US indicts 17 in NY linked to Gambino crime family
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - Seventeen alleged members or associates of the Gambino crime family, including reputed boss Peter Gotti, were indicted on Tuesday on extortion and corruption charges relating to operations on the New York waterfront, federal officials said.
U.S. Attorney Alan Vinegrad said the charges were the culmination of a three-year investigation that "revealed a stark picture of the mob extortionate control over the waterfront in almost every conceivable way."
"What all of this shows is that when it comes to the waterfront, the greedy grip of organized crime knows no bounds," Vinegrad said at a news conference.
Focusing on the Gambino family's influence on labor unions and businesses operating at piers in Brooklyn and Staten Island, the government alleged that corruption extended to rigging the selection of executive positions at the International Longshoreman's Association, a labor organization representing 85,000 union members in the United States.
The 68-count indictment charged the 17 men with an array of crimes including extortion, wire fraud, labor racketeering, money laundering, illegal gambling and witness tampering.
Peter Gotti, at the top of the list of those indicted, allegedly became head of the Gambino family after his brother, John Gotti, was convicted of racketeering in 1999.
The government claimed Peter Gotti received monthly payments for several years from extortion and gambling rackets.
Charges of extortion and wire fraud against the longshoreman's association and its national health plan were also lodged.
State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer asked that five of the 17 men be detained pending trial on the grounds they posed a serious danger to the community and could try to leave the country.
The five were Peter Gotti, Anthony Ciccone, an alleged captain in the Gambino family, Primo Cassarino, an alleged soldier, and Richard Bondi and Frank Scollo, Gambino family associates, the government said.
06/04/02 14:49 ET |
