Springfield Man Arrested for Alleged Mob Connections
A Springfield man was among the 17 New Jersey residents arrested today as part of a Federal sweep of the members and associates of the Genovese crime family. The U.S. Attorney’s office has accused Richard “Dickie” Dehmer, 75, of running an illegal gambling operation and collecting debts with threats and violence.
According to the Federal indictment against Dehmer and his alleged mob associates, Dehmer was a bookie for an illegal sports betting operation run by Stephen Depiro, 55, of Kenilworth, reportedly a soldier in the Genovese crime family. Law enforcement officials say Dehmer, who is also accused of operating an illegal poker club in Kenilworth, threatened physical violence against people who owed him money.
A court document contains a portion of a transcribed recorded phone call where Dehmer appears to strongly imply he was responsible for serious injuries to a gambler late in repaying his debts.
“I guarantee you he needs his hands to work,” Dimmer is reportedly said in the recording. “He ain’t working no more for a while.”
In another taped call, Dehmer reportedly said he planned to use a bat to “break every bone” in the body of a gambler who owed him money.
The case says that despite his advanced age, Dehmer was able to intimidate people who owed him money with criminal associations. A memorandum from the US Attorney’s office states flatly: people paid Dehmer because they feared Depiro.
Depiro reportedly ran a three-decade-long extortion operation through unionized New Jersey dockworkers. According to Federal court documents, Depiro exacted annual Christmastime tributes of thousands of dollars from dockworkers through threats, intimidation and violent force. The last three presidents of the ILA Local dockworkers union are implicated in the case; the memorandum on the case describes the breadth and scope of the extortion scheme as “stunning.”
Unlike Depiro, Dehmer is not listed in the case as a member of La Cosa Nostra, but is referred to a Genovese crime family associate. Along with Depiro, he is charged with racketeering conspiracy involving the collection of unlawful debt and charges relating to bookmaking and gambling. If convicted of all nine charges lodged against him, and if he served the sentenced sequentially, the 75-year-old Dehmer faces over 100 years in prison and $2 million in fines.
"According to the charges unsealed today, organized crime still has a grip on the New Jersey waterfront,” NJ U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said. “Workers should be free to pursue an honest living without being worried that their own union representatives will shake them down.
He added: "Paying tribute to the mob is not an acceptable cost of doing business in New Jersey.”
The men were among more than 120 charged Thursday in what Attorney General Eric Holder announced as the largest mob takedown in US history. The charges include murder and racketeering.
Among those charged were Joseph Corozzo, 69, a reputed high-ranking member of the Gambino family; Andrew Russo, 79, who is reportedly the “street boss” of the Colombo family; Benjamin Castellazzo, 73, a reputed Colombo “underboss”; and Luigi Manocchio, 83, who authorities terms as a former boss of the New England mob.
In all, 91 members and associates of seven organized crime families, including the New Jersey-based DeCavalcante family, have been charged in 16 indictments. Another 36 have been charged for their roles in alleged associated criminal activity, federal authorities said.
“It’s become almost cliché to link organized crime to New Jersey, with oft-repeated comments about the ‘Soprano State’ and bodies allegedly being buried in the Meadowlands,” said Michael B. Ward, Special Agent In Charge of the Newark Division of the FBI. “Today’s arrests will serve as a stark reminder that organized crime continues to operate in New Jersey through corruption, extortion, racketeering, and violence.”
http://springfield.patch.com/articles/springfield-man-arrested-for-alleged-mob-connections
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