Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for
the Southern District of
New York, and
George Venizelos, the Special Agent-in-Charge
of the New York Office of the FBI, announced today the unsealing of an
indictment against fourteen members and associates of the Gambino
Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra (the Gambino Family) charging
racketeering, murder, sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a minor, jury
tampering, extortion, assault, narcotics trafficking, wire fraud,
loansharking and illegal gambling.
The 14 defendants
charged today are Daniel Marino, Thomas Orefice, Onofrio
Modica, Dominick Difiore, Anthony Manzella, Michael
Scotto, Michael Scarpaci, Thomas Scarpaci, David
Eisler, Salvatore Borgia, Steve Maiurro, Keith
Dellitalia, Suzanne Porcelli and
Anthony Vecchione. Modica was arrested on April
16, 2010. Twelve defendants were arrested early this morning by
the FBI, and Maiurro remains at large. The arrested defendants are
expected to be presented in Manhattan
federal court later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger. The case is assigned to
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. The
initial conference before Judge Kaplan is scheduled for April 21, 2010, at 11
a.m.
As alleged in the
indictment unsealed today in Manhattan
federal court, as well as the government's motion for detention filed
today:
Daniel
Marino is a longtime member and is currently a boss of the
Gambino Family. In that capacity, Marino has over 200 fully-inducted or
"made" mafia members under his command, as well as hundreds of
associates who commit crimes with and for the mafia. Thomas Orefice and
Onofrio Modica are currently soldiers of
the Gambino Family acting under Marino's supervision. Orefice and
Modica each supervise crews that include Dominick
Difiore, Anthony Manzella, Michael Scotto, Michael
Scarpaci, Thomas Scarpaci, David Eisler and Salvatore
Borgia, all of whom are charged with racketeering and
racketeering conspiracy. The indictment also charges other individuals
who committed crimes with and for the Gambino Family, including Steve Maiurro, Keith
Dellitalia, Suzanne Porcelli and Anthony Vecchione.
In addition to the
racketeering charges, the defendants are charged with the following
crimes:
Murder of Thomas Spinelli
Marino is charged with
the 1989 murder of Thomas Spinelli, a
made member of the Gambino Family. In the months leading up to
Spinelli's death, concern arose in the Gambino Family about his
testimony in a federal grand jury about many of the mafia's members and
activities. As a result, Marino, working with various co-conspirators,
including John J. Gotti (who was then
Boss of the Gambino Family) and Salvatore
Gravano (who was then Underboss) set out to kill Spinelli to
prevent him from further testifying. Marino and his co-conspirators
lured Spinelli to a window company in Brooklyn,
where he was shot in the head and killed. Marino then helped to
dispose of Spinelli's body, which has never been found.
Murder of Frank Hydell
Marino is also charged
for the 1998 murder of Frank Hydell. In
1997, suspicion arose within the Gambino Family that Hydell, Marino's
nephew, was cooperating with law enforcement which, in fact, was the
case. Based on these suspicions, various Gambino Family members and
associates plotted to kill Hydell and sought Marino's approval for the
hit. Upon Marino's authorization to kill Hydell, the Gambino Family
members and associates lured Hydell to a strip club in Staten Island where he was shot three times
in the face and back. He died in the strip club's parking lot.
Murder of James DiGuglielmo and Richard
Sbarra
Modica is charged with
the double murder of James DiGuglielmo
and Richard Sbarra. Modica and
DiGuglielmo became involved in a drug-related dispute. As a result, on Aug. 22, 1987, Modica drove his motorcycle with
a shooter riding on the back to a crowded parking lot where the shooter
opened fire at DiGuglielmo. DiGuglielmo and Sbarra, an innocent
bystander, were killed in the drive-by shooting.
Sex Trafficking and
Sex Trafficking of A Minor
Orefice, Difiore,
Manzella, Scotto, Eisler, Maiurro and Porcelli are charged with sex
trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor. From 2008 to 2009, the
defendants operated a prostitution business where young women and girls
-- including an underage girl who was 15 years old at the time -- were
exploited and sold for sex. The defendants first recruited various
young women and girls -- ages 15 through 19 -- to work as prostitutes.
The defendants then advertised the prostitution business on Craigslist
and other websites. The defendants drove the women to appointments in Manhattan, Brooklyn,
New Jersey and Staten Island to have sex with clients. The
defendants then took approximately 50 percent of the money paid to the
young women. The defendants also made the women available for sex to
gamblers at a weekly, high-stakes poker games that Orefice and his crew
ran.
Jury Tampering
In 1992, then-Boss John
J. Gotti was on trial for federal racketeering and murder charges in
the Eastern District of New York.
Modica, along with various other Gambino Family members, took part in a
plot to locate the anonymous, sequestered jurors sitting on that trial.
Modica and the others eventually penetrated various security measures,
and located the jury at the hotel where it was sequestered. The plan
to tamper with the jury was called off, however, when Gotti came to
believe that the jury would not convict him, even without outside
interference.
Extortions and
Assaults
Marino is charged with
extorting broad swaths of the construction industry in and around New York from at least the 1980s to the
present. Through the use of violence and threats, Marino and the
Gambino Family have extorted millions of dollars annually from unions,
contractors, developers and suppliers.
Orefice, Difiore,
Manzella, Scotto, Michael Scarpaci, Thomas Scarpaci, Dellitalia, Eisler and
Vecchione are charged with extorting payments from various businesses
and individuals through the use of violence and threats. The defendants
targeted businesses in the home heating oil industry and the financial
services industry, as well as various individuals in and around New York City.
Several of the
extortions resulted in serious beatings. For example:
- In December
2005, after an extortion victim failed to make a payment,
Orefice, Difiore and Dellitalia punched and used a baseball bat to beat
the victim.
- In 2008, Orefice and Difiore tracked down another
extortion victim who failed to make a payment, beat him viciously, and
left him on the street.
- In the summer of 2009, members of
Orefice's crew went to the office of a business owner in an attempt to
shake him down, demanded to see their extortion victim, and, when
refused, threatened the business owner's office staff.
Wire Fraud
Orefice and Manzella
are charged with defrauding various high-end restaurants in New York City by inflating invoices for meat
orders placed with Manzella's company and paying kickbacks to the chefs
responsible for ordering the meat. The invoices were sometimes inflated
by as much as 40 percent of actual costs. To ensure that the chefs at
the restaurants would continue ordering meat from Manzella's company,
and to encourage them to turn a blind eye to the scam, Orefice and
Manzella kicked back about five percent of the proceeds back to them.
Narcotics
Trafficking
Orefice, Difiore and
Borgia are charged with trafficking in narcotics -- including cocaine,
oxycontin, and marijuana -- for and on behalf of the Gambino Family.
Loansharking
Marino, Orefice,
Difiore, Scotto, Michael Scarpaci and Thomas Scarpaci are charged with making and
collecting extortionate extensions of credit -- commonly known as
"loansharking." When debtors became unable to keep up their repayment
obligations, the defendants threatened them. In one series of
consensually-recorded discussions about the loansharking operation, a
loanshark victim was said to have been "roughed up" and put in the trunk
of a car. The participants then agreed that, if necessary, firearms,
including AK-47s and AR-14s, could be obtained to help ensure repayment
from debtors.
Gambling
Marino, Orefice,
Modica, Difiore, Manzella, Michael Scarpaci,
Thomas Scarpaci, Eisler, Borgia and
Dellitalia are charged with running illegal gambling operations for the
Gambino Family. These operations included an internet-based sports
betting, or "bookmaking," operation, and a regular, high-stakes card
game.
The indictment also
seeks forfeiture of the proceeds of the alleged crimes, including of $20 million as to counts one and two.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: "As today's case
demonstrates, the mafia is not dead. It is alive and kicking. Modern
mobsters may be less colorful, less flamboyant, and less glamorous than
some of their predecessors, but they are still terrorizing businesses,
using baseball bats, and putting people in the hospital. Today, the
Gambino Family has lost one of its leaders, and many of its rising stars
have now fallen. We will continue to work with our partners at the FBI
to eradicate the mafia, and to keep organized crime from victimizing
the businesses, and the people, of this City."
FBI Special
Agent-in-Charge George Venizelos stated: "In some ways, this is not the
Gambino family of John J. Gotti. But
while the leadership may maintain a lower profile, this case shows that
it's still about making money illegally, by whatever means. No crime
seemed too depraved to be exploited if it was a money-maker, including
the sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old. In truth, despite the popular
fascination, it was never really about the thousand-dollar suits. It
was -- and is -- about murder, mayhem and money."
Mr. Bharara praised the
outstanding investigative work of the FBI. Mr. Bharara also noted that
the investigation is continuing.
Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Elie Honig, Steve Kwok and Jason
Hernandez are in charge of the prosecution. The case is being
handled by the Office's Organized Crime Unit.
The charges contained
in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are
presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
