Story By Stephanie-Staff writer
On September 14, 2021, in the federal court in Brooklyn, a 19-court indictment was released charging 14 defendants, including 10 members and associates of the Colombo Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra and a member of the Bonanno organized crime family. Various offenses that include labor racketeering involving multiple predicate acts of extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and extortion, extortionate collection of credit conspiracy, extortionate collection of credit and money laundering conspiracy were charged against the defendants. These charges against the Colombo crime family members relate to multiple charged schemes in a long-running effort by the family to infiltrate and control of a Queens-based “Labor Union”. The affiliated health care benefit program which was called “The Health Fund” was also part of the scheme.
Andrew “Mush” Russo, the boss of the Colombo crime family, Benjamin “Benji” Castellazzo, the underboss, and Ralph DiMatteo, the consigliere, was charged with racketeering. In Addition, the Colombo crime family captains Theodore Persico, JR., Richard Ferrara and Vincent Ricciardo and their soldier Michael Uvino as well as their associates Thomas Costa and Domenick Ricciardo were also charged with racketeering. Moreover, alleged Bonanno family solider John Ragano was charged with loansharking, fraud, and drug trafficking offenses.
Thirteen defendants were arrested in New York and New Jersey and are scheduled to be arraigned before the United States Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl at the federal court in Brooklyn. Vincent Ricciardo was detained in North Carolina and will be arraigned before the United States Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler in federal court in Charlotte. Ralph DiMatteo remains at large.
Further, Colombo crime family members Russo, Castellazzo, Dimatteo, Ferrara, Persico, Vincent Ricciardo, Uvino joined with defendants Thompkins and Bellantoni, among others, to plan a scheme to launder money from Health Fund contracts. Then, payments through third parties and eventually to the Colombo crime family’s leaders. The defendants attempted to re-bid Health Fund vendor contracts for claims administration, pharmaceuticals and other health services to persons and companies affiliated with the defendant Joseph Bellantoni. Bellantoni and others agreed that in exchange for the new vendor contracts, they would pay kickbacks to the Colombo crime family and would use various intermediaries to hide the payments.
The indictment also charges Bonanno organized crime family soldier John Ragano with leading a scheme to issue fraudulent workplace safety training certifications. Ragano operated two workplace safety schools in the New York area that claimed to provide Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) training courses and certifications, along with various New York state certifications, to construction industry workers. Rather than provide training, Ragano along with his business partner John Glover and Domenick Ricciardo, falsified paperwork to the U.S. Department of Labor and other government agencies.
Vincent Ricciardo, Uvino, Ragano and Costa are also charged with loansharking. These defendants allegedly participated in extending and collecting extortionate loans totaling $250,000 to an individual identified as John Doe #2. The defendants charged and collected a weekly 1.5% interest rate that did not reduce the principal owed and divided what was collected between themselves. Vincent Ricciardo, Ragano, Costa, Glover and Vincent Martino were charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana by transporting large shipments of marijuana in vehicles from New York to Florida. Vincent Ricciardo and Costa were also charged with possessing and transporting ammunition, and Persico, who is currently on federal supervised release following his release for a prior racketeering conviction, was charged with lying to federal court officers about his dealings with other Colombo crime family members.
These charges are allegations, and the defendants are innocent until proven guilty. If the defendants are found guilty, each defendant will face up to 20 years in prison.
