Gambino mafia family busted

Posted on Thursday, February 07, 2008 11:48 AM ET

By Jonathan Dienst, Joseph Valiquette and Alice McQuillan, WNBC


The entire hierarchy of the Gambino organized crime family was rounded up Thursday morning in what law enforcement officials are calling the biggest mafia bust in more than 20 years, WNBC.com has learned.

Dozens of reputed members of the Gambino crime family were charged with murders, drug trafficking, robberies, extortion, and other crimes dating back to the 1970s, authorities said Thursday.

Some 62 people were being sought or were in custody in the New York area.

Investigators said powerful capos and dozens of the Gambino family members and associates are being arrested Thursday morning by teams of federal, state and local investigators.

The arrests took place across New York City and parts of New Jersey and Long Island. As of Thursday morning, the FBI had arrested 54 people in New York City and its northern suburbs, New Jersey and Long Island. Raids were also under way in Italy.

Authorities in Rome said they were targeting alleged members of Mafia families who control drug trafficking between the two sides of the Atlantic.

The 170-page indictment alleges that associates of the crime family extorted people in the construction industry, embezzled from labor unions and engaged in illegal loan sharking and bookmaking.

Here's the latest from NBC Justice Correspondent Pete Williams:

In the indictment, prosecutors charge the alleged mobsters with the full run of organized crime charges - including extortion, drug dealing, running gambling rackets, and stealing from unions - as well as seven murders and one attempted murder.  Much of it reads like a plot out of the Sopranos, with attempts to muscle in on various aspects of the construction business throughout the New York area.  One example of that is the unlikely mix of the mob and NASCAR, with an attempt to take over the building of a new NASCAR track proposed for Staten Island.  Local political opposition eventually blocked the project.

One Gambino family member, Charles Carneglia,  is accused of committing five of the murders, including the killing of a parole officer who arrested him in a diner for violating his parole by carrying a gun. 

Separately, Italian authorities were rounding up 30 suspected mafia members there, including the principal crime family in Sicily.  US authorities said the operations were coordinated and were intended, in part, to help sever ties between US and Italian crime families.

Click here to read the indictment and the full story on the arrests, by the WNBC investigative unit.
 

 

Comments

Good riddance to bad rubbish! As an Italian- American these people disgust me. I have long hated the fact that they are glorified on TV and the movies. They reflect badly on the Italian culture and most people don't realize that they represent less than 1% of the Italian community.    

Chris Gallego, Atlanta, Georgia (Friday, February 08, 2008 9:39 AM)

I agree with Chris!  I lived in Italy for three years, and most Italians are hard working people, trying to make an honest living!  It's too bad that in this day and age the Hollywood has so much control, as to still influence what we think of a particular culture as a whole!  Get real people!  Italians on the whole are a peaceful, loving people, and never in my time in Italy did I ever see anything even closely related to what looked like mob activity.  We Americans have our problems too!  Just look at the gang activity in all of our major cities, this is more of a mob mentality than just being Italian by descent!  Wise up, and look beyond the appearance of someone's culture before casting judgement!!!

Cathy Poff, Cheney, Washington (Friday, February 08, 2008 10:17 AM)

Interesting Italians feel this way, we Jamaicans do feel the same, as we are also characterised in this general manner. The point is we all have problems and issues, we all have persons from our society that will tarnish the reputation of the majority, i think its time we look into ourselves and focus on further minimizing the image portrayed by the minority by ensuring those with honest intentions get the opportunity to do good for themselves, their country and humanity.

Howie, Kingston, Jamaica (Friday, February 08, 2008 11:02 AM)

Wow Cathy... maybe you should look in the mirrow before casting stones.  Most common sense Americans understand that only a very, very small percentage of Italians are what they are depicted in the movies.  Maybe you should think about that before you cast all Americans as buying into the negative stereotypes portrayed in Hollywood of other cultures.

CJ Kull, NYC, NY (Friday, February 08, 2008 12:09 PM)

When is the government going to start rounding suspected mafia members up and throw THEM into concentration camps as suspected terrorists. These people reak more terror than Al Qaeda! When are we going to enact laws that targe ALL so-called gang and mafia members as suspected terrorists and treat them the same way we do the people Guantanomo? That's what I want to know.

John Doria, Seattle, Wash (Friday, February 08, 2008 1:29 PM)

I AM AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN.  HOLLYWWOOD HAS HYPED RACIAL STEREOTYPES (ITALIANS ARE GANGSTERS AND MOB MEMBERS) (MEXICANS ARE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS)
(AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN ARE EITHER BASKETBALL PLAYERS,GANG-BANGERS OR RAPPERS) WHICH ONLY ACTS TO INCREASE THE RACIAL DIVIDE.  PEOPLE DON'T GO SEE THE MOVIES, DON'T BUY INTO THE HYPE. DON'T GIVE THEM DOLLARS TO MAKE MORE OF THESE SENSELESS MOVIES...

GLORIA A AUSTIN CHICAGO ILLINOIS (Friday, February 08, 2008 2:58 PM)

All those who have proven that they can't resist becoming a corrupting influence on society should be seized and executed.  The world has no shortage of people.  The "War on Drugs" should be out-sourced to the Chinese.  China had a really bad opium problem around 1948.  They solved it by executing all the peddlers and all the users.  They haven't had a problem since.  The lawyers should be next.  There are too many of them and all want to be millionaires.  They take a bite out of every legitimate enterprise in America.  Not a lot different from the Mafia.

Howard D. Reed - Midland, Texas (Friday, February 08, 2008 4:42 PM)

If you want to take a look at REAL organized crime, how about Capitol Hill?  Washington, DC?

Rachel (Friday, February 08, 2008 4:54 PM)

Being a Southerner, I can really identify. Less than 2% of the South owned slaves, and of those many had freed them before the Civil War. Slavery no longer exists in the states, yet it still does in Africa. Even so, Southerners seem to constantly be identified as former slave owners, and dumb because we speak slower and with an accent just because we are from the South.  Most people do not realize the Civil War was based far more on state rights and "Southern pride & culture" than the slave issue, even Lincoln had a slave that he set free before signing the Emancipation!  It also seems to be a typical stereo type that we are like Britney Spears, not educated nor intelligent, and that cock fighting is "just a part of Southern culture" (attributed by Whoopi Goldberg defending Vics for his involvement). For the record, I had never even heard of cock fighting anywhere in the South and raised in 5 states all deep South! There are people that are going to participate in violence and crime no matter where they live, and many good people of various cultures are not involved, nor would they sanction these activities if they are aware of them! Let's all move forward and appreciate the uniqueness of different cultures rather than being judgemental or assuming that everyone from that area, that culture, color, or that nationality is the same. Violence and crime are not acceptable to most people regardless of background and culture!

SC Hester, New Orleans, Louisiana (Friday, February 08, 2008 5:10 PM)

I agree with the previous posters.  Many Italians are honest and hard working.  The majority are not Mafia.  I have a very good friend who is Italian and as far as I know he is as honest as a regular person.  Judge not unless ye be judged. They are not all murderous crooks and extortionist bomb throwers.  This is a bad stereotype that Hollywood should change by showing the good ones.  They do exist.  Have you ever heard of Mother Theresa??? Pope Benedict???

Garth Calderhead, Rio Linda, CA (Friday, February 08, 2008 5:15 PM)

there is always room for 1% of anything to make the whole defacto stand out  Roger Clemens- Ron Artest-Lawerence Taylor-Big Bussiness ie.Ken Delaney. Suffice it to say people are more interested to see a train wreck then free rolling highways...sad but true

nick catucci bowie maryland (Friday, February 08, 2008 5:31 PM)

Its the destruction of the mafia, that has caused
americas problem. When u focaus on the italians, u let the rest of the organized crime take a new hold on america with no respect and no rules.Things are worst now than ever. All organized crime has to be attacked,stop the focas on the already weakend italians,target the bigger threats. The italians are not the guys making my neighborhood unliviable and dangerous.

john, Buffalo N.Y. (Sunday, February 10, 2008 1:54 AM)

I agree with John from Buffalo N.Y. Thank God someone has some sense. Re: Gambino mafia family busted! People need a history lesson. Or need to read up on the facts of organized crime. I am sick of Italians being singled out including the Mafia. The Mafia has done some bad, but as I see it they mostly harm people who are affiliated with them in some way, including some of our government officials. Yes, we have the  Cosa Nostra, commonly known as the Mafia. The Neopolitan Camorra, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, and the Apulian Sacra Corona Unita are similar Italian organized crime groups. Other NOTABLE groups include the Irish Mob, Colombian Drug Cartels, the Mexican drug cartels, the Japanese Yakuza, the Chinese Triads, the Russian Mafia, the Mexican Mafia, British Crime Syndicates, the Indian Mafia, the Bulgarian Mafia, the Pashtun Mafia or Pathan Mafia, the Chechen mafia, the Brazilian Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), and the Central American Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). I think I would worry about the MS-13 more than a few Italians. The MS-13 is world wide and very dangerous.

K. Thrift Fairfax, Va. (Tuesday, February 19, 2008 11:50 PM)

I think that the American Police should be focusing on cleaning up the Ghettos rather than the Mafias. The mafias have respect and codes of conduct that the normal Muggers etc don't. To clean up the Streets the low lifes need to be Busted.

Antonio Barmini (Monday, April 21, 2008 7:46 PM)

I agree with K. Thrift from Fairfax, Va. We need to focus more on these other "gangs" or "hoods" like MS13, and the bloods or crips. The mafia has died down alot since the 70's on! As a fellow italian, i don't like all these stereotypes! Just because your italian, mexican, etc. doesn't mean your a bad person! they need to clean up the streets before the look at the mafia!

B.Marrero (Friday, May 02, 2008 12:06 PM)

everyone has their own way of living, the government itself does some unhuman things, do not dare to say you are disgusted by us. God only knows the amount of bad deeds, sins etc. in a so called normal life.

Jose Gambino,Houston,Texas (Monday, June 09, 2008 1:31 AM)

A major takedown of the Gambino family, I wish I could believe that but I don't. A real takedown would be mobsters going to trial and going to prison for a very long time if not for the rest of their lives. Looks like the governments case was all theatrics. If their case was so strong why were so many plea deals offered unless some of their wittness's were unreliable which may have happened. With Jackie the nose getting 15 to 33 months, Dominico Cefalu getting 21 th 27 months Joseph Corozzo getting 3 or 4 years and with many other guys getting around the same thing does that sound like a real take down to you? Let's be realistic John Gotti would have laughed a sentence like that.

mason, citrus heights,ca. (Monday, July 14, 2008 4:12 AM)



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