The Wire +

The Wire + Note Once again we must stop and take care of issues is this project cursed ?

CHAPTER: THE WIRE

A listening device was planted in the car of reputed captain in the Buffalo mafia. What law enforcement heard on the wire was enough to hand down 12 sealed indictments in 1989. Per the Buffalo News, the information gathered proved the strongest links between the local drug trade and organized crime. A dawn raid by the DEA was also assisted by the FBI, Eerie County Sheriff, the IRS, the state police, and various other federal, state and local agencies.

A hidden microphone was placed in the car of Leonard F. Falzone. The bug was placed in Falzone ‘s 1987 Buick that was paid for by the Local 210. Falzone worked there as the administrator of the health and welfare benefits fund. Interestingly, Falzone was not brought up on charges. Neither was Joseph Todaro, named by the FBI as the leader of the Buffalo mob. “At this point, we do not have sufficient evidence to arrest them,” said DEA Special Agent George Preston (Herbeck, 1989).

Authorities collected evidence on the Torina drug ring, which had been under investigation for two years. Torina was allegedly responsible for more than $2 million of street cocaine sales per year around Buffalo. "Conversations overheard in the car of Leonard Falzone indicated that this drug operation was being directed by the mob hierarchy in Buffalo," said G. Robert Langford, special agent in charge of the Buffalo FBI office (Herbeck, 1989). Three suspects indicted were known associates of the Buffalo mafia.

"This is a mob-controlled drug ring," Preston said. The case started when an undercover officer bought an ounce of cocaine. "From there, we just let the money do the walking and worked our way up the organization," he said. A federal law known unofficially as the "drug kingpin statute" was used to prosecute three of the major players in the ring, U.S. Attorney Dennis C. Vacco said (Herbeck, 1989). Two suspects were already in state prison. Herbeck lists those indicted.

The following were already in prison:

Joseph "Pepe" Cannizzaro was already serving an unrelated drug sentence at the Collins Correctional Facility. He was charged with one count of conspiracy. He was Identified by the FBI as a known mob associate.

Gerald Hayden was already serving an unrelated drug sentence at the Wende Correctional Facility. He was charged with conspiracy, racketeering in interstate transportation, running a continuing criminal enterprise, 13 counts of cocaine distribution and two counts of using the telephone to facilitate drug sales.

Those arrested that day were:

Albino "Sha-Sha" Principe, a laborer. He was charged with conspiracy, cocaine distribution, using the telephone to facilitate drug sales, possession of a firearm by a prior felon and two counts of racketeering in interstate transportation. He was identified by the FBI as a known mob associate.

Salvatore "Sam Naples" Napoli, a Local 210 laborer. He was charged with conspiracy, distribution of cocaine, four counts of using the telephone to facilitate drug sales, two counts of racketeering in interstate transportation and running a continuing criminal enterprise. The FBI said Napoli is also a known mob associate.

George Piccione, occupation unknown. He was charged with conspiracy.

Mark Cancilla, a self-employed contractor. He was charged with conspiracy and five counts of cocaine distribution.

Karen Zintek, a waitress. She was charged with cocaine distribution.

We find the mob connections and the Local 210 connections make the situation with Victor Sansanese even more interesting.

CHAPTER: LAS VEGAS

The City of Las Vegas, Nevada goes by many nicknames. They include The Entertainment Capital of The World, The Marriage Capital of the World, The City of Lights, and the City of Second Chances. I would expect most people reading this book have thoughts, opinions, and possibly memories of Las Vegas. If you do, think about them now. It also has a long history of being a mob town. A lot of people do not know is that the Buffalo LCN is closely tied to Las Vegas.

In fact, Buffalo’s crime family was, and possibly still is, considered the most prominent in the mob’s “open city” of Las Vegas. The Buffalo LCN was involved in a Las Vegas to Buffalo route for cocaine and other illicit activity. The Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper has run pictures of Leonard Falzone (remember him?) and Joseph Todaro Jr. Authorities have said that the Todaro family is “far and away” the leading crime family in the City of Lost Wages (Herbeck, 1990).

"I wouldn't say they dominate, but they are the most active group in the city," said Commander Preston Hubbs, chief of Intelligence Services for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. "We see more people from Buffalo here than from any other crime family," (Herbeck, 1990).

Hubbs states that about 20 people with Buffalo mob ties lived, and possibly still live, in Las Vegas. They also have business interests in the city, which were not named. "We believe Buffalo is involved in all the things you would expect the mob to be involved with -- loansharking, drugs, gambling," Hubbs said (Herbeck, 1990).

Las Vegas is a major distribution center for millions of dollars of cocaine each year, said Richard Inscore, special agent in charge of the Buffalo office of the DEA (Herbeck, 1990).

Charles Torina was arrested in 1987. Torina was a Buffalo native and worked as a pit boss in a Las Vegas casino. He previously ran a men’s clothing store in Las Vegas. He was accused of carrying 3 kilograms of cocaine. Torina and 11 others were indicted in the aforementioned Falzone wiretaps.

On March 20, 1989, Las Vegas police arrested three Buffalo residents. Joseph Amoia (remember him?) and Louis Giambrone, both of Amherst, and Lawrence Panaro, now of Las Vegas, were charged with possession of cocaine worth $64,000. Cocaine was purchased by an undercover officer. Amoia and Giambrone intended to deliver the cocaine to Buffalo, where an unnamed man was to distribute it. That unnamed man has been identified as a Buffalo mob member. He was under investigation but had not been charged with a crime. "We are continuing the investigation, and we do think there is more to it than just those three suspects," Hubbs said (Herbeck, 1990).

“Leaving Las Vegas” was a novel before it was a film of the same name. Some may remember Nicholas Cage portraying the protagonist. The Nic Cage character runs away from Los Angeles with the express intent of drinking himself to death in Las Vegas. He loads up his BMW full of beer and liquor and hits the open road. We are thinking the authorities must have seen the film.

This is because a multi-agency task force named their investigation “Operation Leaving Las Vegas”. The investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, United States Marshals Service, Virginia State Police, Washington County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, Abingdon Police Department, Marion Police Department, and Smyth County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee was prosecutor of the case for the United States.

Three search warrants and arrest warrants for 32 suspects came out of the investigation. The investigation started in 2014, many years into the Dead Years period. The individuals were charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from Las Vegas to Southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and elsewhere. We assume “Leaving Las Vegas” referred to the drugs departing Nevada for a new home.

The defendants were alleged to ship methamphetamine and oxycodone via FedEx and the United States Postal Service. The contraband was shipped from Las Vegas to various individuals in Abigdon, Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. Once the drugs were received in the new city, they were distributed locally.

We see funny names on the indictments such as Bubba Widener and Ralph Dingus. But one name sets off alarm bells.

Charged in the case is one Stephen Cino Jr. of Henderson, Nevada. Cino was sentenced to 292 months in prison and ordered to pay a judgement of $251,633. He had previously plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, methamphetamine and suboxone and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The proceeds of the conspiracy totaled over one million dollars (Irby, 2018).

Cino sounds familiar because his father, Stephen Cino Sr., was a Buffalo native and alleged mafia member. Cino Sr. was wrapped up in a mob hit in Las Vegas. His son is from Vegas and involved in trafficking. We wonder if the Buffalo Mob is indeed dead. What is your gut feeling?

The criminal in Cino Sr. runs deep. He was first convicted in Buffalo in 1967. He conspired with a group of Buffalo mafia members to rob an armored car in Los Angeles and rob a hotel in Beverly Hills. He was sentenced to 20 years.

Cino Sr. and Robert Panaro Sr. moved to Las Vegas around 1989. Panaro was booted out of the Local 210 by the Feds and came to Las Vegas for sunshine and fortune. He ran a Las Vegas car dealership called Good Fellows. Cino and Panaro together were indicted in the murder of Fat Herbie.

Herbert “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein got his nickname from his 6-foot, 300-pound frame. Fat Herbie worked closely with notorious underworld leader Anthony “Tony the Ant” Spilotro of the Chicago Outfit. Spilotro’s doings were the basis of the movie “Casino.” Blitzstein was murdered execution-style in his Las Vegas home in January of 1997.

Testimony in Cino and Panaro’s trial showed that mafia figures in Buffalo had to sign off before Blitzstein could be killed. Law enforcement pointed to Panaro as the main link to Buffalo. "The jury clearly found that Cino and Panaro were partially responsible for Blitzstein's demise -- at least set things in motion," said Federal prosecutor Cynthia Shepherd (Herbeck, 1999). But they were acquitted of murder charges.

Blitzstein was into loan sharking and insurance fraud. The working theory was that Cino and Panaro were trying to get their hands in on that. A jury convicted them for extortion. But the jury felt there was lack of evidence to convict for murder. "I'm happy that the jury saw through the smoke and mirrors of the murder charge," said Panaro's attorney, John Fadgen. "It never should have been brought. I'm disappointed in the extortion conviction, but I assume we'll appeal that," (Herbeck, 1999).

We have seen demonstrable proof that the Buffalo mob has run the streets of Las Vegas. Some activities occur into The Dead Years period. A lot of these folks are still around. We certainly hope that these gentlemen have changed their ways.

CHAPTER: DEBT COLLECTION

A lot of people have an image in their mind of a mafia debt collector. A man that has a certain look and uses certain tactics to get paid. This image has even permeated corporate America. Many Fortune 500 companies have corporate accounts receivable teams who collect on trade credit. These credit and collection professionals are often joked as being the “mafia arm” of the company. They joke amongst themselves about breaking legs if certain customers don’t pay. But we have seen instances where the real mafia has gotten involved in telemarketing and debt collection scams. Some have said the Buffalo mafia has learned the collections and call center operations in Las Vegas and moved them to Buffalo in the early 1990s.

Joseph Bella was involved in many schemes. He sought confidential information on consumers to collect money. Bella operated several debt collections companies in the Buffalo area starting in 2008. They included Check Systems, LLC; Interchex Systems, LLC; Goldberg Maxwell, LLC; Mullins & Kane, LLC; Morgan Jackson, LLC, and National Check Registry, LLC. Each of these companies had multiple violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Bella reached a settlement with the AG to pay $165,000 in restitution and penalties.

“Across the state, we’ve worked aggressively to ensure that debt collectors who exploit desperate consumers and break the law pay a price for their behavior. In this case, we’re pleased that consumers who paid on payday loans will receive full restitution and that Bella will receive heavy penalties,” said New York Attorney General Schneiderman. “With this action and many others, my office will continue to fight to protect New Yorkers from illegal business practices and stop companies that seek to prey upon consumers facing tough economic times," (“A.G. Schneiderman Announces…”).

Bella’s companies used the verification of employment process illegally to collect consumer information. Federal law prohibits creditors to contact debtor’s employees for any reason except to obtain location information. However, the companies routinely asked the employers for the debtor’s social security number, salary, dates of hire, and wage garnishment information. Further, the form sent would imply they would garnish the employee’s wages. This was a lie because they have not received any judgment and had no right to do so.

Bella’s companies also violated the law by sending letters to consumers under the name of an attorney, M. Robert Madia. However, Madia had no knowledge of the letters and had not reviewed any of the consumer files. Bella’s company terminated Madia in November 2012. Yet they continued to send out letters in his name, and copy him, even though he was not employed there.

Further, Bella’s companies collected on payday loans. However, payday loans are illegal in New York state. Payday loans are often for a small amount of money at a high interest rate, typically 450 percent or higher.

The Federal Trade Commission also made additional allegations against Bella’s companies. The FTC alleged the companies falsely accused consumers of check fraud, falsely threaten to arrest, imprison, sue or garnish wages, failed to verify consumers owed the debt, charged illegal fees, and revealed consumers’ debt to third parties. “These debt collectors continued to harass consumers and violate the law after the validity of the debt was called into question, and after the New York Attorney General’s office ordered them to stop,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “By working together with our state partners, we can leverage our resources to stop these illegal tactics,” (“New York Court Halts…, 2014).

Bella’s companies got away with this in the short term by a specific strategy. He would operate a company for no more than six months. Then he would shut it down. He would start a new company with a new name the next day. He would operate that for no more than six months. Then he would shut that down and start another company (“A.G. Schneiderman Announces…”).

Douglas MacKinnon and Mark Gray also owned companies in Buffalo that engaged in illegal collection activities. They were sued by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the New York Attorney General. They bought defaulted debt for “pennies on the dollar” and used illegal means to collect the debt. They generated millions of dollars in profit.

The companies involved were Northern Resolution Group LLC, Enhanced Acquisitions LLC and Delray Capital LLC. They served as a “lynchpin” of a massive collections scheme. “Our lawsuit asserts that millions of consumers were harassed, threatened, and deceived as part of a massive scheme to collect inflated debts,” said Richard Cordray, director of the financial protection board (Fairbanks, 2016). MacKinnon and Gray would inflate the debt and then use illegal tactics to collect.

First, the companies artificially add extra monies to the original amount owed. They would add at least $200 to the debt. In some cases they inflated the debt amount by more than 600 percent. This allowed them to bring in “tens of millions” of dollars a year.

The companies would use various illegal means to receive payment. They would falsely threaten legal action or accuse debtors of committing crimes. They used fake calls and emails to impersonate law enforcement and court officials. They even told one consumer she did not have time to get an attorney because she would be arrested the following day. “Living with debt is difficult enough as it is, without the added stress of being harassed and threatened by debt collectors, “said Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman (Fairbanks, 2016).

There were many more telemarketing firms doing shady business in the Buffalo area. Multiple investigations brought up many ties to the Buffalo mob. Some ties were direct. Others were too close for comfort. As famous homicide detective Joe Kenda says, there is no such thing as a coincidence.

The FBI raided the offices of telemarketing firm Very Impressive Products. They found many checks made out to our friend Frank “Butchie Bifocals” BiFulco. BiFulco was an employee of the Local 210 and had been a reputed member of the Todaro crime family for many years. "Frank BiFulco is not an owner of the company," said attorney Thomas C. D'Agostino. He would not discuss why company checks would be made out to BiFulco, other than to say "there is absolutely nothing wrong,” (Beebe and Herbeck, 1993).

Law enforcement says that New Life Marketing in Buffalo had reputed mob ties. These include Gaetano “Tommy Chooch” Miceli. He was identified by the FBI as a mobster as far back as 1975. John Catanzaro, a former employee of Local 210, had reached a plea agreement in 1989 for a no-show scheme. These documents show he was a member of the organized crime family. Michael Muscarella, President of New Life, is known as the owner of the vehicle that police say was the getaway car in the 1978 shooting of mobster Billy Sciolino.

Robert Sciolino, Billy’s brother, owned Bison Chysler Plymouth along with Joseph Mosey Jr. Buffalo Police describe Mosey as an organized crime associate. He was accused of defrauding customers using his company Allied Publishers Services. Mosey is described as one of Buffalo’s “first telemarketers” and a “tutor” of Buffalo’s younger telemarketers (Beebe and Herbeck, 1993).

Joseph Todaro III, son of reputed mob boss Joseph Todaro Jr., was a supervisor at Logik Enterprises. "He does not hold a position nor does he hold any ownership interest in Logik Enterprises," said Robert L. Boreanaz, Logik's attorney (Beebe and Herbeck, 1993). The father of Frank Tripi, President of Logik, was acquitted of murder and mob-related gambling charges. Carmen Gallo was a salesman at Logik.

Carmen Gallo’s great-grandfather, Joseph DiCarlo, was a feared mobster and dubbed “Buffalo’s Public Enemy No. 1” by Police Commissioner Austin Roche during Prohibition. Gallo was also Frank BiFulco’s stepson. BiFulco would tell Gallo he “could be the next made man,” (Gryta, 1993).

Testimony shows Carmen Gallo being unscrupulous while working at Logik. "Make sure you're sitting down, because I've got real exciting news for you," he said. He was calling to tell a woman she had won a either a new Jeep Cherokee, $25,000 cash, or a large screen television. He told the woman he had “a wife and kids” and would not put them in harm’s way for working for an unethical employer. This is even though Gallo was just 15 years old at the time. A Logik official said Gallo would “never” say such things (Herbeck and Beebe, 1993).

Carmen Gallo was murdered in May 1993 on the streets of East Buffalo in a dispute over drugs. He was a student at Lafayette High School. He was shot 12 times at close range with an AK-47. The assailants then drove over his body twice. "This was a really nasty thing, a crime with a lot of hate in it," said one official. "Whoever did it didn't just want to kill him. They walked up to him and made sure they finished him off,” (Herbeck and Beebee, 1993).

Frank BiFulco allegedly launched his own private investigation into his stepson’s slaying. Gallo’s friends hit the streets and offered as much as $20,000 for information. One resident said two men drove up and told him to give names and he would not have to go to court. Residents were not given BiFulco’s name, however. They were given a Logik Enterprises business card.

Buffalo homicide Captain Charles Fieramusca told those involved in the private investigation to cease and desist. "It was probably well-meaning. It was probably well-intended, but it certainly was not wise," Fieramusca said. "This kind of thing could put an intimidation-type factor out on the streets,” (Herbeck and Beebee, 1993).

“Butchie Bifocals” denied any involvement in the private investigation. "I spoke to them yesterday, and Butchie denies any connection to any kind of a reward or investigation," said Harold Boreanaz, former attorney of BiFulco (Herbeck and Beebee, 1993).

An unnamed woman claims that Gallo’s uncle stood up at the funeral and said “We've heard rumors people are angry, but we want no retaliation. We don't want anyone hurt,”. She also said "There's all this talk about mobsters out in the streets, questioning people, but people are forgetting this boy -- he couldn't have weighed more than 100 pounds -- was murdered in the most savage way you can imagine. He was in and out of my house all the time. He was a funny kid. You'd laugh your head off with him. Now he's dead." (Herbeck and Beebee, 1993).

Samuel Amoia Jr., the grandson of former Buffalo mob boss Sam Pieri, was secretary-treasurer of LoMoia Enterprises. Amoia served a prison term for dealing cocaine in 1988. Interestingly, his brother Joseph faces cocaine charges in Las Vegas. We know Vegas is tied to the Buffalo Mob as well.

Joseph Amoia was also running a telemarketing business in Las Vegas. Andrew “Babe” Navino not only testified that Joseph was a cocaine dealer, but he also accused Joseph of hiring him to carry out a murder. Novino said that Joseph Amoia offered him $5,000 to carry out a “hit” of one of his close friends (Herbeck, 1998).

Herbeck’s coverage of the court testimony played out like a movie. Herbeck reported the following:

“Defense lawyer Patrick Brown asked Novino why Amoia would hire his friend to kill him.

"Usually, your best friend will kill you," Novino testified. "From what I know of, that's how it works."

"Have you ever seen the movie, 'The Godfather?' " Brown asked. "A lotta times," Novino said. "You learned how this stuff works from 'The Godfather?' " Brown asked. "No, I didn't," Novino said” (Herbeck, 1998).

Larry Panaro was Vice President of North American Enterprises. He faces money laundering charges in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Police say he has boasted of family connections to the Buffalo mob. His cousin, Victor, was serving a life sentence for murder and drug convictions.

Vincent Spano was a manager at North American Enterprises. Spano has been linked to the mob by the FBI. His father-in-law’s restaurant was seized by the feds because it was used for gambling. Spano was a convicted gambler himself.

A six-month investigation by the federal Telemarketing Task Force brought down 110 indictments against four corporations. Thomas Saia was identified as a key player in all four companies. Saia is also a convicted cocaine dealer and son of a mob informer. After being indicted, Saia’s response was “one hundred percent not guilty,” (Herbeck, 1994).

The accused companies are Grand National Products, Grand American Marketing, Universal Promotions

These Buffalo-area companies allegedly used recruiters from Las Vegas to hire young people right out of high school. The new recruits would be taken to sporting events, nightclubs and restaurants. "They really wined and dined these kids. They were taking underage kids out in a limo, taking them out to a bar and buying them drinks," said an unnamed woman who is the mother of a former Grand American Marketing employee (Herbeck, 1994).

The young employees were taught and encouraged to make false statements. The employees would lie and tell consumers that they won prizes up to $35,000. To claim the fake prize, they would have to send in $1,500. The Better Business Bureau logged over 400 complaints about the companies. Hundreds of senior citizens throughout the US and Canada were bilked out of a total of $2 million.

Saia, Richard O’Neil, his brother Dennis of Las Vegas, Richard Procknal, and Ronald Bauer were indicted with felony counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Saia owned Universal Promotions and Northtown Universal, while being a manager of the other two firms. Procknal and Bauer owned Grand American and Grand National. Also accused of the same charges were Deborah Sills, Maria Bennett, Leo Gastle, Kenneth Hughes, Gregory Hinaman, Thomas Smith, John Andrews, and Martin Victor.

Rocco F. Guadagna earned the nickname “King of Buffalo’s Telesharks” by federal prosecuters. They sought a record $27 million forfeiture for money bilked from seniors across the country. Guadagna was indicted on fraud and racketeering charges. Twenty-eight of his former employees were also brought up on various charges.

"Mr. Guadagna's company was the biggest telemarketing firm headquartered in Western New York," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce. "The $27 million is the amount of money we believe the company took in between 1988 and 1993,” (Beebe and Herbeck, 1995).

Salespeople in the company, RFG Group of Amherst, made outrageous claims to garner consumer trust. Like some of the other schemes, they lied to consumers and said they had one a fake prize. Then they required the winners to send in money to claim the prize that did not exist.

Salesman Donald Ivey told a consumer he was calling from a submarine, while a second salesman made “sonar” sound effects in the background. On some occasions Ivey said he was calling from a private jet. Other times he said that the Lincoln Mercury automobile company was a sponsor of the sweepstakes.

Salesman John Suppa tried to garner sympathy by telling the consumers he had five children, and two of them were “crippled”. He went on to become Vice President of Logik Enterprises. Salesman Charles Robbins Sr. told consumers he “might as well file bankruptcy” if he was going to continue to give out such big prizes. Other sales reps told consumers they had won Cadillacs, the lottery, or their dreams had come true. One victim said she paid the company $20,000, which she was saving to pay for her burial. What a way to treat the elderly!

Many efforts were made by the FBI to link this case to the Buffalo mafia. They did find some checks made out to our man Frank BiFulco. However, that is as far as they could get. They did not find enough evidence to charge BiFulco in the case and would not discuss his involvement.

Two more shady telemarketing companies with ties to organized crime were based out of Buffalo. San Remo Sales and Nu Tech Limited started in Buffalo and eventually relocated to Palm Springs. These companies also used the lure of big prizes to collect large sums of cash.

Under indictment was Carl D. Traina, winner of the $1 million New York State Lottery. I wonder why he needed to be a scammer after winning all that money legitimately. If you won a cool million, what would you do with it? I would probably buy my mother a house. This guy decided that was not enough for him.

Traina won the “Win for Life” lottery game that guaranteed him $1,000 per week until he reached a net worth of $1M. But not so fast. One day later Traina was told by the IRS that he owed back taxes. David G. Jay, Traina's lawyer, said he had about $110,00 in debts (Herbeck, 1995).

Traina started San Remo in Buffalo with Vincent J. “Jimmy” Cacci. Remember Caci? Caci was an alleged Buffalo mobster who moved to Palm Springs. Caci had multiple arrests and convictions. He was indicted in an extortion case over a mob war over vending machines, but charges did not stick. He did get convicted for failing to declare $26,600 cash in his pocket while crossing the Peace Bridge in October 1983. The Peace Bridge in Buffalo crosses the Niagara River into Canada.

Officials alleged that Traina operated San Remo similar to a former telemarketing company he had in the 1980’s with Steven Sacco. Sacco is the son of of Richard Sacco, a former Buffalo police officer who was up on federal drug charges. Steven is also the John Sacco, a mob associate and FBI informant. Steven Sacco was indicted on burglary and drug possession charges in Las Vegas in 1989. This while he was making $70,000 per year in telemarketing. Again, why did he have to scam when he made so much legitimate money? His punishment was a $990 fine.

Also indicted on felony telemarketing fraud charges were such colorful characters as Jerry C. Caci, Joseph Caci, Phillip "Fat Philly" DioGuardi, Katherine Borane, also known as "Kathy Cash," and many others with ties to Palm Springs and Las Vegas.

(YouTube, 8NewsNow).

Leon Benzer was the alleged mastermind behind the HOA schemes. An unnamed target in the investigation thought Benzer was “in the mob” because of his association with Spilotro. In these discussions it was told that Benzer thought of himself as a “Soprano”, a reference to the HBO TV series on organized crime. But Benzer maintained to others that he was “just a bully” and was not involved with the mafia (German, 2013).

Benzer owned a company called Silver Lining Construction. Benzer would allegedly pack the HOA boards with people who would vote the way he wanted. These boards would vote to assign construction defect claims to a certain law firm. This firm would then hire Silver Lining Construction to repair homes with construction defects. In turn, Silver Lining Construction would give the firm ten percent of the fee to get the contract.

If the board members did not vote the way Benzer wanted, they would be fired. But some didn’t just accept the firing. One ousted community manager, Mary Ann Watts, fought back with her own list of demands. She requested $50,000 in cash, her condominium paid off, and for her family to be unhurt. For her trouble, she caught a conspiracy charge. And pleaded guilty.

A lawyer for one of the HOA boards, Scott Canepa, secretly recorded a meeting. He sensed a takeover attempt, so he turned the tape over to Las Vegas police and the FBI. Canepa’s information led the investigators to launch “Operation GrandMaster” into the HOA fraud.

CHAPTER: HOA SCAM

Ah, the suburbs. Swimming pools. Manicured lawns. Picket fences. Friendly neighbors. Two and a half kids. The rise of the American Dream of home ownership led to many happy families in the Buffalo area. Homeowner associations tied things altogether. They kept property values high and residents in step. Yet who would believe that even in this green utopia, the mafia lurked?

The Buffalo mob was allegedly involved in conspiracy tied to a dozen local homeowner associations. These activities came after the start of the Dead Years period. The mob used various tactics to load boards and divert funds, leaving the HOAs bank accounts gutted. Then the HOAs did not have the money to operate. The homeowners who paid the HOA fees lost their money. Two of the most widely known HOAs, Vistana and Park Avenue, we swindled out of millions of dollars.

Overall, 36 people pleaded guilty in the HOA scams. Another two committed suicide. “Through this network of conspirators, Benzer was able to compromise the integrity of at least 10 Las Vegas HOAs,” the Justice Department lawyers wrote in court papers. “This was accomplished through a pattern of bribery, intimidation, rigged elections, secret meetings and payoffs” (German, 2014).

Alleged ringleader Leon Benzer was friends with Joseph Bravo. Bravo was involved with the Buffalo mob through a cocaine trafficking ring. Benzer met Bravo through attorney John Spilotro. Spilotro was the nephew of Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro, a Chicago mob enforcer who ran business in Las Vegas. Benzer told investigators he did not think Bravo was tied to the mafia.

Paul Citelli was involved in one of the HOA takeovers. He was a limo driver in Vegas. The FBI alleges Citelli had ties to the Buffalo mob through the cocaine ring (YouTube, 8NewsNow).

Leon Benzer was the alleged mastermind behind the HOA schemes. An unnamed target in the investigation thought Benzer was “in the mob” because of his association with Spilotro. In these discussions it was told that Benzer thought of himself as a “Soprano”, a reference to the HBO TV series on organized crime. But Benzer maintained to others that he was “just a bully” and was not involved with the mafia (German, 2013).

Benzer owned a company called Silver Lining Construction. Benzer would allegedly pack the HOA boards with people who would vote the way he wanted. These boards would vote to assign construction defect claims to a certain law firm. This firm would then hire Silver Lining Construction to repair homes with construction defects. In turn, Silver Lining Construction would give the firm ten percent of the fee to get the contract.

If the board members did not vote the way Benzer wanted, they would be fired. But some didn’t just accept the firing. One ousted community manager, Mary Ann Watts, fought back with her own list of demands. She requested $50,000 in cash, her condominium paid off, and for her family to be unhurt. For her trouble, she caught a conspiracy charge. And pleaded guilty.

A lawyer for one of the HOA boards, Scott Canepa, secretly recorded a meeting. He sensed a takeover attempt, so he turned the tape over to Las Vegas police and the FBI. Canepa’s information led the investigators to launch “Operation GrandMaster” into the HOA fraud. This operation lasted from 2003-2009. It included wiring up confidential informants and sending them into Benzer’s operations.

Under scrutiny was attorney Keith Gregory. Gregory was later accused of being Benzer’s top lawyer and leading takeover attempts at many HOAs. “The facts make clear that (Gregory) was all-in in this conspiracy,” wrote prosecutors (German, 2014).

Benzer admitted to giving Gregory $10,000 for his role in the Vistana takeover. The money came from Benzer’s personal account “as a ‘thank you’ for ‘working with us.’”. “When questioned as to exactly what he meant by thank you and whether the payment was more accurately described as a bribe payment, Benzer advised that the term bribe was ‘your language’ and he didn’t like to use that term, but that the answer was ‘basically yes,’” (German, 2014).

Gregory’s attorney balked at the bribe allegation. “There were no discussions between Gregory and Benzer about that,” Snow said. “The fact that he was paid with a check suggests it was not intended as a bribe.” (German, 2014).

But who was Joe Bravo exactly? Sure, he knew Benzer and other conspirators in the HOA scheme. But was his presence just a coincidence? Bravo was an alleged partner of Paul Citelli in the Buffalo mob’s cocaine importing ring. Citelli apologized to the judge in that case. He was sentenced to seven years instead of 27. Bravo, on the other hand, was sentenced to 87 months for his involvement in the cocaine ring. Years later they are both defendants in the HOA case.

David Chesnoff was a defense attorney in the cocaine trafficking case. Many years later he shows up as a business partner with Joe Bravo. Chesnoff and Bravo are listed in real estate records as partners in land deals in the United States and Mexico. In Baja California Sur Bravo was involved with the Punta Arena de la Ventana resort. Bravo also managed a private airport outside La Paz, Mexico.

Chesnoff has a history of defending alleged mobsters. Chesnoff defended Vincent Faraci, a reputed New York mob figure, for tax evasion in 2013. Faraci was reputed to be part of the Bonanno crime family. “Mr. Faraci has never run away from this problem,” Chesnoff said (German, 2013).

Chesnoff believes that Bravo is no longer connected to the mafia. “I have been a lawyer for 32 years, and I have never seen anyone who so thoroughly turned his life around and has been as hard working and honorable with all those people that he has worked with than Joe Bravo,” Chesnoff says (Smith, 2012). Former Las Vegas mayor Goodman also admired a reformed Bravo. “He did his time, and he did it like a man,” Goodman says. “He made no excuses, had no bravado, and I understand, after he came out, that he’s a hard worker. People who know him love him. His word is his bond. I don’t know anybody who says a bad word about him, even the feds. He paid his debt. I think Las Vegas is a place of second chances, so I have no problem vouching for him in that respect,” (Smith, 2012).

Bravo was described as having a relationship with Baja-Sur Governor Narciso Agundez Montano. Agundez was later arrested for public corruption charges. Is Joe Bravo still involved with the Buffalo Mafia? We do not know. His admirers seem to think not.

CHAPTER: LAWYER LOU AND THE FAMILY

Jacktrade LLC of Las Vegas had been under investigation since 2006. This is the start of the Dead Years period. By 2012 they were defunct, but the corporation still pleaded guilty to interstate transmission of wagering information. This is a violation of the federal Wire Act, which bans the transmission of illegal gambling information. This act is typically used to indict unlicensed sports betting operators.

Why would consumers turn to illegal means when legal sports gambling is prevalent in Nevada? Typically to find move favorable odds or to receive rebates on the money they wager. And where there is demand, you can bet there are some criminals standing by to facilitate the process. The U.S. attorney for Nevada, Daniel Bogden, put it this way:

''Because illegal bookmakers and unlawful online gaming operations are not regulated at the same level as traditional, land-based gaming operations with vigorous enforcement of laws, prohibiting illegal gaming is necessary to provide appropriate consumer protections for individuals engaged in gambling and to prevent money laundering, underage gambling, and participation by residents of jurisdictions where it is deemed illegal. Such illegal gaming operations take business from legal gaming operations, preventing state and local governments from receiving important tax revenue, and serve as a major source of income for organized criminal groups, both in the United States and abroad,” (Green, 2012).

Information about Jacktrade and its sister company, International Racing Group (IRG), were revealed when company Youbet.com was raided by the Feds. Youbet.com owned IRG by acquisition. At the time, Youbet.com was discussed widely but Jacktrade and IRG information was kept quiet. This was because the case against them was under “super seal” to prevent information about the grand jury, wiretap and witnesses coming out.

IRG claimed they only facilitated wagers, but authorities charged them with accepting wagers. People called in bets and the calls were received at the island of Curacao, off the coast of Venezuela. "Patrons use telephones to place bets with the company in Curacao on horse and dog racing events occurring at various venues in North America," says a 2001 memo from the Nevada Attorney General’s Office to Dennis Neilander, chairman of the state Gaming Control Board. "The bets are made against front money deposits with IRG in Nevada," (Green, 2012).

At the heart of Jacktrade and IRG were the Tavano brothers, Louis Jr. and Richard. They were two of the three owners of the company. They escaped personal charges when their company took the fall. Though Jacktrade LLC had to forfeit $2 million in cash. Documents show Louis Tavano was running IRG from his house. This caused them to be guilty of two crimes. First, Tavano was not licensed by the state to work in gaming operations. Also, the offshore wagering was not legal. IRG purportedly wired about $29 million to its customers from 2005-2007 (Green, 2012).

Businesswire shows Lou Tavano Jr. was a lawyer by trade. From most of 1985 to 2000 he represented corporate clients in Las Vegas. He was also General Counsel for Bally Gaming for a spell. Lou and Richard’s father was Lou Tavano Sr. Tavano Sr. was a known associate of the Buffalo mob and a cousin of Sonny Benjamin Nicoletti.

In United States v. Magaddino, 1974, Tavano Sr. was indicted with the Magaddinos and Nicolettis. They were charged in the Western District of New York for use of facilities in interstate commerce to promote gambling and conspiracy to do the same. Tavano Sr was accused of being a bookmaker in the employ of Benjamin Nicoletti, Jr., who supervised bookmaking activities for his father, who in turn accounted to the Magaddinos. The FBI placed bugs at several locations in the Buffalo area, including the Magaddino Memorial Chapel in Niagara Falls, the Capitol Coffee Shop, also located in Niagara Falls, and the Camelia Linen Supply Company in Buffalo. Tavano Sr. challenged the wiretaps as illegal, and his indictment was eventually dismissed.

1990 found Tavano Sr. in Las Vegas, again under investigation for illegal gambling. His sports betting ring was taking bets at $1 million per week. Authorities were amazed at the number of Buffalo residents showing up in Las Vegas. "We're chasing Buffalo people all over the place around here," said Ed Jenkins, assistant special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office. "Every day, it seems that five more of them from Buffalo come through here," (Herbeck and Beebe, 1990).

Tavano’s lawyer, Barry Lieberman, called him “a bettor, not a bookmaker.” Though Tavano Sr. was under investigation for six months, he had yet to be indicted. “I think it’s because they don’t have the evidence,” Lieberman quipped. Lieberman also called the allegation of the Buffalo mob being involved “totally ridiculous” (Herbeck and Beebe, 1990).

Was it ridiculous? Was the Buffalo mob dead in 1990? Jenkins believed that there was a mob connection but could not prove that the mob controlled anything. "It appears to be a Las Vegas operation run by people with Buffalo and Niagara Falls backgrounds," Harp said (Herbeck and Beebe, 1990). Sonny Benjamin Nicoletti was back however, and he was indicted. At a news conference, investigators described Nicoletti as a captain in the Todaro crime family from Buffalo.

It took four years, but Tavano Sr. was eventually brought up on charges. He pleaded guilty to illegal gambling. He was sentenced to one month in a halfway house, 300 hours of community service, and a $10,000 fine. (Herbeck, 1994). The FBI again brought up that Tavano was related to Benjamin Sonny Nicoletti, and he was tied to Magaddino. Still, Lieberman insisted there was no proof that the mob was involved. As Alonzo in the movie Training Day said, “It’s not what you know. It’s what you can prove.”

This wasn’t Lou Sr. and Robert’s first scrape with the law, however. They had made a fortune in the tobacco trade dating back to 1997. Their success was beyond what anyone could dream. The only problem was it was not what one would call, legal.

Robert and Louis Tavano Sr., along with Larry Miller, were named the heads of a tobacco smuggling operation. They were the top of 21 indictments for activities spanning from 1993-1997. They moved $687 million in illegal cigarettes and alcohol. They moved the contraband from a New York Indian reservation up through Canada. Authorities looked to seize $500 million in property (Anzalone, et al., 1997). Larry Miller was a Las Vegas slot machine salesman, and he owned a piece of a casino (“Tobacco’s Other Secret”, 2000).

Robert Tavano Sr. was the Niagara Falls Republican Chairman, and a member of the City Council’s Tourism Advisory Board (Scelsa and Thompson, 1997). He also went to prison in the 1970s for stealing county insurance premiums (Levin, 2002).

The three gentlemen did business as LBL Importing Inc. out of Niagara Falls. They would legally buy millions in tax free cigarettes and alcohol. Their business plan was to sell it to Russia. But instead of going there, it was filtered through the Mohawk, also known as the Akwesasne, Indian reservation. It was then smuggled into Canada.

The following men were also indicted. L. David Jacobs, former Chief of the St. Regis Mohawk tribe, was charged with racketeering. John Fountain, a former state police officer, was charged with money laundering. He was accused of using his armored car service and currency exchange businesses to wash money. Rex Seitz, owner of King Transportation, was charged with transporting the illegal goods from Niagara Falls to the Akwesasne Reservation.

Jeremiah Sullivan was a U.S. Customs leader whose territory spanned Buffalo to Canada. "The Akwesasne Indian Reservation is the Achilles' heel of the northern border," said Sullivan. "There are some serious national security concerns about whom, meaning people, and what, meaning things, traverse that reservation," he said (Anzalone, et al., 1997).

Rather than deny that illegal acts were committed, defense attorneys referenced a strange loophole in the law. Rodney Personius, attorney for Robert Tavano, pointed to a law upheld by appeals courts. He claims that if any country lost money, it would be Canada. And if the United States did not lose any money, then no U.S. crime was committed. This got Robert Tavano released on bond.

The defense also alleged that anything that occurred on the Indian Reservation was sovereign and could not be relied upon for charges from the United States. They also invoked the Jay Treaty, which specifies, in part,” (n)or shall the Indians passing or repassing with their own proper goods and effects of whatever nature, pay for the same any impost or duty whatever. But goods in bales, or other large packages, unusual among Indians, shall not be considered as goods belonging bona fide to Indians,” (United States v. Miller).

What this did not do was halt government seizure. The government sought $50 million from the four defendants. They placed a lean on Robert Tavano’s home. They sought to seize six automobiles from Robert Tavano alone. Other items up for seizure were vans, boats, luxury cars and eight properties. The Defense actually cited the Gotti trial to determine when the assets could actually be seized (United States v. Miller).

We were surprised to find that an official from R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was alleged to be in on the smuggling. RJR is one of the largest tobacco companies in the United States. This came up when Michael Mangan, a truck driver for the smugglers, gave testimony in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Mangan alleged that Les Thompson, a marketing agent who had an office inside RJR headquarters, came into the picture during a fishing trip.

Les Thompson was once a top sales executive for RJR. He had million-dollar expense account. He claims that RJR set up their Northern Brands International subsidiary for the sole purpose of involvement in smuggling. He stated he was the fall guy for RJR (“Tobacco’s Other Secret”, 2000).

"We sat around this big fireplace, and there was a big discussion about smuggling of the cigarettes, and Les Thompson was present at this meeting," Mangan said. "And I mean he definitely put it together that the cigarettes were being smuggled into Canada," (“Official of Reynolds…”, 1997).

RJ Reynolds had their financials subpoenaed as part of the case. Why would such a large, legitimate company have anything to do with illegal activity? It increases their sales. "It wasn't because a bunch of people in Buffalo all of a sudden decided they like Players cigarettes," said Heather Selin, a policy consultant with Nonsmokers Rights Association in Ottawa. "Tobacco companies were flooding the export market knowing full well that those cigarettes would end up in Canada illegally,” (“Official of Reynolds…”, 1997). The spokesperson for RJR was contacted and their official reply was no comment.

The score was so big that the Canadian government got into the investigation. They had just raised taxes on cigarettes to curb smoking. They ended up losing lots of revenue due to the smuggling. They sued RJR and its affiliates to the tune of $1 billion. They used the facts the United States government found proving the conspiracy. The smuggling was so successful that Canada was forced to reduce their tax rate.

The Canadian lawsuit alleged that the products that ended up being smuggled accounted for $60 million of the $100 million that RJR made in 1993. RJR was making $1.5 million a week, and an RJR executive quipped that they were more profitable than Ford Canada. At first RJR said they were not involved. Then they said Les Thompson was working on his own without approval from upper management “Canadian Lawsuit Traces...”, 1999).

When it was all said and done, everyone pleaded guilty. Les Thompson was sentenced to 70 months in prison. RJR subsidiary Northern Brands International paid $15 million in fines and forfeitures. Robert Tavano was sentenced to four years in prison. Louis Tavano’s sentence was not final as he terminal cancer. Both the Tavanos were ordered to pay a $1 million fine.

But that’s not all, folks. RJR and other tobacco companies are alleged to be involved in smuggling with different organized crime factions all over the world. Various documents collected by CorpWatch dating back to the 1970’s show that British American Tobacco, Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds have orchestrated smuggling networks across Canada, Colombia, China, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA. These companies were allegedly entwined with organized crime factions in Hong Kong, Canada, Colombia, Italy, and the USA.

"Organized criminals, who have traditionally been involved in smuggling illicit narcotics, are suddenly realizing that tobacco is a good thing to get into, as you make just as much money, and it's perhaps not quite as anti-social," Douglas Tweddle, the outgoing director for compliance and facilitation at the World Customs Organization in Brussels. "The public generally aren't against you if you're selling smuggled cigarettes; in fact, they rather appreciate you. And if you get caught, in virtually all countries, the penalties for smuggling tobacco are a great deal less than smuggling heroin or cocaine," (“Tobacco Companies Linked…”, 2001).

We would not have thought that the Buffalo mafia could be entwined with legitimate tobacco companies, public officials, and gambling. Their reach extended to Las Vegas, the islands, and Canada. The gambling charges start around the Dead Years period. Do you think The Arm is still dormant today?

CHAPTER: DUDLEY DELWRIGHT

Who was the Barge Canal Gang? They were a group of local toughs that committed crimes on the East Coast in the 1960s and 1970s. They were thought to be financed through organized crime figures such as Anthony Falange and Joseph Falcone. Their specialties were safecracking, burglaries, stolen property, and arson. Of particular interest in this group is Delwright Dyman. This Barge Canal Gang alumni has showed up again in the Dead Years period.

Delwright Dyman was convicted in 1968 for conspiracy to transport stolen property. He was thought to be in tight with Joseph Falcone. Falcone was Utica’s “reputed local Mafia chief”, in charge of loansharking and massive burglaries (LaDuca, 2009). Dyman was convicted of loansharking in 1973. Officials continued to see a host of familiar names pop up in investigations through the 1970s and 1980s.

Delwright was arrested for burglary again in 2009, right in the Dead Years period. He was alleged to burglarize an affluent home in New Hartford. He used sophisticated technology such as a cell phone jamming device that inactivates home alarm systems. This type of technology led investigators to believe he was still a professional. Other items confiscated from Delwright included safe drills, cutting torches, door spreaders, lock picking equipment, and two-way radios.

Investigators suspected Delwright and followed his movements throughout the day of May 23, 2009. They observed him and an accomplice breaking into the home. He was pulled over after leaving the home. He was found to be holding $35,000 in stolen jewelry, antiques, and collectibles (LaDuca, 2009).

This makes us wonder. We have proof that Delwright was a burglar for the mafia 40 years ago. He is still a burglar in the same area. Is he still associated with the mafia in the same area? If we have proof that the mafia was involved with other crimes during Dead Years period, could they be involved in this one?

CHAPTER: SPORTS

Sports gambling seems to be a good fit for the mafia. We have talked about prior cases. But it seems that may be the tip of the iceberg. We have seen other sports gambling enterprises that may have mob entanglement. We will take that bet.

Investigators wound up a 21-month investigation into online sports gambling in 2010. This is a few years into the Dead Years period. Pleading guilty were Richard Dorsagno Sr. and Richard Dorsagno Jr., father and son. Also pleading guilty were Dorsagno Sr.’s wife, Susan Dorsagno, and John Swift. All these people were based out of Utica, New York. The sport in question was professional football games.

The Dorsagnos are allegedly related to Harry Dorsagno, also of Utica. Harry was indicted as being part of an organized crime ring that plundered hundreds of retail stores in the Upstate New York Area. This organized crime ring of 25 people stole tens of millions of dollars in merchandise (“State Dismantles Huge…, 2000). Two or three shoplifters would go out most every day. They would hit 20 stores in a day. At times they would go back to the same store hours later and steal more merchandise.

Richard Dorsagno Sr. pleaded guilty to five counts of promoting gambling. He had to turn over some computers to law enforcement. He was required to donate $1,000 to five charities of his choice. Richard Dorsagno Jr. pleaded guilty to one count of criminal facilitation and was required to donate $1,000 to one charity of his choice. Donating to charity sounds like an unorthodox punishment to us. “I think that Judge Dwyer is doing the community a great favor because if it’s a fine, it goes to the state, and you never see it,” said George Aney, attorney to Dorsagno Sr. “He knows a lot of charities in the area are having great difficulties, so he took the bull by the horns,” (Ackerman, 2011).

John Swift pleaded guilty to five counts of promoting gambling. His sentence was to pay $2,500 in fines and forfeit $30,000 he received as a bookie. Darrell Swift Jr. and Marie Swift both were charged with one count each of fifth-degree conspiracy.

We find more evidence of the Buffalo mafia being involved in gambling during the Dead Years period. Eric Battistoni and Thi Nguyen were arrested in 2013 on extortion charges. The FBI discovered evidence pointing to a Mafia connection. Bookmaking, extortion, and threats of violence were used on an unnamed victim. Was the Buffalo mob really disbanded in 2013?

The unnamed victim owed $24,000 to Thi Nguyen for gambling on professional football. Nguyen owned a nail salon in West Seneca. He was alleged to be the link to gamblers in the area’s Asian community. Eric Battisoni was the alleged Mafia link. When the victim didn’t pay, the men called in person to collect.

“Battistoni and Nguyen showed up unannounced at the victim’s place of business and made threats of force and violence to collect the debts,” FBI Supervisory Agent James A. Jancewicz said. “We believe Nguyen served as an intermediary for Battistoni, taking bets for the Asian community,” (Michel, 2013).

The victim feared for his safety, so he went to the authorities. He met with the two gentlemen on two occasions to pay portions of his gambling debt. Unbeknownst to the criminals, FBI agents were watching and tape recording. This brought up unnamed leads that were passed to ATF and Buffalo Fire Marshals.

Battistoni allowed a search of his home without a warrant. The search found ledgers detailing a gambling operation. This led Battistoni to admit he was an “enforcer”, and Nguyen pleaded guilty to extortion (Fairbanks, 2015). Battistoni looked at 30 months in prison for his crimes.

Everybody enjoys a good game. We talk sports around the office, maybe do a little betting with our friends. Serious gamblers might deal with bookies. But what about when professional sports players get caught up in a gambling ring? And who might you think might run a ring that takes bets from pro players?

Paul Borelli was a Rochester businessman. He was also leader of yet another illegal sports gambling ring. But this operation found itself in the sights of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Also caught in the snare were two former Buffalo Sabres hockey players. Sentencing was handed down in 2015, well into the Dead Years period.

Paul Borelli is interesting because we wonder if he may be related to Felix Borelli. Felix Borelli shows up as a soldier on the 2006 Buffalo Crime Family Chart. The Borellis have a long association with gambling in Rochester. A Peter Borelli was up on gambling charges several times from 1962-1970. A Paul Peter Borelli was charged in a gambling ring in 1982 (“Mafia Membership Charts…).

Authorities in the current case allege that the gambling ring collected at least $76 million in wagers from January to April 2014. Paul Borelli hid all their combined profits in a Bank of America account. Borelli was ordered to pay $1.2 million judgment and forfeit $3 million worth of properties, bank accounts, and cash. In lieu of further prison time, he was sentenced to eight months of house arrest and three years’ probation (“Head of Illegal Gambling…”, 2015).

The Ruff brothers were also detained for their involvement in the ring. Joseph Ruff was a restaurant owner and a bookie. He was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison. His brother and business partner, Mark Ruff, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison. We wonder why they got so much more time than Borelli.

Nathan Paetsch, a former Buffalo Sabres player, was sentenced to eight months of house arrest and 400 hours of community service. He was also required to hand over $265,000 in cash. Since he got no prison time, the judge allowed him to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. The Griffins are a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

We find another gambling event that seems interesting. Although this is not related to sports, it still ties into gambling. In Peter Edward’s book, “Business or Blood”, he alleges that the Buffalo mafia was involved in loan sharking at the Casino Niagara. This casino is at the US-Canadian border. The alleged loan sharking goes back to 2013.

Was the Buffalo mob involved with pro hockey players? Did they feast on loans near Niagara? These charges keep coming up way past the Dead Years period. Do you think they are coincidences, or is the Buffalo LCN still around?

CHAPTER: TORPEY

Thomas Torpey has reappeared. He was arrested in 2015 while visiting a prison. This is many years into the Dead Years period. What does this say about the current status of Buffalo?

Torpey is best known for being a bodyguard for Buffalo mafia underboss Salvatore "Sammy G" Gingello in the 1970s. Gingello survived many attempts on his life. But he lost the final bet when a bomb exploded in his car outside the Gardenia restaurant in Rochester. Torpey survived the blast.

Three years later, Torpey hired hit man John "Mad Dog" Sullivan to murder IBT official John Fiorino in 1981. John Fiorino also died outside the Gardenia restaurant (Morrell, 2018). Fiorino was in a rival mob, and it was rumored he was cooperating in a federal investigation. Torpey served 23 years for his role.

While on trial in 1980 for an assault, Mr. Torpey told a reporter, "I wish you people would stop calling me a Mafia strongman. I'm a nice Irish boy. Thomas Michael Torpey. That's my name. Does that sound like a strongman?” (Cleveland, 2019).

Torpey, described as a “former mobster”, was arrested by State Police during a visit to Albion Correctional Facility. He was indicted for promoting dangerous contraband, criminal sale of a controlled substance, and criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell involving smuggling oxycodone, percocet, percodan, and alprazolam. Authorities did not say to whom he was going to give the drugs. But we do note that his girlfriend, Ashley Sizemore, was serving a four-bit at the prison for attempted arson (Orr, 2015). If Torpey was still in Buffalo some 30 years later, could the mafia be far behind?

CHAPTER: BUFFALO BILLION

Ahh, the Buffalo Billion. It just sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? It has a nice ring to it. But what is it? New York Governor Cuomo announced the 10-year Buffalo Billion program in his 2012 State of the State speech. It is a series of multimillion-dollar contracts awarded to build facilities for high-tech, drug-development and clean-energy businesses in the Buffalo area. Cuomo modeled this after an existing $1 billion-plus program to spur nanotech research and draw semiconductor manufacturers to the Albany region of New York. The Buffalo Billion initiative is many years into the Dead Years period.

There are several key projects in the Buffalo Billion. One is the construction of a $750 million solar panel factory along the Buffalo River. Another is the construction of the Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub facility at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Another is the redevelopment of a downtown Buffalo office tower into a headquarters for IBM and other high-tech businesses. But where big money goes, does corruption follow?

The Investigative Post calls the Buffalo Billion a “costly experiment in economic development that is beset by secrecy and politics.” They said that requests for records under the state Freedom of Information Law were ignored until a lawsuit was filed and that the documents released were stripped of “key information,” including payments to developers. The IP also revealed the involvement of one Louis Ciminelli (Heaney, 2015).

Louis Ciminelli’s company, LPCiminelli, was the developer of two Buffalo Billion buildings. In the past, he served as a trustee of long-time mob controlled LIUNA Local 210 and was named in a 1991 RICO lawsuit against the Local 210. His name appears as a defendant with many alleged Buffalo Crime Family associates such as Leonard Falzone, Salvatore Caci and Peter Geraci.

The document goes on to state: “This is an action brought by two real estate limited partnerships and their managing general partners against a host of defendants, alleging [**2] violations of the federal securities laws and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), arising from a threatened proxy contest. This is not the first suit between the parties, and possibly not the last. The facts of this case are involved and will be addressed in greater detail infra at section II.A,” (Southmark Prime Plus v. Falzone, 1991).

Ron Fino was business manager of the Local 210 and was also a secret FBI informant. The Feds took control of the Local 210 in the 1990s to remove all mob involvement. Fino states that the Feds “didn’t go far enough” and is skeptical that all mob influences were removed from the 210 (Herbeck, 2012). In his book Triangle Exit, Fino writes that Lenoard Falzone compelled him to drop a legal suit against Frank Ciminelli and Ciminelli construction. Falzone allegedly said “You know they are connected Ron and know that their construction companies are off limits.”

Another Local 210 member started giving out information to the FBI. He wasn’t as lucky as Fino. He was gunned down in broad daylight at a construction site. Another man who provided dental services to the 210 was found dead in the trunk of a car. "For at least the past 25 years, the Buffalo La Cosa Nostra has exercised considerable influence, if not complete control, over the affairs of Local 210," an attorney for the international laborers union declared in late 1995 (Herbeck, 2006).

Of interest is John Massaro. He is related to Angelo Massaro (Spokeo). Angelo Massaro was a known Buffalo Crime Family bookie (“FBI Buffalo History…). Also interesting is brothers Peter and Sam Capitano.

They were named as known mob associates in Fino’s book, Triangle Exit. Sam was a “confidant” of Todaro Jr., and Peter was placed into his leadership role by the Todaros. They both fought the federal takeover of the 210 and were suspended for one year. They were barred from leadership roles for five years.

After ten years of control, the Feds gave the 210 a “clean bill of health” in 2006. This is at the start of the Dead Years period. "Today, their reputation is good. Fifteen years ago, it was poor," said James Logan, Executive Vice President of the Construction Industry Employers Association. "They're really out there trying to work with contractors. From what I can see, it's been a complete change. You no longer have people from 210 claiming to be associated with the mob. I feel their image has improved, not only in the industry, but with the public," (Herbeck, 2006).

Was Fino right? Do some vestiges of the mob remain in the 210? As of this writing, Massaro and the Capitano brothers are still Officers of the 210 (“Officers and Staff…). If we have confirmed mob involvement in the 210, and Louis Ciminelli involved in the 210, we wonder if the mob could be involved with Louis Ciminelli and the Buffalo Billion?

Louis Ciminelli donated $96,500 to Governor Cuomo’s campaign. The Request for Proposal to build the SolarCity property required applicants to have “over 50 years of proven experience” in construction in or around Buffalo. This seemed to exclude any company except Ciminelli’s. The requirement was later changed to 15 years’ experience. Ciminelli still got the contract. McGuire got the contract to build the technology -hub building. Three months later they donated $25,000 to Cuomo’s campaign (Campanile and Golding, 2015).

Questionable deals have led into an investigation lead by Manhattan US Attorney Preet Baharara. He has subpoenaed many different firms. Perceived as a bulldog, Baharara had already indicted or convicted 17 New York politicians in his career. “It’s a comprehensive look at the bidding process,” an unnamed source said. “They’re looking at communications between contractors and state officials,” (Campanile and Golding, 2015). What’s interesting is the US Attorney for Buffalo, Bill Hochul, is the husband of Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul.

A spokesperson for Bill Hochul declined comment to the New York Post. Cuomo’s team stated that the Governor had no role in who won the contracts. A spokesperson for Empire State Development Corp, who has a part in running the Buffalo Billion, commented that “We administer a wide range of grant programs, and we have policies and procedures in place to ensure accountability in connection with these programs,” Campanile and Golding, 2015). We are sure everything must be on the up and up.

Did it come as a surprise, then, when Preet Baharara left office? He allegedly was asked to step down and he refused. He was then fired by President Trump. The official word was that it had nothing to do with the investigation. The incoming President simply can choose his own US Attorneys. The cases were expected to continue as planned with a new prosecutor. "There will not be a sea change in the Buffalo Billion investigation because Preet is gone,” said former US Attorney Dennis C. Vacco . He added “No case is going to be swept under the rug by any assistant U.S. attorney, the FBI, or the DEA. They’re not going to let that happen.” (McCarthy, 2017).

Daniel Oliverio, attorney for Louis Cimenelli, seemed to favor a new prosecutor. “We note with interest that Mr. Bharara has resigned, and we will proceed with our own pace and anticipate no change,” he said, “If another U.S. attorney wants to take this in a different way with regard to our clients, we’re more than willing to have that discussion,” (McCarthy, 2017). We wonder why Oliverio seemed pleased. Was it due to the 2 million pages of documents and 22 electronic devices that were collected (Zremski, 2020)?

As the trial wore on, more evidence mounted against Ciminelli. Prosecutors alleged that over $100,000 moved from Ciminelli and his family to Governor Cuomo’s campaign. Cimenelli also held a fundraiser for the Cuomo campaign in 2013 that netted $250,000. This happened to be right during the time that the Buffalo Billion RFP was being drafted by the State. Cuomo himself was not accused of anything.

Prosecutors wanted to make clear that the campaign donations themselves were legal. But they did question the timing. This caused the defense to cry foul. The attorney for developer Steven Aiello wanted the donations stricken from the record and wrote that “The government cannot be permitted to conflate legal and illegal conduct," He further opined that “Special care is needed because of the y constitutionally protected speech and can even be given for the purpose of obtaining good will and access,’’ (Precious, 2018).

Prosecutors retorted by saying the donations were "evidence of the genesis and evolution of their relationships with co-conspirator Todd Howe and of the various co-conspirators’ states of mind,”. US Attorney Geoffrey Berman wrote that Ciminelli’s donations “caught the eye of senior officials in the governor’s office” and “are critical to understanding the motivations” of the indicted parties (Precious, 2018).

What we find interesting is the way the other defendants were treated by prosecutors in comparison to Ciminelli himself. Kevin Schuler, VP of LPCiminelli, switched his please from not guilty to guilty. He took the hit on wire fraud charges. As such, his bribery charges were dismissed. But Louis Cimenelli had his bribery charges dropped altogether. Prosecutors gave no reason for dropping the charges against Cimenelli. “We’re pleased because it’s halfway to total vindication,’’ said Paul Shechtman, Cimenelli’s lawyer (Precious, 2020). Todd Howe, a lobbyist who was put in a state university position, was labeled as a cooperating witness but was not called to the stand.

When it was all said and done, Ciminelli, along with SUNY Polytechnic Institute leader Alain Kaloyeros, were both convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges. Also convicted in a separate trial were developers Aiello and Joseph Gerardi. Shechtman still played babyface. “This is a very good man whose company was destroyed by this. I didn't think there was any evidence against Lou Ciminelli. The fact that 12 people saw it differently renders me speechless," he said (Zremski, 2018).

US Attorney Berman was quite pleased. "The guiding principle of the Southern District holds that true justice can only be achieved through independence from politics or influence, and that has never been more important than today," Berman wrote. "I commend the career prosecutors of our public corruption unit for their enduring commitment to true justice in our government,” (Zremski, 2018).

Buffalo Special FBI Agent Gary Loeffert echoed the positivity. "Years of investigative work by FBI Buffalo and Southern District of New York agents and prosecutors has changed the way business is done in western New York and across the state," he said. "It is the expectation of the public that officials represent the people when they enter office and not their personal interests,” (Zremski, 2018).

Governor Cuomo’s reaction was applauded by some. Others felt the trial had turned into a political football. "The jury has spoken and justice has been done," Cuomo said in a statement. "There can be no tolerance for those who seek to defraud the system to advance their own personal interests. Anyone who has committed such an egregious act should be punished to the full extent of the law," (Zremski, 2018).

Prosecutors didn’t want just jail time. They wanted Ciminelli and crew to return any ill-gotten money as well. Paperwork showed that Cimenilli’s gross profit on the deal was $26.25 million. But that was before operating costs were factored in. "The actual proceeds here that went to Lou Ciminelli are far, far lower," said Shechtman. (Zremski, 2018)

Prosecutors only wanted to go after Ciminelli’s net profit. Those numbers were not revealed in the trial. Prosecutors asked to issue a general order of forfeiture to determine the exact amount later. Schechtman agreed the amount would be over $1 million but wanted to minimize the amount as much as possible. "Whether these funds are eligible for forfeiture is an open question," he said (Zremski, 2018). He pointed to the fact that LPCiminelli had to lay off hundreds of employees after the investigation started.

In addition to the Buffalo Billion project, LPCiminelli was also suspect in other corrupt bidding practices. Kevin Schuler, the former LPCiminelli VP who was indicted in the Buffalo Billion case, was a member of the Niagara County Community College board at the time LPCiminelli was hired for its Culinary Institute job in early 2011. This brought corruption allegations for the $17 million job. "We received some information that leads us to believe an investigation is necessary," said the NCCC board Chairman Vincent R. Ginestre (Anderson and Prohaska, 2017). This is also into the Dead Years Period.

Emails from LPCimenelli and top officials at Niagara, including NCCC President James Klyczek were the main evidence in corruption allegations. Daniel Oliverio, lawyer for LPCiminelli, had answers for all the accusations. First, he said Schuler had no influence on the bid, as there was never a vote from the trustees on the contract. President Klyczek alone was the decision make to hire LPCimenelli.

Secondly, Oliverio said emails between Schuler and Klyczek were simply to explain some technical terms in the proposal. LPCimenilli was hired as construction manager and did not do any of the work themselves. Another allegation was price. Klyczek was quoted by the media as saying LPCimenelli was not the lowest bid.

Oliverio said that LPCimenelli was in fact the highest bid of the eight bids. He pointed to the RFP that showed price alone was not the determining factor, as in most government bids. He said that the decision was made by interviewing all bidders and scoring the interviews. "Ciminelli was No. 1 on the scoring sheets," Oliverio said. "They negotiated the fee down to where their profit was in the several hundred thousands, not $1 million," (Anderson and Prohaska, 2017). Oliverio also pointed to the long history of good work LPCimenelli had performed for NCCC for over ten years.

The Buffalo News obtained the RFP and it mirrored Olivero’s comment about lowest price not winning the bid. “The evaluation process is designed to award the proposal not necessarily to the firm of least cost, but rather to the firm with the best combination of attributes. The attributes to be considered included experience with higher education projects and a demonstrated track record of getting ‘projects completed on time and within budget’," (Prohaska, 2017).

An internal investigation within the Community College wasn’t enough. The Feds caught wind and subpoenaed the contract information. The US Attorney listed Klyczek as a witness and not a target. An unnamed source told the newspaper that the subpoena was addressed to the college and did not have Klyczek’s name on it. "It's to the college, not to Jim Klyczek," agreed Barbara Pierce of Tipping Point Communications (Prohaska, 2017).

As the federal investigation progressed, more damning emails surfaced. They seemed to confirm that Klyczek tried to influence what should have been an impartial bidding process. “Where the hell is Harris Beach?” he emailed to one of his VPs. (Tokasz, 2017). That was a firm that Klyczek expect a bid from that did not show up. The next day Klyczek emailed the college’s CFO, William Shickling, to try and get him to extend the bidding process.

Schickling resisted, retorting that “We could start over or extend if we received no responses to our RFP, or if the responses we received were inadequate. I don’t see how we can start over or extend without even looking at the three responses we received. That would clearly be ‘rigging’ of the procurement process.” Klyczek seemed to threaten his job. “Well at this point I’m trying to save some jobs right here and now!! As I already suggested we are to reconfigure as needed then and reissue,” Klyczek wrote. Shickling still resisted, so Klyczek went ahead with what was called the “charade of an RFP process” and then selected who he wanted, Cannon Design (Tokasz, 2017). The Feds believed if Klyczek did this for Cannon, he would surely do it for LPCiminelli. Do you agree?

The old adage is that crime doesn’t pay. From what we’ve seen, that doesn’t seem to be true. The mafia have gotten quite wealthy. Maybe it should be reworded that prosecution doesn’t pay. Records show that prosecution of top executives has costed LPCiminelli greatly.

Court papers filed showed that the firm lost $3.88 billion in work and inventory over an 18-month period due to bad publicity caused by the multiple investigations. That included canceled contracts, bid disqualifications and other missed opportunities. "The investigation and this case has caused tremendous damage to LPCiminelli and has threatened its future," Oliverio said in the filing. "The coming months and the coming years are critical to its survival and re-growth." (Epstein, 2017).

Lost opportunities are alleged to include the $40 million garage replacement on the Buffalo Niagara Medical campus, the $20 million children’s museum, and the $22 million STEM building on the North Campus of Eerie Community College. They were forced to lay off ten percent of their employees.

Oliverio claims the company lost 14 deals “immediately” after the news of the subpoenas was released. "This was before any charges were placed in this case or an indictment was returned," he wrote (Epstein, 2017). These deals included a $1 billion deal for Yonkers Public Schools, a $228 million deal for Rochester City Schools, and a $256 million deal for Rochester General Hospital. Also lost were a $30 million deal for Tonawanda City Schools, a different $25 million for Niagara County Community College, and $16 million for Buffalo State College.

Detractors believe there is no way to prove exactly how much lost business is tied to the investigations. They believe it is legal theater to stop the discussion of moving the trial from Manhattan to Buffalo. This would result in losing even more business. Some say the lost business is due to LPCiminelli themselves. The noted Eerie Community College deal was lost over price.

"They lost out because they were not the lowest responsible bidder, definitely not because of the criminal case, which I don't think was even public by then," said Peter Anderson, spokesperson for Eerie County. "They raised a stink about it at the time," (Epstein, 2017). A $228 million Rochester City School district deal and a Utica nanocenter deal were lost in August 2015, a month before the news of the subpoenas broke.

Even more was lost after the indictments came down in September 2016. These included $900 million for Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Association and $550 million for the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Things looked bad for the company. But the three indicted men may have seen a silver lining.

Louis Ciminelli, Schuler and president Laipple all resigned from the company. Louis put his ownership into a blind trust and put his son, Frank Ciminelli II, in charge of the company. Then the three men started a brand-new company called LPC Infrastructure Development LLC. This company’s focus would be on deals outside of New York State. Olivera wrote "The continued presence of the Buffalo defendants to work on and collaborate with LPCiminelli on non-New York State pursuits is particularly important given that LPCiminelli is a closely held, family-operated business,” A long trial may "preclude them from having any regular and meaningful prospect or customer contact during that time," (Epstein, 2017).

Louis Ciminelli certainly had lots of fans. Many people wrote to the judge and asked for leniency. Letters came from coworkers, employees, friends, his doctor, his mother, even his dog walker. "A man's heart and soul are easily seen through a dog's adoring eyes," Jeanne Burke wrote in a handwritten plea letter that included a picture of his two dogs staring out a window (Zremski, 2018). Could this dog lover be involved with the mob during the Dead Years?

CHAPTER: Militello

Michael R. Militello is quite the character. He has been around Buffalo for as long as many can remember. He is also rumored to have mob ties for just as long. He is a close, personal friend of O.J. Simpson, another big name in Buffalo. He owned Mulligan’s Cafe, a gathering spot for the rich and famous. And where his name comes up, so do drugs.

Militello has seen some things before age 23. He was Vietnam veteran. He was shot in both legs and then another would from a grenade explosion. He nearly bled to death. A helicopter happened along at the right time to pick him up. Doctors told him they may have to amputate both legs. But they were okay. A year later he was on a commercial flight to Miami. The flight was hijacked and flown to Havana.

This is how his friendship with O.J. Simpson started. “He would come into the bar. He would tell me what it was like being an All-American football player at Southern California, and I would tell him what it was like crawling through the jungles and getting shot at while he was playing football," Militello said.

Militello once went on the air WKBW-TV's "AM-Buffalo" show and admitted he did cocaine with O.J. Simpson. This caused over 100 news agencies contact him for interviews. It was a simple misunderstanding. "It got out of hand . . . I wish I had never gone on 'AM-Buffalo,' " Militello said. "All I was trying to say was that, in the '70s, we all experimented with cocaine. By 1979, O.J. was preaching against it (cocaine) stronger than anybody. I saw him help friends get through rehab programs, getting them off cocaine," (Herbeck, 1994).

"O.J. Simpson and many of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres hung around in the nightclub," alleged an unnamed employee. "They would be escorted upstairs to Militello's private office where they were afforded safety and confidentiality. We were told to give them anything they want. Keep them happy and keep them drinking. They were Mike's personal clients. He would escort them into the back room." Militello disagreed. "It's all part of the myth of Mike Militello," he said. "These stories that are floating around just aren't true," (Herbeck, 1994).

There were mixed feelings among police about Militello. "I always felt we never got anywhere because Militello was so close with politicians and a lot of cops," said an unnamed investigator. "There were leaks about our investigations. He surrounded himself with very prominent people. He also hired cops to work as bodyguards or doormen at $15 an hour. A different unnamed investigator said "I do agree that Mike was wired, politically. But we were never told to stop the investigation. We looked into it for about six months. We had a lot of information but not enough to arrest anyone." Deputy Police Commissioner Rocco Diina stated he heard drug allegations for 20 years but didn’t have enough information for an arrest (Herbeck, 1994).