70-99; U.S. vs. Lanni, et al. On April 12, 1966, the Philadelphia Police Department conducted a raid on a Center City restaurant and arrested a number of major Philadelphia underworld figures, who were charged with conspiring to set up an interstate gambling operation. It must involve the State Legislature, which alone can provide the laws needed by state and local authorities. The incident which led to the indictment was a raid conducted by Reading Police Chief Charles Wade after an FBI gambling raid in January of 1962 cast serious doubts over the honesty of Reading law enforcement. [93] Mitchell Slivkin of Harrisburg and Santo Domiano of Reading were two of the twenty bookmakers supplied by Tollin's service. This approach would use both criminal and antitrust-type civil sanctions to remove racket influence from legitimate organizations. 3. [107] Arrested were notorious racketeers from Pittsburgh, Steubenville, Ohio, and Youngstown, Ohio, areas. [85] Following his conviction on this charge, Whitaker was found to be deeply involved in the national gambling syndicate of Gilbert Lee Beckley. Then he was released, but without his, car. During the Depression, it was Tony Moran. In Hazleton, Cosa Nostra associate Fred Correale (brother of the late Caporegime Paul Correale) was indicted in 1969 on a number of charges of corporate and individual tax evasion, involving Correale Mining Company, Correale Construction Company, and subsidiary firms. Alphonse Morano, 1967: Morano was murdered on December 13, 1967. 67-110; and Commonwealth vs. Janelli (Pittsburgh: Court of Quarter Sessions of Allegheny County), Bill No. On February 19, 1969, Mastrangelo's Blue Jay Pool Room was raided by State Police officers, and two of his associates were arrested and later indicted for operating a dice game. Criminal charges against state officials or employees affecting the performance of their public duties or the maintenance of the public trust and criminal charges against persons attempting to influence such state officials or employees to benefit from such influence or attempt to influence. 71 P.S. [122] The organization imported an average of fifty kilograms of pure heroin per month over a period of years and amassed a small fortune. In 1945 Joseph Saia, the leader of a numbers bank in Upper Darby, was murdered. 49 U.S. vs. DiRugeris, et al. WATCH: 1997 documentary "Gangsters" by Tom Holden. In this situation, the Cosa Nostra deals with near-equals, setting up mutual investment compacts and treaties. The embezzlement case was prosceuted by the. Local crime czars usually become more general administrators of. Occasionally a debtor who has flagrantly defaulted in payments will be beaten to set an example for others. As they become respectable community leaders, their past and present involvement in more sinister criminal activities becomes hidden. John Krukar, 1968: Krukar was allegedly involved in a postal burglary ring that was operated out of Youngstown, Ohio, by racketeer Mario Guerrieri. --The General Assembly finds that: (1) organized crime is a highly sophisticated, diversified, and widespread phenomenon which annually drains billions of dollars from the national economy by various patterns of unlawful conduct including the illegal use of force, fraud, and corruption; (2) organized crime exists on a large scale within the He was invelved with slain racketeer Gregory Cownden in West Virginia-Pennsylvania gambling rackets. Couriers then carry the heroin to major urban centers for further distribution - Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. It is striking that organized criminal accomplices often turn against one another when law enforcement pressure is applied. When Cosa Nostra member Harry Riccobene was searched by Philadelphia police in 1968, they found an address book listing the names and addresses of prominent political officials, labor leaders, and labor racketeers. seq.) 65 Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States for Fiscal Year 1961, U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962), p. 222. [172] Gabriel Mannarino, a leader in the LaRocca family, was a close associate of Chicago labor rackelecr Joe Sonken[173] In 1989 LaRocca, Mannarino, and seven other Cosa Nostra leaders were indicted for their part in a labor rasketeering matter involving New York, Pittsburgh, and Detroit families. 147 U.S. vs. Lagana, et al. General Manager of Medico Industries, Inc., in Luzerne County. 2. Labor racketeering violence continued in the 1960's, and only recently have violence and extortion taken a more subtle and businesslike tone. . Organized crime in Pennsylvania engages in a broad spectrum of criminal activities, These include the "victimless," consensual vice crimes - illegal gambling, loan sharking, and prostitution. Although Maloney was acquitted of the tax evasion charges, all government witnesses who testified passed polygraph tests relative to the payment of bribes to Maloney. 13: 20-21. [194], Criminal syndieates engage in acts of intimidation and violence for many reasons. Information pertaining to the proceeds derived from the sale of forfeited property, the use made of unsold property and the criminal case related to the forfeited property is likewise reported. If a member from another family desires to confer with the boss, he must first arrange the meeting with the underboss. In 1961 the New York State Temporary Commission of Investigation planned a series of coordinated raids in conjunction with New York State Police. The Asset Forfeiture Administration Unit is centrally located in the Harrisburg area to assist in the storage and transfer of assets throughout the state. Intensive surveillance by the FBI prevented leaders from transacting their business at "mini-Apalachin" meetings in Miami, New Orleans, Buffalo, and New York City. 7 and 89. Subsequently the stocks were recognized as stolen and vonZamft was arrested. 64-415. They seek (a) monopoly and (b) freedom from law enforcement and regulatory interference, Because syndicate-dominated businesses seek monopolies, they often violate extortion and anti-trust laws. The first involves George Barrow, alias "Skinney Barret," supervisor of the Reading crap game. 191 U.S. vs. Gelso, et al. They may use threats of force or violence in order to obtain an interest in a company. The primary responsibility for enforcing the penal laws against the crime syndicates rests, as it always has, with local police agencies, with county district attomeys, and, where no adequate police force exists with the Pennsylvania State Police, The role of the State is to move these agencies toward the resolve and capability for carrying out this obligation. Large scale dice or "crap" games have been prominent forms of revenue for organized crime in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania bookmakers have subsequently continued and expanded their ties with nationwide gambling syndicatcs. [182] Also in that year the Philadelphia District Attorney's office found instances of "blackmail, looting from 107's treasury, and violence against non-members. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA. DeCavalcante: I don't want to know nothing about it.[6]. A claim to monopoly over a territory by a Cosa Nostra boss would hold. 63 U.S. vs. Harper (Pittsburgh: U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania), Criminal No. sup. These cases are primarily prosecuted by county District Attorneys but large and complex gun trafficking organizations are often adopted by federal prosecutors in the Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania. Senate Bill No. 219 U.S. vs. Minker, et al. Rispo and Marino called Singer, the borrower, into their office and told him to dial a number which they recited to him. The 2019 crime rate in Pottstown, PA is 423 (City-Data.com crime index), which is 1.6 times greater than the U.S. average. 3, pp. John S. LaRocca, boss, Southwestern Cosa Nostra family. [64] Soon thereafter a civil suit was filed by the Internal Revenue Service to collect $2 million in back taxes owed by Minker. Corroborated by law enforcement authorities, the following statements ean be made about the loan shark racket in Philadelphia: If any individual seeks a large loan - one in the thousands of dollars - he must secure permission from one of the upper-level loan sharks. Today the infiltration of legitimate businesses and racketeering in labor-management relations has grown to immense proportions. Most illegal transfer and straw purchase cases investigated by GVTF are prosecuted by Philadelphia Assistant District Attorneys. From the DeCavalcante transcripts and the revelations of Joseph Valachi, law enforcement authorities have pieced together a comprehensive picture of the Cosa Nostra groups. In 1963 two enforcers, members of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra family, were arrested for beating two brothers, Nicholas and George Fiocca, who had earlier borrowed a total of $350 from loan shark Frank Colone. That convention was a major meeting of top Mafia. As a type of economic activity, forms of crime changed . Pennsylvania sweat-shops, muscle-protected trucking bosses and double-dealing officials have collaborated to undercut the legitimate unionized garment industry of New York City. Governmental agencies concerned with areas as diverse as health, horse racing, taxes, zoning, securities, and government contracts should search out thc manipulative influence of organized crime and apply appropriate sanctions. 4: 108, 7: 168-181); Philadelphia (vol. IRS agents seized two whole filing cabinets full of numbers gambling records and $56,000 in cash from his headquarters. He has to! The federal enforcement activity has developed because state and local governments have failed to move effectively; it can be expected to expand unless stronger efforts are made within the State. In February of 1967, Henry Petersen, Chief of the Organized Critne and Racketeering Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, charged that "Local 107 has always been one of the most corrupt unions in the country. At one point he said "Erie is as bad as Pittsburgh for rackets. Occhipinti: He's gonna pay $5,000. [89], 3. Originally grown in the Middle East, opium poppies are processed in clandestine laboratories in Marseilles and then distributed to various Italian, Sicilian, and Riviera cities for importation into the United States. An attempt was made to murder an informant working inside the organization who was cooperating with Michigan authorities. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania), Criminal No. In 1947 a meeting took place in the William Penn Hotel of Pittsburgh. The victims of organized criminal force and violence fall into three categories: (a) competitors or rivals; (b) consumers of organized crime services or products; (c) law enforcement authorities. Last updated on: September 18, 2020, 08:38h. [219] At the trial Police Chief Charles Wade revealed that he had actually purchased the office of Chief of Police from Minker for $10,000, and that he took orders from Minker in all matters relating to vice and gambling enforcement. Garment factories. (Philadelphia: U.S, District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania), Criminal No. It did have a reputation for a while though. Erie. The U. S. Bureau of Narcotics found that "leading criminal organizations in these cities distribute the narcotics in local and neighboring areas. Lombardo utilizes a triangulated methodology in his research, including: interviews with police officers, federal agents, federal prosecutors, college professors, racket subculture residents, associates of organized crime figures, as well as organized crime members. Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the U.S. Department of Justice. 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