Reputed Lucchese Crime-Family Members Arrested
Two reputed leaders of the Lucchese crime family who were indicted: Matthew Madonna, left, and Joseph DiNapoli. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS/NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL
Author: Corinne Ramey
Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging 19 members of the New York City-area mafia organization with murder and racketeering
Nineteen alleged members of a New York-area organized-crime family, including its top bosses, were charged with murder, racketeering and other crimes in an indictment unsealed Wednesday by federal prosecutors.
The men, who range in age from 33 to 83 years old, were all part of the Mafia, also known as La Cosa Nostra, and most were members of the Lucchese crime family, according to the indictment.
They face charges including racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder and murder in aid of racketeering. Fifteen were arrested by federal agents Wednesday morning and four are currently in prison, the authorities said.
“As today’s charges demonstrate, La Cosa Nostra remains alive and active in New York City, but so does our commitment to eradicate the mob’s parasitic presence,” Joon Kim, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.
Most of the men face up to life in prison if convicted. An attorney representing Steven Crea Sr. and Joseph DiNapoli said he was certain his clients would be vindicated. Other lawyers couldn’t be reached, declined to comment or didn’t return requests for comment.
The indictment described a hierarchically organized family, with groups called “crews” and “regimes” largely based in New York City.
Among those indicted were some of the Lucchese crime family’s top leadership, including Matthew Madonna, 81, the Lucchese’s “street boss,” who managed the family’s affairs because the actual boss is in federal prison serving a life sentencecourt documents said. Other high-ranking members include Mr. Crea, 69, the “underboss,” and Mr. DiNapoli, 81, the “consigliere,” according to prosecutors.
These men supervised an operation whose activities included drug sales, robbery, operating illegal gambling businesses and selling untaxed cigarettes, prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, the family sought to keep “victims and citizens in fear of the Enterprise and its leaders” by identifying with the Mafia and causing physical violence and economic harm.
Among the crimes mentioned in the indictment was the murder of Michael Meldish, an organized-crime leader, on Nov. 15, 2013, in the Bronx.
Family members also committed mail and wire fraud “in connection with various public building projects, including a $25 million expansion of a major New York City hospital,” the indictment said. The indictment didn’t identify the hospital.
The family members had nicknames such as Wonder Boy, Joey Glasses, Jimmy the Jew and Paulie Roast Beef, the indictment notes.
Organized-crime families like the Luccheses gradually are dying off, said David Shapiro, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. But the charges in the indictment, particularly the October 2016 attempted murder of a witness who had provided information to law enforcement, show that feuds continue, he said.
“Even though it may be a shrinking enterprise in many respects, it’s still very dangerous,” Mr. Shapiro said. “If you’re going to violate the trust that you promised, then they will try to kill you.”
