International mafia bust shows US-Italy crime links still strong

By Max Matza
BBC News
Their names could have been ripped from the kind of Hollywood mafia script that once dominated US cinema.

But when an indictment dropped on Wednesday, Joseph "Joe Brooklyn" Lanni, Angelo "Fifi" Gradilone, and Francesco "Uncle Ciccio" Vicar were instead the faces of the justice department's latest attack on the notorious Gambino crime family in New York.

Charging documents filed by prosecutors used wiretaps, secret recordings and surveillance footage to lay out evidence against the men, accusing them of conspiracy to use violence and extortion to commit fraud and retaliate against witnesses.

However, as the initial excitement waned, experts observed that the latest round-up - which snared 16 alleged mafia members - was unlikely to have a major effect on criminal operations.

Instead, the real twist revealed by the documents was the ongoing and close relationship between the New York based mafia, and its progenitor in Sicily - where six of the suspects were detained.

Italian officials said the arrests demonstrated "the solidity of the existing relationship" between American and Sicilian gangsters.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67387249