Colombo Mafia Boss Charged with Racketeering Conspiracy

The Department of Justice announced today that Thomas Gioeli, the acting boss of the Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Colombo family”), John “Sonny” Franzese, the Colombo family underboss, and ten additional Colombo family members and associates were charged with racketeering conspiracy, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and loansharking. The charged racketeering predicate acts include, among others, four acts of murder, murder conspiracy, and felony murder.

The defendants were arrested today in New York were scheduled to be arraigned at the U.S. Courthouse in Brooklyn. Colombo family underboss John “Sonny” Franzese is currently incarcerated based on a violation of supervised release for a prior conviction.

According to the indictment and a detention memorandum filed by the government today, the charges are the product of a three-year investigation into the illegal activities of the Colombo family. The broad scope of the investigation includes historical acts of murder by the Colombo family as well as more recent criminal activity. The evidence relating to many of the charged crimes consists of hundreds of hours of recorded conversations secured by multiple cooperating witnesses who infiltrated the Colombo family.

Those indicted today include Thomas Gioeli, 55; John “Sonny” Franzese, 89; Dino Calabro, 41; Michael Catapano, 42; Frank Campione, 65; Joseph “ Joey Caves” Competiello; 36; Joseph Digorga, 67; Orlando Spado, 63; Angelo Giangrande, 55; John Capolino, 39; Nicholas Bova, 31; and Christopher Curanovic, 26.

The indictment and detention memorandum document the Colombo family’s brazen use of violence – including murder – to earn money, seek revenge, and obstruct justice, including:

• The Felony Murder of Carlos Pagan. Colombo family captain Dino Calabro is charged with the January 9, 1992, armed robbery and felony murder of Carlos Pagan. Pagan, an armored truck guard, was shot and killed during a botched effort by Calabro and others to rob Pagan as he and a co-worker were delivering money to a check-cashing store in Brooklyn.
• The Murders of John Minerva and Michael Imbergamo. Colombo family acting boss Thomas Gioeli and captain Dino Calabro are charged with the March 25, 1992, double murder of Colombo family soldier John Minerva and Minerva’s friend, Michael Imbergamo. Minerva was murdered as part of the bloody Colombo family war, which pitted two factions of the Colombo family against each other in a violent struggle for control of the family. Imbergamo was not a target of the murder, but was killed because he was with Minerva at the time of the attack. Colombo captains Joseph “JoJo” Russo and Anthony “Chucky” Russo and soldier Joseph Monteleone were previously convicted in the Eastern District of New York for their participation in this double murder.
• The Murder of Frank Marasa. Acting Colombo family boss Thomas Gioeli, captain Dino Calabro, and soldier Joseph “ Joey Caves” Competiello are charged with the 1991 murder of Frank Marasa. On June 12, 1991, Marasa was shot multiple times outside his home in Brooklyn in retaliation for his perceived involvement in the murder of a Colombo family associate.