I guess the government couldn’t make them an offer they couldn’t refuse…
U.S. authorities arrested dozens of suspected Mafia members on Thursday, charging them with extortion, loan sharking, smuggling, arson, gun trafficking and other crimes.
A federal indictment unsealed in New York tied 46 suspects to four of the city’s five major Mafia outfits – the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese and Bonanno families. Other suspects were part of the main Philadelphia family, the indictment said.
Most of the suspects were arrested in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Florida early on Thursday. Three remain at large, according to U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan.
The multi-year investigation included a mobster-turned-witness who wore a recording device and a federal agent who posed as a member of the conspiracy.
Prosecutors attributed an array of schemes, including gambling rings, untaxed cigarettes sales and fake credit cards, to the suspects.
Those arrested ranged in age from 24 to 80, had nicknames such as “Tony the Cripple” and “Mustache Pat,” and used violence to intimidate their victims, according to authorities.
In a second indictment unsealed in Massachusetts on Thursday, two people were accused of working for the Genovese family in a separate extortion scheme, along with three other members of the family.
In a case unrelated to the federal sweep, the grandson of former New York mob boss John Gotti, also named John, was charged on Thursday by New York City prosecutors with dealing oxycodone and other drugs. The elder John Gotti died in prison of cancer in 2002.
© Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images
The federal case is one of the largest mob-related busts in recent years, as the pace of such prosecutions has slowed since the mafia’s heyday decades ago. Although the mafia is not as powerful as it once was (wink, wink), prosecutors said the investigation shows it is still a potent force.
“Today’s charges against 46 men, including powerful leaders, members and associates of five different La Cosa Nostra families, demonstrate that the mob remains a scourge on this city and around the country,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
In one instance, Pasquale Parrello, known as “Patsy,” instructed several underlings to confront someone who refused to pay off a gambling debt, authorities said.
“You get Buddy and let Buddy go there and choke him,” Parrello said, referring to another suspect, according to prosecutors.
Parrello, 72, was one of the leaders of the conspiracy, along with Eugene “Rooster” O’Nofrio, 74, and Joseph Merlino, 54, prosecutors said. Merlino is believed to be the head of the Philadelphia crime family. (Editing by Bernadette Baum and Bill Trott)
Article source: Reuters.com
I have one question I’ve been asking myself regarding the mafia;
What is it that these guys did, that the government DON’T do or haven’t done?
You know the disturbing thing about the answers I got? Well, the first was “nothing”. Okay, I like the honesty. But the SECOND answer was the one that was more disturbing than hearing a hire-for-murder case.
“The government’s different. They can get away with it”.
Ahh! Now I get it! And this was said by everyday people I’ve asked! There’s not a damn thing these wiseguys did different that the government doesn’t do everyday! But according to most Americans, if it’s the government — what can you do?
After realizing that understanding, I was no longer upset or pissed off with the government, and I totally understood WHY a bullshitter, or a con artist decided to go into politics — look at what the people let them do! Let along get away with it…
So before there’s a possibility of me being called to jury duty for this case — just in case, I demand the government to present to me what these guys did that the government DID NOT do. And any crime they committed that the government did NOT commit yet, then these guys are guilty.
BUT! If the laws are balanced, and NO ONE is above the law, with the permission of the American people, I would demand a full prosecution to the fullest extent of the law against every city, state, and federal government that has committed the following crimes, and possibly be charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act with the following….
1.2 billion counts of extortion (illegally coercing American citizens of paying an illegal amount of money towards bail bonds, taxes, fines, etc.)
500,000 counts of bribery (coercing citizens to bear false witness against each other over alleged taxes owed in exchange for a reward)
31 billion counts of first degree capital murder (against native American tribes, political prisoners and botched executions against innocent inmates who were later found innocent)
1.2 billion counts of racketeering (public school and university system in exchange for a lack of a well educated society, social security denials, healthcare reform, delivering falsified budget information to citizens since 1940)
250,000 counts of extortion via loan sharking (exempting student college loans from declaring bankruptcy over selling a botched product through college degrees, etc.)
1.2 billion counts of drug smuggling through the CIA while creating and funding international drug lords, foreign rebels, and mail fraud through multiple subsidiaries of the CIA.
152,000 counts of gun trafficking through the CIA (Operation: Fast And Furious) to foreign subsidiaries and other drug cartels throughout Latin America including Mexico.
And other crimes.
NOW! The American people could agree with me and say ‘well until you prosecute the government itself FIRST, you mind as well let these guys go’ based on evidence that the United States government do have a serious rap sheet dating way back before the ink went dry after the Constitution was written——–
Or I can go ahead and tell Barrack “The Face” Obama, “Hillbilly” Hillary and George “the Bomb” Bush what a magnificent job they did on behalf of the American family? And I won’t blame your next senator, Congress member, or President for wanting to go into this lucrative crime syndicate industry in the first place.
But what can I say say, it’s the government — it’s just business. Capache?
WHAT’S YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS? FEEL FREE TO THROW YOUR OPINIONS ON THE COMMENTS BELOW, OR SOME UPDATED FACTS THAT I MIGHT’VE MISSED OUT. THANKS
thediary461 