PHOTO: U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Courtesy of Wikimedia
By Forum Staff
A superseding indictment charging 18 men – including five borough residents – with racketeering conspiracy, murder conspiracy, attempted murder, extortion conspiracy, firearms offenses, and with running an illegal gambling operation relating to their participation in the criminal affairs of the Genovese Family of La Cosa Nostra was unsealed last week in Manhattan federal court, according to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
Of the 18 defendants charged in the indictment, 17 are currently in custody, including 13 defendants who were arrested last Thursday morning as part of a coordinated takedown by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, NYPD, and Nassau County Police Department.
The Queens residents that were swept up in the takedown are Robert DeBello, 74, Luigi Romano, 38, and Luigi Caminiti, 35, of Whitestone; Ryan Ellis, 34, of Bayside; and Salvatore Delligatti, 40, of Oakland Gardens.
“Today’s charges show that the mob continues to wreak havoc in our communities, including through a recent murder conspiracy, attempted murder, and extortion,” Bharara said. “With today’s charges, we strike an important blow against the Genovese Crime Family. Whether you are an old school made member of the mob or a young street criminal looking to join it, the message today is clear: the life of a mobster is a dead-end street that ends nowhere good. I thank our law enforcement partners at the NYPD, FBI and Nassau County Police Commissioner, as well as, in particular, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, for the incredible work in this important case.”
According to the 24-page indictment, from at least in or about 2008 through in or about May 2016, DeBello, Ellis, and Delligatti, among others, conspired to participate in the criminal affairs of the Genovese Family through a pattern of racketeering activity. For example, in connection with their involvement in the racketeering activity of the Family, DeBello, as well as Ellis and Delligatti participated in a 2014 conspiracy to commit a murder, in an attempted murder, in a conspiracy to commit extortion, and in the operation of an illegal gambling business.
“This racket was as old as La Cosa Nostra. From murder for hire to extortion and gambling, there wasn’t a scheme that was off limits to these soldiers and associates of the Genovese Family,” said City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. “The mob may be diminished, but it’s not dead, and it requires our continued vigilance. I commend of the FBI, Nassau County Police, U.S. Attorney, and team of NYPD detectives who made today’s arrests possible.”
FBI Assistant-Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez, who was raised in Briarwood, echoed Bratton’s sentiments.
“The crimes of extortion for so-called ‘protection,’ illegal gambling businesses, and conspiracy to commit murder are woven into the history of organized crime families, but so are the federal racketeering charges that wise guys face after committing those criminal activities,” he said. “Today, 18 defendants were indicted as part of a multi-year investigation by the FBI and our partners at Nassau County Police Department and New York City Police Department. As long as organized crime members and associates keep their criminal ways, we will keep investigating and bringing charges against them.”
