White Collar Crime News

Colombo Family Administration Member and Seven Others Charged With Kickback and Extortion Scheme March 9, 2010

An eight-count indictment was unsealed this morning in Brooklyn federal court charging eight defendants—Theodore Persico, Jr., Michael Persico, Thomas Petrizzo, Edward Garofalo, Jr., James Bombino, Louis Romeo, Alicia Dimichelle, and Mike LNU variously with racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, extortion, and embezzlement of union benefit funds. The defendants, who were arrested earlier today, are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon.

As alleged in the indictment and the detention memorandum filed today by the government, Theodore Persico, Jr. is a member of the administration of the Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra; Petrizzo is a Colombo family soldier; and Michael Persico, Garofalo, and Bombino are Colombo family associates. The indictment is the product of a multi-year investigation in which the FBI used a cooperating witness to infiltrate the Colombo family and make hundreds of consensual recordings.  Clearly, the FBI has not forgotten about the mafia even with the focus on ponzi schemes and mortgage fraud.

The charges include the Colombo family’s use of a trucking company they controlled, All Around Trucking (All Around), to execute a kickback and extortion scheme for debris removal subcontracting from Testa Corporation, a demolition contractor headquartered near Boston (Testa). The Colombo family carried out the scheme at locations including the World Trade Center construction site, and the Newtown Creek wastewater treatment plant on the border between Brooklyn and Queens. Specifically, as detailed in the detention memorandum, Theodore Persico, Jr., Michael Persico, and others agreed that, in exchange for All Around obtaining debris removal subcontracting with Testa, All Around would kickback a portion of its profits as a commercial bribe to a Testa foreman. After All Around secured subcontracting work with Testa, Colombo family associates threatened Testa employees when Testa failed to pay All Around on the timetable set by the crime family. Consensual recordings captured defendant Michael Persico directing Bombino to threaten Testa employees, and captured Bombino reporting back to Michael Persico that, when Bombino made the threats, the Testa employees were “shakin’ in their boots over us.” Other charges in the indictment include an extortion of a furniture store owner, in which Michael Persico forced the furniture store owner to give Bombino control of the store until the owner repaid a loan owed to Colombo family associates.

The indictment also charges Colombo associate Garofalo and his wife, Alicia Dimichelle, with embezzlement from the welfare benefit plan and pension benefit plan funds operated on behalf of union laborers of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 282. As described in the detention memorandum, Garofalo and Dimichelle engaged in a double-breasting scheme in which they used Colombo-controlled non-union shell companies, including DM Equipment, Big R Trucking, T&E Leasing, and Roman Sand and Stone, to circumvent Local 282 collective bargaining agreement union benefit contribution requirements.

The Defendants:

JAMES C. BOMBINO
Age: 47

ALICIA DIMICHELE, also known as “Alicia Garofalo”
Age: 36

EDWARD GAROFALO, JR., also known as “Bobble” and “Tall Guy”
Age: 43

MIKE LNU

MICHAEL J. PERSICO
Age: 53

THEODORE N. PERSICO, JR., also known as “Skinny” and “Teddy”
Age: 46

THOMAS PETRIZZO
Age: 76

LOUIS ROMEO
Age: 44