http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/...wmode=fullstoryBy Mitch Hotts
For The Oakland Press
The two Shelby Township brothers indicted last week by a federal grand jury in connection to the baseball bat-beating of a rival restaurant owner have ties to alleged Sicilian Mafia figures in Italy and should be considered dangerous, according to federal prosecutors.
Giuseppe D’Anna, aka “Joe,” 60, and Girolamo D’Anna, aka “Mimmo,” 48, are the cousins of Salvatore D’Anna, who the U.S. Justice Department says is a boss of a crime family in Terrasini, Italy.
The Mafia family in Terrasini is involved in a host of racketeering crimes there including extortion, assaults, narcotics trafficking and murder, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in court documents filed late last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“Through his own reputation as being associated with the Sicilian Mafia and a relative of the boss of a controlling crime family in the victim’s hometown, Girolamo D’Anna and his brother attempted and conspired to threaten the owners of a rival Italian restaurant that was directly competing with the D’Annas’ own neighborhood Italian restaurant,” prosecutors said in the documents.
The documents were part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office argument to hold the two brothers in custody after they were arrested by the FBI on a three-count indictment for extortion.
Federal prosecutors say the defendants attempted to extort the owner of Nonna’s Kitchen on 23 Mile Road in Shelby Township for three years beginning in 2009.
In January of 2012, both of the D’Annas were sentenced in Macomb County Circuit Court to two months in jail for the brutal beating of Pietro Ventimiglia, who owns and operates Nonna’s Kitchen with his wife, Maria.
The D’Annas both had faced life in prison when they were initially charged with attempted murder in the beating, but were allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges. Both men served their sentence without any incidents in jail.
When the two made their first appearance in federal court Friday in response to the indictments, the U.S. Attorney’s Office submitted a seven-page document asking for the two to be held pending their next hearing because they pose a “clear danger to the community.”
Judge Denise Page Hood released the men on $10,000 unsecured bond each. As part of their release, they were required to surrender their passports, restrict travel to Michigan, avoid contact with the victim, and are not allowed to possess firearms.
According to the latest documents, the D’Anna brothers were upset that the owners of Nonna’s Kitchen had not sought and received permission from them prior to opening the restaurant in 2009. At the time, Giuseppe D’Anna’s wife owned Tiramisu Italian Ristorante across the street.
The feds say the D’Annas made it known the victim’s family would be subject to the punishment of the Sicilian Mafia if he proceeded with the opening.
Both of the D’Annas and Ventimiglia were born and raised in Terrasini, Italy, court records show.
Two years later, when Nonna’s was undergoing an expansion in 2011, the D’Annas entered the restaurant one night. While Girolamo D’Anna distracted the victim, Giuseppe D’Anna entered and struck the owner 11 times with a baseball bat, leaving him with a closed head injury, broken jaw and other injuries, authorities said.
Ventimiglia has filed a personal liability lawsuit against the brothers in Macomb County Circuit Court. The D’Anna brothers were scheduled to provide depositions in the case next week, according to Ventimiglia’s attorney, James Andary.
“We are evaluating what impact these new charges will have on our case,” Andary said. “We believe the sentence they received in the criminal case was far too lenient, especially given the extent of the injuries related to it.”
James Thomas, the attorney for Giuseppe D’Anna, on Monday declined to comment on the allegations that his client is involved in organized crime. Stephen Rabaut, attorney for Girolamo D’Anna, did not return a phone call for comment.
Local and federal law enforcers have long suspected the D’Anna brothers are connected to local Mafia family and have alleged ties to mob activity back in Sicily, according to one local expert on organized crime.
Scott Burnstein an Oakland County-based investigative and crime reporter who has authored books on the subject including “Motor City Mafia” and “Family Secrets” concerning the Chicago mob, said the two arrived in the Detroit area in the 1990s. He said their late uncle, Anthony, was a prominent member of the organized crime hierarchy.
He said it’s possible the sentence handed down by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Richard Caretti in the beating case may have caught the attention of the Justice Department.
“I was surprised the way their last case was adjudicated because it was so weak in terms of punishment,” Burnstein said.
“From my relationships with current and former federal law enforcement officials, there is a belief that guys involved in organized crime, especially in racketeering, have ties into the judicial system. They believe some of the lenient sentences meted out are examples of how far of a reach these guys have.”
Burnstein said the belief that organized crime in metropolitan Detroit is dead is “inaccurate.”
“When dealing with Detroit organized crime, specifically the Italians, you are dealing with a group that is above the fray in terms of education and having a stealth presence. They are extremely adept at buffering themselves with white collar veneer and shielding themselves from their crimes.
“Organized crime still exists and no doubt thrives in metro Detroit,” he said.
