Bonanno Acting Capo Ronnie G Must Sell Howard Beach Mansion as per $1.25M Forfeiture
Reputed Bonanno crime family acting capo Ronald (Ronnie G) Giallanzo, who pleaded guilty on Monday to running a loansharking ring based in Queens, was ordered to sell his 86th Street Howard Beach mansion.
He must put whatever price he gets towards the $1.23 million he's been ordered to forfeit, but can keep the rest. (He'll still probably come out of this a millionaire; the crew allegedly netted $26 million and the Fed's initially were looking to seize ... $26 million..... why'd the number shrink?)
Giallanzo, whose uncle is Bonanno mobster Vincent Asaro, and nine other Bonanno members and associates were arrested a year ago on a broad swath of criminal chargees, including racketeering, kidnapping, robbery, and attempted murder in Brooklyn federal court.
All 10 ultimately copped pleas, seven last year, Giallanzo and Bonanno soldier Michael Palmaccio this past Monday, and Nicholas (Pudgie) Festa (the only defendant not from Queens, he's from Oceanside on Long Island) pleaded guilty on March 8. The three, made members in the Bonanno crime family face a maximum of 20 years behind bars. Palmaccio and Festa also must pay forfeitures of $500,000 apiece.
“Through their acts of violence, Giallanzo, Palmaccio and Festa reaped substantial illicit profits at the expense of their loansharking victims,” said Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“Mobsters are known for lending large amounts of money at exorbitant rates to individuals who they know lack the financial means of paying off their loans,” added FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr.
“They intentionally extort their victims over extended periods of time using threats of violence as a means of collecting their weekly payments. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book for these crime families, and they’ve shown no inclination to stop harassing and intimidating communities in our area. (The recent) guilty pleas demonstrate that the FBI’s New York Joint Organized Crime Task Force continues to investigate these organized crime groups to hold them accountable and to protect the public.”
The Feds have never hid their interest in Giallanzo's mansion, noting at the time of the March 2017 arrests that Giallanzo reputedly spent millions to build a mansion in Howard Beach, Queens. The estate "is a daily visual reminder to those in his neighborhood of his wealth,” the Feds said at the time.
"In addition to compiling tremendous (but ill-gotten) wealth, Giallanzo solidified his position in the Bonanno crime family and power in the Howard Beach community through numerous acts of violence, including murder conspiracy, arson, extortion, and other offenses," a federal detention memo noted.
In the summer of 2006, Giallanzo, out on bail, allegedly went with his crew to kill someone in the neighborhood. This resulted in "at least" four shootings in Howard Beach over the course of three months, the New York Post reported.
According to records presented during the plea proceeding: Giallanzo, Palmaccio, and Festa were members of a Bonanno family crew that operated primarily in Howard Beach, Queens.
Giallanzo operated a lucrative loansharking business in which he provided money to, among others, Palmaccio and Festa, to extend and collect extortionate loans to numerous individuals.
Even while incarcerated for a prior federal conviction for racketeering and extortion conspiracy, Giallanzo kept watch over his illicit loansharking business, directing his associates to commit acts of violence to ensure that the customers paid the weekly interest rate.
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| Before and after pictures of Giallanzo's home. |
He must put whatever price he gets towards the $1.23 million he's been ordered to forfeit, but can keep the rest. (He'll still probably come out of this a millionaire; the crew allegedly netted $26 million and the Fed's initially were looking to seize ... $26 million..... why'd the number shrink?)
Giallanzo, whose uncle is Bonanno mobster Vincent Asaro, and nine other Bonanno members and associates were arrested a year ago on a broad swath of criminal chargees, including racketeering, kidnapping, robbery, and attempted murder in Brooklyn federal court.
All 10 ultimately copped pleas, seven last year, Giallanzo and Bonanno soldier Michael Palmaccio this past Monday, and Nicholas (Pudgie) Festa (the only defendant not from Queens, he's from Oceanside on Long Island) pleaded guilty on March 8. The three, made members in the Bonanno crime family face a maximum of 20 years behind bars. Palmaccio and Festa also must pay forfeitures of $500,000 apiece.
“Through their acts of violence, Giallanzo, Palmaccio and Festa reaped substantial illicit profits at the expense of their loansharking victims,” said Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“Mobsters are known for lending large amounts of money at exorbitant rates to individuals who they know lack the financial means of paying off their loans,” added FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr.
“They intentionally extort their victims over extended periods of time using threats of violence as a means of collecting their weekly payments. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book for these crime families, and they’ve shown no inclination to stop harassing and intimidating communities in our area. (The recent) guilty pleas demonstrate that the FBI’s New York Joint Organized Crime Task Force continues to investigate these organized crime groups to hold them accountable and to protect the public.”
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Giallanzo, 46, became acting capo in 2014, when his cousin, Jerome Asaro, was arrested.
The Feds have never hid their interest in Giallanzo's mansion, noting at the time of the March 2017 arrests that Giallanzo reputedly spent millions to build a mansion in Howard Beach, Queens. The estate "is a daily visual reminder to those in his neighborhood of his wealth,” the Feds said at the time.
"In addition to compiling tremendous (but ill-gotten) wealth, Giallanzo solidified his position in the Bonanno crime family and power in the Howard Beach community through numerous acts of violence, including murder conspiracy, arson, extortion, and other offenses," a federal detention memo noted.
In the summer of 2006, Giallanzo, out on bail, allegedly went with his crew to kill someone in the neighborhood. This resulted in "at least" four shootings in Howard Beach over the course of three months, the New York Post reported.
According to records presented during the plea proceeding: Giallanzo, Palmaccio, and Festa were members of a Bonanno family crew that operated primarily in Howard Beach, Queens.
Giallanzo operated a lucrative loansharking business in which he provided money to, among others, Palmaccio and Festa, to extend and collect extortionate loans to numerous individuals.
Even while incarcerated for a prior federal conviction for racketeering and extortion conspiracy, Giallanzo kept watch over his illicit loansharking business, directing his associates to commit acts of violence to ensure that the customers paid the weekly interest rate.
At one point, Giallanzo had lent more than $3 million in extortionate loans to customers.
At his guilty plea, Giallanzo admitted to participating in the affairs of the Bonanno family by extending and collecting extortionate loans to five different victims, and agreed to forfeit $1.25 million.
As part of his agreement with the government, Giallanzo is also required to sell the Howard Beach mansion he constructed with loansharking proceeds while he was on supervised release stemming from his prior federal conviction. Palmaccio and Festa admitted to participating in the affairs of the Bonanno family by extending and collecting extortionate loans to five victims and two victims, respectively, and each agreed to forfeit $500,000.
As for the Howard Beach home, the Queens Chronicle reported that the 164-04 86 St. site was changed from a small, single-family house into a brick mansion. According to court documents, Giallanzo used “millions” from the illicit business to “purchase, construct and design” the mansion, which prosecutors say was a “daily visual reminder to those in his neighborhood of his wealth and power.”
The property sold for $980,000 in 2015. The listed owner is Elizabeth Giallanzo, Ronald’s wife, who purchased it from Rob Pisani, a co-defendant in the loansharking case who pleaded guilty late last year.
At his guilty plea, Giallanzo admitted to participating in the affairs of the Bonanno family by extending and collecting extortionate loans to five different victims, and agreed to forfeit $1.25 million.
As part of his agreement with the government, Giallanzo is also required to sell the Howard Beach mansion he constructed with loansharking proceeds while he was on supervised release stemming from his prior federal conviction. Palmaccio and Festa admitted to participating in the affairs of the Bonanno family by extending and collecting extortionate loans to five victims and two victims, respectively, and each agreed to forfeit $500,000.
As for the Howard Beach home, the Queens Chronicle reported that the 164-04 86 St. site was changed from a small, single-family house into a brick mansion. According to court documents, Giallanzo used “millions” from the illicit business to “purchase, construct and design” the mansion, which prosecutors say was a “daily visual reminder to those in his neighborhood of his wealth and power.”
The property sold for $980,000 in 2015. The listed owner is Elizabeth Giallanzo, Ronald’s wife, who purchased it from Rob Pisani, a co-defendant in the loansharking case who pleaded guilty late last year.
The Defendants:
RONALD GIALLANZO
Age: 46
Age: 46
Queens, NY
MICHAEL PADAVONA
Age: 48
Queens, NY
MICHAEL PALMACCIO
Age: 45
Queens, NY
NICHOLAS FESTA
Age: 36
Oceanside, NY
CHRISTOPHER BOOTHBY
Age: 37
Queens, NY
EVAN GREENBERG
Age: 45
Queens, NY
RICHARD HECK
Age: 45
Queens, NY
MICHAEL HINTZE
Age: 53
Queens, NY
ROBERT PISANI
Age: 44
Queens, NY
ROBERT TANICO
Age: 49
Queens, NY
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