DOJ: 9 mafia members and associates charged, including Nassau detective

The DOJ says “two indictments were unsealed charging nine defendants with racketeering, illegal gambling, money laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and related offenses.”

Bob Doda

Aug 16, 2022, 5:31 PM

Updated 790 days ago

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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.”