THE BUFFALO NEWS
ARRESTS TARGET DRUG RING TIED TO MOB LISTENING DEVICE PLANTED IN CAR LEADS TO 12 INDICTMENTS
By Dan Herbeck | Published June 26, 1989
Federal officers today were rounding up suspects in an alleged mob-related cocaine ring cracked with the assistance of a secret listening device planted in the car of a reputed captain in the Buffalo Mafia, authorities said.
Led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, investigators moved at dawn to pick up 12 suspects named in sealed indictments handed up by a federal grand jury Friday.
Authorities said the Torina drug ring, which was under investigation for more than two years, is believed to be responsible for more than $2 million in street sales of cocaine annually in the Buffalo area.
The probe has turned up the strongest links ever found between the area's cocaine trade and organized crime, according to Special Agent George Preston, chief of the DEA's Buffalo office.
"This is a mob-controlled drug ring," Preston said.
A federal law known unofficially as the "drug kingpin statute" will be used to prosecute three of the major players in the ring, U.S. Attorney Dennis C. Vacco said.
A secret microphone was hidden in the car of Leonard F. Falzone, a reputed captain in the Buffalo Mafia, to gather evidence on area mob activities, Vacco and other law enforcement officials confirmed.
Falzone will not be charged in the drug probe, but FBI agents said conversations monitored in the vehicle last year indicated that local mob leaders sanctioned the cocaine ring.
"Conversations overheard in the car of Leonard Falzone indicated that this drug operation was being directed by the mob hierarchy in Buffalo," said G. Robert Langford, special agent in charge of the Buffalo FBI office.
The FBI planted the bug last year in Falzone's car, a 1987 Buick paid for by Laborers Local 210, where Falzone works as administrator of the health and welfare benefits fund.
Refusing to discuss the methods used by agents to plant the secret listening device, Langford said the bug was in place for about six months last year. The court-authorized bug has since been removed.
As required by law in all eavesdropping cases, Falzone has since been notified that his conversations were monitored. About 10 other persons whose
conversations in the car were also monitored have received official notifications, FBI agents said.
Evidence gathered in the car will be helpful "in this investigation and several others still pending," one law enforcement official said.
Asked why Falzone and Joseph Todaro, named by the FBI as leader of the Buffalo mob, have not been charged in the drug probe, Preston said: "At this point, we do not have sufficient evidence to arrest them."
"There are ongoing investigations involving other mob members," Langford said.
Three of the suspects indicted Friday are known associates of the Buffalo Mafia, FBI agents said.
The probe started with a police officer's undercover purchase of an ounce of cocaine, Preston said.
"From there, we just let the money do the walking and worked our way up the organization," he said.
The probe included investigators from the DEA, the FBI, the Erie County Sheriff's Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the state police and numerous other federal, state and local agencies, Vacco said.
Vacco said investigators hope to have all 12 suspects in custody by the end of the day. Two are already in state prisons in other cases.
Already jailed are:
Joseph "Pepe" Cannizzaro, 64, 392 Lafayette Ave., currently serving an unrelated drug sentence at the Collins Correctional Facility, one count of conspiracy. Identified by the FBI as a known mob associate.
Gerald Hayden, 32, 30 Danforth St., currently serving unrelated drug sentence at the Wende Correctional Facility, conspiracy, racketeering in interstate transportation, running a continuing criminal enterprise, 13 counts of cocaine distribution and two counts of using the telephone to facilitate drug sales.
Arrested today were:
Albino "Sha-Sha" Principe, 55, a laborer, of 115 Linda Drive, Depew, conspiracy, cocaine distribution, using the telephone to facilitate drug sales, possession of a firearm by a prior felon and two counts of racketeering in interstate transportation. Identified by the FBI as a known mob associate.
Salvatore "Sam Naples" Napoli, 52, a Local 210 laborer, of 2084 Dodge Road, Amherst, charged with conspiracy, distribution of cocaine, four counts of using the telephone to facilitate drug sales, two counts of racketeering in interstate transportation and running a continuing criminal enterprise. The FBI said Napoli is also a known mob associate.
George Piccione, 24, 684 Prospect Ave., occupation unknown, conspiracy.
Mark Cancilla, 31, 38 Wellington Road, self-employed contractor, conspiracy and five counts of cocaine distribution.
Karen Zintek, 26, 37 Lemans St., Cheektowaga, a waitress, cocaine distribution.
