Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Big mob bust (with Viagra!)

From the NY Post:

Manhattan prosecutors today announced a big blow against the Bonanno crime family: the indictment on enterprise corruption charges of seven crew members, including jailed Donnie Brasco-era gangster and alleged underboss Nicholas "Nicky" Santora.

Two leaders of Teamsters Local 917, which handles liquor store and parking lot employees, were additionally indicted for allegedly helping the Bonannos gain loansharking and book-making footholds among members.

They are the local's president, Nicholas Bernhard, and shop steward Scott O'Neill, of Howard Beach.

Investigators had pulled an illegal, loaded gun from under the pillow of Bernhard's Congers, NY, bed when search warrants were executed on the suspects in February, a source told The Post.

Additional illegal firearms had been seized at that time from Bernhard's home and from that of alleged soldier Anthony "Skinny" Santoro, including a Tech-9 pulled from a stash of guns in Santoro's Staten Island house.

"Many mistakenly believe that the mob has disappeared entirely except when you watch HBO," Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr., told reporters.

"Whatever name it's called, the Mafia, La Cosa Nostra, the Mob, this indictment demonstrates that organized crime is still operating in New York City and still has its hooks in the labor movement," Vance said in announcing the fruits of a two-year joint investigation by his office and the NYPD Organized Crime Control Bureau and Organized Crime Investigation Unit.

The top enterprise corruption charge against the nine men includes pattern acts involving the traditional mob mainstays: loansharking, offshore gambling, extortion, union corruption and weapons possession.

But in a nod to more modern tastes, the gangsters allegedly also dabbled in the distribution of Viagra, Cialis and the suburban party drug Oxycodone.

The Sunset Diner in Greenpoint and the Jackson Hole Diner in Queens were favorite meeting spots, a source said.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL!
Viagra? That explains why so many politicians have the balls to do what they're doing these days.

I'll bet Dan Halloran is a big buyer.

We already know that convicted rapist-former councilman Dennis P. Gallagher was a big user.

Anonymous said...

It's a damn shame what the Manhattan DA's office considers a big case these days. I'd like to see them go after the Chinese or Russian mob, they won't ever do that they have no balls. So they profile the Italians and fabricate stories and call themselves the good guys. Pathetic!

Joe said...

And this dies what ?
If you get rid of organized business much worse moves in and takes over.
When I grew up in Bushwick in the 60s it was a paradise. No assholes dare pull crap, poison trees or steal.
Its to gruesome to describe the beating the "corner men" gave one jerk robbing houses.

Anonymous said...

The Italian mob is weak. It isn't what it used to be. That's why law enforcement goes after them so effectively.

Go after the Russian or Chinese mob and you'll wind up in a can of dog food.

They're the new jacks in crime.

Joe said...

Yup--The Russians are taking over the diamond district and LOTS of cash behind them. Even black market pharmaceuticals and expensive medical machine parts.
They been building nasty fucca-caca's on the Great Neck waterfront, always drive black Benz's. All the Great Neck Jewish doctors are cashing out and fleeing to Florida thanks to Obamacare. "medical building office space available" everywhere.