Son of mob underboss pleads guilty to racketeering, conspiring to whack mafia associate
Aug 20, 2019 7:50 PM
The son of a Luchese family underboss pleaded guilty to racketeering and murder conspiracy charges Tuesday, and faces a maximum of 13 years behind bars for his part in an attempt to have another mobster whacked.
Luchese captain Steven Crea Jr. admitted to plotting with his father, underboss Steven Crea, to kill Bonanno family associate Carl Ulzheimer in 2012 for dissing the elder Crea during a Bronx social club encounter.
Yonkers mobster Vincent Bruno failed to carry out the hit at Ulzheimer’s Bronx home, and the dispute was hashed out before he could try again. Bruno has since taken a plea deal.
A federal indictment accused the younger Crea of participating in the slaying of Michael Meldish, 62, the one-time co-leader of a homicidal crew called the Purple Gang, but he did not admit to the killing as part of his guilty plea Tuesday, his lawyers said.
“Our client did not enter a plea of guilty to the murder of Michael Meldish because he is not guilty of that conduct. In fact, he took more time rather than enter a plea to something that is not true,†said his lawyers, Joseph DiBenedetto and Seth Ginsburg in a statement Tuesday night.
Authorities found Meldish on Nov. 15, 2013, with a bullet to the head inside a parked Lincoln, the driver-side door still open.
Crea Jr., 46, passed a polygraph exam last November administered by retired FBI veteran Jeremiah Hanafin, best known for conducting a test on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.
He entered his guilty plea in White Plains federal court Tuesday, pleading guilty to racketeering, murder conspiracy and attempted assault in aid of racketeering.
The case against his 72-year-old father is still pending.
