FBI Raises Reward for Whitey Bulger to $2 Million

The FBI is raising the reward for Top Ten fugitive James “Whitey” Bulger to 2 million dollars and has released new age-enhanced photos to help catch him.

James Bulger is wanted for his role in numerous murders in the 1970s and 80s. He was head of an organized extortion and drug ring in the Boston area.

The newly enhanced images show Bulger with and without a mustache and glasses. The images supplement surveillance video and audio the FBI has already released in hopes the public might recognize the fugitive.

In the video from 1980, Bulger is chatting with another man at the Lancaster Street Garage and at the Howard Johnsons in Boston, Massachusetts.

Born in 1929, Bulger has been known to alter his appearance using disguises. He’s traveled extensively in Europe, Mexico and Canada. He’s an avid reader with an interest in art and is know to frequent historic sites. He stays fit by walking on beaches and in parks with a female companion.

In January the Bulger Fugitive Task Force released audio recordings of Bulger taken before he was a fugitive. The hope is that someone will recognize the unique characteristics of his voice and report it.

[James Bulger Audio recording: “Could I speak to Jack? Thank you. Hi, Jack. Is there any rentals up at that place up across from, umm, Kelly's? Okay. Gonna find out now...I think that's the Ma- Marine Park they call it. Ah, what do they call it, "The Marine Park"? Yeah, is it the Marine Park they call it? Okay. You had one for sale recently? Or is it for sale now? What floor is it on (UI) first floor? They're no good.”]

James Bulger goes by at least a dozen aliases. He has a violent temper and is known to carry a knife at all times. He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.

New Wanted posters announcing the 2 million dollar reward have also been printed in Italian, German, Portuguese and Spanish.

If you have any information on Bulger’s whereabouts, contact your local FBI office or the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

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Kyle Knight, Explosives Supplier of Mob Pipe Bombings, Pleads Guilty

The man who supplied explosives in a mob- ordered pipe bombing of a Berwyn business pleaded guilty today and has agreed to testify against others in the case.

Kyle Knight of Merrillville, Indiana admitted transporting two bags of explosive powder to 84 year old Samuel Volpendesto, reputed to be a mob associate. Volpendesto, of Oak Brook and 41 year old Mark Polchan have been charged with the 2003 bombing of C&S Coin Operated Amusements, 6508 W. 16th St. in Berwyn, which leased vending and video machines and was targeted by the Chicago Outfit because it competed with the mob's $13 million illegal gambling operation. Polchan, also described by authorities as a mob associate and a member of the Outlaws motorcycle gang, and Volpendesto were charged last month with the 2003 bombing.

According to his indictment, Volpendesto talked on undercover tape about the bombings and connected an unnamed individual referred to only as the "Large Guy." The government refers to that man as Outfit Member A, who worked for Outfit boss Johnny "Apes" Monteleone.

In a report last month the ABC7 ITeam identified Outfit member A as Mike Sarno, formerly known as "Fat Boy." The Westchester home of the convicted gangster was raided by the FBI in connection with the bombing. Sarno, now known in mob circles as "the large guy," has not been charged in the case. He told the I-Team this summer that he would have nothing to say about the legal matter.

The Iteam report, Double-O Connection, focused on a criminal relationship between the Outfit and the Outlaws biker gang.

In court today, Knight also pleaded guilty to numerous robberies. He has agreed to cooperate with authorities in return for a sentence of 15 years in prison.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone

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7 Reputed Bonanno Associates Face Federal Charges

Seven men, believed to have ties to the Bonanno crime family, face charges including racketeering and illegal gambling, federal prosecutors announced last Thursday.

Three of the men, John Contello, 55, Vincent Disario, 47, and Michael Carucci, 38, were arrested about 5:30 a.m. in New York City on Thursday on charges including racketeering and conspiracy, according to an indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court. They were arraigned on Thursday afternoon. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison, according to a statement from the United States attorney’s office.

Mr. Contello is a reputed acting captain, and Mr. Disario is said to be a soldier in the Bonanno crime family, the statement said. The police did not detail Mr. Carucci’s reputed ties to the crime family.

Gerald Chilli, 74, also a reputed captain in the family, has been charged with extortion. He had already been in federal custody in Florida on unrelated charges. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the extortion charges.

George Miller, 68, who the authorities said is an associate of the family, was arrested near Canada and faces charges related to racketeering through the collection of unlawful debts, the statement said. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Richard Cendali, 40, who was arrested in New York City and was also arraigned on Thursday, and Anthony Zeni, 46, who had not been arrested by the afternoon, both face charges related to illegal gambling operations, the prosecutors’ statement said. The authorities that said Mr. Zeni was in Florida and that they expected to have him in custody soon. Both men face a maximum of five years in prison.

Mr. Carucci, Mr. Cendali and Mr. Contello all pleaded not guilty and were released on $250,000 or $500,000 bail, said a spokesman for the United States attorney’s office said. Mr. Disario also pleaded not guilty but was remanded and held without bail. A hearing for Mr. Miller will be held on Friday, the spokesman said.

Thanks to Christine Hauser

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Not Guilty Plea from Junior Gotti

John A. "Junior" Gotti has pleaded not guilty to federal racketeering charges in Tampa.

The 44-year-old son of the former Gambino family crime boss was arraigned in federal court Thursday afternoon. He faces conspiracy charges that link him to three mob slayings, cocaine distribution and other crimes.

Dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit and shackled at the ankles, Gotti appeared with his attorneys but didn't speak during the five-minute hearing.

Prosecutors say Gotti was a chief in an arm of the Gambino crime family that operated in Florida and other states going back to 1983.

Gotti denies the charges and has said he has long been retired from organized crime. His attorneys said they plan to ask that the trial be moved to New York.

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The New England Mafia is Not What It Used to Be

The New England Mafia just is not what it used to be.

In what would be an unusual move for a man of his rank, the family's reputed underboss, Carmen "The Cheese Man" DiNunzio, is accused of personally delivering a $10,000 bribe to a near stranger, a man who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.

Some of his underlings have supplemented their incomes by shoplifting, and one aging soldier was spotted peddling electric toothbrushes on a street in the North End, State Police said.

The local Mafia, which traditionally denounced drugs, now tolerates addicts in its ranks. And some members of the old guard have turned down promotions or become inactive because they fear going back to prison or have lost faith after seeing Mafiosi around the country break omerta, the code of silence, and turn informant or government witness, police said.

"They don't have the strength and the power they once did because of the line people," said State Police Detective Lieutenant Stephen P. Johnson, who oversees organized crime investigations as head of the Special Service Section. "The crews they have out there is where they are lacking. . . . It's a different generation. They're not as smart about how they involve themselves in supporting the family."

Jeffrey S. Sallet, supervisory special agent in charge of the FBI's Providence office and coordinator of the New England division's organized crime program, agreed, saying that La Cosa Nostra, commonly known as the Mafia, "has less of a talent pool to pull from because of ethnic neighborhoods disappearing."

The New England Mafia does not wield as much power or make as much money as it did in the 1980s, before its ranks were depleted by waves of convictions, law enforcement officials said. There are about 30 made members of the Mafia in Greater Boston, compared with at least double that in the 1980s, Johnson said.

"They are a shell of what the organization was years ago," said Major Steven O'Donnell, deputy superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.

Still, officials said the local Mafia remains a substantial threat and continues to rake in significant profits from illegal gambling and bookmaking. In Greater Boston, the mob has lost its grip on pornography and prostitution, but has been expanding its video poker business, State Police said.

"Are they making money hand over fist? No," said Johnson. "Do they get as much respect? No. But everybody is surviving."

The family's reputed boss of a dozen years is 81-year-old Luigi "Louie" Manocchio, who works out of Addie's Laundromat on Federal Hill in Providence and lives in an apartment upstairs, according to court affidavits.

Manocchio could not be reached for comment for this report. But in 1999, when he was given probation by a Rhode Island judge after admitting he had given his elderly mother a stolen dishwasher and refrigerator, his lawyer, John Cicilline, said he knew nothing about his client's alleged mob ties and said, "The only time I've ever heard that is in the papers," according to the Associated Press.

An FBI affidavit filed in federal court identifies DiNunzio, 51, of East Boston as the family's underboss, or second in command, since 2004. The 400-pound owner of the Fresh Cheese shop on Endicott Street in the North End is under house arrest awaiting two trials, one in Essex County on state extortion and illegal gambling charges and the other in federal court on the bribery charge.

A federal indictment returned in May alleges that DiNunzio paid $10,000 to an undercover FBI agent posing as a state highway inspector in December 2006, part of a conspiracy to secure a $6 million contract to provide loam for the Big Dig.

"I'm the Cheese Man," DiNunzio told the undercover agent on recordings later played in court, as he promised to make the deal go through. "You ask anybody about me. . . . We straighten out a lot of beefs, a lot of things."

DiNunzio's failure to insulate himself by dispatching an underling has raised speculation about a dumbing down in the mob.

"None of them are rocket scientists," said Johnson, noting that many of DiNunzio's predecessors were convicted, partly based on recordings of them saying foolish and incriminating things.

Sallet declined to comment on DiNunzio's motivation, but said: "The mob is all about opportunity. Any chance to make money, they are going to take it."

DiNunzio's lawyer, Anthony Cardinale, described DiNunzio as "a nice, nice guy" who was lured into what he believed was a legitimate deal by a longtime friend who was cooperating with the FBI and introduced him to the agent. "Carmen's downfall is he was a good friend of this guy, and he never suspected this guy would do this to him," Cardinale said.

Despite DiNunzio's legal predicament, law enforcement officials said he has a reputation as a fairly smart, low-key leader. "The leadership isn't stupid," Johnson said. "They don't attract the quality line people."

O'Donnell said the family has suffered from a lack of midlevel managers as some experienced mobsters have refused to take those jobs because they do not want the law enforcement scrutiny or the headaches they bring.

Today, the family is a mix of old soldiers who have recently returned to the streets after years in prison and young members who grew up in middle-class suburban households, law enforcement officials said.

Unlike the old guard, who grew up in poor, ethnic neighborhoods and were groomed by elder mobsters, the new generation tends to be less street-smart and is attracted by the glitz and glamour of shows such as HBO's "The Sopranos," State Police said.

"The guys now want to appear to be Tony Soprano," Johnson said. "They're flashy."

A couple of reputed Boston mobsters were secretly recorded in 2000 complaining that rivals had mimicked the Sopranos crew by leaving dead fish in doorways and on cars in an effort to intimidate them.

The reality is, "it's not a glamorous lifestyle," Sallet said. "You spend your life wondering about whether your friend wants to kill you or hurt you or whether some law enforcement officer wants to put you in jail."

And, he added, for every mobster who is making big money, there are others who are broke. "They call them brokesters," Sallet said. "A lot of them have gambling problems and are low-end scam guys."

But law enforcement officials cautioned that the Mafia is still dangerous, especially because so many of the region's most feared mobsters have recently been freed from prison.

"It has a very big potential to change drastically in New England over the next several years, or it can stay the same course," O'Donnell said.

Thanks to Shelley Murphy

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