Mob Bust Nets 46 Arrests, Including Acting Boss and Active 'Knee-Busters'

NEW YORK CITY, NY — More than 40 mobsters from four crime families have been arrested in a wide-ranging mafia bust, according to a federal grand jury indictment released Thursday. The mobsters were members of the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese and Bonanno families.

Editor's Note: This is an old story. If you're looking for the mob bust of May 31, 2017, click here:

The indictment listed 46 people as members of the "East Coast LCN Enterprise," which engaged in crimes including extortion, arson, fraud, firearms trafficking and illegal gambling, among other crimes. In this case, LCN stands for "La Cosa Nostra," another way of saying "the mafia."

The indictment stated that the criminal enterprise operated along the East Coast including in New York City, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Florida. The enterprise was composed of members of the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese, Bonanno and the Philadelphia Organized Crime Family, according to the federal indictment.

"The charges applied today to these 46 individuals deal a significant blow to La Cosa Nostra, which the NYPD is committed to putting out of business," said NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton. "As alleged, in typical mob fashion, the rackets ran from Springfield to South Florida and left no scheme behind. These mobsters seemed to use every scheme known to us, from arson, to shake-downs, violence, health care fraud, and even untaxed cigarettes to keep the racket going."

Three of the accused mobsters — Pasquale Parello, Joseph Merlino and Eugene O'Nofrio — were identified as the supervisors of the illegal enterprise in the indictment.

Merlino is none other than "Skinny Joey" Merlino, former boss of the Philadelphia crime family. Merlino, the son of mob underboss Chuckie Merlino, rose to prominence in the 1990s and has been implicated in several murders and attempted murders, according to the Philly Voice. Merlino was convicted of racketeering in 2001 but beat charges for drugs, murder and attempted murder.

Parello, another one of the ringleaders, played a role in the 2011 assault of a homeless person in the Bronx. Parello owned a restaurant in the Bronx at the time, and he thought the panhandler was harassing his customers. In the most mob fashion ever, Parello ordered Anthony Zinzi to "break his knees," according to the indictment. Another alleged mafioso, Israel Torres, threatened a man he believed was the panhandler (but really wasn't) before returning with other goons to assault the man using glass jars, sharp objects and steel-tipped boots, according to the indictment.

Also arrested was Genovese Capo Conrad Ianiello, a bit of mob royalty.

His uncle — Matthew “Matty the Horse” Ianiello — was a long-time power in the crime family, even serving as acting boss of the family at one point. Matty the Horse was an owner of Umberto’s Clam House in Little Italy and was said to have been in the kitchen when one of the most famous mob hits — the assassination of Joey Gallo — took place.

Matty the Horse also inadvertently played a very large role in the history of the modern gay rights movement.

In the 1960s, when it was illegal to operate a gay bar or nightclub, Ianiello and the Genovese Family controlled several — including the now-famous Stonewall Inn.

The New York police commander who led the June 1969 raid on the Stonewall that set off the riot said the raid was targeting the mafia, not the gay patrons of the bar.

Conrad has been no slouch when it comes to the family business.

Two years ago he pleaded guilty to conspiring with trying to force one union from trying to organize workers at a chocolate factory on Long Island so another union could move in.

He also has convictions going back to at least 1972 when he was sentenced to five years probation after being convicted of grand larceny.

One element of the criminal operation was the "Yonkers Club," where the enterprise ran a casino-style gambling club that held poker tournaments and took bets on horse races, according the indictment. Two members of the enterprise working at the Yonkers Club, Mark Maiuzzo and Anthony Zinzi, set fire to a car parked outside a nearby competitor's operation, according to the indictment.

The criminal enterprise stretched as far as Costa Rica, where it ran a sports gambling operation named the "Costa Rican International Sportsbook," according to the indictment.

Of those arrested 27 resided in New York, four in New Jersey, two in Massachusetts, seven in Florida, three in prison, one in Costa Rica, on in Connecticut and one mobster's residence was listed as "unknown."

"Today’s charges against 46 men, including powerful leaders, members and associates of five different La Cosa Nostra families, demonstrate that the mob remains a scourge on this city and around the country," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.

In an unrelated incident, John Gotti — the grandson of the former Gambino family crime boss with the same name — was arrested for state narcotics charges, according to the Queens District Attorney. Gotti, along with six others, were arrested by the NYPD for selling Oxycodone and other pharmaceutical controlled substances in the Howard Beach area of Queens.

Read more about Gotti's arrest here.

Patch editor Colin Miner contributed to this report.