Jailed mob associate indicted for a third time
Ron Galati, the Don Corleone of the auto repair business,
hit a trifecta this afternoon when he was indicted for a third time in an
ongoing investigation by city, state and federal authorities.
The latest charges, announced by Philadelphia District
Attorney Seth Williams, allege that the 63-year-old South Philadelphia auto
body shop owner orchestrated an elaborate insurance fraud scheme that netted
nearly $5 million for himself and his co-conspirators.
Those charged in the case included Galati's wife, Vicky, his
son, Ron Jr. and Steven Ligambi, the 28-year-old son of mob boss Joseph
"Uncle Joe" Ligambi.
In all, 41 people have been charged and several have already
agreed to cooperate, according to the District Attorney's Office which quoted
one cooperator who said Galati would boast, "I live my life to cheat
insurance companies. My high every day is to cheat insurance companies."
Galati is already facing murder for hire charges brought by
the District Attorney's Office and attempted murder and conspiracy charges
brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey. He has been held without
bail since his arrest last year on charges that he solicited three hitmen to
kill a father and son, rival auto body shop owners, who were apparently
cooperating in the investigation that had targeted him.
Last month he was named in a federal indictment out of the
U.S. Attorney's Office in Camden alleging that the same hitmen were solicited
to kill the boyfriend of Galati's daughter Tiffany. The boyfriend was shot in
Atlantic City, but survived.
Two of the hitmen, along with the boyfriend and Tiffany
Galati are all believed to be cooperating in that case.
The indictment announced today was similar to a fraud case
brought against Galati back in 1995 by federal authorities. He was convicted
and served 37months in prison. This time, with the murder for hire and
attempted murder charges, he is looking at a possible life sentence.
The charges painted a picture of an arrogant wheeler dealer
who developed a systematic routine to cash in on phony insurance claims.
Corrupt insurance company agents and one Philadelphia police officer were also
charged.
Among other things, Galati's American Collision and Auto
Center had a contract to repair Philadelphia Police Department vehicles.
The DA charged that Galati had five different fraud schemes
and that he generated over a million dollars for himself and his wife. The DA
alleged that while he and his wife claimed in grand jury testimony that they
each were earning about $250-a-week, evidence would show that "Galati
cashed over $1.2 million worth of checks" at a South Philadelphia check
cashing center over the past several years.
The indictment alleges that over the past four years, insurance
companies have issued $2.3 million for fraudulent claims filed as part of the
Galati scheme. Authorities also allege that his shop obtained $1.8 million from
the city after fraudulently obtaining a contract with the Philadelphia Office
of Fleet Management.
The "pattern of fraudulent claims," sometimes made
with customers who were part of the scam, involved damages resulting fictitious
deer accidents, vandalism, damage due to falling objects and staged collisions.
The DA cited Galati's "knack for designing creative accident scenarios and
his network of rogue professionals who conspired with him to legitimize"
the phony insurance claims.
The indictment alleged that "Galati favored deer hits,
vandalism and vehicular damages from trajectory objects" because those
would allow the car owner to claim "no fault" and would not result in
an increase in the driver's insurance premium. Among other things, the DA
alleged that witnesses said Galati "stored deer blood, hair and carcasses
in the back of his shop." Those items were used "as props for what
Galati deemed `Hollywood Photos'" that were submitted along with the fake
insurance claims.
Other claims filed by Galati customers included reports that
their cars had been struck by or collided with "geese, dogs, cartons of
fruit, flying metal and falling concrete."
Galati, the DA said, would also stage collisions, using tow
truck operators who were also charged and sometimes with the consent of the
vehicle's owner. That scheme was similar to one laid out by mob associate Louis
"Bent Finger" Monacello who testified this year in the racketeering
trial of Ligambi and mobster George Borgesi.
In the 1990s, Monacello said, Galati would make a copy of
customer's car key, then pay Borgesi to steal the car and crash it into another
vehicle, also owned by a Galati customer. The "accidents" would
generate more business for Galati's shop and more opportunities to inflate and
falsify insurance claims. Monacello said he was on hand to drive a backup car
and assist Borgesi in getting away after he had crashed the stolen vehicle.
Galati was convicted in 1995 for running those types of
schemes. Neither Ligambi nor Borgesi were convicted in the cases at which
Monacello testified.
The indictment also alleges that Galati's falsified
documents in order to qualify for the city contract even though American
Collision did not meet all the city contract specifications.
Authorities also alleged that the investigation, which was
coordinated by Assistant District Attorney Dawn Holtz and conducted by Det.
Robert DiFrancesco of the DA's Office and Trooper Michael Romano of the State
Police Organized Crime Division, also linked Galati and co-defendant Philip
Sessa to a boat stolen from a marina in Somer Point, NJ, and to the
misappropriation of funds from an unidentified senior citizen's bank account.
Galati, who loved to quote lines from The Godfather, lived
well on the money from his scams, the DA charged, often throwing
"elaborate parties" at shorefront properties and "hosting
expensive dinners" at local restaurants.
It was at an Italian restaurant in Northfield, NJ,
authorities said, that Galati threatened his daughter's boyfriend shortly
before the boyfriend was shot. The restaurant, now closed, was owned at the
time by associates of Borgesi's.
"It wasn't a big place, but Galati liked to hold court
there," said a source. "He thought he was Don Corleone."
http://www.bigtrial.net/2014/05/galati-hits-trifecta-indicted-for-third.html#LHgeeiqBXIZtOLUE.99
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