FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 17, 2015
Colombo Crime Family Captain And Two Associates Charged In Racketeering Conspiracy Indictment

Acting Captain Luca DiMatteo Charged with Extortion and Loansharking; His Nephew, Associate Lukey DiMatteo, Charged with Two Extortions, Loansharking, Illegal Gambling, and Sports Betting



A ten-count indictment was unsealed today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Luca DiMatteo and his nephew, Lukey DiMatteo, with racketeering conspiracy, extortion, loansharking, and operating an illegal gambling business. The indictment was returned under seal by a federal grand jury sitting in Brooklyn, New York, on July 9, 2015, and relates to the defendants’ alleged criminal activities in Brooklyn and elsewhere between January 2009 and June 2015.

The charges were announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).

As alleged in the indictment and detention memorandum, Luca DiMatteo is a long-time member of the Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra, and has served for several years as the acting captain in charge of a crew of the crime family’s members and associates.

As alleged, both Luca DiMatteo and Lukey DiMatteo participated in the extortion of a local business owner for more than ten years that lasted until the business owner closed down the business last month. The business owner paid the DiMatteos $100 to $200 every two weeks based on his fear of these defendants and the potential consequences of not paying. The DiMatteos are also charged separately in loansharking counts. Lukey DiMatteo is separately charged in an additional extortion count, as well as in counts alleging the operation of illegal gambling businesses – based on his operation of a gambling club in Brooklyn, along with co-defendant John Shields and others – and sports betting.

“Along with our partners at the FBI, we are committed to defeating organized crime,” stated Acting United States Attorney Currie. “We will not tolerate the use of violence or threats of violence to extort local business people, and we will shut down illegal gambling businesses in our neighborhoods.”

“As alleged, Luca DiMatteo and Lukey DiMatteo picked up a check every couple of weeks from a local business for more than ten years, but it wasn’t a paycheck—rather they picked up a shakedown check. In addition to facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, and loansharking, Lukey DiMatteo and John Shields are charged with allegedly operating an illegal gambling business. The FBI will continue to work to protect victims and root out any and all organized crime activity—wherever we may find it,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.

Two of the defendants, Luca DiMatteo and John Shields, were arraigned yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. The third defendant, Lukey DiMatteo, is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr., at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth A. Geddes and Allon Lifshitz are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

LUCA DIMATTEO
Age: 70
Merrick, New York

LUCA DIMATTEO (“Lukey Dimatteo”)
Age: 46
Brooklyn, New York

John Shields (“Scott Greco”)
Age: 46
East Atlantic Beach, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15 CR 334 (ILG)

http://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/colombo-crime-family-captain-and-two-associates-charged-racketee