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NEW YORK (AP) — Ten alleged members and affiliates of the Gambino criminal ring were charged in a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday with violence and extortion to try to dominate New York’s demolition and garbage trucking industries, the government said.
The extortion charge accuses the men of crimes such as assaulting a demolition company worker with a hammer and setting fire to the stairs of a waste hauling company owner’s space.
Prosecutors with the U. S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn say the men embezzled union budgets and rigged bids in the demolition and central mining industries between 2017 and 2021.
Law enforcement agencies — the FBI, the New York Coastal Commission and the Palermo, Italy, prosecutor — assisted in the multi-year investigation, the government said.
“As alleged, for years, defendants committed violent extortion, assault, arson, retaliation against witnesses, and crimes in an effort to dominate the core and demolition industries in New York City,” U. S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a news release.
The defendants come with Joseph Lanni, who prosecutors say also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino,” an alleged captain of the Gambino family, and nine of Gambino’s alleged foot soldiers and associates.
Lanni’s lawyer, Federico Sosinsky, claimed that his consumer is innocent and will “vigorously contest” the fees against him.
“Joe Lanni has committed any of the crimes charged in this indictment or any unindicted act to which the government refers,” he said in an email. “So far, he has never been accused of any act of violence. “
According to the indictment, one of the alleged gangsters, Diego “Danny” Tantillo, began paying not-so-easy monthly extortion bills to a business owner known as John Doe 1 starting in 2017. On one occasion, prosecutors said, Tantillo showed John Doe 1 a steel baseball bat and said the bat for him.
After John Doe 1 tried to avoid making extortion payments in 2020, he set fire to the stairs of his home while his wife and children were inside, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Tantillo and another man were “created” or officially incorporated into the Gambino family on Oct. 17, 2019.
A mob associate who was not allowed to attend the rite because he himself was not an adult man, congratulated Tantillo in coded text language, prosecutors said.
“Hello Dani, have a great day, I am very satisfied with your new assignment and when you sign the contract, even if you are not there, it is as if you are very proud, how lucky!!” the text reads, according to prosecutors.
Tantillo responded, “Ty Vito, I wish you were here since you were one of the other people who helped me get this contract. I hope we keep working harder and that everything will be better than before. Ty as always,” prosecutors said.
An email seeking comment sent to Tantillo’s attorney, Andrew Weinstein.