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UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
------------------------------------ X UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
:
- v - : INDICTMENT
LOUIS
MOSCATIELLO, SR., : 04 Cr.
JAMES DELIO,
a/k/a
“Jamie,”
: CARMINE MINGOIA,
FRED NISALL,
: a/k/a “Fred
Nisalevich,”
a/k/a
“Fred Buschel,”
: a/k/a
“Fred Bushell,”
a/k/a
“Jack Miller,”
: CARMINE SEDITA,
JOSEPH DELIO,
: ROBERT ALVAREZ,
PAUL GHIRARDUZZI,
: THOMAS BOVE,
FRANK MALANGONE,
: a/k/a
“Butch,”
FRED MENDOZA,
: ROBERT CARBONE,
a/k/a
“Bucky,”
: LOUIS MOSCATIELLO, JR.,
JOHN CAMPANELLA, JR.,
: JOSEPH SCELZO,
a/k/a
“Fat Joey,”
: JOHN BARONE,
SAMUEL DAZLE,
: LEON THOMAS,
ALBERT POMETTO, JR.,
: NICKY GALLO,
MARCO DURAND, and
: JOSEPH RUGGIERO
a/k/a
“Joe Black,”
: Defendants.
:
------------------------- X COUNT ONE
Racketeering Violation The Grand Jury charges:
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
The Enterprise
1.
LOUIS MOSCATIELLO, SR., JAMES DELIO, a/k/a
“Jamie,” CARMINE MINGOIA, FRED NISALL, a/k/a “Fred Nisalevich,” a/k/a “Fred Buschel,” a/k/a “Fred Buschell,” a/k/a
“Jack Miller,” CARMINE SEDITA, JOSEPH DELIO, ROBERT ALVAREZ, PAUL
GHIRARDUZZI, THOMAS BOVE, FRANK MALANGONE, a/k/a “Butch,” and FRED MENDOZA, the
defendants, and Robert Carbone, a/k/a “Bucky,” together with others known and
unknown, were members and associates of the Genovese Organized Crime Family of
La Cosa Nostra (the “Genovese Organized Crime Family”). The Genovese Organized
Crime Family is a criminal organization
whose members and associates have engaged in numerous acts of violence
and other criminal acts, including murder,
attempted murder, extortion, labor racketeering, employee benefit plan
embezzlement, the financing and making of extortionate extensions of credit and
the collection of extensions of credit through extortionate means (commonly
known as “loansharking”), mail fraud, wire
fraud, and money laundering.
2.
The Genovese
Organized Crime Family, including its
leadership, membership, and associates, constituted an “enterprise,” as that
term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1961(4) –- that is, a
group of individuals associated in fact, which was engaged in, and the
activities of which affected, interstate and foreign commerce. The Genovese
Organized Crime Family was an organized criminal group based in New York City that operated in the Southern
District of New York and elsewhere and constituted an ongoing
organization whose members functioned as a continuing unit for a common purpose
of achieving the objectives of the enterprise. The Genovese Organized Crime
Family was referred to by its members and associates in various ways, including
as a “la cosa nostra,” a “Family,” and “this thing of ours.”
3.
The Genovese Organized Crime Family was part
of a nationwide criminal organization known by various names, including the
“Mafia” and “La Cosa Nostra” (“LCN”), which operated through entities known as
“Families.” In addition to the Genovese
Organized Crime Family, five other Families operated in the New York
City and New Jersey area, namely, the Gambino Organized
Crime Family of LCN, the Luchese Organized Crime Family of LCN, the
Colombo Organized Crime Family of LCN, the Bonanno Organized Crime Family of
LCN, and the Decavalcante Organized Crime Family of LCN.
4.
The Genovese Organized Crime Family operated
through groups of individuals known as “crews” and “regimes,” most of which
were based in New York City. Each “crew” had as its leader a person known as a
“Caporegime,” “Capo,” or “Captain,” and
consisted of “made” members, sometimes known as “soldiers,” “wiseguys,” “friends of ours,” and “good fellows.”
Soldiers were aided in their criminal
endeavors by other trusted
individuals, known as “associates,” who sometimes were referred to as
“connected” or identified as “with” a soldier. Associates participated in the
various activities of the crew and its members.
5.
Each Capo was responsible for supervising
the criminal activities of his crew and provided soldiers and associates with
support and protection. In return, the Capo typically
received a share of the illegal earnings of each of his crew's soldiers
and associates, which was sometimes referred to as “tribute.”
6.
Above the Capos were the highest-ranking
members of the Genovese Organized Crime Family. The head of the Genovese
Organized Crime Family was known as the “Boss,” who was normally assisted by an
“Underboss” and a “Consigliere,” or counselor. The Boss, Underboss, and
Consigliere were responsible for, among other
things, setting policy, resolving disputes among members of the Genovese
Organized Crime Family, and resolving disputes between members of the Genovese
Organized Crime Family and members of other criminal organizations. At various
times relevant to this Indictment, members of the Genovese Organized Crime
Family were temporarily appointed to serve as Boss, Underboss, Consigliere, or
Capo in place of an incarcerated member holding that position. Whenever this
occurred, the member
holding the temporary appointment would function in an “acting”
capacity for the incarcerated member, who continued to hold the “official”
position in the Family. In addition, at various times relevant to this
Indictment, members of the Genovese Organized Crime Family served on a
committee or ruling panel, a group of high-ranking members of the Family who
assisted and, at times, made decisions with or on behalf of the Boss and the
Acting Boss of the Family.
7.
The Boss, Underboss, and Consigliere, and,
at times, members of the ruling panel of the Genovese Organized Crime Family
supervised, supported, protected, and disciplined the Capos, soldiers, and
associates, and regularly received reports regarding their various activities.
In return for their supervision and
protection, the Boss, Underboss, Consigliere, and members of the ruling
panel typically received part of the illegal earnings of each crew.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners
8.
At all times relevant to this Indictment,
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners (the “U.B.C.J.”) was a national labor union that represented
skilled workers on construction sites. These workers typically performed such
jobs as, among other things, hanging drywall, which is also known as “sheetrock,” by affixing it to interior frames to
form the indoor walls of buildings.
9.
In New York City, the U.B.C.J. has approximately 23,000 members
and is divided into locals that are associated with the five boroughs. These
locals are Locals 608 (Manhattan - Westside), 608 North (Bronx), 157 (Manhattan
- Eastside), 45 (Queens), 926 (Brooklyn), and 20 (Staten Island) (collectively,
the “New York City Locals”).
10.
The
District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the U.B.C.J. (the “District
Council”) is the administrative body that oversees the New York City Locals.
11.
The
District Council (on behalf of the New York City Locals) has entered into numerous
contracts, or collective bargaining agreements (“CBAs”), with various
construction contractors and associations of construction contractors who
operate at jobsites in the five boroughs of New York City. The CBAs govern many
aspects of the relationship between individual contractors and individual
members of the U.B.C.J. who are employed by
such contractors as carpenters at jobsites within New York City.
12.
Among
other things, the CBAs obligate the contractors to employ only union labor on
jobsites, to pay wages according to a pre-defined scale set forth in the CBAs,
and to notify the District Council regarding new projects. Furthermore, the
CBAs require the contractors to make contributions to the Welfare Fund, Pension
Fund, Vacation Fund, Annuity Fund,
Apprenticeship, Journeyman Retraining, Educational and Industry
Fund, Supplemental Funds, U.B.C. and J.A. Funds, and New York City and Vicinity
Carpenters Labor-Management Cooperation Fund (collectively, the “District
Council Benefit Funds”), in specified amounts for each hour worked by union
members employed by the contractors. Of these funds, the Welfare Fund, Pension Fund, Vacation Fund, Annuity Fund, and
Apprenticeship, Journeyman Retraining, Educational and Industry Fund
(collectively, the “District Council ERISA Funds”) are subject to the
provisions of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(“ERISA”). The contributions to the District Council Benefit Funds are made by
each contractor through the purchase of “stamps,” each of which represent the
benefits due to a union member for an hour worked. The contractors must
complete monthly remittance reports which
identify the union members who worked on a jobsite and the hours they
worked. The monthly remittance reports are filed with the District Council.
13. From in or about
1996 until in or about 2002, the District
Council operated a Stamps Investigation Team, which was responsible for
ensuring that contractors purchased the appropriate number of stamps for their
union employees. The Stamps Investigation Team was also responsible for
collecting payments to the District Council Benefit Funds that were delinquent.
14.
At all times relevant to this Indictment, the New York City
Locals were run by various union officers. The principal officer of each local
is the Business Manager, who is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day
operations of the local. Depending upon the size of the local’s jurisdiction,
the Business Manager may be assisted by a Business Agent or Agents.
Collectively, the Business Manager and Business Agents are responsible for
ensuring that construction contractors comply with the terms of the CBAs at
jobsites within their respective territories.
15.
The CBAs
also required the appointment by the District
Council of a shop steward, also called a job steward, to each
construction project or jobsite. The shop steward functions as the “eyes and
ears” of the District Council on the jobsite, and
is authorized to deal with employers on behalf of represented employees
at that site concerning such employees' hours, wages, and working conditions.
Shop stewards are appointed based on their skills and their position on the
out-of-work list, and, according to District
Council By-Laws, no steward may be referred to a job from the
out-of-work list out of turn. The shop steward is required to complete weekly
reports which identify the union members who were employed on the jobsite and
the hours that they worked. When the shop steward has completed his/her union
work on behalf of the District Council, the shop steward is required
to work on the job like any other union member.
Local 530 of the Operative Plasters and
Cement Masons Union
16.
At all times
relevant to this Indictment, Local 530 of the Operative Plasters and Cement
Masons Union (“Local 530") was a labor union that represented workers who
performed specialized taping and skimcoating work on construction sites in New
York City, Westchester County, Rockland County, and Long Island. Taping and
skimcoating is one method by which interior walls constructed of sheetrock are
finished. Taping refers to the procedure by which the joints, or holes, between
pieces of hanging drywall are sealed using tape. Skimcoating refers to the
application of a thin-layer of joint compound to the entirety of the interior
wall surface.
17.
Local
530 has entered into CBAs with various construction contractors and
associations of construction contractors who operate at jobsites in the five
boroughs of New York City, Westchester
County, Rockland County, and Long Island. The CBAs govern many aspects
of the relationship between individual contractors and individual members of
Local 530 who are employed by such contractors at jobsites within Local 530's
jurisdiction.
18.
Among
other things, the CBAs obligate the contractors
to employ only union labor on jobsites, to pay wages according to a
pre-defined scale set forth in the CBAs, and to
notify Local 530 regarding new projects. Furthermore, the CBAs
require the contractors to make contributions to the Welfare Fund, Annuity Fund, and Apprentice Fund
(collectively, the “Local 530 Benefit
Funds”), in specified amounts for each hour worked by union members
employed by the contractors. The Local 530 Benefit Funds are subject to the
provisions of title I of ERISA. The contractors must complete monthly
remittance reports which identify the union members who worked on a jobsite and
the hours they worked. The monthly remittance reports are filed with Local 530.
19.
At all
times relevant to this Indictment, Local 530 was run by various union officers.
The principal officer of Local 530 is the President and Business Manager (the
“President”), who is ultimately responsible
for the day-to-day operations of the local. The President is assisted by
Business Agents, as well as by the Vice-President. Collectively, the President,
Vice-President, and Business Agents are responsible for ensuring that construction contractors comply with the terms
of the CBAs at jobsites within Local 530's jurisdiction.
20. &