Mob Prosecutor Honored in Special Ceremony

Judges and attorneys held a special ceremony on June 26th in US District Court in Chicago for prosecutor Mitchell Mars, who died just months after leading the government's landmark Operation Family Secrets case against the mob.

At the tribute, Mars was honored as a man dedicated to waging war on organized crime.

Mars died in February at age 55 after a battle against lung cancer.

A federal court jury in September returned guilty verdicts against Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo and other top mobsters in the Family Secrets case involving 18 long unsolved organized crime murders.

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Son of The Godfather Creator Sues Over Royalties

The son of The Godfather creator Mario Puzo sued Paramount Pictures on Wednesday, claiming the studio failed to pay royalties from a 2006 video game based on the book and movie characters.

Anthony Puzo of New York claims in a court filing that he represents his father's estate and is seeking more than $1 million in damages for breach of contract.

The suit seeks damages for a game created by Electronic Arts, which was not named in the lawsuit that prominently features elements of the film.

A Paramount spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Mario Puzo died in 1999. Seven years earlier he entered into an agreement with Paramount to receive a "significant share" of the revenues from any audio or visual products that included elements of The Godfather films, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The agreement was made, the suit claims, because Puzo was a "young, relatively unknown author, struggling to support his family" when Paramount approached him about licensing the The Godfather and bought the rights for "an extremely low price."

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Three Associates of the Gambino Crime Family Charged with Murder

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and MARK J. MERSHON, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that three associates of the Gambino Organized Crime Family, EDMUND BOYLE, LETTERIO DECARLO, and THOMAS DONO, have been charged for the April 28, 1998 murder of FRANK HYDELL. DONO was arrested earlier this morning and is expected to be presented later today in Manhattan federal court.

BOYLE and DECARLO are in custody on other charges and will be brought to Manhattan in connection with the criminal charges in this case. According to an Indictment unsealed earlier today in Manhattan federal Court:

BOYLE, DECARLO, and DONO were all associates of the Gambino Organized Crime Family and as such committed various crimes, including murder, assault, robbery, burglary, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. One of the goals of the Gambino Organized Crime Family was to protect its members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement, by intimidating and seeking reprisal against other individuals who provided testimony or other information to law enforcement.

BOYLE, DECARLO, and DONO murdered HYDELL on April 28, 1998, in order to maintain and increase their standing as associates of the Gambino Organized Crime Family. Specifically, BOYLE, DECARLO, and DONO sought to prevent HYDELL from providing information to law enforcement about ongoing criminal activities of the defendants and other Gambino Organized Crime Family members and associates, including the January 1997 beating and murder of FRANK PARASOLE.

BOYLE, 43, DECARLO, 47, and DONO, 34, each are charged with one count of murder in aid of racketeering and one count of murder to prevent the communication of information to law enforcement. If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, and each defendant faces a maximum potential penalty of death.

The case was assigned to United States District Judge COLLEEN McMAHON. Mr. GARCIA praised the efforts of the FBI. Mr. GARCIA said that the investigation is continuing. Assistant United States Attorneys ELIE HONIG and KATHERINE R. GOLDSTEIN are in charge of the prosecution.

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