Arrests were carried out in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Florida. Merlino is believed to be the head of the Philadelphia crime family. Merlino, 54, has a reputation for beating past murder charges. His longtime lawyer, Ed Jacobs, declined to comment on the allegations, saying he hadn’t yet studied the indictment.
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The indictment, unsealed in New York City, accuses the defendants of a litany of classic mafia crimes, including extortion, loansharking, casino-style gambling, sports gambling, credit card fraud and health care fraud. During the arrests, agents recovered three handguns, a shotgun, gambling paraphernalia and more than $30,000 in cash. According to authorities, the charges could earn each perp up to 20 years in prison.
More than 40 suspected mob members – most allegedly belonging to four major New York City crime families – were arrested in a massive bust across five states on Thursday morning carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and NYPD.
A federal indictment unsealed in NY tied 46 suspects to four of the city’s five major Mafia outfits – the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese and Bonanno families.
In one case, a panhandler was attacked with glass jars, sharp objects and steel-tipped boots after he allegedly harassed customers outside a Bronx restaurant owned by Pasqualle Parrello, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
“Break his. knees”, he said, according to prosecutors.
In another instance, Parrello and Israel Torres are accused of conspiring to retaliate against a man who allegedly stabbed Anthony Vazzano in the neck. After an associate agreed to “whack” the attacker, Parrello cautioned him to “keep the pipes handy and pipe him, pipe him, over here (gesturing to the knees), not on his head”, the papers say. Investigators said the conspirators got corrupt doctors to bill insurers for unnecessary and excessive prescriptions for expensive compound creams in exchange for kickbacks. Another indictment alleges that the defendants put aside past differences and combined to become “members of an organized criminal enterprise” known as “East Coast La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Enterprise”.
22-year-old John Gotti was among seven people arrested Thursday.
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Also on Thursday, the grandson of former New York mob boss John Gotti, also named John, was charged by New York City prosecutors with dealing oxycodone and other drugs in a case unrelated to the federal case. As of now, there is no evidence that Gotti’s indictment is connected with the massive mob bust.
