Fourteen people, including the entire upper echelon of the Colombo crime family, were charged in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday afternoon on an indictment that included counts of labor racketeering, extortion and money laundering, authorities said.
Federal authorities said the series of arrests, which involve defendants from Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn and New Jersey, are related to multiple schemes that are part of an effort by the crime family to take control of a Queens-based labor union and its health care benefit program while allegedly committing fraud in connection to workplace safety certifications.
Feds say Andrew (Mush) Russo, the reputed boss of the Colombo crime family; Benjamin (Benji) Castellazzo, the underboss; and Ralph DiMatteo, the consigliere, were among those charged.
“Today’s charges describe a long-standing, ruthless pattern by the administration of the Colombo crime family, its captains, members and associates, of conspiring to exert control over the management of a labor union by threatening to inflict bodily harm on one of its senior officials and devising a scheme to divert and launder vendor contract funds from its health care benefit program,” said Acting U.S Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis.
“Today's charges describe a long-standing, ruthless pattern by the administration of the Colombo crime family, its captains, members and associates, of conspiring to exert control over the management of a labor union by threatening to inflict bodily harm on one of its senior officials and devising a scheme to divert and launder vendor contract funds from its health care benefit program."
“In addition, for their own enrichment, the defendants conspired to engage in extortionate loansharking, money laundering and fraud, as well as drug trafficking,” said Kasulis. “This office and its law enforcement partners are committed to dismantling organized crime families, eliminating their corrupt influence in our communities and protecting the independence of labor unions.”
Alleged Colombo crime family captains Theodore Persico Jr., Richard Ferrara and Vincent Ricciardo were charged with racketeering, along with reputed soldier Michael Uvino and alleged associates Thomas Costa and Domenick Ricciardo, authorities said.
Additionally, alleged Bonanno family soldier John Ragano is charged with loansharking, fraud and drug trafficking offenses.
The group of defendants were arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday afternoon.
“Everything we allege in this investigation proves history does indeed repeat itself. The underbelly of the crime families in New York City is alive and well,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll. “These soldiers, consiglieres, under bosses, and bosses are obviously not students of history, and don’t seem to comprehend that we’re going to catch them.”
“Regardless of how many times they fill the void we create in their ranks, our FBI Organized Crime Task Force, and our law enforcement partners, are positioned to take them out again, and again,” added Driscoll.
Castellazzo was previously sentenced to 63 months in prison for extorting a Brooklyn construction company and The Square pizzeria in Dongan Hills. The Daily News reported he made an unsuccessful plea to have his sentence reduced, claiming that he was living in a New Jersey trailer park while his wife was surviving on food stamps.
Authorities allege the Colombo captains made direct threats of bodily harm to the management of the labor union to cause the group to make decisions that benefited the crime family.
Since 2001, Vincent Ricciardo and his cousin Domenick Ricciardo have collected a portion of the salary of a senior official in the labor union by threatening to harm the individual and his family, court documents allege.
At the direction of the crime family’s leadership, federal authorities said that effort was broadened to others at the union and the health fund. More than $10,000 was siphoned from the health fund to the Colombo crime family’s administration, authorities allege.
Vincent Ricciardo, Uvino, Ragano and Costa also face loansharking charges for allegedly participating in extending and collecting on extortionate loans that totaled $250,000.
Among other alleged acts, authorities said Ragano was leading a scheme to issue fraudulent workplace safety training certifications.
“Every time construction certifications are faked, every time bogus records are created and used to manipulate the facts, building in this city is undermined and New Yorkers’ safety is compromised,” said city Department of Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnett. “This investigation is evidence of how corruption can erode the integrity of construction in New York City.”
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