US and Italy crackdown on Gambino family, 16 arrested
On Tuesday, November 7, American prosecutors announced the arrest of sixteen leaders and associates of the Gambino family in a joint operation carried out in the US and Italy. The charges included racketeering, extortion, witness tampering, conspiracy, and fraud.
New York was the location of ten arrests, while Italian authorities apprehended six in Palermo, Sicily.
The United States Department of Justice reported that one suspect remains elusive.
According to news delivered by the BBC, the arrested suspects in the US were scheduled to appear in a New York court on Wednesday.
Details on the Arrest of the Gambino Family Members
The indictment detailed a pattern of violent assaults and intimidation directed towards embezzlement of funds and fraudulent manipulation of union office and employee benefits.
The group's operations primarily targeted demolition companies and the waste transport industry.
As per the indictment, the members of the gang threatened businessmen, demanding protection money, while also violating union laws and unfairly influencing bids to secure lucrative contracts.
Additional charges also included the threat to witnesses, money laundering, and firearms offenses.
Among the apprehended was the leader of the Gambino family, Joseph "Joe Brooklyn" Lanni, Gambino soldier Angelo "Fifi" Gradilone, and Francesco Vicari, a.k.a "Uncle Ciccio", a known associate of both Gambino and the Sicilian mafia.
About the Gambino Family
The Gambino family is renowned as one of the five main mafia syndicates originating from New York, an entity famously known as La Cosa Nostra.
