Friends of ours: Gambino Crime Family, Ronald "Ronnie One-Arm" Trucchio, Steven Catalano, Kevin McMahon, Terry Scaglione
A federal jury in Tampa has found four men guilty of various crimes related to the Gambino Mafia family.
Ronald J. Trucchio (Ronnie One-Arm), Steven Catalano, Kevin M. McMahon, and Terry L. Scaglione were found guilty of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ("RICO") statute.
The jury also found Scaglione guilty of one count of extortion. Trucchio and Catalano each face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. McMahon and Scaglione each face a maximum sentence of twenty years' imprisonment.
Trucchio, Catalano, and McMahon are now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Scaglione remains free on bond pending his sentencing hearing.
Sentencing hearings for all four defendants have been set for March 2, 2007.
The US Attorney's Office says during the last 20 years, Catalano, McMahon, Scaglione, Trucchio were under the control of the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra in Tampa. The Gambino Crime Family is one "family" in a nationwide criminal organization commonly referred to as "La Cosa Nostra," or the "Mafia."
Federal officials say Trucchio was a captain in Family and he supervised the wide-ranging criminal activities of the crew. The crew's principal purpose was to generate money for its members and associates through the commission of various criminal acts.
The jury felt Trucchio supervised the crew that engaged in multiple acts and threats involving murder, robbery, extortion, dealing in controlled substances, interference with commerce by threats and violence, interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises, making extortionate extensions of credit, collection of extensions of credit by extortionate means, and interstate transportation of stolen property.
The Pinellas Resident Agency of the Tampa Field Office of the FBI, the Miami and Brooklyn-Queens Metropolitan FBI offices, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the Tampa Police Department, the New York City Police Department, the Queens County District Attorney's Office, the FBI Legal Attache to Brazil, the Brazilian federal police, and Interpol coordinated this investigation.
Thanks to WTSP
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Dapper Don's Grandson Arrested
Friends of ours: John "Dapper Don" Gotti
"Growing Up Gotti" apparently means having a run-in with the law.
Frank Agnello, the grandson of Mob boss John Gotti, is accused of having drugs in his car when police pulled him over on Long Island, New York. The 16-year-old, who allegedly ran a stop sign, also got charged with driving without a license.
His lawyer, however, insists there were no drugs, and says Agnello will plead not guilty to the drug charge when he goes to court in January.
Agnello starred in the reality TV series "Growing Up Gotti," which also featured his mother, Victoria, who is John Gotti's daughter. He also wrote a book called "The Gotti Diet."
If convicted, he could get a year in jail.
"Growing Up Gotti" apparently means having a run-in with the law.
Frank Agnello, the grandson of Mob boss John Gotti, is accused of having drugs in his car when police pulled him over on Long Island, New York. The 16-year-old, who allegedly ran a stop sign, also got charged with driving without a license.
His lawyer, however, insists there were no drugs, and says Agnello will plead not guilty to the drug charge when he goes to court in January.
Agnello starred in the reality TV series "Growing Up Gotti," which also featured his mother, Victoria, who is John Gotti's daughter. He also wrote a book called "The Gotti Diet."
If convicted, he could get a year in jail.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Crime Story Season Two DVD Review
Crime Story had a notorious history, protested by police unions as too violent and negatively portraying law enforcement officers. Composer Todd Rundgren left the show after four episodes, digusted with the brutality. In its unlikely second season (shows this innovative - and suffering from such low ratings - rarely get renewed), "Crime Story" kept up the fist fights and gunplay, but seemed to lose focus.
The season premiere opens with three shadey looking guys in a vintage car loading guns. Moments later, they're busting in doors and roughing people up. These are the good guys, members of a Justice Department task force sent to Las Vegas to bring down the mob. Producer Michael Mann (Miami Vice, "Heat") would tell you he was just showing you the gritty truth, and co-creator Chuck Adamson would back him up. After all, Adamson had been a Chicago cop and these were his stories, drawn from his experiences.
Set in the early 1960's in Las Vegas (and ideally shot in 1980s Las Vegas, before the era of the mega hotels), the show oozed style and ambiance. Dennis Farina (Law & Order) led the task force, which included Billy Campbell ("The Rocketeer" - back when he still insisted on being called "Bill" Campbell) and Bill Smitrovich (Life Goes On). They were charged with taking down the criminal organization of Ray Luca (Anthony John Denison). The cast was filled with with Adamson's associates from his years on the Chicago police force. Farina - in his first acting role - had been Adamson's partner. And the dopey criminal henchman Pauli Taglia was played by John Santucci, a real life ex-con taken down by Adamson's MCU Squad. True to form, Michael Mann filled guest starring roles with big name stars on their way up. In the second season premiere, Kevin Spacey plays a U.S. Senator doing his best Bobby Kennedy impersonation.
But all the great acting talent couldn't help a storyline fraying at the edges. While I'll often protest television series cut down in their prime, Crime Story should really have lasted only one season. Plotlines were cliched, relying too often on storylines seen before on Miami Vice. You wonder if the show was intentionally trying to be campy or if it's just become campy in light of the darker, grittier shows of today. But then you get the odd episode that focuses dramtically on one of the supporting characters (another Miami Vice plot element) and you realize that they were really trying to be serious. It was just too hard to take things seriously with amateurish musical cues, a narrator promising "Tonight..! On Crime Story," and dialogue that used insults along the lines of "You big dummy!"
In terms of camp, the second season of Crime Story played well, lifting elements from contemporary culture (just months after the Iran-Contra Hearing, the show had it's own disgraced Marine Lt. Col. testifying before Congress). And when the task force invaded a small Latin American country near the end and started shooting up drug convoys and raiding compounds, you have to admit the A-Team twist was entertaining (albeit desperate - you could tell producers were trying anything to increase ratings). By the time slapstick cliffhanger came around, though, you were glad it was over, and more than a little disappointed.
Bonus Material
We've come to expect very little in terms of bonus material when it comes to Anchor Bay DVDs, but this is absurd! The disc doesn't even include language options or scene selections (a real pain in the butt when you have to stop watching an episode in the middle and start over later). The only real "extra" is a very well written insert telling you about the legacy of Crime Story and it'd be a great extra if it wasn't just a rehash of the same insert found in the season one box.
Video quality is hit and miss (mostly miss). Some of the earlier episodes look OK but by the end, it's looking like every single frame is coated with a thin film of dirty cellophane. Some of the night scenes in the final block of episodes - which take place in Latin America - are entirely unwatchable. Sound quality is better than video, at least, and we're thankful for it since the musical score to the series is well above average. The show's theme was a modernized remix of Del Shannon's classic "Runaway" and - another Michael Mann trademark - episodes were peppered with hit songs.
In the end, the second season of Crime Story suffered from style over substance. The set designers did their job faithfully. Latin America and it's 1960s beaters looked so authentic, you have to wonder if producers took the entire production to Cuba. But the storyline just couldn't keep up. This is a series better left in the dark recesses of memory.
Thanks to The Trades
The season premiere opens with three shadey looking guys in a vintage car loading guns. Moments later, they're busting in doors and roughing people up. These are the good guys, members of a Justice Department task force sent to Las Vegas to bring down the mob. Producer Michael Mann (Miami Vice, "Heat") would tell you he was just showing you the gritty truth, and co-creator Chuck Adamson would back him up. After all, Adamson had been a Chicago cop and these were his stories, drawn from his experiences.
Set in the early 1960's in Las Vegas (and ideally shot in 1980s Las Vegas, before the era of the mega hotels), the show oozed style and ambiance. Dennis Farina (Law & Order) led the task force, which included Billy Campbell ("The Rocketeer" - back when he still insisted on being called "Bill" Campbell) and Bill Smitrovich (Life Goes On). They were charged with taking down the criminal organization of Ray Luca (Anthony John Denison). The cast was filled with with Adamson's associates from his years on the Chicago police force. Farina - in his first acting role - had been Adamson's partner. And the dopey criminal henchman Pauli Taglia was played by John Santucci, a real life ex-con taken down by Adamson's MCU Squad. True to form, Michael Mann filled guest starring roles with big name stars on their way up. In the second season premiere, Kevin Spacey plays a U.S. Senator doing his best Bobby Kennedy impersonation.
But all the great acting talent couldn't help a storyline fraying at the edges. While I'll often protest television series cut down in their prime, Crime Story should really have lasted only one season. Plotlines were cliched, relying too often on storylines seen before on Miami Vice. You wonder if the show was intentionally trying to be campy or if it's just become campy in light of the darker, grittier shows of today. But then you get the odd episode that focuses dramtically on one of the supporting characters (another Miami Vice plot element) and you realize that they were really trying to be serious. It was just too hard to take things seriously with amateurish musical cues, a narrator promising "Tonight..! On Crime Story," and dialogue that used insults along the lines of "You big dummy!"
In terms of camp, the second season of Crime Story played well, lifting elements from contemporary culture (just months after the Iran-Contra Hearing, the show had it's own disgraced Marine Lt. Col. testifying before Congress). And when the task force invaded a small Latin American country near the end and started shooting up drug convoys and raiding compounds, you have to admit the A-Team twist was entertaining (albeit desperate - you could tell producers were trying anything to increase ratings). By the time slapstick cliffhanger came around, though, you were glad it was over, and more than a little disappointed.
Bonus Material
We've come to expect very little in terms of bonus material when it comes to Anchor Bay DVDs, but this is absurd! The disc doesn't even include language options or scene selections (a real pain in the butt when you have to stop watching an episode in the middle and start over later). The only real "extra" is a very well written insert telling you about the legacy of Crime Story and it'd be a great extra if it wasn't just a rehash of the same insert found in the season one box.
Video quality is hit and miss (mostly miss). Some of the earlier episodes look OK but by the end, it's looking like every single frame is coated with a thin film of dirty cellophane. Some of the night scenes in the final block of episodes - which take place in Latin America - are entirely unwatchable. Sound quality is better than video, at least, and we're thankful for it since the musical score to the series is well above average. The show's theme was a modernized remix of Del Shannon's classic "Runaway" and - another Michael Mann trademark - episodes were peppered with hit songs.
In the end, the second season of Crime Story suffered from style over substance. The set designers did their job faithfully. Latin America and it's 1960s beaters looked so authentic, you have to wonder if producers took the entire production to Cuba. But the storyline just couldn't keep up. This is a series better left in the dark recesses of memory.
Thanks to The Trades
Monday, November 20, 2006
FBI Investigation Has Secret CW Tapes to Counter Mob Muscle
To a criminal investigation that already involves strong-arm tactics, the mob and a multimillion-dollar loss, add yet another twist. A secret recording device.
Suburban businessman John LaFlamboy, who contends Bridgeview village officials forced him to sell his golf dome to them, secretly recorded Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek and onetime mayoral consultant Steve Reynolds as part of an FBI investigation into the deal, the Sun-Times has learned.
While the FBI investigation into the matter was well-known, the fact that the alleged victim made secret recordings of two of the key players in the alleged scam has never been publicly revealed.
The village officials were interested in using the site of the indoor golf driving range to persuade the Chicago Fire soccer team to relocate to Bridgeview.
LaFlamboy sued Landek, Reynolds and others last year in federal court in Chicago, alleging $6 million in damage and contending he was threatened and harassed into selling his share of the World Golf Dome. Among those people allegedly making threats to LaFlamboy was former Chicago Police Officer Fred Pascente, who was banned from Nevada casinos in 1999 and placed in their infamous Black Book for alleged connections to the mob. Pascente is an associate of Reynolds, according to the lawsuit. Pascente has denied any wrongdoing.
The secret recording device came to light late last week in a disclosure that LaFlamboy's attorneys made to the defendants in the lawsuit.
Under the federal court rules, LaFlamboy's attorneys had to disclose in a letter to the defendants any witnesses who could have knowledge of the allegations contained in the lawsuit. Among those people listed is an FBI agent who has the secret tape-recordings LaFlamboy made of both Landek and Reynolds, the document shows. It could not be determined what is on the tapes. But LaFlamboy had extensive dealings with both Landek and Reynolds. LaFlamboy's prominent attorneys, Michael Ettinger and Dennis Berkson, declined to comment on the disclosure document.
Landek did not return phone messages for comment, while Reynolds could not be reached for reaction to being recorded.
Late last year, the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago issued subpoenas to village trustees and officials.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Suburban businessman John LaFlamboy, who contends Bridgeview village officials forced him to sell his golf dome to them, secretly recorded Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek and onetime mayoral consultant Steve Reynolds as part of an FBI investigation into the deal, the Sun-Times has learned.
While the FBI investigation into the matter was well-known, the fact that the alleged victim made secret recordings of two of the key players in the alleged scam has never been publicly revealed.
The village officials were interested in using the site of the indoor golf driving range to persuade the Chicago Fire soccer team to relocate to Bridgeview.
LaFlamboy sued Landek, Reynolds and others last year in federal court in Chicago, alleging $6 million in damage and contending he was threatened and harassed into selling his share of the World Golf Dome. Among those people allegedly making threats to LaFlamboy was former Chicago Police Officer Fred Pascente, who was banned from Nevada casinos in 1999 and placed in their infamous Black Book for alleged connections to the mob. Pascente is an associate of Reynolds, according to the lawsuit. Pascente has denied any wrongdoing.
The secret recording device came to light late last week in a disclosure that LaFlamboy's attorneys made to the defendants in the lawsuit.
Under the federal court rules, LaFlamboy's attorneys had to disclose in a letter to the defendants any witnesses who could have knowledge of the allegations contained in the lawsuit. Among those people listed is an FBI agent who has the secret tape-recordings LaFlamboy made of both Landek and Reynolds, the document shows. It could not be determined what is on the tapes. But LaFlamboy had extensive dealings with both Landek and Reynolds. LaFlamboy's prominent attorneys, Michael Ettinger and Dennis Berkson, declined to comment on the disclosure document.
Landek did not return phone messages for comment, while Reynolds could not be reached for reaction to being recorded.
Late last year, the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago issued subpoenas to village trustees and officials.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Johnny Stompanato Development
Friends of ours: Johnny Stompanato, Mickey Cohen, Bugsy Siegal
Currently under development, Stompanato is a movie based on the true-life love affair of actress Lana Turner and gangster Johnny Stompanato.
While Sharon Stone had been associated with this project on and off, Catherine Zeta-Jones has recently been chosen to play Lana Turner. Supposedly, after the announcement that Catherine Zeta-Jones was cast as Lana Turner, a miffed Sharon Stone threw a fit. According to Stone, the late Turner tapped her as the actress to portray the screen legend's life. Whether that is true or not, I was never a fan of Sharon Stone at all. The biopic will detail the notorious murder of Turner's gangster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato (played by Keanu Reeves at the hands of Turner's daughter. Stone was attached to the film for years with projects falling through left and right. The bosses for the project wanted a younger actress, hence casting the 36-year-old Zeta-Jones over Stone. Scarlett Johansson is in talks to take the role of the daughter.
Stompanato was a small time hood who became the body guard for Mickey Cohen, the head of the West Coast "Mickey Mouse" mob. Cohen was the protege of Bugsy Siegal and took over Siegal's Hollywood operations after Siegal was whacked. Throughout their relationship, Stompanato was physically abusive to Turner, including beating her on the night of the Oscar's in 1958 where Turner was nominated for best actress. It was this abuse that led to Turner's daughter to defend her mother.
Currently under development, Stompanato is a movie based on the true-life love affair of actress Lana Turner and gangster Johnny Stompanato.
While Sharon Stone had been associated with this project on and off, Catherine Zeta-Jones has recently been chosen to play Lana Turner. Supposedly, after the announcement that Catherine Zeta-Jones was cast as Lana Turner, a miffed Sharon Stone threw a fit. According to Stone, the late Turner tapped her as the actress to portray the screen legend's life. Whether that is true or not, I was never a fan of Sharon Stone at all. The biopic will detail the notorious murder of Turner's gangster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato (played by Keanu Reeves at the hands of Turner's daughter. Stone was attached to the film for years with projects falling through left and right. The bosses for the project wanted a younger actress, hence casting the 36-year-old Zeta-Jones over Stone. Scarlett Johansson is in talks to take the role of the daughter.
Stompanato was a small time hood who became the body guard for Mickey Cohen, the head of the West Coast "Mickey Mouse" mob. Cohen was the protege of Bugsy Siegal and took over Siegal's Hollywood operations after Siegal was whacked. Throughout their relationship, Stompanato was physically abusive to Turner, including beating her on the night of the Oscar's in 1958 where Turner was nominated for best actress. It was this abuse that led to Turner's daughter to defend her mother.
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