new Colombo Family indictment

[Allie Shades]

PRESS RELEASE

INDICTMENT UNSEALED CHARGING COLOMBO FAMILY ADMINISTRATION MEMBER THEODORE PERSICO AND SEVEN OTHER DEFENDANTS

Charges Include a Colombo Family Kickback and Extortion Scheme on Demolition Work at the World Trade Center Construction Site

An eight-count indictment was unsealed this morning in Brooklyn federal court charging eight defendants – Theodore Persico, Jr., Michael Persico, Thomas Petrizzo, Edward Garofalo, Jr., James Bombino, Louis Romeo, Alicia Dimichelle, and Mike LNU variously with racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, extortion, and embezzlement of union benefit funds.1 The defendants, who were arrested earlier today, are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James M. Orenstein, at the United States Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Sandra L. Townes.

The charges were announced by Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph M. Demarest, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, and Marjorie Franzman, Special Agent- in-Charge, New York Regional Office, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

As alleged in the indictment and the detention memorandum filed today by the government, Theodore Persico, Jr. is a member of the administration of the Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra, Petrizzo is a Colombo family soldier, and Michael Persico, Garofalo, and Bombino are Colombo family associates. The indictment is the product of a multi-year investigation in which the FBI used a cooperating witness to infiltrate the Colombo family and make hundreds of consensual recordings.

The charges include the Colombo family’s use of a trucking company they controlled, All Around Trucking (“All Around”), to execute a kickback and extortion scheme for debris removal subcontracting from Testa Corporation, a demolition contractor headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts (“Testa”). The Colombo family carried out the scheme at locations including the World Trade Center construction site, and the Newtown Creek wastewater treatment plant on the border between Brooklyn and Queens. Specifically, as detailed in the detention memorandum, Theodore Persico, Jr., Michael Persico, and others agreed that, in exchange for All Around obtaining debris removal subcontracting with Testa, All Around would kickback a portion of its profits as a commercial bribe to a Testa foreman. After All Around secured subcontracting work with Testa, Colombo family associates threatened Testa employees when Testa failed to pay All Around on the timetable set by the crime family. Consensual recordings captured defendant Michael Persico directing Bombino to threaten Testa employees, and captured Bombino reporting back to Michael Persico that, when Bombino made the threats, the Testa employees were “shakin’ in their boots over us.” Other charges in the indictment include an extortion of a furniture store owner, in which Michael Persico forced the furniture store owner to give Bombino control of the store until the owner repaid a loan owed to Colombo family associates.

The indictment also charges Colombo associate Garofalo and his wife, Alicia Dimichelle, with embezzlement from the welfare benefit plan and pension benefit plan funds operated on behalf of union laborers of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 282. As described in the detention memorandum, Garofalo and Dimichelle engaged in a double-breasting scheme in which they used Colombo-controlled non-union shell companies, including DM Equipment, Big R Trucking, T&E Leasing, and Roman Sand and Stone, to circumvent Local 282 collective bargaining agreement union benefit contribution requirements.

The indictment is the latest in the Office’s on-going efforts to dismantle the Colombo family. Those efforts have led in recent years to indictments and convictions of numerous members of the highest echelons of the crime family, including the 2007 conviction of former Colombo acting boss Alphonse Persico, Jr. and former Colombo administration member John DeRoss on murder in-aid-of racketeering and witness tampering charges, the 2008 conviction of Colombo captain Joseph Baudanza and others on stock fraud charges, and the 2009 indictment of former Colombo street boss Thomas Gioeli and other Colombo captains, soldiers, and associates on numerous racketeering-related murder charges and other crimes of violence.

“La Cosa Nostra continues to profit illegally in numerous sectors of our economy, allegedly including the World Trade Center construction site,” stated United States Attorney Campbell. “Our Office is dedicated to eliminating these crime families, which take a significant economic toll.” United States Attorney Campbell praised the outstanding investigative efforts by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Demarest stated, “This case illustrates yet again that the mob’s aim is to make money, and the means is almost always violence or the threat of violence. Historically, the FBI referred to the economic impact of mob schemes as ‘the mob tax.’ Our goal continues to be elimination of the mob tax.”

DOL/OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Franzman stated, “Today’s RICO indictment represents a significant milestone in our efforts to eliminate the far reaching extortionate control of demolition trucking companies in New York City by the Colombo organized crime family. Through their actions, two of the defendants allegedly caused the theft of International Brotherhood of Teamsters LU 282 employee benefit plan assets, directly impacting the welfare and retirement benefits of many union members. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat this type of labor racketeering.”

If convicted of the most serious offenses, seven of the eight defendants face a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment. Defendant Alicia Dimichele faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Busa, Michael Tremonte, and Duncan Levin.

The Defendants:

JAMES C. BOMBINO
Age: 47

ALICIA DIMICHELE, also known as “Alicia Garofalo”
Age: 36

EDWARD GAROFALO, JR., also known as “Bobble” and “Tall Guy”
Age: 43

MIKE LNU

MICHAEL J. PERSICO
Age: 53

THEODORE N. PERSICO, JR., also known as “Skinny” and “Teddy”
Age: 46

THOMAS PETRIZZO
Age: 76

LOUIS ROMEO
Age: 44

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nye/pr/2010/2010mar09.html

[pmac]

there goes this guy thomis petrizzo, i read hes the father inlaw to one of the perisco's, sammy the bull wrote in his auto how they cut up millions in the construction rackets in the 80tys he was on oreana side in the war caught on a wire saying "they all should be killed "this guys a bad ass, beat a rico case with wild bill crazy, mypoint is this guy has to be the boss a soldier nah? ralph deleo is the street boss no way, this guy has the creditials maybe he did'nt want the title, i think the colombo's have one of those secret bosses like chin, a front boss. the papers are always saying how screwed up they are but they still making big bucks. there's alot of older powerfull colombo's guy's still kicking wonder how much respect they had for a guy like dino c. that just flipped? look on the list, there family is small but those guys did there time fought there war and still in nyc. or florida.

[Allie Shades]

there goes this guy thomis petrizzo, i read hes the father inlaw to one of the perisco's, sammy the bull wrote in his auto how they cut up millions in the construction rackets in the 80tys he was on oreana side in the war caught on a wire saying "they all should be killed "this guys a bad ass, beat a rico case with wild bill crazy, mypoint is this guy has to be the boss a soldier nah? ralph deleo is the street boss no way, this guy has the creditials maybe he did'nt want the title, i think the colombo's have one of those secret bosses like chin, a front boss. the papers are always saying how screwed up they are but they still making big bucks. there's alot of older powerfull colombo's guy's still kicking wonder how much respect they had for a guy like dino c. that just flipped? look on the list, there family is small but those guys did there time fought there war and still in nyc. or florida.

We'll see how much is left after Sparaco and Big Dino get done testifying. A lot of guys who got away with stuff during the War are gonna go down. Plus i really think that Little Dino is gonna flip, as Big Dino has him dead to rights on at least 1 murder. it's gonna be an interesting time in NYC over the next year or so.

[crazy joe]

I remember when the government said the mob ran the garbage pick up in New York and indicted some people that tried to extort b.f.i.waste ,yes it was an f.b.i. company.After the government put some people away it was announced that lower cost for garbage pick will now be the way for New York, but that never happen and b.f.i. now has the contracts to pick up the garbage .To me this looks like a power move by the government to take over the garbage industry.Then if you look back to the 80`s Rudy Giuliani announced that he broke up the mob and its control over construction,and the cost to build will come down, and that will make the price to buy and rent in manhattan come down,that never happen.Today the cost in manhattan is high,and not to long ago Rudy Guiuliani friend Bernie Kerik was arrested for having a contractor do some major work as a "favor" to him,the contractor by the way was forced to testify back in the 80`s against the guys that Rudy called mobsters.Now its the demolition and trucking the government has gone after and union local 282,but how is that since Sammy the bull testified back in the 90`s against local 282 and the government took over the local and put their hand picked people to run the local,so wouldnt that mean that the governments people took the employee benefits and retirement funds for themselfs.How long before the company thats is called testa is being called teats and the government controls that to.Wake up its not about a so called mafia its about the government controlling everything.

[pmac]

everything above is right on, the manhatten rent control good bye black harlem by 2020. the dino guy shot a cop i dont know how a jury in nyc gonna feel about that and he can probaly just take out his crew and blood family judge is still giving him 20 . this other guy sparaco knows about stuff 20tys ago but he was scaming pows from jail, pow's american vets, those guys are always on the jurys very bad charge aint that treason, and like you said its gonna be very interesting the writters will be having a field day plus the al bruno murder trial, this staten island jeweler murder trial, jerry c says petrizzo is only charged with 1 count extortion and not the rico indictment so he will be pleading for a couple months, also some boston mobsters were involved, maybe the guy ralph dileo the surposed street boss, the guy picked up on drug and gun charges last year his crew was outta boston(summerville) he's not indicted, who knows. couple mispells.