Gambino crime family members arrested on barrage of charges

As part of a ‘coordinated effort’, Italian law enforcement also arrested six other associates charged with mafia association and other offences

Ten associates and members of the Gambino crime family were arrested on a series of charges as a part of an effort to dominate the carting and demolition business — including threatening someone with a baseball bat.

The defendants — Joseph Lanni, 52, Diego Tantillo, 48, Angelo Gradilone, 57, James LaForte, 46, Vito Rappa, 46, Francesco Vicari, 46, Salvatore DiLorenzo, 66, Robert Brooke, 55, Kyle Johnson, 46, Vincent Minsquero, 36 — are in custody and were scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday afternoon. The 16-count indictment was unsealed on Wednesday in federal court.

They are facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and union-related crimes “committed in an attempt to dominate the New York carting and demolition industries,” a press release for the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York stated.

As part of a “coordinated effort,” Italian law enforcement also arrested six other associates charged with mafia association and other offences, the press release added.

“As alleged, for years, the defendants committed violent extortions, assaults, arson, witness retaliation and other crimes in an attempt to dominate the New York carting and demolition industries,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “Today’s arrests reflect the commitment of this Office and our law enforcement partners, both here and abroad, to keep our communities safe by the complete dismantling of organized crime.”

Baseball bat allegedly used to intimidate John Doe by Gambino crime family associates (USAO)

One the schemes outlined in the release describes Tantillo, Rappa, Vicari and Johnson engaging “in a violent extortion conspiracy,” in which they targeted an unnamed man, who operated a carting business around New York City, and intimidated him with a bat, set fire to the steps of his home, tried to damage his carting trucks, and assaulted one of his associates.

The release also describes an embezzlement scheme, in which some defendants would provide others with “no show” jobs, which they then received paychecks and union health benefits.

Alleged Gambino crime family associates setting John Doe’s front steps ablaze (USAO)

The defendants also committed a myriad of other crimes in New York and New Jersey from 2017 through 2023, the release added. In September 2023, Lanni and Minsquero “coordinated” an assault on restaurant owners in New Jersey, including “physically assaulting a woman at knifepoint.”

The defendants variously face maximum sentences between 20 and 180 years’ imprisonment, the release stated.

The Gambino family is one of the so-called Five Families of Italian-linked crime syndicates in New York.