Rochester Organized Crime
Hello everyone as promised I will now give a breakdown of who among the defunct Rochester CN Family is still operating in Rochester and what they are into. Before I give a breakdown of each member I would like to give a little background. The A and B War splintered the family and even to this day there is some hostility. When I say hostility I just mean there is some trash talking that goes on over dinner lol.
In terms of the guys that are still operating you have two groups. You have what I will call the Piccarretto-Gingello Group (PG Group) and on the other side I will just call them the Others. Furthermore, I will list the guys who are not active and two guys that are either high ranking associates or made members. In my opinion, one of the main reasons that these guys still make money through bookmaking is that they cater to a specific local market that bets on minor league baseball, high school sports, local college sports, and the local professional soccer team. By providing bettors the opportunity to bet on these local sports, the family has a built in market that they have all to themselves.
PG Group
Rene Piccaretto- He is the leader of what is left of the family. What I mean by this is that he receives money from all the other members who still operate. His son Loren looks over day to day operations. This is mainly bookmaking, but there are a few floating card games and a few juice loans the Piccarretos have on the street. I know this is not one of the best sources to back up my claims, but in Kenji’s book he briefly mentions that Rene still had guys on the street operating when he talked to Rene in prison. Rene is a living legend in Rochester. Anytime he shows up to eat dinner it is always big news. However, Rene is really old and really has no hands on involvement in any business “ventures.”
Loren Piccarreto-He is his father’s eyes and ears. He has a few card games that belong to him and a decent size sports book. There were rumors that in the early 2000s that some of his associates were selling drugs, but nothing ever came of this.
Anthony “Tony G” Gingello- Salvatore “Sammy” Gingello’s brother. Anthony I would say has equal status with Loren. He runs a floating card game that is frequented by many local business owners and a certain local radio legend. He also has some money on the street and he has a decent size sports book. What is most interesting is that through his cousin, who is also named Anthony Gingello, who was a local labor leader. I have heard allegations that some of the fellas and their family members receive no show jobs, or favorable contracts. I cannot confirm this I am just repeating what I have heard. I would equate the Gingellos to being like the Difronzos in Chicago. They have a lot of legitimate businesses and local influence even though Tony G and Sammy G were two of the most famous gangsters ever in upstate NY.
The other guys that are active work for both the PG Group as agents for the sports books and collectors are Donald Paone (he was actually released in 1998), Anthony Colombo, Joseph LaDolce and Joseph Trieste. I do not know as much about these guys other than they work with the PG Group.
Others
Frank Frassetto and his sons are the most active guys in this group. They do a little sports booking along with some guys from Buffalo, and his sons sell marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. I would call them mid-level dealers. They also are involved in check cashing, credit card, and computer fraud. We all know he and his sons were busted for heroin about 7 years ago (Jerry Capeci mentions this in his Idiot’s Guide to the Mafia). He was also arrested about 7 years ago for a fraud scheme he had going with Celestino and a few other shady characters. Here is the article.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/NEWS01/801240356/1002/NEWSDominic Celestino- He is still active working with the Frassettos in their various endeavors. He has a small sports book that he maintains with the Frassettos.
Anthony Chirico- Anthony works with Celestino and the Frassettos in their sports book.
Retired Guys
Joseph Rossi- He is retired and living in Rochester.
Charles Indovino- He is retired and living in Florida, last time I heard.
Thomas Marotta- He is retired and living in Perinton, NY down the street from my parents lol.
Associates/ Possible Made Members
Anthony Gingello, Jr. - This is another guy named Anthony Gingello. This is Sammy G’s nephew and Tony G’s son. He was arrested for running an illegal card game in the 1990s and he actually posted Tommy Marotta’s bail when he got in trouble. I do not think he is made but he is definitely well respected and he is the eyes and ears for his dad’s operations. Here is an article that mentions him.
http://www.rochesterhomepage.net/story/does-the-mob-exist-today/d/story/CnqKgqEuRUCRZOq1fsPh3gDominic Taddeo- He is still in prison, but I have heard rumors that Rene made him before he went away. When you think about all the people Taddeo killed and how he was basically a one man army for Rene it is actually believable. This guy was and still is nuts. Here is an interesting article on how he tried to help Carlos Lehder escape from Marion.
http://articles.mcall.com/1990-08-02/news/2759500_1_indicted-grand-jury-organizedI have heard rumors that there are a few Buffalo associates in the areas that are active. I met them once when I was a waiter at the Woodcliff Lodge and Spa’s restaurant Horizons. Their first names were Carmine and Mike, but I do not know anything about them other than they like to present themselves as gangsters. If anyone has any information to add I would appreciate it. Later, I will compile a list of the most active and influential organized crime groups in Rochester and how the fellas match up.
One last note the chart showing the Rochester Family has many errors. For one Rene is not dead. Second, there are no more official made members who are still behind bars. Donald Paone got out in 1998 and Anthony Colombo got out in the early 2000s. Anyone who wants some more specific information in regards to the sports books, etc. please PM me. I have tried my best to provide what documentation I can but a lot of the information comes from first and second hand knowledge from local law enforcement and underworld sources. PM me and I can give some details. I do not expect everyone to believe me, but I still hope you all might still want to discuss the topic.
