Three sons of mobster Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano charged with weed trafficking
Vincent Jr., Joseph and Stephen Basciano pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to narcotics conspiracy charges
By Dan Beekman / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
September 18, 2013Like mobster father, like sons, the feds said Wednesday.
Three offspring of a notorious mafia boss were busted on drug trafficking charges in connection with a cross-country marijuana distribution scheme that moved thousands of pounds of the funky green stuff, authorities said.
Vincent Jr., Joseph and Stephen Basciano pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to narcotics conspiracy charges that could put them in prison for up to 40 years.
Their father, the fashion-conscious but bloodthirsty former Bonanno crime family head Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano, is serving two life terms at a supermax prison in Colorado for murder convictions.
Gorgeous’ three boys and two other men, George Kokenyei and Elon Valentine, were undone by an FBI informant, according to their indictment.
The takedown came after Kokenyei arranged for weed to be shipped from California to New York, where Vincent Jr. ran a distribution route in the Bronx, the feds said.
“We have seized evidence, recordings and compelling witness testimony,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Mermelstein said in court Wednesday.
Vincent Jr., 32, of the Bronx, was released on $500,000 bond, and brother Joseph, 27, also of the Bronx, was sprung on $250,000 bond. But Stephen, 29, a Bronx resident like his brothers, was held pending an additional hearing after prosecutors said they have tapes of the middle brother bragging about owning firearms and shooting at people.
Kokenyei was also held, and Valentine was already in state custody. Stephen Basciano has a prior conviction for assault, in 2007.
“The evidence is incredibly strong against him and he has a demonstrable history of violence,” Mermelstein said.
Joseph Basciano is facing separate charges in Queens in connection with marijuana smuggling.
In other collars by the feds, Pasquale Falcetti, a reputed “capo” in the Genovese crime family, and Thomas Joy, were busted Wednesday and charged with conspiring to make extortionate loans in the Bronx and in other areas, the feds said. Both men pleaded not guilty and made bail.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/mobster-father-sons-feds-article-1.1460443#ixzz2fJ4yfyT3
