Cosa Nostra News

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. 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 i...

For threatening an ex-girlfriend's husband and father as well as "glorifying" mob life via a series of podcasts, former Bonanno associate/would-be podcaster Gene Borrello was sentenced yesterday to four months in prison, followed by six months of house arrest and three additional years of probation. He also was banned from doing podcasts and setting foot in Howard Beach, Queens. Gene Borrello  That is according to a court document John Alite, Gene's partner on the Johnny & Gene Show , read over the phone earlier today. Borrello, 36, was an up-and-coming associate close to becoming a wiseguy with the Bonanno crime family before flipping and helping Brooklyn Federal prosecutors put away more than 21 mobsters. He pleaded guilty in 2016 and was sentenced to three years supervised release and time served. In total, he spent about five years in prison for committing crimes that could've earned him a life sentence.  He and Alite launched the Johnny & Gene Show i...

EXPANDED Bonanno family associate Salvatore Russo, 46, copped a plea Thursday for using a Manhattan gelato shop to sell narcotics—and faces up to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. He plead guilty to distributing more than 500 grams—about $40,000 worth—of coke. Under terms of his deal with Brooklyn federal prosecutors, he will serve a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, which he can appeal if he gets slapped with more time. “He’s accepted his responsibility and hopes for the best,” defense lawyer Joseph Conway said outside court. The beefy wiseguy is reportedly a naturalized US citizen who speaks with a Sicilian accent He remains free on $500,000 bond pending his unscheduled sentencing. He was busted last year in a coordinated, cross-border crackdown on mobsters operating in both the US and Canada. He was indicted with reputed acting Bonanno captain Damiano Zummo, who was caught participating in a 2015 Mafia induction ceremony in Canada that was s...

Listing on a cane last Tuesday, wearing a blue-and-white Reebok tracksuit and a pair of black Crocs, Bonanno wiseguy Joseph Chilli III, all 400 pounds of him, went to Brooklyn federal court to take his medicine. Joe Chilli III Both prosecutor and probation officer recommended that the judge give Chill, 63, who violated his supervised release, time served rather than seven to 13 months in prison as called for by sentencing guidelines. Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis mostly went along with the recommendations made by assistant U.S. attorney Margaret Gandy and Department of Probation officer John Alamanza. He gave Chilli four more years of supervised release. (Lifetime home release also was on the table for the longtime Bonanno wiseguy; his root crime is a drug conviction, specifically, a 2000 drug case to which Chilli pleaded guilty in 2003.) Considering his lifetime "profession" as a badguy, in all likelihood this won't be his last dance either as ...

A Brooklyn federal court judge yesterday (August 15) sentenced acting Bonanno capo Ronald Giallanzo to 14 years behind bars for running a loansharking operation that she said terrorized a Queens neighborhood for nearly 20 years. A cting Bonanno capo Ronald Giallanzo Giallanzo, whose uncle is Bonanno mobster Vincent Asaro, and nine other Bonanno members and associates were arrested last year on a broad swath of criminal charges, including racketeering, kidnapping, robbery, and attempted murder in Brooklyn federal court. Ronnie G pleaded guilty in March to running the loansharking ring and was ordered to forfeit his $1.25 million mansion on 86th Street in Howard Beach, which he "built with his ill-gotten gains." On top of that, he still owes $268,000 in restitution to five loansharking victims. Prosecutors said the 48-year-old acting capo ran gambling and extortion rackets in Howard Beach since 1998. As per the indictment, Giallanzo and an associate o...

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. 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 (Pu...

SLIGHTLY REVISED :  John Gotti 's grandson and namesake thought he was en route to an eight-year prison sentence at a correctional facility in upstate New York called Fishkill. Instead, he was ferried to Brooklyn Federal court and brought before a judge alongside reputed  Bonanno mobster Vincent Asaro, 82, and five alleged Bonanno associates to face a new indictment on arson and bank burglary charges. Michael Guidici at the Maspeth Federal Savings and Loan. Allegedly  he wasn't there to make a deposit. If everything is what it seems, this is could be a difficult case for the defendants as the Feds have a turncoat intimately involved. In addition, John Gotti's girlfriend allegedly was involved in the bank job though her status in the Fed's case is unclear. Apparently she hasn't been charged in the indictment. Fed's have in the past braced wives and girlfriends allegedly involved in criminal activity to pressure defendants to cop pleas, if not flip....

Cammarano Junior's "modest" house on Long Island's Glen Cove section. Joseph Cammarano Jr. is "the top banana on the street for the beleaguered Bonanno crime family — or what’s left of it," as the Daily News reported . (A source pointed out the odd timing of the new Bonanno boss story, arriving about a month or so following this blog's own story about New York having only three operational Mafia families, the Bonannos not being one of them. "... It seems that the families able to ... show power on the street ... are helmed by powerful and accessible bosses -- meaning they are out of prison," as we noted.) Cammarano, meanwhile, is around to hold the top slot because of his ability to diplomatically get out of an order from Vinny Basciano to whack a Genovese associate, Cosa Nostra News learned. Cammarano did this by reminding Vinny B of another more-pressing hit the Bonanno boss had wanted done at the time. At an arraignment h...