Gambino Soldier Jimmy LaForte, Serving Time in Philadelphia, Pleads Guilty To Racketeering Conspiracy In Brooklyn
James (Jimmy) LaForte—a strong arm for the Gambino crime family—plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy, Hobbs Act extortion/extortion conspiracy, witness retaliation, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He made the plea in Brooklyn Federal court last Wednesday before US Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo.
The US Attorney for the Eastern District accused LaForte, who holds the rank of soldier, and nine other Gambino wiseguys and associates of using violent extortion, fraud, theft and embezzlement to infiltrate New York's carting and demolition industries.
“These ten Gambino members and associates orchestrated a campaign of violent assaults and property destruction to collect debts and intimidate those employed by competing companies,” said FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle, Jr. “Their collective actions terrorized New York residents and businesses to generate an illegal revenue stream.”
LaForte, 49, who is currently serving time on another case in Philadelphia that also involved his older brother Joseph, is the last of the 10 defendants charged in a 2023 indictment to plead guilty or lose at trial.
LaForte is a grandson of Joseph (Joe the Cat) LaForte, a longtime Gambino soldier who ran the crime family's highly lucrative bookmaking operations. Joe the Cat, as low key as they come, made a fortune in real estate and owned the building that housed the Ravenite Social Club on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, where John Gotti held court in his heyday.
The other Gambino members and associates in the Brooklyn carting and demolition case pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy before US District Judge Frederic Block on October 17, 2025. Those defendants included Gambino capo Joseph (Joe Brooklyn) Lanni, a member of the Gambino family's ruling Sicilian faction who inherited some of underboss Frank Cali's rackets after Cali was senselessly murdered in 2019.
LaForte also plead guilty in the Philadelphia case involving his brother. In September 2024, Jimmy LaForte copped to racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and extortionate collection of debt, as well as obstruction of justice, for a violent assault he committed against a Philadelphia-based attorney. Jimmy LaForte was sentenced to 11.5 years in March 2025 for that case, which centered on crimes committed as part of a criminal enterprise that ran a fraudulent lending operation known as Par Funding. Jimmy's brother Joseph LaForte was founder/president of the entity.
In the Brooklyn case, according to court filings, in 2020 and 2021, LaForte extorted a person who owed money to an associate of LaForte (John Doe 5). After failing to pay LaForte’s associate on time, John Doe 5 was introduced to LaForte, who asked John Doe 5 to run an illegal poker game and a craps game for LaForte. When John Doe 5 asked LaForte after the craps game for John Doe 5’s share of the earnings from running the game, LaForte hit John Doe 5 in the face, knocking John Doe 5 backward and giving him a black eye. LaForte later contacted John Doe 5’s father to force John Doe 5 to pay what LaForte said was John Doe 5’s debt. In text messages exchanged in November 2020, shortly after John Doe 5’s loan, the person who had lent John Doe 5 the money wrote that “[t]his other punk [John Doe 5] is playing games,” and “Might ride up to his house Saturday with one of my guys from down here.” Another party to the conversation responded, “I took him up to c jimmy made it clear” and later added, “We’ll get it. He’s scared to death of jimmy.”
On February 17, 2021, LaForte and Vincent (Vinny Slick) Minsquero assaulted a person who they believed had previously provided information to law enforcement about members and associates of organized crime (John Doe 6). That evening LaForte and Minsquero approached John Doe 6 inside a restaurant. LaForte called John Doe 6 a “rat” and hit John Doe 6 in the face with a bottle. LaForte and Minsquero also flipped John Doe 6’s table, sending drinks and shattered glass everywhere.
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| James LaForte. |
The US Attorney for the Eastern District accused LaForte, who holds the rank of soldier, and nine other Gambino wiseguys and associates of using violent extortion, fraud, theft and embezzlement to infiltrate New York's carting and demolition industries.
“These ten Gambino members and associates orchestrated a campaign of violent assaults and property destruction to collect debts and intimidate those employed by competing companies,” said FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle, Jr. “Their collective actions terrorized New York residents and businesses to generate an illegal revenue stream.”
LaForte, 49, who is currently serving time on another case in Philadelphia that also involved his older brother Joseph, is the last of the 10 defendants charged in a 2023 indictment to plead guilty or lose at trial.
LaForte is a grandson of Joseph (Joe the Cat) LaForte, a longtime Gambino soldier who ran the crime family's highly lucrative bookmaking operations. Joe the Cat, as low key as they come, made a fortune in real estate and owned the building that housed the Ravenite Social Club on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, where John Gotti held court in his heyday.
The other Gambino members and associates in the Brooklyn carting and demolition case pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy before US District Judge Frederic Block on October 17, 2025. Those defendants included Gambino capo Joseph (Joe Brooklyn) Lanni, a member of the Gambino family's ruling Sicilian faction who inherited some of underboss Frank Cali's rackets after Cali was senselessly murdered in 2019.
LaForte also plead guilty in the Philadelphia case involving his brother. In September 2024, Jimmy LaForte copped to racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and extortionate collection of debt, as well as obstruction of justice, for a violent assault he committed against a Philadelphia-based attorney. Jimmy LaForte was sentenced to 11.5 years in March 2025 for that case, which centered on crimes committed as part of a criminal enterprise that ran a fraudulent lending operation known as Par Funding. Jimmy's brother Joseph LaForte was founder/president of the entity.
In the Brooklyn case, according to court filings, in 2020 and 2021, LaForte extorted a person who owed money to an associate of LaForte (John Doe 5). After failing to pay LaForte’s associate on time, John Doe 5 was introduced to LaForte, who asked John Doe 5 to run an illegal poker game and a craps game for LaForte. When John Doe 5 asked LaForte after the craps game for John Doe 5’s share of the earnings from running the game, LaForte hit John Doe 5 in the face, knocking John Doe 5 backward and giving him a black eye. LaForte later contacted John Doe 5’s father to force John Doe 5 to pay what LaForte said was John Doe 5’s debt. In text messages exchanged in November 2020, shortly after John Doe 5’s loan, the person who had lent John Doe 5 the money wrote that “[t]his other punk [John Doe 5] is playing games,” and “Might ride up to his house Saturday with one of my guys from down here.” Another party to the conversation responded, “I took him up to c jimmy made it clear” and later added, “We’ll get it. He’s scared to death of jimmy.”
On February 17, 2021, LaForte and Vincent (Vinny Slick) Minsquero assaulted a person who they believed had previously provided information to law enforcement about members and associates of organized crime (John Doe 6). That evening LaForte and Minsquero approached John Doe 6 inside a restaurant. LaForte called John Doe 6 a “rat” and hit John Doe 6 in the face with a bottle. LaForte and Minsquero also flipped John Doe 6’s table, sending drinks and shattered glass everywhere.
All the defendants who plead guilty or went to trial in E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-443 (FB):
JAMES LAFORTE (also known as “Jimmy”)
Age: 49
New York, New York
JOSEPH LANNI (also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino”)
Age: 54
Staten Island, New York
DIEGO TANTILLO (also known as “Danny” and “Daniel”)
Age: 50
Freehold, New Jersey
ROBERT BROOKE
Age: 58
New York, New York
SALVATORE DILORENZO
Age: 69
Oceanside, New York
ANGELO GRADILONE (also known as “Fifi”)
Age: 59
Staten Island, New York
KYLE JOHNSON (also known as “Twin”)
Age: 48
Bronx, New York
VINCENT MINSQUERO (also known as “Vinny Slick” )
Age: 39
Staten Island, New York
VITO RAPPA (also known as “Vi”)
Age: 58
East Brunswick, New Jersey
FRANCESCO VICARI (also known as “Frank” and “Uncle Ciccio”)
Age: 65
Elmont, New York
As for other crimes charged in this case:
Extortions Related to the Carting and Demolition Industries
Tantillo, Rappa, Vicari and Johnson engaged in a violent extortion conspiracy relating to the demand and receipt of money from an individual (John Doe 1) who operated a carting business in the New York City area. The extortion scheme involved threatening John Doe 1 with a bat, setting fire to the steps to John Doe 1’s residence, attempting to damage John Doe 1’s carting trucks, and violently assaulting an associate of John Doe 1. After John Doe 1 ultimately made a payment of $4,000 to Vicari, Vicari and Rappa met and sent Tantillo a photo of Vicari raising a small champagne bottle, as in a toast.
As proven at Brooke’s trial, in the fall of 2019, Brooke engaged in a violent extortion scheme against the owners of a demolition company (John Does 2 through 4) over purported debts owed to Tantillo and a company that was co-operated by Tantillo and Brooke. On December 18, 2019, one of the victims was walking to work when he was ambushed and attacked by Brooke at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in midtown Manhattan. The victim suffered a fractured cheek bone, black eye and contusions to his face. In the weeks after the beating, Tantillo reached out to the victims who are brothers and told them to pay Brooke and to drop the criminal charges against Brooke. Fearing for the safety of themselves and their employees, the owners of the demolition company paid $50,000 to Tantillo and $40,000 to the company co-operated by Tantillo and Brooke.
Frauds and Union-Related Crimes in the Carting and Demolition Industries
Various defendants also committed a series of crimes to steal and embezzle from unions and employee benefit plans and rigged bids in the demolition and carting industries. As part of one such scheme, DiLorenzo provided Rappa with a “no-show” job at DiLorenzo’s demolition company so that Rappa could receive paychecks and union health benefits, among other benefits. Similarly, Tantillo arranged for Gradilone to receive a “no-show” job at a construction company with which Tantillo was associated, which enabled Gradilone to receive paychecks and union health benefits to which he was not entitled. Tantillo and Johnson also conspired to secure a “no-show” job for Johnson, so that Johnson could similarly receive union health benefits.
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