NEW YORK, NY – A group of sixteen individuals, including ten New Yorkers and six Italians, are facing charges for their alleged involvement in an international plot, according to the Justice Department. The accused, believed to be part of the notorious Gambino crime family, are suspected of trying to seize control of New York’s waste disposal and demolition industries through a campaign of intimidation, fraud, and violence.
Joseph Lanni, also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino,” is identified as the alleged ringleader of this group. Lanni and his cohorts are facing federal racketeering charges, with accusations ranging from extortion and arson to multiple assaults and union fraud. Lanni is also implicated in a separate assault incident involving a New Jersey restaurant owner and his wife.
One of the key incidents involved alleged Gambino “soldier” Diego Tantillo, Sicilian mobsters Vito Rappa and Francesco Vicari, and Gambino associate Kyle “Twin” Johnson. The group is accused of targeting a New York City carting business owner, using a combination of threats, arson, and vandalism to intimidate him. They also allegedly assaulted one of his associates and cornered the victim and his father-in-law.
Rappa and Vicari are accused of using coercive tactics, including threats of violence, to extract extortion payments from the business owner. After handing over $4,000, Vicari and Rappa reportedly sent Tantillo a celebratory picture of a champagne bottle.
The indictment also names other alleged members of the Gambino crime family, including Angelo Gradilone, James LaForte, and associates Salvatore DiLorenzo, Robert Brooke, and Vincent Minsquero. The group is also accused of setting up fraudulent “no-show” jobs to collect union health benefits. Nine of the ten defendants pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, commented on the case, stating, “As alleged, for years the defendants committed violent extortions, assaults, arson, witness retaliation and other crimes in an attempt to dominate the New York carting and demolition industries.”