FBI arrests Papa Smurf and 30 other mobsters in early morning raids across NY and NJ
New York News | NYC Breaking News
Thirty mobbed up suspects - including a ringleader known as "Papa Smurf" - were arrested Wednesday in a probe of the garbage-hauling industry, authorities said.
The purported wise guys - members of the Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese organized crime families - were busted in a federal racketeering investigation, officials said.
The suspects were due in Manhattan Federal Court later Wednesday. Two additional suspects are expected to surrender.
The investigation involved carting companies in the city, Westchester County, Rockland County, Long Island and New Jersey.
The pre-dawn arrests began around 5 a.m., with FBI agents putting the cuffs on the suspects.
The lead defendant was identified as Carmine "Papa Smurf" Franco, a Genovese family associate with more than three decades in the garbage business.
Franco was accused of continuing to work in waste management despite two prior convictions that led to his ban from the business in New Jersey - and the loss of his license in New York City.
A second indictment implicated three defendants in the purchase of nearly 100,000 contraband cigarettes - and with the bizarre October 2010 theft of a hot dog cart in Orangeburg, N.Y.
Garbage "godfather" Franco controlled and operated companies fronted by phony owners, using his position to direct local "control and operation of waste hauling businesses," the indictment charged.
The indictment accused the suspects of extortion - including a $500 a week payoff from one victim - along with loansharking, mail fraud and other charges between March 2009 and April 2012.
The extortion included protection payments from legitimate businesses, the indictment charged. One of the owners targeted in the shakedown became a cooperating witness, officials said.
The participants in the crooked operation "controlled the activities of the businesses ... and diverted most of the profits of these companies to themselves," the indictment charged.
Some of the participants were accused of stealing tons of cardboard from rival garbage companies, and transporting them across state lines to Staten Island - where they were sold for an illegal profit.
The operation also included holding sit-downs to resolve disputes among the garbage haulers, the indictment charged.
Five of the suspects were identified as made members of the Mafia: Four with the Genovese family, and one with the Gambino family.
Thirty mobbed up suspects - including a ringleader known as "Papa Smurf" - were arrested Wednesday in a probe of the garbage-hauling industry, authorities said.
The purported wise guys - members of the Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese organized crime families - were busted in a federal racketeering investigation, officials said.
The suspects were due in Manhattan Federal Court later Wednesday. Two additional suspects are expected to surrender.
The investigation involved carting companies in the city, Westchester County, Rockland County, Long Island and New Jersey.
The pre-dawn arrests began around 5 a.m., with FBI agents putting the cuffs on the suspects.
The lead defendant was identified as Carmine "Papa Smurf" Franco, a Genovese family associate with more than three decades in the garbage business.
Franco was accused of continuing to work in waste management despite two prior convictions that led to his ban from the business in New Jersey - and the loss of his license in New York City.
A second indictment implicated three defendants in the purchase of nearly 100,000 contraband cigarettes - and with the bizarre October 2010 theft of a hot dog cart in Orangeburg, N.Y.
Garbage "godfather" Franco controlled and operated companies fronted by phony owners, using his position to direct local "control and operation of waste hauling businesses," the indictment charged.
The indictment accused the suspects of extortion - including a $500 a week payoff from one victim - along with loansharking, mail fraud and other charges between March 2009 and April 2012.
The extortion included protection payments from legitimate businesses, the indictment charged. One of the owners targeted in the shakedown became a cooperating witness, officials said.
The participants in the crooked operation "controlled the activities of the businesses ... and diverted most of the profits of these companies to themselves," the indictment charged.
Some of the participants were accused of stealing tons of cardboard from rival garbage companies, and transporting them across state lines to Staten Island - where they were sold for an illegal profit.
The operation also included holding sit-downs to resolve disputes among the garbage haulers, the indictment charged.
Five of the suspects were identified as made members of the Mafia: Four with the Genovese family, and one with the Gambino family.
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