Frank Sindone is the leading loanshark in the Philadelphia area. He is a member of the Bruno crime family and while he makes loans himself, is a principal money supplier to other loansharks. Wiretapped conversations in 1970 indicate that Sindone's largescale loansharking operation was financed and supervised by Philip Charles Testa, the underboss in the Bruno crime family at the time who appears to have become the new boss of the group.
One of the loansharks Sindone supplied with money was Harry D' Ascenzo, who spent five years as a Philadelphia policeman. D'Ascenzo was convicted in 1976 of loansharking and sentenced to three-to-five years in prison and fined $10,000.

Another outlet for Sindone's funds was Alexander Hartzell, a former Philadelphia policeman. Hartzell, whose wrists are so big they do not fit into handcuffs, was convicted of extortion in 1975, sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000. Sindone was acquitted in that trial.
Loansharks like Sindone usually charge the ultimate borrower "6-for-5." That is, for every $5 borrowed, $6 must be repaid-or 20 percent more dollars than the loanshark gave out. Loans are usually made for six week periods.

The 20 percent figure, it should be noted, is not a true interest rate because a time period is not mentioned. It only refers to the amount of added dollars the loanshark gets back. The crucial thing in calculating a true interest rate is the amount of time the loan is outstanding.
For example, the typical 6-for-5 loan over a six week period is equivalent of a yearly rate of 284.5 percent. If the loan were for a 10 week period, the actual annual interest rate would be a lower 180 percent.
There are two basic types of loans that loansharks make. In the 6-for-5 variety, for example, principal and interest are repaid regularly. In other cases, interest payments are made regularly and the principal is repaid in a final "balloon" payment. The balloon method results in a lower interest rate-but not that much lower.

Searches of Testa's home in 1970 revealed $19,800 in cash in a bookshelf and $20,000 in cash hidden in a piano in the basement.

Sindone and other loansharks use threats and violence to prod slow payers. An example of the extortionate demands of a loanshark surfaced In wiretaps made by the FBI in 1970 of a telephone call by Sindone to Sidney Benjamin.

Benjamin: "Hello."
Sindone: "Sid?"
Benjamin: "Yeah."
Sindone: "Is this Sid Benjamin?"
Benjamin: "Yeah."
Sindone: "This is Frankie."
Benjamin: "Oh, jeez, I've been trying to get you ... "
Sindone: "Hey look, I'm going to tell you something ... "
Benjamin: "Yeah."
Sindone: "I'll break your fucking back for you, you don't bring me my money back."
Benjamin: "I, I want to come out there with Domenic on Monday night, how about that?"
Sindone: "I don't want no fucking appointments with you. I'll come up to your fucking house."
Benjamin: "Can I come out there with him?"
Sindone: "You better bring me that fucking money here you cocksucker, and stop all that bullshitting. You understand? I ain't going to tell you no more, I'll come up to your fucking house. I'll pull your eyes right out of your head. I had enough of you. You understand?"

Sindone also threatened beating Benjamin and others, with a baseball bat. Benjamin was a principal witness for the federal government at a trial in 1972 that followed from the indictments a year earlier of Sindone, Testa, Alexander Schwartz and Dominic Scalise. In that trial, Schwartz and Scalise were identified as loansharks who were supplied funds by Sindone. It was alleged in testimony that Anthony and John DiSalvo worked as loansharks with Sindone, and Robert LaBrum acted as a loan collector for Anthony DiSalvo. Benjamin declined to testify, citing health reasons. The defendants were acquitted.

Sindone shifted his base of operations in the early 1970s from an empty pool hall, Famiglietta Billiards, 1127 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, to a front known as Frank's Cabana Steaks, 10th and Moyamensing Streets, Philadelphia.
Joseph "Chickie" Ciancaglini, who often frequents Frank's Cabana Steaks, acted as an "enforcer" or "muscle" for Sindone when it came to speeding up delinquent payments.
While Sindone is a significant figure in the Bruno crime organization and is heavily involved as well in the Bruno family's gambling business.