The Department of
Justice announced a Genovese and Bonanno organized crime takedown that included
the arrest of a Nassau County Police Department detective.
The
DOJ says “two indictments were
unsealed charging nine defendants with racketeering, illegal gambling, money
laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and related offenses.”
Eight
defendants were arrested this morning. Seven were scheduled to be
arraigned this afternoon.
“Today’s
arrests of members from two La Cosa Nostra crime families demonstrate that the
Mafia continues to pollute our communities with illegal gambling, extortion,
and violence while using our financial system in service to their criminal
schemes,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said
in prepared remarks.
Peace
said the defendants attempted to
use a coffee bar, a soccer club and a shoe repair shop as covers for
their criminal activity.
The
indictment says Nassau Detective Hector Rosario “accepted
money from the Bonanno crime family in exchange for offering to arrange police
raids of competing gambling locations.” He was charged with obstructing a grand
jury investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of New York and lying to the FBI.
Rosario was released on a $500,000
bond.
According
to court documents, the Genovese and Bonanno families “jointly operated a
lucrative illegal gambling operation in Lynbrook called the Gran Caffe”
beginning in 2012. They say the profits from the lucrative operation were
laundered through cash transfers to the defendants and up the ranks to the
family leaders.
Four
of the six illegal gambling operations listed in the court documents are on
Long Island. The other two were in Queens:
- Gran Caffe, 31 Hempstead Ave., Lynbrook
- Soccer Club, 129 Rockaway Ave., Valley Stream
- Sal’s Shoe Repair, 41 Merrick Ave., Merrick
- Centro Calcio Italiano Club, 1007 Little East Neck Road, West Babylon
The
defendants also include Queens and Long Island residents, and one Florida man.
Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder issued a statement about today's arrests:
“The
Nassau County Police Department has continued to assist the FBI during this
ongoing investigation and Detective Hector Rosario has been working on
Restricted Assignment with no interaction with the public. Furthermore,
he has been suspended without pay pending an administrative hearing. The
Nassau County Police Department continues to have a zero tolerance approach
toward any member of the department who is involved in criminal activity.”