Twenty people, including reputed members of the Genovese organized crime family, have been arrested and charged with wide-ranging racketeering counts, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan announced Thursday.
Among the arrested were Matthew Ianniello, an acting Genovese family boss nicknamed "Matty the Horse," and Ciro Perrone, a Genovese capo, said David Kelley, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
All were charged with labor racketeering, extortion, a large-scale loan-sharking operation and the operation of illegal gambling businesses, according to a statement released by Kelley's office.
Prosecutors accused the defendants of extorting a medical center that rented office space from a transit union, enforcing loans at extortionate rates of interest, and operating illegal card games.
Prosecutors said Ianniello rose to the position of an acting boss of the Genovese family after the imprisonment of longtime boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante. Perrone took over Ianniello's role as capo, they said.
All defendants were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Manhattan federal court, said Heather Tasker of the U.S. attorney's office.
