

Theodore “Teddy” Persico Sr a long time Colombo crime family capo and brother of imprisoned for life Colombo boss Carmine “Junior” Persico is back on the streets after serving the last 22 years in prison. He was arrested back in 1993 outside St Patrick’s Cathedral on Palm Sunday at a meeting of Persico faction mobsters. He was a point man for the Persico faction during a bloody Colombo family mafia war against a rival faction led by Victor “Little Vic” Orena that lasted about two years. Teddy Sr was convicted in 1994 for racketeering and murder conspiracy. Prosecutors claimed he was involved in a number of murder plots against the Orena faction but was not implicated in any of the 12 murders that took place during the mafia war from 1991-1993. Teddy Sr spent the last six years of his prison sentence in a prison hospital due to undisclosed ailments before being released and spending two months in a Brooklyn half way house.
 

A law enforcement source confirmed they would be keeping an eye on Theodore who after doing his time now has more respect then ever. Being the only Persico currently out on the streets he could be called upon to get the Colombo family back on track as he once was part of a Colombo family ruling panel. His son and Colombo family mobster Theodore “Skinny Teddy” Persico recently agreed to a plea deal is slated to be sentenced to 12 years in prison. But others believe that the Persico’s power with in the Colombo family is slowly coming to an end and that Teddy Sr is not looking for any trouble and has been keeping to himself and staying close to home in Valley Stream since he has been back on the streets. Whether Carmine will look for his brother to step in and re-establish control is still unknown but one thing is for sure the Colombo crime family has plenty of leadership openings.

Prosecutors are out to prove that Joel “Joe Waverly” Cacace the former consigliere for the Colombo crime family ordered the killing of NYPD cop Ralph Dols. Dols was shot to death outside his home in 1997 by a Colombo family hit squad. Prosecutors claim Cacace ordered Dols death because he had married the mobsters ex-wife Kim Kennaugh which Cacace seens as am embarrassment. Cacace was a ruthless force with in the Colombo family and when he gave an order it was carried out without question said prosecutor Sam Nitze. Nitze said of the mobster who carried out the brutal mob hit that an order from Cacace was one they had no choice but to follow. Nitze said that the defendant may not have pulled the trigger himself but he is to be held responsible since he gave the order.

“Joel Cacace”

The prosecution has lined up an array of former mobsters turned rat to take the stand against Cacace. Among them are Dino Calabro who admitted to his role in the Dols killing and Joseph Competiello who was also involved in the murder. Former Bonanno family underboss now in the witness protection program Salvatore “Good Looking Sal” Vitale also was called to testify about the basic’s of mob activity. Colombo mobsters Dino Saracino and Tommy Gioeli were also charged in the Dols murder but were acquitted last year. Attorney Susan Kellman claims there is no evidence to link her client Cacace to the Dols murder and prosecutors are hoping that he is found guilty solely because he is associated to organized crime. Kellman called the witnesses being called by prosecutors animals , maniacs, and soulless killers looking to save themselves by lying about her client.
 

Cacace is facing an additional 10 years in prison for his part in the 1987 murder of mafia prosecutor William Aronwald. It is believed that Cacace on order from Carmine Persico helped set up the hit on Aronwald but it was botched and his elderly father was killed instead. Cacace then had fellow mobster Eddie Carnini killed because of the botched slaying and shacked up with Carnini’s widow Kennaugh.

Former Colombo crime family acting boss Thomas “Tommy Shots” Gioeli claims feds are trying to frame fellow mobster Joel “Joe Waverly” Cacace with murder of NYPD cop Ralph Dols. Cacace is currently on trial for ordering Colombo family underlings to kill Dols. Tommy Shots isn’t defending Cacace from the witness stand but instead on his blog that he writes from prison. Gioeli was himself charged in the Dols murder but was found not guilty in a previous trial. He now claims Colombo mobsters Dino Calabro and Joe Competiello killed Dols on orders from former and now deceased Colombo underboss Bill “Wild Bill” Cutolo. Both Calabro and Competiello are mob rats that have testified at the trials of Gioeli and now Cacace.

“Thomas Gioeli”

Gioeli claims that the Dols murder was connected to Cutolo’s illegal businesses he was running with help of some bad cops which included dealing of drugs and steriods. After Dols was killed Gioeli said he began to hear rumors involving Dols these bad cops , Russians, steriods and more leading him to surmise that Dols hit had something to do with Cutolo. Tommy Shots says after his arrest that some cops from NYPD supplied some credible evidence that it was Cutolo who ordered the hit on Dols. Gioeli said by time this evidence was brought forward he had already known it was true and that it was Calabro and Competillo that killed Cutolo.
 

He claims they killed Cutolo to protect themselves as they believed he may become a government informant and could implicate them in Dols murder. It was believed Cutolo was the target of a major FBI mafia investigation and if he was convicted would turn rat because he had become too rich and soft to do a serious prison term. Gioeli said Calabro was scared that Cutolo would save his own self by handing over him and Competiello as cop killers to feds. Cutolo was just another loose end for Calabro and they killed him on the sneak says Gioeli.

Long time Bonanno crime family captain Patrick DeFilippo has passed away in federal prison at the age of 74 according to Bureau of Prisons reports. He was reported to have suffered from arteriosclerosis and after having congestive heart failure was fitted with a pacemaker. It was also reported back in 2012 that he had once died in a prison hospital but was brought back by medical intervention and since suffered from fainting spells. DeFilippo was convicted back in 2006 of racketeering conspiracy among other charges and was serving a 40 year sentence which has now amounted to a life sentence. DeFilippo was on trial then with former Bonanno family boss Vincent Basciano who he brought into the crime family years before and who at one point wanted to kill while they were both out on streets him according to federal prosecutors.

“Patrick DeFilippo”

DeFilippo has long held ties to the Bonanno family starting with his father who was a close friend of late Joseph Bonanno. According to prosecutors DeFilippo helped run the crime families Bronx based illegal gambling operations for years. Former Bonanno underboss turned rat Sal Vitale testified that DeFilippo was on a list of Bonanno capo’s who had to make ten percent payments from Joker Poker profits up to then mob boss Joseph Massino. DeFilippo also known as “Patty from the Bronx” is yet another of the few remaining old school mobsters left in the New York mafia to have been taken off streets either by feds or death. Funeral and burial information for DeFilippo are not yet known.

Colombo crime family mobster Joel “Joe Waverly” Cacace has been acquitted of ordering the murder of NYPD cop Ralph Dols back in 1997. It only took the federal jury four hours of deliberating to come back with the not guilty verdict as they rejected testimony from cooperating witnesses Joseph Competiello and Dino Calabro both part of the Dols hit team. Prosecutors tried to prove that Cacace ordered the hit on Dols because he married the wiseguys ex-wife and had a baby with him and he felt disrespected. A separate jury last year cleared fellow Colombo family mobsters Thomas “Tommy Shots” Gioeli and Dino Saracino of carrying out the alleged orders from Cacace. Dols was shot and killed in front of his home in Sheepshead Bay. After hearing the verdict Cacace nodded his head as he smiled and hugged his lawyer before blowing a kiss to his family sitting in court.

“Joel Cacace”

Although he was found not guilty Cacace is not walking away a free man as he is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence for racketeering. He admitted to ordering the hit against William Aronwald a federal prosecutor in 1987 that lead to the mob busters father being killed by mistake. The 72 year old Cacace is not due to be released until 2020. Joe Waverly’s son Steve said outside court room that truth prevailed and his sister Kathy Vandina added that it was the best day of her life. Sober FBI agents along with Dols mother and sister left the court room with his mom saying the outcome was very upsetting.

A group of Genovese crime family mobsters and associates have coped plea deals to a range of mafia crime. In April of 2012 eleven wiseguys were busted on charges ranging from shaking down San Gennaro festival vendors and extorting major construction project contractors. The quintet of mobsters that coped plea’s on Wednesday included Genovese family captain Conrad Ianniello and soldiers James Bernardone and Salvester Zarzana along with mob associates Ryan Ellis and Paul Gasparrini. Ianniello who handled shake downs at the San Gennaro festival on behalf of the Genovese family is also charged with running union fixing scams and local illegal gambling operations for the crime family.

“James Barnardone”

James Bernardone serves as Local 124 of the International Union of Journeymen and Allied Trades Secretary Treasurer. Fellow mob soldier Salvester Zarzana was formerly the head of Local 926 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. Ianniello plead guilty to gambling and extortion charges which Bernardone plead guilty to shaking down contractors on behalf of New York mafia in Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. All of the wiseguys are currently out on bail and will remain out until they are sentencing which is scheduled for March 14th.

Genovese crime family mobster turned rat Anthony “Bingy” Arillotta is set to be sentenced in March for his part in the murder of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno the Genovese family boss in Connecticut among others. Arillotta is looking to cash in for his cooperation and testimony against his fellow mobsters. He testified in two separate trials in 2011 and 2012 in New York delivering information on Mafia life and multiple murder plots including that of Bruno and mob associate Gary Westerman. He supplied key testimony against former mob hit men Fotios “Freddy” Geas and brother Ty Geas and former Genovese family acting boss Arthur “Artie” Nigro.

“Anthony Arillotta”

Arillotta testified that permission to murder Bruno was oked by bosses of the New York Mafia and that Nigro ultimately gave the order. He said they paid hit man Frankie A. Roche $10,000 to gun Bruno down cowboy style in 2003. He also admitted to shaking down local Springfield business owners along with the Geas brothers along with details of how they murdered Westerman because they thought he may have been an informant. He also testified against mob loan shark Emilio Fusco and implicated him in the murder of Bruno and Westerman but Fusco was later acquitted of both murders but got 25 years in prison for racketeering. Nigro along with both Geas brothers were convicted on murder charges and are currently serving life sentences.
 

Although Arillotta is the most high profile defendant in the case there were other mob informants who testified. Triggerman Frankie Roche along with lower level mobsters Felix Tranghese and John Bologna all flipped. In return for there coopetation Roche received a 14 year prison term, Tranghese got a 4 year term, and Bologna eight years. It is still unknown as the what range of sentencing Arillotta is facing and how big of a break he will get for his testimony. One thing is for sure he will definately be looking to cash in on his decision to cooperate.

Edward “Tall Guy” Garofalo Jr a reputed enforcer for the Colombo crime family has been sentenced to seven years in prison for murder conspiracy, witness tampering, and extortion. The 46 year old mobsters in Brooklyn federal court on Friday looked like a guy who has been in prison for last three years. It is a shock to most that he is the husband of Alicia DiMichele a sexy star in the reality TV series Mob Wives. The 40 year old DiMichele is herself waiting to be sentenced for the embezzlement of union funds from a trucking company owned by the couple and may also find herself in prison. Garofalo was also ordered to receive counseling for gambling upon his release and to avoid contact with organized crime figures which didn’t include his wife.

“Edward Garofalo Jr”

DiMichele just recently made her reality TV debut even though sources say Edward strongly objected to her being on the Mob Wives show especially alongside Karen Gravano the daughter of former mobster Salvatore “Sammy Bull” Gravano. Garofalo’s father Edward Garofalo Sr. was killed by members of a crew from Gambino family led by Sammy Gravano on orders from former Gambino family boss John Gotti. Karen Gravano is no longer a part of the Mob Wives cast so there is no chance of friction between the two. DiMichele has stated that she has links of her own to the Mafia or organized crime. She had no comment on the sentencing of her husband or her upcoming sentencing as she left the court house accompanied by her brother Anthony.

“Alicia DiMichele leaving Court”

“Alicia DiMichele”