Philly Krayzy

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131217_Attempted-murder_arrest_during_mob_trial.html


WILLIAM BENDER, Daily News Staff Writer benderw@phillynews.com, 215-854-5255
Posted: Tuesday, December 17, 2013, 3:01 AM


THE PHILADELPHIA Mafia has a reputation for a lot of things. Gambling, loan-sharking, extortion, the occasional mob hit.

Impeccable timing is not one of them.

A year after a highly publicized murder in South Philadelphia disrupted the racketeering trial of mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and his top lieutenants, another reputed mob associate has been charged with soliciting murder - in the middle of the retrial for Ligambi and his nephew George Borgesi.

Ronald Galati, an auto-body-shop operator with ties to Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino and the Borgesi family, was quietly arrested on Friday. He was charged with attempted murder, solicitation of murder, and retaliation and intimidation of a witness or victim, according to court documents.

Details of Galati's arrest were scarce yesterday. Sources said the case involves a grand jury, which prohibits authorities from releasing much information. Public records say that Galati is being held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.

"We were involved in his arrest. Beyond that, we have no comment," said Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for District Attorney Seth Williams. Jamerson would not confirm whether a grand jury has been convened.

Galati, 63, a popular figure in South Philly who once employed Merlino and his associates at a shop near 12th and Washington streets, was sentenced in 1995 to three years in prison on racketeering charges. Galati also had been accused of threatening to kill a postal inspector involved in an insurance-fraud probe, but his friends say he wouldn't hurt a fly.

Former mob boss John Stanfa allegedly plotted to kill Galati during the 1993 Stanfa-Merlino mob war. At the time, Stanfa believed that Galati was involved with cutting gun ports into a van that was used for a rush-hour shooting on the Schuylkill Expressway that wounded Stanfa's son. Galati has always denied involvement in the attempted Stanfa hit.

No one answered the door last night at Galati's home on Garnet Street near Porter. A phone number in his name was full of voice mails and was not accepting new ones.

Galati's arrest comes almost exactly a year after reputed mob soldier Anthony Nicodemo allegedly gunned down Gino DiPietro in broad daylight outside DiPietro's home on Iseminger Street.

DiPietro, 50, a reformed drug dealer who had proposed to his girlfriend the day before he was killed, had served as a confidential informant in a case against a mob associate, sources told the Daily News. Nicodemo, 42, is awaiting trial on first-degree-murder and related charges.

The DiPietro slaying threw a wrench into the first Ligambi trial, undermining defense attorneys' arguments that the Philadelphia mob - what's left of it - is not violent. U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno had to call each juror into his chambers to ask if he or she could render an impartial verdict in light of the news. One juror was dismissed.

That trial ended in a mixed verdict for Ligambi, Borgesi and five associates. The retrial of Ligambi and Borgesi began last month.


Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/201312...y1Xqtd7WGxDM.99

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Mob Associate Jailed In Murder For Hire Case


By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net

Here we go again.

Last year it was mobster Anthony Nicodemo, arrested for allegedly carrying out a gangland hit while mob boss Joe Ligambi was on trial in U.S. District Court.

This year it's Ronald Galati, a notorious wannabe wiseguy. Galati, whose name surfaced during the testimony of Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello two weeks ago in the ongoing Ligambi retrial, was arrested Saturday for allegedly hiring a hit man (or men?) to knock off a witness in a pending insurance fraud investigation in which he is the principal target.

Galati, 63, who owns an auto body shop in South Philadelphia, has been in this situation before. The question being asked in law enforcement and underworld circles is whether the fast-talking mob associate, who was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for insurance fraud back in 1995, is ready to roll the dice in a case that could land him in state prison for the next 15 years?

The retrial of Ligambi and his co-defendant and nephew George Borgesi resumes this morning before Judge Eduardo Robreno. The case could go to the jury early in January. But there are those who believe the racketeering conspiracy charge the defendants are currently fighting could be the least of their problems if Galati rolls.

Galati was picked up on a warrant issued by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office on Friday and formally charged early Saturday morning. He is being in the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road pending a bail hearing.

His attorney, Joseph Santaguida, said yesterday that he will seek bail for his client. But the District Attorney's Office, taking a hard line in witness intimidation cases, is expected to oppose that move, setting up the real possibility that Galati could spend both the Christmas and New Year's holidays -- and the months that follow -- in prison rather than in his comfortable South Philadelphia home or his place at the Jersey Shore.

Galati is facing five counts, including attempted murder, solicitation for murder, conspiracy and witness intimidation. Few other details have been made public. Sources say Galati has been the target of an ongoing insurance fraud investigation launched by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. Both the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and authorities in New Jersey are also involved, those sources say.

And waiting in the wings is the FBI which has long wanted to have a conversation with Galati about his questionable business dealings and the people he has dealt with.

Galati's name has been mentioned in connection with a shooting in Atlantic City on Nov. 30, but no one in a position of authority would link that incident to the witness intimidation and murder for hire charges that he now faces.

According to several sources, a man identified as the boyfriend of Galati's daughter was ambushed by two gunmen outside his home on Carson Avenue in the Inlet section of Atlantic City. The victim survived. And in shades of the Nicodemo case, the two gunmen, both from Philadelphia, were arrested within minutes of the shooting which occurred shortly before 7 p.m.

Whether those suspected shooters are cooperating is one of several questions that have been raised now that Galati has been charged with solicitation for murder. The boyfriend apparently has some knowledge of Galati's auto body shop business and may have been subpoenaed before a grand jury.

Another source, however, said the shooting was "personal" and not connected to business.

Galati was convicted of mail fraud and bankruptcy fraud in the 1995 case in which a federal prosecutor described him as running a "shop of fraud" at his business on 12th Street near Washington Avenue. Galati was charged, but found not guilty, of threatening to kill a postal inspector who was part of an insurance fraud task force in that case.

In that case, authorities labeled Galati a close associate of then mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino. Merlino worked in the auto body shop in the early 1990s while in a halfway house completing a four-year sentence for an armored truck robbery in which over $350,000 was taken.

That money was never recovered.

Several other mobsters, including Borgesi, also have been linked to Galati's shop.

From the witness stand in the current trial, Monacello, a Borgesi associate, testified that he worked with Borgesi in the early 1990s in a scheme set up to provide Galati with auto body repair work and opportunities for insurance fraud.

Monacello said Galati would make copies of the car keys of customers and then provide Borgesi with the key and the customer's address. Late at night, Monacello said, he would drive Borgesi to a customer's neighborhood and if they spotted the car, Borgesi would drive it away. Monacello said he would follow and serve as a "blocker" -- using his car to block police should they pursue Borgesi.

In the stolen car, Monacello said, Borgesi would cruise South Philadelphia, heading toward the address of another Galati customer. Borgesi would then crash the stolen car into the parked car of the second customer, creating repair work for Galati from both unknowing patrons.

Borgesi would rip out the steering column in the stolen car and take the key, so that it would appear the car had been hot wired, Monacello said. He testified that he worked with Borgesi for several months, but tired of the job because of the late hours and because, he said, Borgesi was only paying him $100 per night

Galati was accused to generating tens of thousands of dollars in insurance fraud income.

His ties to the Merlino faction of the mob also resulted in a problem with mob boss John Stanfa. Stanfa suspected that Galati's auto body shop was used to cut two portholes into the side of a stolen van that was used to ambushed Stanfa on the Schuylkill Expressway in August 1993.

The shooting, Stanfa's son Joe was wounded, occurred in the midst of rush hour traffic shortly before 8 a.m. Authorities suspected the Merlino faction of being behind that attempted hit, but no one has ever been convicted.

The shooting was one of the more outlandish during a bloody war between Stanfa and Merlino in 1993. Galati ended up on one of Stanfa's many hit lists as a result.

Galati has always denied any knowledge of the circumstances behind the Expressway shooting, but what he knows could be a bargaining chip should he decide to cooperate. Authorities also believe that Galati has maintained an ongoing relationship with other mobsters and that some of them, and their family members, may figure in the current insurance fraud probe.

"Galati doesn't want to go back to prison," said one individual who knows him.

Whether he would try to bargain his way out from under his current problems is a question that is being asked in both law enforcement and underworld circles. Of course, that same question was asked this time last year when Nicodemo was arrested for the murder of Gino DiPietro in South Philadelphia.

Nicodemo, 41, was taken in to custody less than 30 minutes after the shooting. Witnesses had spotted him fleeing the scene in an SUV and gave authorities the license tag number. The vehicle was registered in Nicodemo's name and listed at his address, a few blocks from where DiPietro, 50, was gunned down.

The married father of two young children was arrested at that home without incident. He was charged with murder, conspiracy and weapons offenses after a ballistic test linked a gun found in his car with a bullet fragment from the murder scene. Police also found gloves and a ski mask in the vehicle, a black Honda Pilot, according to an investigative source.

Nicodemo spent the holidays in jail last year and will be there again this year, setting up the possibility that he and Galati might share some eggnog, or whatever it is that they serve at CFCF during this festive season.

Nicodemo is secheduled for trial in May. A hearing to suppress evidence in his case could be the key to his future. If that hearing goes against him, "he's buried" said an investigative source familiar with the case.

Galati's situation is just as problematic. If the hitmen he allegedly hired are now cooperating, the case against him could be insurmountable.

"It's bad," said one person familiar with the charges

http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/12/mob-associate-jailed-in-murder-for-hire.html

Was it an undercover for hire he went to? maybe I missed that part?

So it's a failed attempted hit they're trying to pin on Galati. Sounds like the gunmen might of rolled on him.

They didn't release the victims name but this must be the shooting that they are referring to.

http://www.nbc40.net/story/24104249/man-shot-in-atlantic-city

Anybody know who the 2 gunmen from philly are that they picked up after that shooting?

maybe some drug addicts or something? Philly guys cant seem to win in the murder department.

How did reputed mob figure land major city contract in Philly?


South Philly's American Collision, which works on police cars, is owned by an ex-con, sentenced to three years for turning another shop he owned into what prosecutors called a "shop of fraud." He's also under investigation for insurance fraud.


WILLIAM BENDER, Daily News Staff
December 18, 2013


RONALD GALATI, a South Philly fraudster and reputed mob associate at the center of a triple murder-for-hire investigation, has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from a lucrative contract to repair and maintain Philadelphia Police Department vehicles, the Daily News has learned.

Galati, 63, identified by authorities as a onetime associate of mobsters Joey Merlino and George Borgesi, was able to land the contract despite a 1994 racketeering conviction for turning one of his auto-body garages into what federal prosecutors described as a "shop of fraud."

Yesterday, a marked police car was parked inside Galati's shop, American Collision & Automotive Center, on 20th Street near McKean. Records show that the city paid his company more than $400,000 in fiscal year 2012 alone. The contract began in 2011 and runs through June, a city official said.

Galati, whose name has surfaced in the ongoing racketeering retrial of Borgesi and reputed mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, was arrested Friday on allegations that he hired hit men to kill his daughter's boyfriend and a body-shop operator and his son.

Law-enforcement officials are withholding details of Galati's arrest because a grand jury is handling the case. But court documents show Galati has been the focus of an insurance-fraud investigation for a year and a half. In fact, state police have been monitoring Galati's shop with a hidden surveillance camera that captured Galati speaking with the alleged hit men in October, according to court documents.

The two alleged hit men, identified in the documents as Ronald Walker and Alvin Matthews, began cooperating with authorities after they were busted in Atlantic City on Nov. 30 moments after Andrew Tuono was shot in front of his home. Walker and Matthews said they had been hired by Galati to kill Tuono, whom they described as Galati's daughter's boyfriend. Tuono was shot three times in the abdomen, but survived.

Walker told authorities that Galati also had hired him to kill a South Philly auto-shop owner and his son, saying, "They gotta go." Galati believed that the father was cooperating with authorities in the insurance-fraud investigation. That hit apparently was delayed, Walker told authorities.

Officials from the District Attorney's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the state Attorney General's Office have declined to comment on Galati's arrest or the insurance-fraud probe. He is being held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on charges of attempted murder, solicitation of murder, and retaliation and intimidation of a witness or victim, according to court records.

Galati has a bail hearing scheduled for Monday, according to his attorney, Joseph Santaguida, who represented reputed mob underboss Joseph "Mousie" Massimino in the previous racketeering trial involving Ligambi and Borgesi.

"It's a grand jury. None of the defense lawyers like it at all. It's like a secret ritual," Santaguida said yesterday. "They hold you without bail and you have no opportunity to confront the facts. It's really terrible."

Santaguida, a longtime mob attorney, said authorities have not provided him with the allegations against his client.

It was unclear last night how much Galati has earned from the city through his police-vehicle contract, but budget records obtained by civic activist Brett Mandel and organized in his online database show that American Collision & Automotive Center was paid $435,562 in fiscal year 2012.

"The city should make this available," said Mandel, who served as director of financial and policy analysis under former City Controller Jonathan Saidel and was a candidate in the spring primary for controller.

Mayor Nutter's spokesman, Mark McDonald, did not respond to email requests yesterday for information about the Galati contract. Lt. John Stanford, a police spokesman, said he had no information last night about the contract.

In 1995, Galati was sentenced to three years in prison for what prosecutors described as widespread insurance fraud involving vehicles brought into his shop on 12th Street near Washington Avenue.

"We're talking about a pattern of systematic fraud of all types that occurred over an eight-year period," Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Weber said at Galati's sentencing hearing, the Inquirer reported in April 1995.

Galati, who employed Merlino in 1992 after Merlino was released from prison for an armored-truck robbery, was once on a hit list allegedly compiled by ex-mob boss John Stanfa. Stanfa, now serving five life sentences, believed that Galati was involved with cutting gun ports into a van that was used in a 1993 Schuylkill Expressway shooting that wounded Stanfa's son.

Last month, mob turncoat Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello took the witness stand in the retrial of Ligambi and Borgesi and described how he and Borgesi became friends and then began committing crimes together, including stealing cars.

Monacello said Borgesi was friendly with Galati, who would copy customers' car keys and give them to Borgesi. Borgesi later would steal the cars and Monacello would follow him in another car, Monacello testified. They would damage the stolen cars, and the customers, unaware that they were pawns in a scam, would bring the cars back to Galati's body shop to be repaired, Monacello said.

"People would give their cars back to Ron," Monacello said. "Ron Galati would give him [Borgesi] a cut in cash."

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131218_How_did_mob_figure_land_major_city_contract_.html

Terrible timing .

Reputed mobster's contract with city of Philadelphia gets whacked
WILLIAM BENDER & SEAN COLLINS WALSH, Daily News Staff Writers
December 19, 2013

THE CITY of Philadelphia yesterday cut its ties with the auto-body shop of reputed mob associate Ronald Galati after the Daily News reported on his lucrative city contract and his alleged involvement in a triple-murder plot tied to an ongoing insurance-fraud probe.

Galati's American Collision & Automotive Center has raked in more than $1.2 million in taxpayer money since 2011, according to Mayor Nutter's spokesman, Mark McDonald.

McDonald said the city paid the company $283,000 in fiscal year 2011, $645,000 in fiscal year 2012 and $275,000 in fiscal year 2013. The payments for fiscal year 2014, which began in July, are not yet available.

McDonald initially praised the company, telling the Daily News: "They've been on time, they've done quality work, and they've worked within the estimate. In short, they've done a good job."


But city officials apparently switched gears. McDonald told WHYY's NewsWorks that the city had decided to stop sending police cars and other city vehicles to Galati's shop in South Philly for repair and maintenance.

"The city government is not looking to create controversy," McDonald said. He didn't respond to requests for comment from the People Paper.

Galati, 63, who has been tied to mobsters Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello and George Borgesi in the ongoing racketeering retrial, was sentenced to three years in prison in 1995 for running what federal prosecutors called a "shop of fraud" on 12th Street near Washington Avenue. He was arrested Friday and held without bail on charges of attempted murder, solicitation of murder, and retaliation and intimidation of a witness or victim.

Court documents reveal that city police and state organized-crime authorities have been investigating Galati for a year and a half for crimes related to insurance fraud. The documents say that a surveillance camera focused on American Collision, on 20th Street near McKean, captured Galati meeting in October with two men he allegedly hired to kill a body-shop operator who he believed had testified against him, and the operator's son.

"They gotta go," one of the alleged hit men quoted Galati as saying.

The documents confirm that the man Galati allegedly targeted is, in fact, a cooperating witness who testified this year before the grand jury in the insurance-fraud case. The Daily News is withholding his name because he has not been charged with a crime and to avoid endangering him.

Galati, who lives on Garnet Street in South Philadelphia, also is accused of conspiring to have his daughter's boyfriend murdered. The boyfriend, Andrew Tuono, was shot three times outside his Atlantic City home Nov. 30, but survived. The alleged hit men are now cooperating against Galati, court documents say.

McDonald said American Collision bid and won the contract in 2011 to repair and maintain police cars and other city vehicles. The contract was signed by Galati's son, who also works there. Sources say the father runs the company.

"There is no requirement in a service, supply or equipment contract to disclose prior criminal conduct," McDonald said.

A police source said of the elder Galati: "He actually did help a lot of people out, but he's got a dark side that's tied to the underworld old-school approach to the Mafia style of making money."

Galati's arrest is particularly worrisome for South Philly wiseguys who are concerned that he could flip and provide the feds with a trove of information going back to the Joey Merlino-John Stanfa mob war in the early 1990s.

Yesterday, Galati abruptly switched attorneys, from longtime mob lawyer Joseph Santaguida to Anthony Voci, a former city prosecutor. But Voci dismissed speculation that Galati is considering cooperating with law enforcement.

"If the guy starts to talk, there's going to be some problems," said a source familiar with the investigation. "Anyone who has done something illegal with Ron Galati in the last 20 years is not going to have a very Merry Christmas."

Reputed Mob Associate Denied Bail in Attempted Hit Case
By Mike Newall and Jeremy Roebuck | The Philadelphia Inquirer | Tuesday, Dec 31,


A Philadelphia judge denied bail Tuesday for a reputed mob associate charged with attempting to have three people killed, including a grand jury witness.

The alleged crimes of Ronald Galati, strike at the "heart of the justice system" and leave witnesses fearing for their lives, said Common Pleas Court Charles Ehrlich. He sent Galati back to prison to await trial on charges of attempted murder, solicitation of murder, witness intimdation and retaliation.

"This case will be decided in the courtroom and not on the streets," the judge said.


Galati, 63, a South Philadelphia auto-body man was arrested last month for allegedly hiring two gunmen to kill a rival shop owner who had testified against him in an ongoing insurance fraud investigation. He also stands accused of hiring hit men to kill the man's son. And he is charged with ordering a hit on his daughter's boyfriend.

While the hits on the witness and his son were never attempted, Galati's daughter's boyfriend, Andrew Tuono, was shot and wounded outside his Atlantic City home in November. Galati's daughter was with Tuono at the time, but not injured.

A onetime associate of former mob moss Joey Merlino, Galati agreed to pay two hitmen $20,000 each for killing the father and son, according to court records.

Galati has pleaded not guilty. Through his lawyer, Anthony Voci, he has said he committed no crimes.

In statements to police, the Atlantic City gunmen said Galati hired them to carry out the hits on the three men - and was planning hits on four more people whose identity they did not know.

"These could be other witnesses or law enforcement," said prosecutor Dawn Holtz at Tuesday's hearing.

At the hearing, Holtz said Galati has "close personal relationships" with reputed mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and his alleged consigliere George Borgesi - both codefendants in an ongoing federal racketeering retrial.

Prison logs show that Galati has been visiting Ligambi and Borgesi in jail and putting money in their prison bank accounts, Holtz said. Galati also hired Ligambi's wife to work at an auto body repair shop owned by his son, she said.

Though bail is almost always granted in cases that do not involve murder, the prosecutor said Galati's case was different because it left witnesses fearing for their safety.

"The fear is real," Holtz said, noting that Galati had "put everything in place" for the hit on the witness and his son. And if the men who shot Tuono had used a higher caliber weapon as Galati had suggested, she said, Tuono would be dead.

"He is cold blooded," she said. "He has the money, the intent, and he has recently made statements that he knows he is going to prison for a long time.. . . This is a desperate man."

About a dozen of Galati's friends and family attended the hearing. They were out-numbered by investigators who crowded the courtroom.

Voci, Galati's lawyer, said Galati worked 10 hours a day, six days a week at the auto body shop.

"The picture they are painting of him doesn't make sense," he said.

He argued that it would be easier for police to monitor Galati at his South Philadelphia home than in jail, given the prevalence of prison cell phones.

Holtz scoffed at that idea, arguing that visitors could come and go if Galati were permitted to return home - and he would have access to bank accounts and cash.

"From his home, he can be a puppeteer," she said. "The Wizard of Oz behind a curtain, and we wouldn't be able to control it."

Investigators have said the case against Galati is not directly tied to the federal racketerring retrial against Ligambi and Borgesi.

But his name has surfaced repeatedly during the ongoing trial.

Star government witness Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello, has said that he and Borgesi used to vandalize cars in a racket devised by Galati.

He said the mechanic, would copy the keys of his garage's customers and give them to Borgesi. For a cut of the proceeds, Borgesi and Monacello would later find the vehicles on the street, vandalize them and wait for the customers to bring them back to Galati's garage for more repair work.

"People would give their cars back to Ron," Monacello said. "Ron Galati would give [Borgesi] a cut in cash."

This story is reported through a partnership between NBC10.com and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Thursday, February 20, 2014


More Problems Ahead For Auto Shop Don


By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net

Ron Galati, the Don Corleone of the South Philadelphia auto repair business, was arraigned earlier this week on murder-for-hire, conspiracy and witness intimidation charges.

The wannabe wiseguy pleaded not guilty. He is being held without bail pending an as yet unscheduled trial. And that may just be the beginning of his problems.

Galati, if the District Attorney's allegations prove true, has apparently turned an insurance fraud pinch that could have landed him in jail for from five to six years into an attempted murder-witness intimidation fiasco that could result in a prison sentence of up to 30 years. That's not a pleasant prospect for the 63-year-old mob associate who underworld sources say always talked a better game than he played.

Two reputed hitmen allegedly hired by Galati have given him up in what authorities say was a plan to murder two rival auto body shop owners -- a father and son -- who may have been cooperating with investigators. Those hits were never carried out, but a third shooting in Atlantic City is still under investigation.

The target that time was Andrew Tuono, the boyfriend of Galati's daughter Tiffany. The attempted hit went down. Tuono was shot three times in the stomach outside his Atlantic City home on Nov. 30. But the two shooters were arrested within minutes of the assault and quickly rolled on Galati, whom they said promised to pay them to kill Tuono and had also hired them to rub out Joseph Rao and his son, Joe Jr., because Galati believed -- correctly -- that Rao Sr. had testified against him to a grand jury in an insurance fraud probe.

"This guy is ratting on me on an insurance thing," alleged hitman Ronald Walker told investigators Galati told him.

Walker and Alvin Matthews have been arrested for the Tuono shooting. They have also admitted, according to an affidavit that is part of the pending Galati case, that they were tapped by Galati to shoot the Raos.

"They gotta go," Walker said Galati told him.

The affidavit of probable cause, the basis for Galati's arrest in December, was sworn to by Philadelphia Police Det. Robert DiFrancesco and Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Romano. DeFrancesco is assigned to the District Attorney's Insurance Fraud Unit. Romano is part of an Organized Crime Task Force.

They jointly interviewed Walker and then Matthews who were being held in the Atlantic County Jail after their arrests by members of the Atlantic City Police Department.

During his interview, which took place on Dec. 6, Walker told the investigators that "sometime before Halloween" he met with Galati and Jerome Johnson, a Galati associate who has also been charged in the case. The meeting took place outside American Collision, the auto repair shop Galati runs at 1930 S. 20th Street.

Walker said the meeting was set up by Johnson, a lifelong friend who told him "Galati had a problem" that he wanted to discuss with them. Walker said the three of them walked up the street from the auto body shop, pausing in front of what appeared to be an abandoned house nearby.

There, he said, Galati asked him to kill both Raos.

"Galati wanted him to go to the garage and shoot both of them in the head," according to the affidavit. Galati also asked how much it would cost. After Walker told him $20,000 for each, Galati allegedly replied, "Alright."

Walker told authorities Galati reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash -- $800 -- which he handed him. Walker considered it a down payment for the murders.

What neither Galati nor Walker realized at the time was that the state police, who had begun an insurance fraud investigation a year earlier, had a surveillance camera mounted across the street from American Collision.

Romano, the state trooper, spent hours after the first interview with Walker reviewing tape from October 2013. The tape, according to the affidavit, includes video from October 23 that shows Galati meeting with Walker, Matthews and Johnson outside the auto body shop between 1:45 and 2:45 that afternoon.

While there apparently is no audio, that kind of evidence could be effectively used by prosecutors to support Walker's story if and when he takes the witness stand against Galati.

Walker and Matthews also told the investigators that after they were assigned the murder contract on the Raos they did "recon," visiting Rao's auto body shop at 9th and McKean Streets in South Philadelphia. In fact, it appears Joseph Rao and his son unknowingly stared death in the eye at one point.

Matthews told the investigators that it was Johnson who solicited him to get involved in the Rao contracts. He said Johnson told him that Galati wanted Joseph Rao Sr. killed because he was "testifying against him...or trying to get him indicted or something along those lines."

Mathews said he knew the Raos from another body shop they once owned at 24th and Wharton in South Philadelphia. Matthews said he was promised a car and some money, but he said he didn't know how much, for carrying out the hits. He said he visited the shop at 9th and McKean pretending that he was interested in a job cleaning cars.

The would-be hitman said he gave Joseph Rao Sr. a phony name and telephone number. When questioned by investigators, Rao said he remembered a black male stopping by the shop sometime in late October or early November looking for a job "cleaning out cars or detailing a cars," according to the affidavit.

Rao said he thought that might be a good idea and told his son, who was also in the shop, that it would "save you from doing it.

Matthews told authorities he did not want to carry out the hit that day because there were others in the shop. He said he went back to a car where Johnson was waiting with a gun and told him that Rao wasn't there.

He and Walker also told authorities that they went back to the shop in November to carry out the murders and found it had been padlocked, apparently as part of a city investigation into insurance fraud.

At that point, Matthews said, Johnson told him "it's time to concentrate on the young boy (Tuono) now."

Both Walker and Matthews told authorities that they had previously been hired by Galati to vandalized cars. Those cars would then to brought to Galati's shop for repair work. That scenario was similar to what authorities alleged Galati was doing in the early 1990s. He was convicted in 1995 and served 37 months in a federal insurance fraud case.

Mob associate Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello told a jury at the recent trial of mob boss Joe Ligambi and his nephew George Borgesi, that he and Borgesi worked similar scams for Galati. He said Galati would make copies of keys to cars of customers. After the cars were repaired, Monacello said, Borgesi, using keys provided by Galati, would steal the cars and crash them into other vehicles that also belonged to Galati customers, creating more work and potential insurance windfalls for the auto body shop owner.

Monacello said he was paid $100-a-night.

Walker and Matthews both told investigators that Galati paid them for their vandalism work. Walker estimated that he had damaged about 20 vehicles for Galati and was paid between $500 and $1,500. Matthews said he was involved in 50 incidents and was paid from $20 to $50 per event. Matthews said he also was paid to "set numerous fires on boats" and at least one house, according to the affidavit.

Sources said that federal authorities in New Jersey have taken up the case there against Galati which includes the attempted murder of Andrew Tuono and insurance fraud connected to at least one boat fire and other acts of vandalism.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, meanwhile, is expected to drop another shoe with an indictment that focuses on the insurance fraud that precipitated the investigation of Galati. That case could include multiple defendants. Whether any of them are tied to organized crime is open to speculation.

For years Galati has basked in the low-life celebrity of knowing and being around mob figures including Borgesi, Ligambi and Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino. Sources say the insurance fraud case could spill over on to members of Ligambi's family, both his relatives and mob associates.

From Florida, Merlino recently said that "the only thing Ron Galati can say about me is that my hair is black."

For years authorities have believed that it was in Galati's auto body shop that a stolen van was converted into a "hit machine" by members of the Merlino organization. That van, with two portholes cut in its side, was used to carry out the infamous shooting of mob boss John Stanfa on the Schuylkill Expressway in the middle of morning rush hour traffic on August 31, 1993.

Stanfa's car was strafed by fire from two machine pistols that morning. The mob boss, in the front passenger seat, ducked. His son Joseph, riding in the back seat, took a bullet to the cheek. But the younger Stanfa survived. The statue of limitations on that shooting has long expired. Unless authorities were able to roll it into a racketeering case, anything Galati knows about it might be useless.

What's more, District Attorney Seth Williams has made witness intimidation cases a high priority in this office. Philadelphia has a long history of witnesses being killed, particularly in the drug underworld. Kaboni Savage, convicted last year and sentenced to death, was charged with 12 murders. Eight of those were linked to witness intimidation, including the firebombing of a home in which two women and four children were killed.

It may be that the District Attorney's Office doesn't want to make a deal with Galati. He may have placed himself in a position to be the poster boy for the DA's war against witness violence. In that case, whatever -- if anything -- Galati can say that might link some Ligambi associates to insurance fraud might not be enough to get him out from under the murder-for-hire charges and the insurance fraud charges that are expected shortly.

The attempted murder of Andrew Tuono adds another "family" twist to the building Galati saga. Sources said Galati, acting like Don Corleone, held court in an Italian restaurant outside of Atlantic City shortly before the shooting and may have discussed what was planned with others that night.

More troubling, say both underworld and law enforcement sources, is that the attempted hit was carried out in front of Galati's daughter. Both Tiffany Galati and Tuono are believed to be cooperating with investigators.

http://www.bigtrial.net/2014/02/more-problems-ahead-for-auto-shop.html

It's always sunny in Philadelphia lol

Thank you for post.

Wow that was a book,but very interesting.

Indicted Mob Associate's Homes, Business Raid By State Police, DA's Office
Posted: Mar 05, 2014 4:04 PM EST
Updated: Mar 06, 2014 6:07 AM EST
By Dave Schratwieser, Reporter - bio | email

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA -
Only FOX 29 News was there as the State Police and investigators from the District Attorney's Office carted away boxes of evidence from American Collision on South 20th Street and several homes in the exclusive Girard Estates section of South Philadelphia.

"They can look through every computer and they can look through every file, all they're going to find is an honest businessman," said Anthony Voci Jr., the attorney for Mob associate Ronald Galati.

The business and the homes are linked to Galati, who is already behind bars in a bizarre murder for hire plot. He and two hitmen allegedly targeted witnesses for death in an on-going Grand Jury probe into a widespread insurance fraud scheme involving the body shop.

"I've been aware that there's an insurance fraud investigation that's been in place for about a year and a half," Voci told FOX 29.

State police, the DA's investigators and the FBI spent hours pouring over records and computers at the body shop, galati's home on South Garnet Street and two other homes on the block belonging to his son, Ron Galati Junior. Voci said the search warrants in the case are sealed and he is awaiting a list of evidence seized at those locations.

Sources say Galati is also the target of an FBI investigation in New Jersey. A Federal Grand Jury in Camden has been hearing testimony and reviewing evidence connected to a second murder for hire plot in Atlantic City last December. The two gunmen are already under arrest. The victim is said to be a witness in that ongoing insurance fraud scheme.

"It is my understanding there's going to be a number of indictments handed down, related to an insurance fraud investigation, but how big that turns out to be I don't know. If that's two or three people or 20 people," Voci explained.

Voci said Galati is anxious to defend himself against the charges.

"We look forward to our day in court, hopefully we're going to have one very soon," Voci added.

Galati is being held without bail on the murder for hire charges here in Philadelphia, but a Superior Court judge may hold a hearing on a bail motion for Galati later this month.

Sources say Galati and more than a dozen others could face a second indictment on insurance fraud from a city Grand Jury. The District Attorney's Office has refused comment on that case.

Galati could also face a federal indictment in the December murder for hire plot in South Jersey. The victim in that case was shot three times, but survived and is now in protective custody.



the District Attorney's Office carted away boxes of evidence from American Collision on South 20th Street and several homes in the exclusive Girard Estates section of South Philadelphia.

The article posted on the 20th makes this seem like a lock for the prosecution. With the hitmen's stories and video of Galati meeting them, you have to think that this is going to be a piece of cake! Maybe I'll get a jury duty notice for it haha. Now the question is how much Galati knows about the rest of the family business. It will be interesting to see if he knows enough for big Seth to offer him a deal..

Seems to me that Galati is pretty well fucked, but I wonder if he's really worth flipping from the feds standpoint? He just seems like a fringe guy that the mob used for side cash, moreso than a guy thats privy to any real inter-workings. There's probably a hundred guys like him operating on the fringe of the mob in South Philly. He's not one of the inner-circle though.

I dont think they would even let him flip(unless ofcourse he had something really good), he was planning on killing a states witness, they usually make sure guys like him die in prison.

Yeah like Merlino said in the article, "the only thing Galati knows about me is that I have black hair." If this guy knew anything, if would be stupid stuff like the holes in the van thing..

LOLL! I love Anastasia. He makes me laugh, he is quite brave and opinionated he called Galati "a wannabe gangster" He is a very good historian.

All in family? Feds say Galati had hit men shoot daughter's beau

Jeremy Roebuck, Inquirer Staff Writer
Last updated: Thursday, April 24, 2014, 5:54 PM
Posted: Thursday, April 24, 2014, 5:12 PM

The legal problems just keep mounting for reputed mob associate Ronald Galati Sr.

Already under arrest in a murder-for-hire plot in Philadelphia and under scrutiny from a Pennsylvania grand jury probing insurance fraud, the 63-year-old auto mechanic now faces federal charges alleging he offered to pay three men to kill the boyfriend of his daughter Tiffany, 33.

In an indictment unsealed Thursday, federal prosecutors in Camden accused Galati of orchestrating a November attack on Andrew Tuono, 34, outside of an Atlantic City home. Tuono survived the incident but was left with three bullet wounds to the stomach.

Galati's lawyer, Anthony Voci Jr., said that while the new charges in the Tuono case were expected, his client maintains his innocence.

"I've been representing Mr. Galati for six months, and I haven't seen a shred of physical evidence," he said. "All I've been confronted with are bald allegations supported by say-so assertions."

The latest case against Galati, owner of American Collision & Automotive Center near 20th and McKean Streets in South Philadelphia, comes four months after his arrest in the city on charges that he hired three men to kill another man - a witness who testified against him in the ongoing grand jury probe in Pennsylvania.

Testimony from two of those would-be assassins - Ronald Walker and Alvin Matthews - lies at the heart of the New Jersey case. The men told FBI agents that in addition to targeting the witness, Galati also offered to pay them $20,000 if they carried out a hit on Tuono.

Though investigators have not specified what drove Galati's desire to see Tuono dead, federal prosecutors allege he had been mulling the decision for months.

As early as June, they said, Galati interrupted a family dinner to pull Tuono into a kitchen and threaten his life.

Five months later, according to Thursday's indictment, Galati hired Walker, Matthews and a third man Jerome Johnson, 45, of Philadelphia, to carry out the deed.

Walker and Matthews, who were arrested shortly after the attempt on Tuono, pleaded guilty last month to federal firearms charges and conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

Johnson was also indicted Thursday. It remains unclear whether he has retained an attorney.

Galati has remained in custody in Philadelphia without bail since city prosecutors accused him in December of hiring the same trio to kill Joseph Rao Sr., a rival mechanic who testified against him before the grand jury, and his son. That plot was stopped before any attempt was made on their lives.

But in arguing to keep Galati behind bars until his trial scheduled for July, prosecutors cited his "close personal connections" to top mob figures including reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi.

Prison logs show that Galati visited Ligambi and his nephew George Borgesi in prison while the two awaited trial last year on racketeering conspiracy charges. (The jury acquitted Borgesi and split on Ligambi; prosecutors said they won't try him again.)

Galati also hired Ligambi's wife to work at an auto-body repair shop owned by his son.

Voci, Galati's lawyer, said Thursday he intends to raise the question of bail once more in his client's new federal case.

If convicted of the charges in New Jersey, Galati could face up to 20 years in prison.

Read more at ↓http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140 ... g58Vwr4.99

All in family? Feds say Galati had hit men shoot daughter's beau
The legal problems just keep mounting for reputed mob associate Ronald Galati Sr. Already under arrest in a murder-for-hire plot in Philadelphia and under scrutiny from a Pennsylvania grand jury probing insurance fraud, the 63-year-old auto mechanic now faces federal charges alleging he offered to pay three men to kill the boyfriend of his daughter Tiffany, 33.

He's sitting in the can reading People Magazine and is probably the onely white guy on his block

Cutting Holes Gunport's in a van to carry out a hit is "Conspiracy" at the least

Galati is screwed. he should of hired Anthony Nicodemo HAHAHAH

Hey Stevie

Happened to all those pictures? Stories from Easter in SP?

i posted something in the other philly thread earlier. but the pictures im having trouble posting but i will figure it out in a few days when i have time... i got some really good ones too. but gotta crop some people out and few other things.

Stevie does not BS. Always has great info and great pics

Stevie does not BS. Always has great info and great pics

No I do not B.S.. I have no reason to. Thank you @padrone. I will try to keep the pics coming for everyone. Im just having a problem with these pics I just found because of the site I found them on.... And HandsomeHarry, if my post are a bunch of BS, dont read them!

And btw I never said I had any story from Easter in South Philly. That was "MikeyO" that first said Anthony Borgesi was jailed for vehicular manslaughter, and then said Uncle Joe has a rat in his camp and it was going to be on Fox that night and that the feds were gonna ruin easter for South Philly... I dont post stuff just to post it like some people obviously do.. I did mention having pics but I have explained the situation with the pics 100 times and if people cant wait, they can find the pictures themselves! Thank you and have a great day !

But you live in MA.

Where do you live? What do you contribute to this forum? Why did you make up false rumors and stories and post them on here repeatedly? Why did you PM me and ask to borrow money?

Vegasmikey the sheep don't like you talking about him betting on here... baaa baaa baaataglia

you know Sheep is Lou Baretta and not Gary Battaglini right?

Most of what it says is nonsense. Throws alot of macaroni at the wall to see if it sticks.

Yea I guess mikeyo is trying to be funny. His name is Sheep, not "the sheep" btw. And him and Gary are two different people who live in two different states.
Obviously mikeyo is a formerly banned troll.

yea when I read it I was like wtf. It sounded funny though. "Baaa Baaa Bataglia" LOL.

Lol they can't seem to keep dicknose away

So who is your family? Or who do you claim to be related to either by marriage or biologically?

By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net

Ron Galati, the Don Corleone of the auto repair business, hit a trifecta this afternoon when he was indicted for a third time in an ongoing investigation by city, state and federal authorities.

The latest charges, announced by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, allege that the 63-year-old South Philadelphia auto body shop owner orchestrated an elaborate insurance fraud scheme that netted nearly $5 million for himself and his co-conspirators.

Those charged in the case included Galati's wife, Vicky, his son, Ron Jr. and Steven Ligambi, the 28-year-old son of mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi.

In all, 41 people have been charged and several have already agreed to cooperate, according to the District Attorney's Office which quoted one cooperator who said Galati would boast, "I live my life to cheat insurance companies. My high every day is to cheat insurance companies."


Galati is already facing murder for hire charges brought by the District Attorney's Office and attempted murder and conspiracy charges brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey. He has been held without bail since his arrest last year on charges that he solicited three hitmen to kill a father and son, rival auto body shop owners, who were apparently cooperating in the investigation that had targeted him.

Last month he was named in a federal indictment out of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Camden alleging that the same hitmen were solicited to kill the boyfriend of Galati's daughter Tiffany. The boyfriend was shot in Atlantic City, but survived.

Two of the hitmen, along with the boyfriend and Tiffany Galati are all believed to be cooperating in that case.

The indictment announced today was similar to a fraud case brought against Galati back in 1995 by federal authorities. He was convicted and served 37months in prison. This time, with the murder for hire and attempted murder charges, he is looking at a possible life sentence.

The charges painted a picture of an arrogant wheeler dealer who developed a systematic routine to cash in on phony insurance claims. Corrupt insurance company agents and one Philadelphia police officer were also charged.

Among other things, Galati's American Collision and Auto Center had a contract to repair Philadelphia Police Department vehicles.

The DA charged that Galati had five different fraud schemes and that he generated over a million dollars for himself and his wife. The DA alleged that while he and his wife claimed in grand jury testimony that they each were earning about $250-a-week, evidence would show that "Galati cashed over $1.2 million worth of checks" at a South Philadelphia check cashing center over the past several years.

The indictment alleges that over the past four years, insurance companies have issued $2.3 million for fraudulent claims filed as part of the Galati scheme. Authorities also allege that his shop obtained $1.8 million from the city after fraudulently obtaining a contract with the Philadelphia Office of Fleet Management.

The "pattern of fraudulent claims," sometimes made with customers who were part of the scam, involved damages resulting fictitious deer accidents, vandalism, damage due to falling objects and staged collisions. The DA cited Galati's "knack for designing creative accident scenarios and his network of rogue professionals who conspired with him to legitimize" the phony insurance claims.

The indictment alleged that "Galati favored deer hits, vandalism and vehicular damages from trajectory objects" because those would allow the car owner to claim "no fault" and would not result in an increase in the driver's insurance premium. Among other things, the DA alleged that witnesses said Galati "stored deer blood, hair and carcasses in the back of his shop." Those items were used "as props for what Galati deemed `Hollywood Photos'" that were submitted along with the fake insurance claims.

Other claims filed by Galati customers included reports that their cars had been struck by or collided with "geese, dogs, cartons of fruit, flying metal and falling concrete."

Galati, the DA said, would also stage collisions, using tow truck operators who were also charged and sometimes with the consent of the vehicle's owner. That scheme was similar to one laid out by mob associate Louis "Bent Finger" Monacello who testified this year in the racketeering trial of Ligambi and mobster George Borgesi.

In the 1990s, Monacello said, Galati would make a copy of customer's car key, then pay Borgesi to steal the car and crash it into another vehicle, also owned by a Galati customer. The "accidents" would generate more business for Galati's shop and more opportunities to inflate and falsify insurance claims. Monacello said he was on hand to drive a backup car and assist Borgesi in getting away after he had crashed the stolen vehicle.

Galati was convicted in 1995 for running those types of schemes. Neither Ligambi nor Borgesi were convicted in the cases at which Monacello testified.

The indictment also alleges that Galati's falsified documents in order to qualify for the city contract even though American Collision did not meet all the city contract specifications.

Authorities also alleged that the investigation, which was coordinated by Assistant District Attorney Dawn Holtz and conducted by Det. Robert DiFrancesco of the DA's Office and Trooper Michael Romano of the State Police Organized Crime Division, also linked Galati and co-defendant Philip Sessa to a boat stolen from a marina in Somer Point, NJ, and to the misappropriation of funds from an unidentified senior citizen's bank account.

Galati, who loved to quote lines from The Godfather, lived well on the money from his scams, the DA charged, often throwing "elaborate parties" at shorefront properties and "hosting expensive dinners" at local restaurants.

It was at an Italian restaurant in Northfield, NJ, authorities said, that Galati threatened his daughter's boyfriend shortly before the boyfriend was shot. The restaurant, now closed, was owned at the time by associates of Borgesi's.

"It wasn't a big place, but Galati liked to hold court there," said a source. "He thought he was Don Corleone."

George Anastasia can be contacted at George@bigtrial.net.
Read more at http://www.bigtrial.net/2014/05/galati-hits-trifecta-indicted-for-third.html#lAi5710b6eVBsb1R.99

People wandering through Ron Galati's South Philadelphia auto-body shop could be forgiven for thinking they'd stumbled upon an urban hunting lodge.

There were deer heads mounted on the walls and carcasses, fur, and blood stored in the back.

In reality, says Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, the shop was an elaborate staging area for a $5 million scheme that defrauded auto insurance companies and involved a police officer and city worker.

Galati - an alleged mob associate awaiting trial for paying to kill three people - was in the business, according to a grand jury, of "fictitious deer accidents."

He is accused of having workers pull weeds from the river bands at Penrose Avenue to create what Galati called "Hollywood photos" of bogus crashes.

And deer weren't the only props used, the prosecutor said Wednesday. There were geese and dogs and chunks of metal and concrete, as well as hurtled cartons of fruit.

Galati favored creating single-vehicle accidents because insurance companies would consider them "no-fault" and pay the claims without raising the vehicle owners' premiums, Williams contended.

According to grand jury witnesses, Galati would say: "I live my life to cheat insurance companies."

Galati, 63, was one of 41 people charged in the fraud after a 16-month investigation by a Philadelphia grand jury. Also charged were his wife, Vicki, 59, and their son Ron Jr., 37, who since 2000 has been the legal owner of his father's American Collision & Auto Center at 1930 S. 20th St.

Galati Sr.'s attorney, Anthony J. Voci Jr., said he could not comment specifically on the charges because he had not seen the presentment.

Voci also represents Galati Sr. on two other pending cases: an alleged contract to kill a grand jury witness and his son, and federal charges that he ordered the Nov. 30 shooting of his daughter's boyfriend in Atlantic City.

Among others charged in the insurance scheme were a former Philadelphia police officer, Douglas DiEmidio, 50, and Robert Otterson, 48, an employee and mechanic with the city's Office of Fleet Management.

According to the grand jury presentment, DiEmidio created false accident reports to help Galati "legitimize" bogus accidents.

DiEmidio was fired last year after being charged in an unrelated case with stealing $10,000 worth of electricity by tampering with the meter on his South Philadelphia home. He pleaded guilty in December in Common Pleas Court and was sentenced to three years' probation.

Otterson, a $49,000-a-year city employee, allegedly enabled American Collision to obtain a $1.8 million city contract by falsely certifying that the body shop had a specialized welder needed to work on city police cars.

In December, the city ended its contract with Galati's company after the Daily News reported his arrests in the three contracted hits and the existence of the insurance fraud probe.

City Managing Director Richard Negrin confirmed that Otterson still worked for the city, "but not for long. We're moving quickly to terminate him. . . ."

The defendants were charged with counts alleging operating a corrupt organization, conspiracy, insurance fraud, bid-rigging, and theft.

Assistant District Attorney Dawn Holtz, the prosecutor in the case, said 14 people have surrendered and agreed to cooperate in the prosecution.

Williams said the investigation of Galati began when two insurance companies, Erie and Progressive, contacted his office about suspicious behavior by insurance adjusters.

Cheryl Stanton, 58, of South Philadelphia, an appraiser for Erie Insurance, was accused of accepting cash and gifts from Galati to inflate estimates of crash damage.

Arthur Juliano, 37, of South Philadelphia, an appraiser for Allstate, was also charged with accepting cash from Galati.

Galati's name and business also figured in the federal racketeering conspiracy case against reputed mob capo George Borgesi. Last year, star prosecution witness Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello regaled a federal jury in Philadelphia with tales of two young mobsters in their youth.

He and Borgesi, Monacello said, were paid by Galati to vandalize the cars of his own customers.

Galati would copy keys to cars brought into his shop for repair, and Borgesi would later find them parked on the street, steal them, and crash them into the other vehicles owned by Galati customers, Monacello said. The purported point of their vandalism: to create more work and potential insurance paydays for American Collision, the mobster said.


Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/201405...WE5LvXP5dlPb.99

41 Charged with Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Fraud Scam
By Tashaj4
May 28, 2014: District Attorney R. Seth Williams has charged Ronald Galati, Sr. and his co-conspirators for a nearly 5 (m) million dollar insurance fraud scheme. These charges are the result of a sixteen-month Grand Jury investigation of American Collision and Auto Center located at 1930 S. 20th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Grand Jury found that Galati and his confederates, which included a Philadelphia Police Officer, a city official, insurance company adjusters and tow truck drivers, engaged in an elaborate scam to defraud both insurance companies and Philadelphia taxpayers.
The investigation revealed that the Galati family used American Collision and Car One Rental as corrupt organizations from which to file fraudulent insurance claims for financial gain. During the past four years, victim insurance companies issued payments totaling over $2,311,288 in connection to fraudulent claims submitted from American Collision. The shop also received over 1.8 million dollars from the City of Philadelphia by fraudulently obtaining a contract with the Office of Fleet Management in February of 2011. Assistant District Attorney Dawn Holtz and Detective Robert DiFrancesco, both of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Insurance Fraud Unit, were assigned to this investigation in conjunction with Trooper Michael Romano of the Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Organized Crime Division. Both Progressive and Erie Insurance Companies provided referrals and documentation which first brought American Collision’s suspicious claims to light.
American Collision established a pattern of filing fraudulent claims with insurance companies that would routinely fall into one of the following five scenarios: fictitious deer accidents, vandalism, vehicular damages due to falling objects, enhanced damages that compensated for waived deductibles and the use of luxury cars in staged collisions in order to generate large settlement checks. When crafting bogus accident claims, Galati favored deer hits, vandalism and vehicular damages from trajectory objects because each could be categorized as a non-fault accident for which the insured would not be held liable. In one particular situation, Galati coached a customer to report to his insurance company that he had struck a deer rather than admit that he had hit another car so that his insurer would assume responsibility without raising his rates. Multiple Grand Jury witnesses testified that Galati stored deer blood, hair and carcasses in the back of his shop. These deer remnants, along with weeds which American Collision employees were instructed to fetch from the Penrose Avenue river banks, served as props for what Galati deemed “Hollywood Photos,” or deceptive pictures of alleged vehicular damages which were submitted as part of insurance claims. In addition to deer hits, American Collision customers also filed claims alleging to have inadvertently collided with geese, dogs, cartons of fruit, flying metal and falling concrete.
Not only did Galati create imaginary accidents but he also deliberately staged collisions in order to generate business for his shop and to make money for his own personal benefit. Perhaps the most insidious of fraudulent claims filed at American Collision involved intentional vandalism orchestrated by Galati and conspirator tow truck drivers. Galati supplied local drivers with a list of vehicles owned by previous customers and would instruct the drivers to damage these cars in the early morning hours in order to create and secure business for his shop. Some clients were aware that the vandalism was deliberate, such as one cooperator who testified that he filed eleven fraudulent claims in conjunction with American Collision, nine of which were fabricated vandalism claims. In addition to vandalizing cars, Galati would also purchase luxury vehicles and pay his associates to deliberately crash cars into his parked BMW or Corvette. Galati discovered that financing these luxury vehicles through insurance fraud was an effective way to make car payments.
Galati achieved such success with filing fabricated claims due to his knack for designing creative accident scenarios and his network of rogue professionals who conspired with him to legitimize these claims. Galati enlisted the assistance of Philadelphia Police Officer Douglas DiEmidio, Erie Insurance Company adjuster Cheryl Stanton, Allstate Insurance Company adjuster Arthur Juliano, and local South Philadelphia tow truck drivers in order to substantiate his claims. Officer DiEmidio, who was stationed in the First District prior to his termination due to unrelated criminal charges, would write fraudulent Philadelphia Police Accident Reports for Galati so that American Collision could include district control numbers on claims submitted to insurance companies. Former adjusters Stanton and Juliano would write inflated estimates and submit paperwork for claims they knew were fictitious in exchange for cash, meats or other gifts. During the course of the investigation, eleven deer accident claims that had been approved by Stanton were submitted to Lange Technical Services for a Collision Damage Analysis. The report concluded that all eleven claims were fraudulent.
Galati also conspired with a City of Philadelphia Office of Fleet Management employee, Robert Otterson, who helped him fraudulently procure a lucrative city contract by falsifying documents, even though American Collision did not meet all contract requirements. All shops competing for a contract to repair city vehicles had to own a squeeze type resistance spot welder by the time its bid was submitted. The welder was required due to the composite metals which were used to manufacture City of Philadelphia Police Department Chevrolet Impalas. Despite the fact that American Collision did not own this welder at the time of the bid, they were awarded the contract and began to repair city vehicles, including the police cars. The investigation revealed that although Galati later purchased the welder, he never commissioned the electrical work necessary for the machinery to operate. Therefore, Galati never used the required welder at any point during his contract with the City of Philadelphia.
In addition to insurance fraud arrests, this investigation also resulted in uncovering a stolen boat which Philip Sessa and Galati took from a marina in Somers Point, New Jersey, and in the discovery of stolen funds which had been misappropriated from an elderly gentleman’s Bank of America account. Galati and three other men were also charged with attempted murder in December 2013 following a murder for hire that targeted Grand Jury witnesses. In spite of testifying in front the Grand Jury that he and his wife only earned two hundred and fifty dollars a week, Galati cashed over 1.2 (m) million dollars’ worth of checks at Whitman Check Cashing in South Philadelphia over the course of several years. Galati used the proceeds from his corrupt organization to throw elaborate parties at his shorefront properties and to fund expensive dinners at local restaurants. Cooperating conspirators from American Collision stated that Galati could often be heard repeating his favorite mantra: “I live my life to cheat insurance companies – my high every day is to cheat insurance companies.” The investigation revealed that Galati certainly did cheat insurance companies, as well as the City of Philadelphia, out of over two million dollars.
To date, fourteen persons have been arrested and charged with Insurance Fraud and related crimes in connection to American Collision. Many of those arrested and charged have agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation and have agreed to testify against Galati. We are in the process of arresting an additional twenty-seven involved in the conspiracy, for a total of forty-one arrests.

Others indicted by the Grand Jury:

Ronald Galati, Sr. of 2500 block of S. Garnett St – 63 years old
Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Dealing in Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 141 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 135 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 133 counts
Attempted Theft by Deception (F3) 2 counts
Bid-rigging (F3)
Securing Execution of Documents by Deception (M2)
Obstructing Administration of Law/Governmental Functions (M2)
Tampering With Public Records or Information (F3)

Vicki Galati of 2500 block of S. Garnett St- 59 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 3 counts
Dealing in Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (F1)
Insurance Fraud (F3)
Theft by Deception (F3)

Ronald Galati, Jr. of 2500 block of S. Garnett St- 37 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Dealing in Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 4 counts
Perjury (F3)
Bid-rigging (F3)
Obstructing Administration of Law/Governmental Functions (M2)
Tampering with Public Records or Information (F3)
Securing Execution of Documents by Deception (M2)

William Reed of 1200 block of S. Newkirk- 36 years old

Conspiracy (F)
Insurance Fraud (F3)
Theft by Deception (F3)

Joseph Clark of 2500 of S. Garnett- 57 years old

Conspiracy (F) 2 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 2 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 2 counts

Troy Nixon of Yeadon- 42 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 3 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 3 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 3 counts

Ronald Soffian of 1900 block of S. 20th- 66 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 18 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 17 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 17 counts
Theft by Unlawful Taking (F3)

Philip Sessa of the 2300 block of S. 30th- 44 years old

Conspiracy (F)
Receiving Stolen Property (F3)

Douglas DiEmdieo of the 1600 block of S. 12th- 50 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 4 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 3 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 3 counts
Obstructing Administration of Law/Governmental Function (M2) 3 counts
False Reports to Law Enforcement Authorities (M3) 3 counts

Cheryl Stanton of the 1700 block of Packer- 58 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 37 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 36 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 36 counts

Arthur Juliano of the 2900 block of Juniper- 37 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 8 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 7 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 7 counts

Jerome Johnson of the 5500 block of Upland- 45 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Insurance Fraud (F3) 3 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 2 counts
Conspiracy (F) 4 counts
Attempted Theft by Deception (F3)

Anayat Hosein of the 2000 block of Mercy- 56 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 4 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 3 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 3 counts

John Finch of the 1600 block of Annis- 57 years old

Conspiracy (F)
Insurance Fraud (F3)
Attempted Theft by Deception (F3)

Robert Otterson of the 1900 block of S. 30th- 48 years old

Conspiracy (F) 4 counts
Bid-Rigging (F3)
Perjury (F3) 2 counts
Obstructing Administration of Law/Other Governmental Function (M1)
Tampering with Public Records or Information (F3)
Securing Execution of Documents by Deception (M2)

Joseph Fina of Williamstown, NJ- 67 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Insurance Fraud (F3) 6 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 6 counts
Conspiracy (F) 7 counts
Perjury (F3)

Steven Ligambi of the 3100 block of S. 17th- 28 years old

Conspiracy (F)
Insurance Fraud (F3)
Theft by Deception (F3)

William Weathers of the 1500 block of S. Opal- 36 years old

Conspiracy (F) 14 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 14 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 14 counts

Andre Speller of the 700 block of S. Marvine- 55 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 17 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 16 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 16 counts

Victor Harry of the 1200 block of N. 58th- 45 years old

Corrupt Organizations (F1)
Conspiracy (F) 11 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 10 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 10 counts

Stephanie Dykes of the 1500 block of Opal- 55 years old

Conspiracy (F) 4 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 4 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 4 counts

Eric Dykes of the 2500 block of S. 75th- 58 years old

Conspiracy (F) 7 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 7 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 7 counts

Reynalda Dykes of the 2500 block of S. 75th- 54 years old

Conspiracy (F)
Insurance Fraud (F3)
Theft by Deception (F3)

Renee Taliaferro of the 1400 block of N. 29th- 57 years old

Conspiracy (F) 2 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 2 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 2 counts

Courtney McClees of the 7300 block of Meadow Lark- 45 years old

Conspiracy (F) 5 counts
Insurance Fraud (F3) 5 counts
Theft by Deception (F3) 5 counts

Donna Willis of the 4400 block of N. Gratz- 50 years old

Conspiracy (F)
Insurance Fraud (F3)
Theft by Deception (F3)

William Pomarico of the 1200 block of Mckean- 60 years old

Conspiracy (F)
Insurance Fraud (F3)
Theft by Deception (F3)