Historical Italian Mafia boss and several of his members arrested in New York

The supposed leader of one of the Historic Italian mafia families in New York and several suspected members were arrested on Tuesday and charged in a massive racketeering case. filed by prosecutors.

The indictment, filed in Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, seeks 10 Colombo family members for multiple crimes including extortion and money laundering. Soon they were accused of blackmail a construction workers union for two decades.

Andrew “Mush” Russo, 87 years old, head of the Colombo family, their number two, Benjamin Castellazzo, 83, and the advisor Ralph DiMatteo are part of a total of 14 accusedprosecutors said.

Russo and Castellazzo were arrested on Tuesday and are expected to undergo a virtual proceeding in Brooklyn court later today. DiMatteo is still at large, prosecutors said.

They are accused of searching infiltrate and take control of a union, even going as far as the health insurance fund.

According to prosecutors, The Colombos had been exploiting a plot to extort money from the management of a construction union for the past 20 years. to make decisions in favor of their company and to keep part of their salary.

The suspected criminals used for this various threats; For example, the Office of the Prosecutor highlights an appeal recorded last June in which one of the defendants threatened to assassinate a union leader if he does not comply with their demands.

“Everything we allege in this investigation proves that The story repeats itself. The support of New York’s criminal families is alive and well. These soldiers, consiglieres, sous-chefs and leaders are clearly not history students and they do not seem to understand that they are going to be caught. “FBI New York bureau deputy director Michael Driscoll said in a note.

Family Colombo is one of the five main Italian-American mafia organizations in the northeast of the country. The other families are the Genovese, Lucchese, Gambino and Bonanno.

The entire Colombo Crime Family Administration, including RUsso and Castellazzo, have already pleaded guilty to various gangster activities in 2012.

Russo, convicted of crimes on seven occasions, was put in freedom for the last time in 2013.

The New York Mafia has been weakened by several coups d’état in recent years, including arrests, fratricidal fights and competition from other criminal organizations, but they are still considered active.

The chief of the Gambino clan, “Frank” Cali, was shot and killed outside his home in New York City’s Staten Island in March 2019.

With information from AFP and EFE

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