Colombo Member Charged with Money Laundering
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| Andrew Russo, center, jailed Colombo street boss, elevated Farese. |
In another blow to New York's embattled Colombo crime family, FBI agents yesterday arrested its reputed consigliere and charged him with money laundering offenses.
Thomas Farese - who sources said was recently annointed by jailed street boss Andrew (Mush) Russo to be the mob family's consigliere and is its third highest-ranking made-member -- 69, was arrested around 6 a.m. by FBI agents in south Florida where he lives, officials said.
Farese, who is also known as "Tom Mix" and "Mr. T," was ensnared by agents from the FBI's New York office in a probe that relied heavily on information secretly collected by one of the mobster's former Colombo crime family colleagues, sources said.
Reynold Maragni, who served as a Colombo captain until he switched sides to become a federal informant late last year, delivered substantial evidence that suggests Farese was involved in illicit money laundering activities, the sources said.
Maragni, who owns a vacation home in south Florida, wore a hidden "wire" - a recording device to tape conversations with Farese and collect information about the wiseguy's activities, sources said.
Farese was previously convicted of money laundering in a Florida federal court, official records show.
In a related action, FBI agents in Florida also arrested Pat Truglia yesterday.
Truglia, a reputed Colombo crime family associate also based in south Florida, was charged with money laundering offenses, officials said.
Yesterday's developments mark the second time known publicly that Brooklyn federal prosecutors have deployed Maragni to help the FBI assemble a case against his former Colombo colleagues since the former mob captain "flipped."
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